Ngati Whatua still in talks

Ngati Whatua reached a settlement with the Government on Bastion Pt in 1990 after a Waitangi Tribunal hearing and report.

Now the Ngati Whatua Maori Trust Board is negotiating this wider Auckland claim directly with the Office of Treaty Settlements and the parties signed terms of negotiation (ground rules for talks) in May 2003.

Confidential negotiations are being held about monthly but they are not at the stage where detailed redress is being discussed.

The next step is an Agreement in Principle, which sets out the parameters of the settlement.

The aim is to have that signed by the end of 2005. That will then be drafted into a deed of settlement and passed into law.

Ngati Whatua o Orakei territory encompasses Auckland City (except Waiheke and Great Barrier Islands), the bulk of Waitakere and North Shore cities and small parts, largely shared with other tribes, of northern Manukau City and southern Rodney.

When Ngati Whatua presented its claim in June 2003 for breaches to the Treaty of Waitangi, it said:

* The claim is for loss of about 33,000ha between 1840 and 1845.

* Lands were resold by the Crown within two to four years for vast profits.

* Sales were unfair and breached Crown obligations.

* The Crown disobeyed Colonial Office orders to apply 15 per cent of proceeds to Ngati Whatua's benefit.

* A promise that a tenth of the land would be set aside as an endowment for the tribe's welfare was broken.