Coincidence can be a wonderful thing. In politics during the past few days, the signing or achievement of progress of several Treaty of Waitangi settlements has coincided with Maori sentiment that the Clark Government is not, perhaps, as much of a bogeyman as was thought when - say - the foreshore and beaches legislation was promoted and passed.
But only the cynical would think the sudden rush of settlements has anything to do with a general election or Labour Party hopes for as many minor party friends as it can gather should it be in a position to form a government.
Nevertheless, it has been commented upon freely in Wellington that the Government, or at least that part of it represented by the Minister of Treaty Settlements, Michael Cullen, seems to be thoroughly in "legacy" mode.
That is to say, the Government wants a few legislative and other trophies on the wall of Labour Party headquarters to hang alongside the stock portrait of Michael Joseph Savage.
The so-called "Treelords" settlement is the biggest for Maori since the 1992 Sealords fisheries arrangement.
It is also a significant new step in that it was a treaty settlement across several tribes, not just an individual tribe-Crown disposition.
If it is a precedent, then it is one which seems likely to open many new doors, for there are several generic claims before the Waitangi Tribunal for such things as the flora and fauna of New Zealand, the "airwaves", immigration policy and so on.
In addition, there are many district claims.
It also seems inevitable the accumulated payments involved will reach $1 billion and trigger the so-called "top-up" clauses in Waikato-Tainui and Ngai Tahu claims, which were among the first to be settled, and which include clauses for extra payments if the "cap" is passed.
The total amount committed to settlements by February this year stood at $817 million.
Seven central North Island tribes, about 100,000 people, have with the stroke of a pen now become the country's largest single forestry landowner, with 176,000ha of state-owned forest worth more than $400 million in land on which Kaingaroa and eight other Central North Island forests stand, in addition to rentals, and eventually, substantial carbon credits.
The forest lands are to be managed by a collective of the tribes, which are setting up a holding company and management structure.
The enshrining of Te Arawa's settlement in legislation, the initialling of the Raukawa (Bay of Plenty) deed of settlement, the signing of the Taranaki Whanui deal, and a formal offer to the Far North Ngati Kahu tribe give the appearance of considerable momentum to the settlement processes.
But, as we wrote four years ago, the business - more accurately, the expanding industry - of treaty claims and settlements will be endless, because of the hundreds of unsatisfied claims, demands for "extra" payments, counter-claims by competing tribes, and changing political attitudes; even the "Treelords" claim only settled that part of the various demands from the tribes involved.
It is also pertinent to note in respect of the Government's impatience that the "Treelords" settlement was negotiated without the prior publication of a historical account explaining precisely how the tribes were dispossessed of "their" land, without the Crown's acknowledgement of alleged treaty breaches, and without a formal Crown apology.
These matters are all yet to be fixed and the fact that they have not been is relevant to the Government's obvious desire to settle what can be settled as soon as possible before the election.
Political currents aside, we can only hope that these latest agreements represent a genuine exercise in reconciliation and will be accepted with both Pakeha and Maori goodwill.
By no means have the settlements reached so far produced the shining results so often proclaimed, however sincerely, for tribal members.
And let us not forget all those mostly urban New Zealanders who claim to be Maori but who are not members of tribes, who must look upon these settlements with nothing less than envy.
Those involved in the "Treelords" deal have made plain that only by the wise management of their assets will the tribes' children and those yet to be born benefit.
A solid foundation with a long-term investment has been established for the benefit of future generations: all will hope that none is wasted or frittered away.
