KEY POINTS:
Tainui's parliament will get a first look at the Waikato River agreement in principle tomorrow still without a final figure but with interesting options available to the iwi.
Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia is to travel to the tribe's administrative headquarters at Hopuhopu to present the proposed agreement, which was ratified by Labour ministers on Monday.
The Weekend Herald understands there has been little tinkering with the draft, which was signed in May and sent out for public consultation.
Sources said an option for a payment in perpetuity was on the table, a precedent which had already been set by the September settlement of outstanding Lake Taupo issues for Ngati Tuwharetoa, where the iwi receives $1.5 million a year in perpetuity.
Speculation is that that amount could be between $2 million and $3 million, which is separate from the redress payment.
But sources said no final amount had been nailed down yet - that work would happen in the new year and no detailed amount would be brought before the parliament.
The tribe had also secured a commitment from the Government to work on a final package which also included components to assist in the clean up of the river, to offer redress, and to help in developing the next generation of water catchment scientists and managers.
The tribe, said to be worth $500 million, has forged ahead in the past few years, increasing its assets from its original $170 million 1995 Raupatu deal. Settling the river claim will bring it close to closing the door on outstanding issues.
