June 16, 2014
No prejudice in settlements
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson says Winston Peters has got a High Court decision on the Tuhoe settlement wrong.
The New Zealand First leader is calling for the settlement legislation to be reviewed in light of the decision, which found the Waitangi Tribunal was wrong to refuse an urgent hearing to neighbouring iwi who feared the settlement compromised their own claims to Te Urewera and Ohiwa Harbour.
Mr Finlayson says while the court found there was a jurisdictional error in the decision, it also found there was no substantive unfairness caused by the Crown’s settlement with Ngai Tuhoe.
He says the Government believes in just and durable settlement of all historical claims, so the positions of groups that are not yet ready to settle are preserved so they suffer no prejudice.
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