Aotearoa / New Zealand

The Treaty of Waitangi settlement for Taranaki Maunga passed its second and third reading in Parliament on Thursday.

Around 400 people from the eight iwi of Taranaki - Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Tama, Taranaki iwi and Te Ātiawa - were at Parliament to see the settlement become law.

The Crown profoundly apologised for its confiscation of Taranaki Maunga and almost half a million hectares (1.2 million acres) of Taranaki lands in 1865.

As part of the settlement Mt Egmont will cease to be an official geographic name. The name of the national park, currently called Egmont National Park, will become Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki (meaning the highly regarded and treasured lands of Taranaki), while the highest peak will be Taranaki Maunga.

The park and its contents will be vested as a legal person, its peaks will be named Te Kāhui Tupua - so the park will effectively own itself. But Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, a collective of both iwi and Crown representatives, will manage the park and develop plans which will be approved by the Conservation Minister.