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Ngāti Toa Rangatira is crowing over its treaty settlement which recognises a customary interest in Wellington city and officially recogises Te Rauparaha as the composer of the haka 'Ka mate'.
The iwi gathered at Parliament this morning to sign the deal; just days after the High Court ruled it could not intervene in the $75 million settlement.
The Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust had argued that the Crown was offering Ngāti Toa surplus properties and customary recognition in areas where parliament had already acknowledges Taranaki Whānui had the customary interests.
Ngāti Toa negotiator Matiu Rei says it’s a well-balanced packaged with commercial and cultural aspects accounted for.
"Wellington city is quite important because after 120 years or really 160 years of being left on the side really, we are able to tell our story about our mana in respect of Wellington and after having to undergo a number of challenges at the Waitangi Tribunal and also the High Court, I think that has come out as being pretty significant for Ngāti Toa," he says.
Matiu Rei says the recognition of Ngāti Toa’s dominion over Cook Strait, which added $10 million to the settlement package, is also important.
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