September 11, 2012
Wind claim not official Ngapuhi policy
Ngapuhi chair Sonny Tau has denied reports he is part of a Waitangi Tribunal claim to wind.
The claim has been proposed by Ngapuhi maverick David Rankin, who says it’s similar to the New Zealand Maori Council-led claim for water.
Mr Rankin says his Te Matarahurahi hapu believes wind is a taonga, and it wants a share in the revenue generated by any state-owned wind farms.
A spokesperson for the Waitangi Tribunal says no claim has been received yet.
Mr Tau says it would not be an official Ngapuhi claim.
He says it’s good to have a discussion about what happens when the Crown creates and assigns individual property rights, such as what’s happened with fisheries quota and what is happening with the water – but it remains to be seen if the same principles apply to wind.