April 03, 2013
Settlement in sight for Hawkes Bay hapū
Voting started today on ratifying an historic treaty settlement covering the 1868 confiscation of 110,000ha of land between the Esk and Waitaha rivers north of Napier.
Maunga Haruru-Tangitu Incorporation, which represents three hapū in the region, has been offered $23 million in cash, part of the bed of Lake Tutira, 250ha of the nearby state-owned Opouahi Station, and an option to buy part of the Crown-owned, Esk Forest.
Chief negotiator, Tania Hopmans says the end of a long struggle for the whānau is in sight.
“They’ve been hearing about this for the last 20 years and I think people can see the light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what makes it real and exciting. If ratification goes as we hope, we’re expecting to be able to sign in May and then it will be a matter of days before the cash component of our settlement is paid to us,” she says.
Tania Hopmans says the hapū have already agreed on an investment plan that will grow what is a relatively small settlement.
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