Forty years since Maori land march, settlements for four far Far North iwi

Wednesday, 9 September 2015

Dame Whina Cooper speaking outside Parliament at the end of the 1975 land march. Almost 40 years later, the Treaty of Waitangi settlements of four Far North iwi are about to become law.

Almost 40 years to the day since Dame Whina Cooper started the great Maori land march, members of four Far North iwi were at Parliament for the final debate on their settlements.

'The iwi leaders here have been pivotal in shaping the way in which our country both examines the injustices which were historically suffered by Maori and strives to address them,' Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson told the House on Wednesday.

In a few days time - on September 14 - it would be 40 years since the great Maori land march set off from Te Hapua in the Far North.

'Most New Zealanders who witnessed it were compelled by that seemingly frail yet passionately articulate woman who led the march, Dame Whina Cooper,' Finlayson said.

'Pakeha had to stop and consider what made a 79-year-old kuia decide to lead a march the very length of the North Island.'

By the time the hikoi arrived at Parliament the country was watching and the message was clear that Maori had legitimate treaty grievances that had to be addressed.

Finlayson also acknowledged the work of Matiu Rata - the MP for Northern Maori from 1963 to 1980.

'He earned his place in New Zealand history for many achievements but perhaps none more so than the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal … creating the pathway for these important claims to be heard,' Finlayson said.

**FROM THE ARCHIVES: 150 years of news: Wellington end to Maori land march caused traffic chaos in 1975

Following the third and final reading of the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill on Wednesday, final settlements for Ngati Kuri, Te Aupouri, NgaiTakoto and Te Rarawa iwi will become law. Ngati Kahu iwi has yet to settle its claim.

The four settlements are worth $96.6 million and also make cultural redress that support iwi aspirations to have kaitiakitanga - guardianship and protection - over ancestral lands in a relationship with the Crown.

Finlayson said Crown actions and omissions during the 19th and 20th centuries left Te Hiku iwi with little or no land. Many people had to leave the area and those who remained lived in one of the most socially and economically deprived areas of the country.

The settlements apologised for Crown breaches of the treaty and the long term impacts of those breaches.

Among those watching the passing of the bill was Wallace Rivers from NgaiTakoto. He was carrying a picture of his cousin Poua Erstich who had worked on the treaty claim but had not lived to see the settlement.

Iwi members had been invited to bring along photos of people who had been involved in the claims through the years 'as recognition of their commitment to our journey', Rivers said.

Achieving the settlement brought a feeling of relief.

Colonialism had made many iwi members dependents in their own land, he said.

'We now have some means by which we can look to address and improve that, with the help of Crown agencies. There's a pathway forward for us … We will be participants now in governing how the future will look economically for that far Far North region.'

Also on Wednesday, a settlement bill for the Te Kawerau a Maki iwi, from the Auckland region, passed its final reading. The settlement includes redress of $6.5m, which will be used to buy 86 per cent of Riverhead Crown Forest Licence land and land at Hobsonville.

A contribution of $300,000 will be being made to the establishment of an iwi marae, and nine significant cultural sites will be vested with iwi.