Taranaki uri travelled to Wellington to witness the second and third reading of a bill formally granting Taranaki Maunga and its companion peaks legal personhood.
Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passed into law following remarks made by members of Parliament in the house, unanimously commending the bill.
As agreed under Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo (Taranaki Maunga) Collective Redress deed, Taranaki and the peaks – Panitahi, Patuhā, Kaitake and Pouākai – are now a legal person called Te Kāhui Tupua.
It brings to a close nine years of negotiations between iwi and the Crown.
Iwi negotiator Liana Poutu said it was a day of celebration and remembrance of those who have passed on.
“Many of those who fought for the return of our maunga and the recognition of him as a tupuna aren’t here to see the fruits of that mahi, and so it’s a time for us to reflect but also an exciting time to move into this new phase of looking after our tupuna in a different way.”
Iwi members packed out the gallery and many more watched the moment unfold from a spill out room.
In the House, Treaty Minister Paul Goldsmith acknowledged the significance of the maunga to uri and spoke of the history of the Crown’s breaches.
“The Crown promised it will return to negotiate a collective redress today the Crown fulfils this promise,” he said, in reference to completing iwi settlements ahead of the Taranaki Maunga bill.
He said he looked forward to visiting Taranaki to deliver the Crown’s apology “in the near future”.
“This is a special day and it is an opportunity to right the wrongs of going back… 250 years to the renaming of the mountain and many, many events in between.”
What it means for Taranaki uri
Aisha Campbell (Ngāruahine) said it was important for her to be part of today’s event.
“Our maunga is what connects us and what binds us together as a people. We are all uri of Taranaki Maunga therefore this kaupapa it is an example of unison and it’s just a momentous occasion.”
She hopes that iwi will now have more of a presence on the maunga and involvement of what happens on Taranaki.
Te Aorangi Dillon, chief executive of Ngāruahine iwi, said it was an exciting time, but work will continue.
“Āe, pai tēnei pire, nē? He pai te pire engari i reira mātou, kei reira mātou, ka tae atu ki reira mō ake tonu atu. Nā reira, āe, kia haere tonu nga mahi.”
(“Yes, the bill is good, right? The bill is good, but we’ve [always] been [living under Taranaki Maunga], we are [living under Taranaki Maunga], and we will be [living under Taranaki Maunga] forever. So, yes, the work carries on.”)
Te Atiawa uri Dave Rogers has had a long association with the maunga over the course of his career as a senior ranger.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of Taranaki iwi treaty settlements throughout the Department of Conservation and so this one is another one where I get engaged and involved with because it’s serving my iwi interests.”
It’s important to attend the reading, said Rogers, because it’s a final part of a long journey that many of his predecessors at DOC was involved in. But for his iwi, it’s the beginning of the next chapter.
“When something’s coming back like this that we’ve been sort of disassociated with for a long time and all of a sudden we’ve been able to achieve this step to get it back, well, the work now starts on how do we continue to manage it and look after it as a special site that we believe it to be. There’s a lot of work ahead of us now for new governance structures setting up, and the ongoing keep and maintenance of this very special place, the maunga.”
Wharehoka Wano, chief executive of Taranaki Iwi, said it was important for uri to reconnect with Taranaki Maunga.
“I taku tipuranga kāore i tino haere ki te maunga, nā, ināianei ko ngā kaimahi ki runga i te maunga nō tātou tonu.”
(“When I was growing up we didn’t really go up the mountain, now, the mountain staff are our people.”)
He said the conservation work to do on the mountain, including pest control and reintroduction of native bird species, will be down to iwi.
“Koirā kei roto i o mātou ringaringa inaianei, no reira ko te kaitiakitanga kei roto i o tatou ringaringa inaianei.”
(“That’s now in our hands, so the katiakitanga is now up to us.”)
