Prime Minister John Key says despite a Waitangi Tribunal finding that rangatira did not agree to give up their sovereignty when they signed the Treaty in 1840, the Crown is now the body responsible for governing New Zealand.

Mr Key told Northland’s Te Hiku Radio that he hopes the tribunal’s Te Paparahi o Te Raki report won’t slow progress towards a settlement, because the north needs the money for economic development.

He says iwi have a role, such as co-governance of the Waikato River and input into planning decisions.

Mr Key says while there is debate about the translation of words like kawanatanga, the government is there to govern for all people.

"When we talk about the treaty and sovereignty and all those matters, you take a step back and say well what was really happening. In my view New Zealand was one of the very few countries in the world that were settled peacefully. Maori probably acknowledge that settlers had a place to play and bought with them a lot of skills and a lot of capital," he says.

John Key says the settlement process is necessary because the Crown failed to honour all its responsibilities under the treaty.