Historic date with final treaty reading

Hundreds of people from Taranaki will be in Wellington today to watch history being made.

The third and final reading of Treaty of Waitangi settlement bills for Taranaki, Te Atiawa and Ngaruahine iwi groups will take place in Parliament.

The historic day also marks the beginning of a new chapter for each iwi. After leaving behind the years of hurt and hard work to negotiate a settlement deal with the Crown, each group is moving towards a renewed sense of tino rangatiratanga, or self determination.

Taranaki Iwi Trust chairman Tokatumoana Walden said the final step in the legislative process, which will see the bill made law, completed decades of work many people had put into making the settlement a reality.

While he acknowledged treaty settlements were ‘‘political deals’’ Walden said the interests of the iwi had always been paramount.

About 400 people from the three iwi will travel to Wellington to be part of the proceedings. New Plymouth MP Jonathan Young will also be there and he is set to deliver a speech in favour of the bill. He said iwi were already major economic players in the region and the legislation would help cement their position.

TE ATIAWA: Signed in August 2014; $87 million in cash; Deferred option to buy 51 land banked properties; Right of first refusal over specified Crown properties; Cultural fund set up; Joint vesting of Nga¯ Motu Islands (Sugar Loaf) with Taranaki iwi

NGARUAHINE: Signed in August 2014; $67.5 million in cash; Deferred option to buy 12 sites and two South Taranaki District Council properties; Return of four culturally significant sites; $600,000 cultural fund

TARANAKI: Signed in September 2015; $70 million in cash; Return of 29 sites of cultural significance; Deferred option for two years to buy 29 commercial properties; Right of first refusal over Crown-owned land in its area.