新西兰英语 38 Waitangi Treaty Settlements

　　Yesterday, the government signed a bill which will give land to seven iwi (Maori tribes) in the central North Island. About 100,000 people make up these seven iwi. The land at the moment is owned by the government and includes forest. The value of the land and the rental¹ of forests are worth close to $500 million.
It has taken 20 years for this Treaty of Waitangi settlement which is an agreement by the government to give back land. It is Maori land that was taken by the government during the 19th century. The Waitangi Tribunal found that this land was taken unfairly. The Maori tribes have suffered a lot of grief at the loss of their land. These seven tribes claimed they had lost their land and they wanted it back.
The Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 guaranteed Maori the rights to their lands, forests, fisheries and all their treasures but some land was sold by people who did not own it. After the land wars in the 1860s, the government took some Maori land as punishment. Later, many Maori tribes lost control of their land because the government said land had to be owned by one person not by a tribe.
The Waitangi Tribunal is a court which meets to look at Maori land claims. Since 1992, the government has settled 22 Maori claims, at a cost of about $1 billion, but these seven iwi have been waiting for the last 20 years for their settlement.
Yesterday, nearly 800 Maori attended Parliament to see Michael Cullen sign the agreement. Michael Cullen is the Minister of Finance and also the minister who is dealing² with Treaty claims. Many Maori attending Parliament yesterday were crying because of the past suffering and also for the long time they have had to wait for their claim to be settled. Others were happy that at last, the government was doing the right thing.
The seven Maori tribes say they will use the money for all their people, for education and for jobs, especially in the forestry³ industry.

1 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。