01/04/2023
Taranaki Maunga Redress Package Signing
A fantastic and hugely significant milestone was achieved on Friday with the signing at Aotearoa Marae of Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo – The Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Deed – with ngā iwi o Taranaki and the Crown.
Te Ruruku Pūtakerongo recognises Taranaki Maunga, the national park Te Papa Kura o Taranaki and nearby peaks as ancestral mountains, which will jointly become a legal person, Te Kāhui Tupua. The deal involves cultural redress and restoring traditional ingoa Māori to many areas.
The agreement includes setting up a formal entity with iwi and crown appointees, Te Tōpuni Kōkōrangi, as the face and voice of Te Kāhui Tupua. Next, the settlement goes out to ngā iwi o Taranaki for their agreement.
We are grateful to the maunga negotiation team, which includes Taranaki Mounga Project board members Jamie Tuuta and Hemi Sundgren, for their commitment to reaching this milestone for those campaigners who have since passed, and for all of us.
Read more about the settlement in the Taranaki Daily News story here.