Ngāti Hāua Treaty settlement becomes law after nine‑year struggle

Central North Island iwi Ngāti Hāua has seen its Treaty of Waitangi settlement formally enacted in the New Zealand Parliament, closing a nine‑year chapter of negotiations with the Crown and delivering long‑sought pardons for two ancestors tried under martial law in the 1840s.

Hundreds of iwi members travelled to Wellington for the final reading of the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill, Te Pua o te Riri Kore. Emotions ran high in the public gallery as the legislation passed, making binding a redress package that iwi leaders describe as both overdue and hard‑won.

Outside Parliament, iwi trust chair Graham “Tinka” Bell told reporters he felt a mixture of relief and determination, saying the settlement finally gives the iwi “legal muscle” to protect its interests — “only the law can defeat the law”, he added.

The redress package includes $20.4 million in financial compensation, a $6 million cultural revitalisation fund and the return of 64 culturally significant sites across the upper Whanganui River region, along with the restoration of 15 original Māori place names. Settlement assets will be held by Te Whiringa Kākaho o Ngāti Hāua Trust, which will oversee investments in marae upgrades, reo and cultural programmes, and environmental restoration.

A central feature of the settlement is the statutory pardon of ancestors Te Rangiātea and Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu, who were convicted under martial law after conflict in the Hutt Valley in the 1840s. Mātene was executed and Te Rangiātea died in prison; five others were exiled to Australia. Those convictions will now be quashed, with the law explicitly recognising their mana and the injustice of the process they faced.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith told Parliament that “through this settlement, the Crown acknowledges its historical breaches of the Treaty,” and that the pardons are intended to honour the legacy of Ngāti Hāua tūpuna for future generations.