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WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2003

Maori tribes were wrongly denied oil and gas royalties from a national petroleum reserve, a report from a New Zealand treaty commission has concluded.

The Waitangi Tribunal said the federal government breached its trust to Maori tribes for not paying the royalties. The report recommends holding off on future petroleum development until an agreement can be worked out.

Maori tribal leaders said the report bolsters their claim to the royalties but federal negotiators have already ruled out Maori ownership rights in the national reserve.

Get the Story:
Maori hail petroleum finding (ONE News 5/21)
Waitangi tribunal finds in favour of Maori oil claimants (The New Zealand Herald 5/21)
Oil and gas claims upheld (New Zealand City 5/21)
Maori petroleum claim decision (One News 5/21)
Maori MPs speak out on oil and gas (One News 5/20)
Clark rules out oil and gas for Maori (One News 5/19)

Relevant Links:
Treaty of Waitangi - http://www.archives.govt.nz/holdings/treaty_frame.html
Waitangi Tribunal - http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz
Treaty of Waitangi Links - http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Links/treaty.htm

Related Stories:
Legislation introduced to settle treaty claim (05/14)
N.Z. finalizes $42 million treaty settlement (03/27)
N.Z. plans to sign $42M treaty this week (3/25)