Iwi buys school land

Wellington: Ngati Toa has agreed a settlement with the Ministry of Education which will result in it buying the land of 40 public schools in the Wellington region.

Negotiations are continuing for another 28 schools in Wellington and the top of the South Island to be included in the deal.

The iwi has taken out a $352 million loan to buy the land in Porirua and Wellington, and lease it back to the Ministry of Education, it said in a statement said on Monday.

The purchase, which has been negotiated for 18 months, was possible under the treaty settlement Ngati Toa signed with the Crown in 2014, which formed part of compensation for the confiscation and theft of Ngati Toa land. — RNZ