Te Arawa iwi have recently negotiated two Treaty claim settlements with the Crown.  They are also eligible for a share of the proceeds from the Maori fisheries settlement.

Lakes Settlement

The Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act, signed by the Governor-General on 25 September 2006, benefits all members of Te Arawa.  It includes:

• Cultural redress including the return to Te Arawa ownership of the beds of 13 lakebeds in the Rotorua area, to be vested in a new Te Arawa Lakes Trust which has replaced the Arawa Maori Trust Board;
• Financial redress of $2.7 million to recognise economic loss;
• Annuity redress’ of $7.3 million (capitalising an annuity Te Arawa already receive from an earlier claim settlement); and
• Participation in ongoing management of the lakes through appointing 2 of the 6 members of the new Rotorua Lakes Strategy Group.

Lands Settlement

Te Arawa’s non-lakes Treaty claims are dealt with in another Deed of Settlement.  It was signed on 30 September 2006 between the Crown and Nga Kaihautu o Te Arawa Executive Council, representing 11 iwi and hapu.

The cultural redress includes the return of 19 sites totalling 675ha, including the Whakarewarewa Thermal Springs Reserve.

The main component of the financial redress is $36 million which will be used to ‘purchase’ specified parcels of Crown forest land (excluding trees and improvements) at market value.  They will then receive the accumulated Crown forest rentals on this land.  Te Arawa will have another 6 months to purchase some or all of the balance of the 50,000ha.  The 50,000ha of forest has been valued at $175 million.

Te Arawa will also have a two-year right of deferred selection over selected Crown-owned commercial properties and geothermal assets at market value.

This settlement has yet to be ratified by the iwi and implemented through legislation.  It will be for the benefit of the 20,000 people represented by Nga Kaihautu.  Other Te Arawa groups are pursuing their Treaty claims separately.

Fisheries Settlement

As well as these onshore settlements, in September 2006 Te Arawa were also allocated $23.6 million from Te Ohu Kaimoana as their share of the Waitangi Fisheries claim.  The mandated iwi organisation, Te Kotahitanga o Te Arawa Waka Fisheries Trust, represents 11 Te Arawa iwi.