'The Mount' to be given back to Maori

Mauao, better known to many as Mt Maunganui or simply the Mount, is likely to be handed back to Maori this year.

The Tauranga Moana iwi say that public access to the 232m dormant volcanic cone at the entrance to Tauranga Harbour will be preserved.

Waiariki MP Mita Ririnui, who is overseeing legal details for the handover, said he expected Maori ownership of Mauao to be returned "sooner rather than later".

Mr Ririnui, the Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, said a "no surprise approach" was probably the reason there had been no public backlash to the proposal.

In fact, little or nothing should change for Mt Maunganui.

"Passive" recreation will continue and commercialism will be outlawed. A motorcamp and hot pools at the base of the mountain are not part of the deal.

The Crown has been talking to local Maori for several years about returning ownership of the sacred site, confiscated by the Government in the 1860s.

But the future role of the Tauranga City Council has to be determined before the issue goes to the Cabinet for a decision.

On Tuesday the council will consider a report which seeks guaranteed public access to Mauao. It wants the landmark protected from sale, its reserve status continued and to retain responsibility for administration and maintenance. The chairman of the Runanganui o Tauranga Moana, Colin Bidois, said local Maori felt the time had arrived for the "mana of Mauao" to be returned to where it belonged.

"We do not speak of ownership because it has a different connotation. Even though, legally, it is ownership it means a lot more than that to us," he said.

Many Pakeha had a deep love for the mountain too and iwi wanted to make sure access remained for everyone.

Tauranga MP and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said he had no objection to the handover provided it was fair and right.

Mauao is an ancient Maori pa site and battleground, sacred to Ngaiterangi, Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga.