Source: Radio New Zealand
Te Whiringa Kākaho o Ngāti Hāua trustee Aaron Rice-Edwards Supplied/Ngāti Hāua Taumarunui
The Crown has apologised to Taumarunui iwi Ngāti Hāua in a Treaty Settlement, which includes statutory pardons for two of their tūpuna.
The Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill passed its third and final reading in Parliament on Thursday.
Te Whiringa Kākaho o Ngāti Hāua trustee Aaron Rice-Edwards said it’s a day of celebration for the iwi, around 200 people travelled to Parliament from Taumarunui and beyond to share in the milestone.
“It’s been a rough road. We feel a bit battered and bruised. Like most iwi can attest to, this process is hard. It’s hard on relationships with our neighbours, hard on relationships with ourselves, but it’s an awesome testament today to finally arrive here, due in large measure to the sacrifice of our leadership and our pāhake and our kaumātua, many of whom have passed on. So we’re kind of carrying their legacy and their moemoeā, their vision for our people,” Rice-Edwards said.
“A lot of our whānau have brought pictures of their loved ones who’ve passed on. So again, we carry that legacy on.”
Rice-Edwards said securing pardons for Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu and Te Rangiātea, who were unjustly convicted under martial law in 1846, was a critical part of negotiations.
“Te Rangiātea, he was a koro at the time, quite elderly. He died in November 1846 in jail, in Mt Cook Jail. Also, tūpuna Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu was sentenced for rebellion against the Crown. He was convicted to die or be executed by hanging.”
Ngāti Hāua have a strong history in the Heretaunga or Hutt Valley and both Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu and Te Rangiātea were caught up in land disputes which led to armed conflict in the Hutt Valley, he said.
“It’s been a sense of grievance for our iwi for a long time. So we’ve carried that and their descendants have carried that stigma. A big part of that mamae is the fact that we never had the remains of our tūpuna to bury properly in terms of our tikanga or to take them back home,” he said.
“So today is remembering those two tūpuna and reaffirming their mana in terms of the injustice of the Crown, the way they were treated.”
Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui where the Deed of Settlement was signed in 2025. Supplied
Following today’s third reading, the bill will go to the Governor-General for Royal Assent, becoming the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Act.
Once the legislation is enacted, settlement assets will transfer to Te Whiringa Kākaho o Ngāti Hāua Trust.
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Paul Goldsmith said the total settlement package provides $19 million of financial redress and includes the return of 64 culturally significant sites.
Goldsmith told MPs the Act records the Crown’s apology for its actions which breached the Treaty, including warfare, the alienation of land through Crown purchasing and Public Works taking which left Ngāti Hāua virtually landless.
“The loss of land led to the erosion of tribal structures and left Ngāti Hāua unable to sustain themselves and with few opportunities for social and economic development. Many Ngāti Hāua were obliged to leave their rohe which exacerbated the damage to the iwi’s spiritual and cultural well-being.”
This settlement lays the economic, cultural and social foundation for Ngāti Hāua to reestablish their connection to their land, their rohe, strengthen their identity and to build a future for themselves in generations to come.”
The settlement can never fully compensate Ngāti Hāua for the loss they’ve suffered as a result of Crown actions, he said.
Rice-Edwards said back home in Taumarunui, the main centre of their region, there is a lot of disparity and inequity in housing, health and employment among their people.
“While we’re not sort of letting the Crown off the hook in terms of its obligations to our people. We want to go back home and be a catalyst for change and social transformation. So that will be a big focus for us for the next five years.”
Rice-Edwards said the financial redress will be helpful in rebuilding their tribal nation, but the return of land has been a key focus for the iwi.
“So that will be a focus in terms of growing those reserves and just managing them and just reconnecting as a people with those places, because all of those places we haven’t been able to access for a long time.”
Many rangatahi (young people) were in attendance at Parliament to watch the Bill pass and Rice-Edwards said it is incumbent the current leadership to start looking to the future.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
