Mo te wā tuatahi, ka whakahaerehia e te iwi o Ngāti Pāoa tētahi kaupapa whakanui mō te Rā o Waitangi ki Ōmaru, he whenua i hoki mai i te whakataunga kerēme a te iwi me te karauna i te mutunga o tērā tau.
“Kua roa te wā e noho ngū ana i roto i a Tāmaki Makaurau nō reira kua tae te wā kia whakanuia i a mātou o Ngāti Pāoa me tēnei whenua ataahua hoki,” hei tā Paerau Forbes o Ngāti Pāoa.
“Kia whai i te reo kia hoki mai ki te whenua o Ngāti Pāoa kia noho i runga i te whenua. Koirā tetahi wawata ō mātou,” hei tā Paerau anō.
I te mutunga o tērā tau mutu ai te whiriwhiri i te whakataunga o te kerēme, ā ka whakapaaha te karauna mo āna hara.
“I reira i noho pai ai ngā iwi katoa, heoi anō ko Ngāti Pāoa te mana whenua… kia manaaki i te tini, i te mano,” e ai ki a Hauauru Rawiri o Ngāti Pāoa.
“Ko te whenua i hainatia e ō mātou mātua tūpuna o Ngāti Pāoa i Te Tiriti o Waitangi,” hei tā Hauauru anō.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith attended the historic Ngāti Pāoa Waitangi Day celebrations.
The event, held in Auckland, marked the occasion shortly after the Crown concluded 14 years of Treaty negotiations with the iwi.
Hosted by Ngāti Pāoa at their ancestral land of Ōmaru, the public festival was a significant step toward renewing the relationship following the recent final reading of the settlement legislation in Parliament in November 2025.
“This land here is going to be so special a papakāinga, community housing, a marae that’s going to be served as a community hub,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said.
The settlement included a Crown apology, $23.5 million in redress, and the return of 12 cultural sites including the whenua where the Waitangi Day celebrations took place, creating a platform for the iwi’s future development.