Minister meets landowners about Maungatautari

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson and local MP Louise Upston have had a very constructive and useful meeting today with local landowners which would help inform negotiations on the role of Maungatautari reserve in historical Treaty settlements, Mr Finlayson said.

“Maungatautari is a significant feature of the Waikato landscape and the site of a flagship conservation project,” Mr Finlayson said. “The native wildlife conservation project – the Maungatautari Ecological Island – enjoys extremely wide support from the public, authorities and iwi as well as government. This shared vision will inform the options we are exploring around the part the reserve land will play in Ngāti Koroki Kahukura’s Treaty settlement.”

The Crown owns Maungatautari reserve, which accounts for much of the land within the ecological island. Under the future settlement this land will keep its reserve status, including all existing guarantees of conservation values and public access. The Waipa District Council will continue to manage the area just as it does now.

The Treaty settlement will not affect the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust, which is a private trust, and will not affect the status of the Maungatautari reserve which will continue to be administered by the Waipā District Council.

“Ngāti Koroki Kahukura share the same aspirations for Maungatautari as the rest of the community,” Mr Finlayson said. “It is a sacred place to them, and they agree on the importance of the ecological island.”

The Government was elected with a clear target of settling historical Treaty settlements by 2014, in order to move on from the grievances of the past. Settlement with Ngāti Koroki Kahukura is an important step towards resolving historical claims in the Waikato region.