$150 million for not settling!

Stuff reports:

Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has announced a new $150 million Crown investment fund to cover Ngāpuhi Treaty negotiations.

Little said it would be operated by the Crown for the benefit of Ngāpuhi.

The purpose would be to make a return on the money while long-running, and delayed, negotiations continue with the hapū of the northern iwi.

This is bizarre.

By effectively granting the money up front, this removes the incentive to actually do a Treaty settlement. The fact that other Iwi have had their settlements and profiting from them acts as an incentive to settle.

I’m 100% in favour of Ngāpuhi receiving a large settlement for the wrongs done to them by the Crown. But the settlement needs to be, well, settled.