September 05, 2012
Crown’s picks cause tension in Rangitane
Some Rangitane members say it shouldn’t be left to the Office of Treaty Settlements to determine who it should negotiate settlements with.
Ko Te Pou Marangatahi O Rangitane Ki Manawatu has asked the Waitangi Tribunal to look into the way the Crown has negotiated a draft settlement with Tanenuiarangi Manawatu Incorporated, without waiting for the tribunal to hear and report on the iwi’s historic claims.
Spokesperson Ra Durie says the traditional leaders of marae and hapu have been speaking out for years, but they have been ignored.
“It was the Crown who decided who should speak for iwi and hapu. It should be the people themselves who decide, not the Crown. That’s the key issue,” he says.
Dr Durie says if the Crown had a culturally sound process that included asking neighboring iwi who represented Rangitane; it would have a different view on the tribe’s leadership.