Settling all treaty claims by 2014 is achievable, but if some roll over into 2016 then "that is the way the cookie crumbles", Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said today.
He told Parliament's Maori affairs select committee that National's attempt to settle all historical claims by 2014 was not for the sake of the Government, but a good faith aim for the benefit of iwi.
There were constraints at the Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) that meant it was not possible to deal with all claimants at the same time.
Mr Finlayson later told NZPA 2014 was "ambitious, but also achievable" with the continued goodwill of both the Crown and claimants.
"It is more important that claims are settled properly, with the full agreement of both negotiating parties. Anything less and settlements may not prove durable. The last thing we would want is to relitigate these issues in another 20 or 30 years," Mr Finlayson said.
"If it happens that a settlement remains unresolved in 2014 and will spill into 2015 or 2016, then that's the way the cookie crumbles."
There are about 60 claimants, though the Government hopes that some of these can be rolled together to reduce the overall number.
Many of these are at different levels of preparation with some still unable to even negotiate.
Mr Finlayson said there was a high level of engagement with about 20 groups.
Constraints existed not only on the Government side but also with iwi who needed help to prepare for claims.
"There are limits on OTS's ability to find and absorb new staff and resources - organisations can't simply double in size overnight and keep operating as effectively," Mr Finlayson said.
The budget provided for an extra $22.2 million in operating funding over four years to allow the Office of Treaty Settlements to conduct more negotiations faster.
"It will allow the OTS to conduct more concurrent negotiations at a greater pace, as well as the resources to provide more facilitation and mediation assistance to claimant groups. It will resource more independent facilitators (like Sir Douglas Graham) and Crown negotiators at a high level (like Paul Swain and John Wood)."
The Government also recently announced up to $3 million a year to help claimant groups.
