1997: A wrong is put right
The Press published a very approving editorial when Nga¯i Tahu signed its historic, $170 million Treaty settlement.
‘‘Yesterday’s signing of the Ngai Tahu settlement closes one chapter and opens another,’’ the paper said on November 22, 1997.
‘‘An historic wrong has been put right and means of delivering a better future have been created. Thus, the settlement is dynamic. It certainly is not the regressive thing obsessed with grievances and oblivious of present realities that some of its critics claim.
‘‘New Zealanders as a whole can congratulate themselves on its signing. It is another example of the nation facing its past and putting things back together in a practical fashion.
‘‘Race was a core issue. So was the entrenchment of minority rights. Bloodshed, suffering, and dispossession were the background themes . . . That New Zealand in the last few years has been able to deal with them, been able to perceive them and create something positive out of them, is splendid. It is a mark of maturity.
‘‘Two individuals were the particular begetters of the Ngai Tahu settlement. Sir Tipene O’Regan and Doug Graham not only led each side at the negotiations, they also were the public faces of the process.’’
The Press said ‘‘New Zealanders, by being included in the process, were informed and won over’’.
The settlement was contentious as it affected ‘‘some of the nation’s most cherished scenic areas’’, including places where Ma¯ori and their culture ‘‘had for decades been almost invisible’’.