North Island tribe Tuhoe will soon be celebrating ownership of the Te Urewera National Park in the Bay of Plenty following the landmark $170million settlement with the Government.

As part of the settlement announced today the National Park in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be given its own legal identity.

Te Urewera National Park will be co-managed by Tuhoe. Photo: Supplied.

Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson says the Crown and Ngai Tuhoe will now work together to develop a Deed of Settlement by the end of 2012.

Chris says he is delighted to reach the goal of a Crown offer that can be developed into a Deed of Settlement.

'Ngāi Tuhoe's history shows clearly why it is so important to settle genuine historical Treaty grievances.

'The conditions in Te Urewera, which contains some of our most deprived and isolated communities, show the very real and continued effects of the Crown's Treaty breaches on the daily lives of Ngāi Tuhoe people in the present.”

Ngai Tuhoe chief negotiator Tamati Kruger says the settlement is a historic day confirming the ability of the Crown and Tuhoe to work together into the future, according to the Relationship Agreement signed in 2011.

Chris says huge areas of the iwi's land were wrongly confiscated, and more purchased unjustly.

'Military campaigns against Tuhoe prisoners and civilians were described even at the time as ‘extermination', and the Crown employed a scorched earth policy in Tuhoe settlements in the Te Urewera.

'All elements of the proposed settlement are important but the redress relating to Te Urewera is vital to both parties.”
During negotiations, Tuhoe also conducted its own extensive consulting with stakeholders in Te Urewera, such as conservation, hunting and recreation groups.

'We discovered that all groups share a real common purpose in protecting Te Urewera's unique identity,” says Tamati.

Te Urewera will exist as a separate legal identity to be governed by the Crown and Ngai Tuhoe nominees acting on its behalf.

Ngāi Tuhoe will have an increasing role in management over time, with the Department of Conservation also retaining its role.

The Department of Conservation will work with Ngai Tuhoe to enhance Te Urewera as a place of outstanding natural, recreational and cultural value.

Both parties are keen to seek higher international recognition for Te Urewera such as a UNESCO biosphere reserve to promote the areas' unique values.

The legislation will include key provisions from the National Parks Act such as the protection of natural and historic heritage, public input into management and public access into the future.

Ngai Tuhoe will also receive redress valued at about $170million, putting their settlement on a par with two of the country's biggest iwi, Ngai Tahu and Tainui.