October 23, 2020
Coal mines and oil wells missing from Ngāti Maru settlement
The negotiator for Taranaki tribe Ngāti Maru says trustees now have a strong mandate to move ahead with settlement.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Trust members have voted 92 percent in favour of the proposed deed of settlement, with 47 percent turnout.
Anaru Marshall says the deal has taken four years to negotiate, with the iwi dropping some of its requests for conservation land because of resistance from the Green Party’s Conservation Minister.
The $30 million price tag is a fraction of what Ngāti Maru lost in 1864 when 220,000 hectares of its central Taranaki lands from the maunga through to the Whanganui River were confiscated.
"There were forests. There have been four coal mines, two hydroelectic plants have been established in here in that time, 93 oil and gas wells. This country has done very well on the back of Ngāti Maru over the last 150 years," Mr Marshall says.
Ngāti Maru Trust hopes to sign the settlement by the end of November.
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