Minister gives formal Crown apology to Ngati Ruanui

Treaty Negotiations Minister Margaret Wilson today travelled to Pariroa Pa near Hawera to publicly read out the formal Crown apology to Ngati Ruanui of South Taranaki for acknowledged Treaty breaches. The acknowledgements and formal apology were included in the Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Bill which passed into legislation on 1 May.

Margaret Wilson said she was privileged to make the apology on behalf of the Crown, describing the occasion as both "important and solemn".

After reading the apology recorded in the Deed of Settlement, Margaret Wilson told those gathered at the Pa that the Government was committed to the ongoing restoration of its relationship with Ngati Ruanui.

"By making this apology, by returning key sites of significance to you, and by the payment of $41 million, the Crown has provided some compensation for its past actions."

"As important as that gesture is, it is equally important the Crown now makes good on its promises to be a better treaty partner in the future: That it actively assists Ngati Ruanui to restore its cultural, social and economic base, so all Ngati Ruanui can once again prosper and stand tall under the shadow of Taranaki maunga."

In honour of the event, Margaret Wilson presented Ngati Ruanui with two photographs, both of Ngati Ruanui on the steps of Parliament - one taken in the 1950s and the other taken earlier this year at the time of the third reading of the Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Bill.

ENDS

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