April 10, 2024
Haere rā Egmont nau mai hoki mai Taranaki maunga
A settlement of claims over Taranaki maunga came a step closer yesterday with the first reading of Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill.
Uri from the eight tribes of Taranaki were at Parliament to witness debate on the bill, which will give the mountain a legal pesornality and a single name- Taranaki Maunga.
Negotiator Jamie Tuuta says it’s a victory not just for the people but for te reo o Taranaki.
“Restoration of the Māori name – Taranaki Maunga, not Mount Taranaki, not Mt Egmont but Taranaki Maunga, it’s a first for our country. It’s rather ironic when we’re removing te reo Māori road signs but we’re celebrating the restoration of Taranaki Māunga te reo Māori-only name for the mountain. The Egmont National Park will no longer be in its current form. Under these arrangements it will have a Māori only name, Te Papakura o Taranaki,” he says.
Similiar legal personhood arrangements were made in the settlement legislation for Te Urewera in 2014 and Te Awa Tupua, the Whanganui River in 2017.
The Taranaki Maunga Bill was sent to the Māori affairs select committee for public submissions.
Maunga Taranaki will have a board called Tōpuni Kōkōrangi to speak on its behalf, made up of 50 percent te iwi o Taranaki and 50 percent ministerial appointments.