Iwi leaders could pull back on threats to sue the Government over water rights if a deal can be done that would see $1 billion invested in water storage schemes.
It's set to be one of the biggest issues on the agenda for Māori leaders, who are meeting in Waitangi this week.
“Te Tiriti o Waitangi guaranteed certain rights to us and freshwater is a guaranteed right, the equivalent term in 1840 I guess was ownership," iwi leader Willie Te Aho told 1 NEWS today.
Mr Te Aho is proposing a partial solution to the long-running, politically fraught issue of Māori claims of water ownership.
In exchange for dropping legal action for five years, iwi chairs would ask the Government to increase an existing provincial growth fund that is tagged specifically for Māori land.
It would rise from $100 million now to $200 million, for $1 billion over five years.
The situation would then be reassessed in 2025.
“It gives us an opportunity to basically kill two birds with one stone - deal with the urgent needs of our lands and our people that are desperate for development assistance, and also make moves towards addressing rights and interests," Mr Te Aho says.
"And within that five years, we’ve either come up with solutions or it could be that those that wish to proceed back to court can proceed back to court and take that action."
Over the next couple of days, iwi leaders will vote on the proposal.
Shane Jones, the minister in charge of the fund, says he knows it’s a tough issue for iwi.
"I am very interested in the proposal that has been worked up," he told 1 NEWS.
"Something of that scale has to go to the Cabinet minister, but the challenge for Māori land owners is to operate in a way that the land is a lot more productive [and] generates jobs."
Mr Te Aho has already secured $16.5 million in water storage funding for his hapu at Raukokore, in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
If iwi leaders can get an agreement on this proposal, it'll be taken to the Prime Minister on Wednesday.
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