In 2010 the Crown recommenced negotiations with Te Ātiawa. Te Ātiawa Iwi Authority is the mandated entity representing Te Ātiawa in negotiations.

On 17 March 2010 the Crown and Te Ātiawa signed terms of negotiation. On 22 December 2012 the Crown signed an Agreement in Principle with Te Ātiawa which formed the basis for this settlement.

The Te Ātiawa Deed of Settlement was initialled on 4 June 2014 and signed on 9 August 2014. The settlement will be implemented following the passage of settlement legislation. On settlement the trustees of Te Kotahitanga o Te Ātiawa Trust (Te Kotahitanga), the post-settlement governance entity, will manage the settlement assets.

The Office of Treaty Settlements, with the support of the Department of Conservation, Land Information New Zealand and other government agencies, represented the Crown in day-to-day negotiations.

The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Christopher Finlayson, represented the Crown in high-level negotiations with Te Ātiawa.

From 1840, Te Ātiawa came under significant pressure to sell their land. In the 1840s and 1850s, Crown agents sought to purchase Te Ātiawa land, despite being aware of disagreement among Māori over land sales. By the mid-1850s, Crown purchasing had contributed to enmity and fighting within Te Ātiawa, resulting in the loss of life of some Te Ātiawa people. In 1860, the Crown deemed resistance to the survey of the Pekapeka block at Waitara, led by the Te Ātiawa rangatira Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake, to be an act of rebellion and commenced hostilities against him and his followers. A peace agreement was negotiated after one year of fighting.

Conflict resumed in 1863, and over the following two years a number of engagements were fought in the Te Atiawa rohe, resulting in the destruction of property and loss of life. In 1865, the Crown proclaimed 1.2 million acres of Taranaki land confiscated, including all of the Te Ātiawa rohe. The confiscations were indiscriminate in that they deprived both ‘loyal’ and ‘rebel’ Māori of the ownership and use of their lands.

In 1866 the Compensation Court began the process to return confiscated land to ‘loyal’ Māori. However, most of the readily usable land in northern Taranaki had already been granted to European settlers. By 1880 most of the Compensation Court’s awards to Te Ātiawa individuals had not been implemented. The compensation process created uncertainty and distress among the people of Te Ātiawa about where they were to live and whether they had security of title.

By the late 1870s, many Te Ātiawa people were supporting Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi and the movement for Māori peace and independence that they had established at Parihaka in central Taranaki. Between 1879 and 1880, many Te Ātiawa people participating in campaigns of peaceful resistance initiated at Parihaka were arrested and exiled to South Island prisons where they were detained in harsh conditions without trial. Some Te Ātiawa people who were arrested did receive trials but were then detained beyond the terms of their court-imposed sentences. Some died while in prison. In November 1881, Te Ātiawa people were displaced from Parihaka after more than 1500 Crown troops invaded and dismantled the settlement.

In the early 1880s, the West Coast Commissions investigated Māori grievances, including the failure to implement compensation awards, and returned a limited amount of land to Te Ātiawa. However, virtually all of the land granted to Te Ātiawa was under uncustomary individualised title, and much of it was rough or inaccessible. In addition, the reserves were not returned to Te Ātiawa outright, but were placed under the control of the Public Trustee, who then sold or leased in perpetuity large areas to European farmers. In 1963, the titles of all remaining Taranaki reserves were amalgamated, leaving owners without specific interests in customary land. Today, less than 5 percent of the area that was reserved for Māori is in Māori freehold ownership.

During the twentieth century, Crown efforts to address Taranaki Māori grievances failed. Some were limited in their scope, and others provided for compensation payments that were not discussed with Te Ātiawa and other Taranaki Māori. The Taranaki Māori Claims Settlement Act 1944 stated that the sums were a full settlement of claims relating to the confiscations and Parihaka. There is no evidence Te Ātiawa or other iwi agreed to this.

Te Ātiawa has also experienced significant distress at the degradation of their environment, including the loss of indigenous plants and animals, and the pollution of waterways and important offshore fishing reefs.

Cultural redress recognises the traditional, historical, cultural and spiritual association of Te Ātiawa with places and sites owned by the Crown within their primary area of interest. This allows Te Ātiawa and the Crown to protect and enhance the conservation values associated with significant sites.

Vesting of sites

The Deed of Settlement provides for Taumata Historic Reserve to be vested in fee simple to Te Ātiawa.

The Deed of Settlement also provides for the joint vesting of Ngā Motu/Sugar Loaf Islands in Te Kotahitanga and the Taranaki Iwi post-settlement governance entity. Ngā Motu are held within the Sugar Loaf Islands (Ngā Motu) Marine Protected Area, which is subject to the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area Act 1991. The area was also deemed a conservation area under the Conservation Act 1987. The islands will continue to be a conservation area and be managed by the Department of Conservation and public access will be maintained.

Overlay classifications

An overlay classification provides a very high degree of recognition and acknowledges Te Ātiawa’s spiritual, cultural, historical and traditional values in respect of a site. The site maintains its existing status but the Department of Conservation must consult and allow Te Ātiawa to have input into the management of the site to avoid harming these values.

The Deed of Settlement provides for the following overlay classifications:

• Pukerangiora Pa Historic Reserve
• Puketarata-Parihamore Historic Reserve
• Rimutauteka Scenic Reserve
• Waitara Scenic Reserve.

Statutory acknowledgements

A statutory acknowledgement recognises the association between Te Ātiawa and particular sites. Statutory acknowledgements are recognised under the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014. The acknowledgements require consent authorities to provide Te Atiawa with summaries of all resource consent applications that may affect the areas named in the following acknowledgements:

• Awa te Take Pa Historic Reserve
• Awa te Take Scenic Reserve
• Bayly Road Conservation Area
• Everett Park Scenic Reserve
• Herekawe Stream and its tributaries
• Huatoki Stream and its tributaries
• Huatoki Stream Marginal Strip
• Huirangi Recreation Reserve
• Katere Scenic Reserve
• Kowhangamoku Stream and its tributaries
• Mahoetahi Historic Reserve
• Makara Scenic Reserve
• Mangahinau Esplanade Reserve
• Manganui River and its tributaries
• Mangati Stream and its tributaries
• Manu Stream and its tributaries
• Motukari Stream and its tributaries
• Ngahere Scenic Reserve
• Ngangana Pa (being Manukorihi Recreation Reserve)
• Onaero River and its tributaries
• Papamoa (being Meeting of the Waters Scenic Reserve)
• Parahaki Stream and its tributaries
• Puketakauere Pa Historic Reserve
• Robe Street Conservation Area
• Sentry Hill Conservation Area
• Sentry Hill Redoubt Historic Reserve
• Tapuae Stream and its tributaries
• Te Henui Stream and its tributaries
• Te Henui Stream Conservation Area
• Waiau Stream and its tributaries
• Waihi Stream and its tributaries
• Waihowaka Stream and its tributaries
• Waiongana Stream and its tributaries
• Waiongana Stream Conservation Area
• Waipapa Road Conservation Area
• Waipapa Stream and its tributaries
• Waipu Stream and its tributaries
• Waitaha Stream and its tributaries
• Waitara River and its tributaries
• Waitara River No 1 Marginal Strip
• Waitara West Marginal Strip
• Waiwhakaiho River Mouth
• Waiwhakaiho River and its tributaries
• the coastal marine area from Herekawe Stream to Onaero River.

Deeds of recognition

Deeds of Recognition oblige the Crown to consult with Te Ātiawa and have regard to their views about the special association Te Ātiawa has with a site. They also specify the nature of Te Ātiawa’s input into the Department of Conservation’s management of the following sites:

• Awa te Take Pa Historic Reserve
• Awa te Take Scenic Reserve
• Everett Park Scenic Reserve
• Katere Scenic Reserve
• Mahoetahi Historic Reserve
• Makara Scenic Reserve
• Ngangana Pa (being Manukorihi Recreation Reserve)
• Papamoa (being Meeting of the Waters Scenic Reserve)
• Puketakauere Pa Historic Reserve
• Robe Street Conservation Area
• Sentry Hill Conservation Area
• Sentry Hill Redoubt Historic Reserve
• Waitara River No 1 Marginal Strip
• Waiwhakaiho River Mouth (Crown Land Conservation Area).

There is also a Deed of Recognition, signed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, in relation to Onaero River and its tributaries.

Place name changes

Seven geographic names will be changed through the Te Ātiawa settlement, including dual Māori–English names. The settlement legislation will, from the settlement date, provide for each of the names listed in the second column to be the official geographic name for the features set out in columns 3 and 4. East End Beach table below

Protocols

The Deed of Settlement provides for protocols to be issued by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, the Minister for Primary Industries and the Minister of Conservation. These protocols set out how the relevant government agencies will interact and consult with Te Ātiawa when carrying out duties and functions.

Relationship agreements

The Deed of Settlement provides for Te Ātiawa and the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (in relation to petroleum and minerals) to enter into a relationship agreement that outlines how these Crown agencies will interact with Te Ātiawa.

Memorandum of understanding

The Deed of Settlement notes that Te Ātiawa and the Ministry of Transport have entered into a memorandum of understanding to formalise an engagement agreement in relation to any future disposal by the Crown of the New Plymouth Airport. The memorandum is outside of the Treaty settlement but acknowledges Te Ātiawa’s cultural connection to the airport and commercial aspirations.

Letters of Introduction 

The Deed of Settlement provides for the promotion of relationships between Te Ātiawa and Crown agencies and museums. The Crown will write letters of introduction to these agencies.

This redress recognises the economic loss suffered by Te Ātiawa arising from breaches by the Crown of its Treaty obligations. The financial and commercial redress is aimed at providing Te Ātiawa with resources to help them develop their economic and social well-being.

Financial Redress

The Crown will pay Te Kotahitanga on settlement date $69,876,000, which is the financial and commercial redress amount of $87,000,000 less the following on-account payments:

• $400,000 paid to the Te Ātiawa Iwi Authority Board on 26 November 1999
• $16,724,000 paid to Te Kotahitanga on 15 May 2014.

The settlement also provides for a cultural fund of $985,000.

Commercial Redress

Landbanked Properties

Te Ātiawa will have the option to purchase, within a deferred selection period of one to two years from settlement date, 51 Office of Treaty Settlement landbanked sites.

Sale and Leaseback

Te Ātiawa has a deferred selection period of two years from settlement date to purchase and leaseback two non-surplus core Crown properties. These properties are the New Plymouth Court House and the New Plymouth Police Station.

Right of First Refusal

On settlement Te Ātiawa will have an exclusive right of first refusal over specified core Crown land for a period of 172 years. Te Ātiawa will also have a non-exclusive shared right of first refusal over core Crown land with Taranaki Iwi over a certain defined area.

Opportunity to Purchase any of the Waitara Endowment Lands 

The Waitara Endowment Lands are of historical and cultural importance to Te Ātiawa. The Deed of Settlement and the settlement legislation provides a mechanism to allow Te Kotahitanga and the New Plymouth District Council to enter into agreement to purchase any of the Waitara Endowment Lands. If agreement is reached the endowment land will transfer free of all statutory restrictions. This process is voluntary and there is no obligation on the parties to enter into any agreement for the sale and purchase of the Waitara Endowment Lands.

Local Government Participation 

The collective redress elements of the deed have been negotiated between the Crown, Te Ātiawa, Ngāruahine and Taranaki Iwi. Each iwi stressed their strong associations with all of the natural resources within their rohe and their desire to achieve more positive environmental outcomes for the Taranaki region. The Deed of Settlement sets out a proposed model for iwi representation on the two standing committees in the Taranaki Regional Council that perform the roles and functions associated with policy, planning and consents. This would provide the iwi of Taranaki with an opportunity to be represented at the decision-making table, influencing decisions that affect their rohe, and for the council and region to benefit from the experience and input of the iwi of Taranaki.