Settlement echoes prophecy

Hundreds of Ngati Ruanui tangata whenua came home to Taranaki to witness the formal acceptance of a $41 million treaty settlement, and the fulfilment of a prophecy.

About 600 people from as far afield as Invercargill, Napier, Rotorua and Auckland gathered at Pariroa Pa, near Kakaramea, to hear Minister of Treaty Negotiations Margaret Wilson give an apology and compensation for past wrongs by the Crown.

Security at Pariroa Pa was strengthened in anticipation of protests against the settlement. About 30 police officers and at least as many Maori wardens patrolled the area.

But the protesters did not make it past the first gate. One of them, Rata Pue, was arrested for breaching the peace and held for four hours at the Hawera police station. Mr Pue said he was protesting at the settlement because the full and final nature of the deal extinguished Maori rights.



The almost constant rain and bone-chilling wind served as a reminder of the "sorrow" surrounding the settlement, Ms Wilson said.

"It is appropriate that the cloak is that of rain because it symbolises the sorrow that the Crown brings with it of the past."

The settlement also included the return of about 8ha with wahi tapu (sacred sites).

The Crown's apology for treaty breaches was only the second to be made in a public forum, after South Island iwi Ngai Tahu received a public apology.



The minister made special acknowledgment of the Ngati Ruanui ancestors who died as a direct result of Crown actions. The apology was for 10 key treaty breaches, and included apologies for purchasing land which created tensions that led to war; for labelling Ngati Ruanui as rebels; for the people who were killed or exiled; for the death of 18 men in prison; for illegal confiscation of land and the subsequent inadequate court process to deal with the injustice; that the confiscated land had since made a significant contribution to the wealth of the Crown; that land taken outside the confiscation boundary left Ngati Ruanui with insufficient land for their needs; for the denial of basic human rights to the people involved with the passive-resistance movement of Parihaka and for the serious damage to the village; for perpetual leases which effectively deprived Ngati Ruanui of ownership of their land.

Ms Wilson acknowledged the apology was long overdue.

Acting chairman of the Ngati Ruanui Runanga council, Dave Rogers, said the apology was more important than the money, which took the form of an electronic transfer of funds into the iwi's account.

He said the kaumatua had earned the right to retire, and he asked the younger generation to step forward.

The $41 million settlement, which had accrued $2 million interest since the Deed of Settlement was signed in May 2001, would be used for commercial, cultural and social development, Mr Rogers said.



The prophet and Parihaka rangatira Tohu Kakahi had foretold that a woman would be instrumental in returning the land to Maori.

- NZPA



What's happening:

* The Government has formally apologised to the Ngati Ruanui iwi of South Taranaki and will pay $41 million compensation.

Why apologise

* After the land wars in Taranaki the Government passed an 1863 law which confiscated all of southern Taranaki without compensation.
* Some Ngati Ruanui began a passive resistance campaign at Parihaka until 1600 were forcibly expelled in 1881.
* Treaty Negotiations Minister said the Government's "atrocious" behaviour towards the tribe had affected its development ever since.