Hauraki Iwi Stakes Their Claim

Posted by Gold FM on 30/08/2011

The Hauraki Tribal Collective may be entitled to a share in the rich minerals beneath the Hauraki District.

The Crown signed a framework agreement for negotiations towards settling shared historical Treaty claims in the Hauraki/Coromandel region last October.

The Hauraki Collective Framework Agreement covers 12 Hauraki iwi, and outlines the process for ongoing negotiations towards settlement of shared claims, including possible elements of a settlement. It was signed by the Crown and the 12 iwi of the Hauraki Collective in Whakatiwai.

The iwi involved in the Hauraki Collective are Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Tara-Tokanui, Ngāti Porou ki Hauraki, Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Hei, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Pukenga, Te Patukirikiri, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Ngā Rahiri Tumutumu.

Their claim relates to land lost through confiscation and the Crown's Maori land purchasing policies in the past which saw vast areas of tribal land lost to the Crown.

The Crown Minerals Act maintains that minerals including gold and uranium, and oil are resources that belong to the Crown, but Hauraki Chair Paul Majurey said the tribe will continue to lobby the Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson that minerals should be included in any future settlement.