By Niki Partsch 

A soon to be ratified deal between the Taranaki Maunga Collective and the Crown is poised to bring an end to 158 years of Crown ownership in a redress of an 1865 breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

In 1865, in a clear breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Crown confiscated 1.2 million acres of Taranaki land, including Taranaki Maunga (Mt Taranaki).   

The deal which takes the form of a deed of redress, Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo, has been negotiated over six long years. Under the deed there will be shared governance and management of the maunga, and the Egmont National Park will be renamed Te Papakura o Taranaki. The peaks of the national park will be recognised as ancestral mountains which will jointly become a legal person, known as Te Kāhui Tupua.  

Under the agreement, which was initialled at Aotearoa Marae, Okaiawa in April, Te Kāhui Tupua would legally own itself but be governed jointly by representatives of the eight iwi of Taranaki and the Crown in a body called Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi. Half would be appointed by the Crown and half by iwi, thereby equally representing both Treaty partners and will replace the current Conservation Board as the governance entity.  

Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation will continue operational management of the park following the operation management objectives as set by Te Tōpuni Kōkorangi  

Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi will operate under Ngā Pou Whakatupua – a set of values reflecting the cultural, spiritual, ancestral and historical relationships between Ngā iwi o Taranaki and Te Kāhui Tupua.  

The redress also includes a historical account, a Crown apology, financial redress, access to cultural minerals and plants, repeal of the Mt Egmont Vesting Act, and official geographic name changes. Public access to Taranaki would be guaranteed.  

The deal must be ratified before it can become law. All eight iwi had included the maunga as part of their settlements, however negotiations were paused until they had all settled their historic claims. Members of the region’s eight iwi will vote as part of a formal ratification process once the legislation has been formalised by the Government.