According to the Dominion Post, Tuwharetoa paramount chief Tumu te Heuheu is optimistic the "Treelords" forestry deal between the Crown and central North Island iwi will be signed in June.

Mr te Heuheu said the signing ceremony for the biggest Treaty settlement - worth about $500 million - would be a huge day for Maori.

The Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Michael Cullen, said yesterday the Crown and the iwi collective had reached agreement on the iwi-developed proposal to settle the historic Treaty of Waitangi claims.

The combined iwi proposal was formally presented to Dr Cullen by Mr te Heuheu at a handover ceremony at Little Waihi Marae, on the shores of Lake Taupo, last month. The proposed deal involves Maori assuming ownership of 170,000 hectares of forest valued between $170 million and $190 million and about $248 million being paid to the claimants from Crown Forestry Rental Trust funds.

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