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Te Aitanga a Māhaki Trust is launching a campaign to secure a single mandate for the return of the Mangatu Forest.
The long-running claim for the forest north of Gisborne has been complicated by competition for parts of the land from Ngā Ariki Kaiputahi, Te Whānau a Kai, Mangatu Incorporation, and other groups.
Negotiator Willie Te Aho says the result is gridlock before the Waitangi Tribunal, which his trust intends to break.
He says securing the mandate will put pressure on the tribunal to use its power to make a binding recommendation, which the courts have ruled is applicable in this case.
"We need boldness. We need courage. We need people to focus on doing right by those who have been prejudiced, where the treaty has been blatantly breached and actually put up the remedy and there is 100 percent compensation that can be awarded and for us in Tūranga, that is $195 million," Mr Te Aho says.
With accumulated rents and carbon credits, that would take the settlement to over $200 million, compared to the $31 million the crown offered in 2011.
Hui will be held on the mandate through August.
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