Government talks with Ngai Tuhoe over Te Urewera National Park may canvass the ancestral mountain of the Ngati Manawa iwi in Bay of Plenty.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says that Mount Tawhiuau is not being ruled-in or ruled-out as a topic of discussion with Ngai Tuhoe, but all matters are on the table.
Mr Finlayson says all parties are very aware of the association Ngati Manawa has with its ancestral mountain, and if any future redress being considered relates to Mount Tawhiuau, the Government will discuss it fully with Ngati Manawa.
Late last month the Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell, asked in Parliament for the Government to ensure Mount Tawhiuau doesn't become part of the Tuhoe treaty settlement.
A part of the Ngati Manawa Claims Settlement Bill, Mount Tawhiuau, which is on the edge of Te Urewera Park just east of Murupara, will be returned to the tribe for a short time.
Ownership will then be transferred to the Crown, before it is gifted to the people of New Zealand.
