September 07, 2012
Sharples keen to address water hui
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples says he is looking forward to spelling out to next week’s national water hui what his party has done on the issue.
Mana leader Hone Harawira yesterday claimed the Maori Party was skipping the hui on the order of the Prime Minister.
But Dr Sharples says he will respond positively to a personal invitation from King Tuheitia to be at Turangawaewae Marae.
He says the hui he convened last month after the Waitangi Tribunal hearing on the New Zealand Maori Council-led water claim indicated there is more agreement on water rights than appears on the surface.
“The Iwi Leaders Group was there. So was the Maori Council, fresh after their claim, and so were other claimants and iwi who aren’t part of the Iwi Leaders Group on water. People aired their views and said we have groups communicating with the government on water”. he says.
Dr Sharples says a national settlement on water is impossible, but Maori and the crown should be able to agree on a single framework for settling water claims.