Ngāti Toa Rangatira is the largest landlord of the Ministry of Education following a historic deal through its Treaty settlement.
The iwi has bought and leased back the land of 40 public schools in Porirua, Plimmerton, Pāuatahanui, and the Wellington area.
But the size of the deal means Ngāti Toa will not receive any income for the next 25 years due to loan repayments.
However, the cultural and commercial wealth for the iwi has two benefits according to Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chair Callum Katene.
“The benefit for our grandchildren will be wealth in years to come but the most important thing for Ngāti Toa is having our land returned.”
Katene admits the iwi still carries the hurt inflicted by the confiscations of land by Governor George Grey and his soldiers.
Securing whenua for future generations
Securing the deal forced Ngāti Toa Rangatira to reach out to lending partners and banks, asking for a large sum of money.
“The number of schools available to us is 68. We want to buy it all, which is valued at $350 million,” Katene says.
Despite becoming the largest landlord of the Ministry of Education, Ngāti Toa Rangatira is looking beyond potential spin-off benefits from its relationship with the sector, wanting to address racial issues in schools, and ensure the land is secured for future generations.
“Ngāti Toa has already worked alongside the Ministry of Education for our schools in our region and one of the many initiatives is to combat racism in school. This (treaty) claim, however, is to have our lands returned for our children and grandchildren,” Katene says.
Ngāti Toa is following in the footsteps of several other iwi, including Ngāti Whātua, which persuaded developers to build on the city centre land around the central railway station in Auckland (part of its Tiriti settlement), with the land staying rent-free for up to 30 years. That time came up in recent years, with rents being set and incomes finally flowing into the iwi.