The Ngāti Pāoa Treaty settlement came into effect yesterday, aligning with the date several Ngāti Pāoa rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Karaka Bay on 4 March 1840.

The settlement includes a Crown apology, financial redress of $23.5 million, and the vesting of 12 culturally significant sites across the region. It also provides statutory acknowledgements and formal recognition of Ngāti Pāoa associations with maunga and places across Tāmaki Makaurau and Tīkapa Moana / the Hauraki Gulf. Several Crown protected areas will adopt Māori or dual names, including in Pūkorokoro / Miranda and Te Haupa Island (Saddle Island).

The Ngāti Pāoa Claims Settlement Act 2025 gives effect to a Deed of Settlement signed in 2021. It received Royal Assent in November last year and settles historical claims arising from Crown actions prior to 21 September 1992. It is the first historical Treaty settlement in Auckland since 2018, part of a wider programme of settlements completed and still to come in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Ōmaru (formerly Point England Reserve) is among the sites vested in the iwi. The settlement enables Ngāti Pāoa to establish a marae at Pāoa Whanake and papakāinga housing at Hine-nui-o-te-paua, overlooking the Tāmaki River and the Hauraki Gulf. A joint management arrangement is already in place at Ōmaru, with shared stewardship of the public reserve and ongoing public access.

Auckland Council’s Tumuaki Huanga Māori / Director Māori Outcomes Nicholas Turoa said the settlement supports the growth and development of Ngāti Pāoa and strengthens the council’s ongoing relationship with the iwi. Mayor Wayne Brown has written to Ngāti Pāoa acknowledging the settlement and reaffirming the council’s commitment to work together on shared priorities.

The agreed historical account records extensive land loss through early Crown purchasing practices and the operation of 19th-century native land laws. One example cited is the 1841 Crown purchase of land at Kohimarama for £100 and goods, which was later subdivided and sold at much higher values without reserves being set aside for Ngāti Pāoa despite prior assurances. Over time, Crown purchases and public works takings left the iwi largely landless in the wider Tāmaki area. The settlement formally acknowledges these grievances.

Ngāti Pāoa’s rohe extends along the western shores of Tīkapa Moana / the Hauraki Gulf and the eastern parts of Auckland, from Te Aroha to Warkworth, including Waiheke Island and across to the Coromandel Peninsula.