The Agreement in Principle between the Crown and Te Rarawa was signed on 7 September 2007 at Waipuna Marae in Panguru. A copy of the Agreement in Principle can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Background Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa entered into an Agreement in Principle with the Crown to settle all of Te Rarawa’s historical Treaty claims. Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa represents approximately 15,000 people, 31 hapū and 23 marae of Te Rarawa iwi. The area in which Te Rarawa claim interests extends from the northern Hokianga Harbour to Hukatere on Ninety Mile Beach and eastwards to Maungataniwha peak.
This milestone has its roots in the actions of Dame Whina Cooper, who led the Land March in 1975 from Te Hapua in the Far North to Wellington to protest against the loss of Māori land. Dame Whina later lodged the Wai 128 Hokianga Lands and Waters claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. Te Rarawa are also one of the iwi associated with the Wai 45 Muriwhenua Lands Claim that the Waitangi Tribunal reported on in its 1997 Muriwhenua Land Report. Te Rarawa’s claims relate primarily to the Crown's resolution of old land claims, pre-1865 land purchases by the Crown, the operation and impact of the Native Land laws, twentieth century land administration, and natural resource issues.
On 15 March 2002 the Crown recognised Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa’s mandate to negotiate the settlement of Te Rarawa’s historical claims. Negotiations on the settlement package commenced with the signing of Terms of Negotiation on 5 December 2002.
On 7 September 2007 the Crown and Te Rarawa signed an Agreement in Principle. The Agreement in Principle is a non-binding document that outlines the settlement redress offer negotiated between the two parties. It includes: summary headings of the account of the historical interaction between the Crown and Te Rarawa that led to breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles; a cultural redress package; and a financial and commercial redress package.
Negotiations have been lead by an elected Negotiation Team comprising Joe Cooper, Paul White, and Haami Piripi. The Negotiation Team has been supported by former Chairpersons of Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, Gloria Herbert and Malcolm Peri, along with Kevin Robinson and Catherine Davis. The Crown team is led by the Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Hon Mark Burton, and was formerly led by his predecessor Hon Margaret Wilson. The Crown team includes the Office of Treaty Settlements, and is supported by the Department of Conservation, Land Information New Zealand and other government agencies.