Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Ngati Manuhiri has final settlement reading

Updated at 8:05 pm on 16 November 2012

The Treaty of Waitangi settlement bill for the Te Tai Tokerau hapu Ngati Manuhiri has had its third and final reading in Parliament.

Descendants were in Wellington to listen to MPs make statements on their Crown package.

However, the road to redress hasn't been smooth for the sub-tribe.

Some people from the Ngati Wai iwi complained the package would undermine their customary rights to Hauturu-Little Barrier Island - a position supported by the Green Party.

Under the legislation, Ngati Manuhiri will own Hauturu-Little Barrier Island for a week - before it's given back to the Crown.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei told MPs she doesn't believe the settlement is fair - because it's caused friction with the iwi Ngati Wai.

However, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Chris Finlayson, told the House that the people of Ngati Wai will get their turn to assert their rights to Hauturu-Little Barrier Island.

In her speech on the bill, National List MP Katrina Shanks focussed on the historical account of what happened to the hapu at the hands of the Crown - a story she told to her children.

She says they were totally appalled that the Crown could come along and take land from Maori - with no way of them getting it back.

The settlement includes commercial and financial redress worth $9 million, as well as the return of six culturally significant sites.

The hapu will also permanently own a portion of Hauturu-Little Barrier Island.

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