Pieri Munro, chair of post-settlement group for iwi and hap\u016b of Te Wairoa rohe (region), T\u0101tau T\u0101tau Te Wairoa Trust (TToTW), said there was \u201cabsolutely\u201d no reason for the Crown to \u201ctake that land away from us and give it to another iwi\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have continued to have access, we use those for mahinga kai (food and resource gathering), for hunting, we have access into those six reserve blocks, have done from history right up until now. But the decision by the minister\u2026 and by the Crown, is going to obliterate that interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Chair](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pieri-munro-JKV7WFIQVRB7RD2UY3SVLGL74U.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Chair of T\u0101tau T\u0101tau Te Wairoa Trust Pieri Munro. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
The reserves are currently managed under a shared agreement that includes the Department of Conservation, Ng\u0101ti Ruapani and Wairoa iwi and hap\u016b, said Munro.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the settlement passes in its current state, then these six reserves will fall under the control and the management of Te Urewera, Te Uru Taumatua, to which our rohe, ng\u0101 iwi and hap\u016b of te rohe o Te Wairoa have no seat at the board. That board has a majority held by Ng\u0101i T\u016bhoe and also a chair in perpetuity with Ng\u0101i T\u016bhoe. Ruapani has a seat at that table. We do not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munro said they have previously raised the issue with the minister and there has been \u201cconstant communications\u201d with both the minister and Ng\u0101ti Ruapani.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, there were at least three letters that went to Minister Goldsmith indicating our objection to this in terms of going under Te Urewera Board and his final one in August of last year indicated that was his final decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the second final decision that we\u2019ve had from the Crown. One back in 2018 when it was a full and final settlement, and now they\u2019ve given us another and basically confiscated the land and put it to another iwi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munro said their suggestion to have negotiations continue between them and Ng\u0101ti Ruapani over the management and control of the reserves were ignored.<\/p>\n
TToTW represents seven k\u0101hui (tribal groupings): Rongomaiwahine, Te Wairoa Tapokorau Wh\u0101nui, Ng\u0101 Tokorima a Hinemanuhiri, Te Hononga o Ng\u0101 Awa, Ng\u0101ti Rakaipaaka, Te Wairoa Tapokorau Mai Tawhiti, and Te Whakak\u012b Nui \u0101 Rua. <\/p>\n
The collective has called for the \u201cimmediate removal\u201d of the minister over the matter. <\/p>\n
‘The crown has to make a decision’<\/p>\n
Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said officials advised that this was the best course.<\/p>\n
![\"Treaty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/treaty-minister-paul-goldsmith-OFEIKNRK5ZDILLJB2LUPDEW64E.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy. I suppose we\u2019re left with a choice of not resolving things ever \u2013 and there are some instances where these overlapping claims have gone on for over a decade and we still haven\u2019t reached a resolution \u2013 so at some point the Crown has to make a decision and recognising that one side is not gonna be happy and the other side will be. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, ultimately, you go through as much consultation as you can and then, in this case, officials advised that this was the best course and I went with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was \u201cvery important\u201d to Ng\u0101ti Ruapani to have it as part of their settlement and it links in with the existing arrangement that the Crown has with Te Urewera. <\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, of course, as an outcome of all this, all New Zealanders will still continue to have access to these parts,\u201d said Goldsmith.<\/p>\n
‘Pitting us against each other’<\/p>\n
Kara Puketapu-Dentice, chair of Ng\u0101ti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, said in a statement to 1News that Wairoa iwi are long-settled iwi who had the opportunity to pursue any rightful claim to the areas in question.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs required by the settlement process, Ng\u0101ti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana engaged directly with T\u0101tau T\u0101tau o Te Wairoa and all neighbouring iwi, including hui in P\u014dneke, Wairoa, and at our marae in Waikaremoana. We acknowledged whakapapa connections to our rohe and welcomed wh\u0101nau from Wairoa to participate in caring for this whenua as members of our hap\u016b, in accordance with our tikanga and under the guidance of ahi k\u0101 (a cultural concept of continuous occupation).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are disappointed that engagement undertaken in good faith is now being misrepresented in an attempt to achieve through our settlement what was not achieved through their own. The hap\u016b of Waikaremoana has maintained ahi k\u0101 on this whenua for generations, that will not be undermined by those who had their own path and chose not to walk it.”<\/p>\n
Cordry Huata, a member of TToTW\u2019s kaum\u0101tua kaunihera (council), said they did not want to fight with their whanaunga (relations).<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I am T\u016bhoe, I am Ruapani, I am Kahungunu, and most of us are in that same boat, and we recognise what’s our Kahungunu position, we recognise what’s our T\u016bhoe position, and we don’t want to be divided, but this is just another way that k\u0101wanatanga takahia (government tramples) over our \u0101huatanga (ways), and it’s almost pitting us against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Munro said they did not object to Ng\u0101ti Ruapani settling their claims. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not stand in the way of Ng\u0101ti Ruapani\u2019s requirement and need to settle, we support that. What we object to is these six DOC reserves \u2013 of which we have overlapping interests \u2013 being taken away from us and given to another iwi.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deadline for public submissions on the legislation ends tonight at midnight. <\/p>\n
The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including why not to get complacent about storm warnings, President Trump threatens to blockade the strait of Hormuz, and Justin Bieber takes over Coachella. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Crown decision to include the transferral of six Department of Conservation reserves in a major treaty settlement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,4432,43,76216,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-376685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-maori-issues","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-te-tiriti-o-waitangi","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}