Plans to return 14 Auckland maunga, or mountains, to 13 iwi and hapu picked up pace on Thursday, with all but one of the Tamaki Collective initialling a Deed of Settlement with the Crown.
Ngai Tai ki Tamaki is still considering its position.
Under the agreement, the public will still have unfettered access to the maunga.
The next step is for the Crown and iwi to sign the settlement.
Before the deal becomes law, the proposed legislation will be scrutinised by MPs.
But another Hauraki iwi, which is not part of the Tamaki Collective, says the Crown's shut it out of negotiations over the maunga, or volcanic cones.
Ngati Hako says it has ancestral links to Mount Wellington, Mount Eden and One Tree Hill.
A spokesperson John Linstead says the tribe wants to be acknowledged in the deed.
He says the iwi wants the Crown to register Ngati Hako's customary and cultural interests in the Tamaki region - including some of the maunga included in Thursday's settlement.
In response, the Crown says it was not satisfied on the evidence presented by Ngati Hako that the iwi had cause for the redress over the maunga.
