September 21, 2012
Nga Motu hearings will bring out ignorance
A New Plymouth District Councillor isn’t expecting a smooth right for a proposal to return Nga Motu-Sugar Loaf Islands to tangata whenua, but believes it will go through.
The council has called for submissions on the plan to vest title in the islands to Taranaki and Te Atiawa.
Howie Tamati says that could be tough, even though public access will remain.
“My experience at council over the years, when Maori issues come up, some of the people that come to make submissions are sometimes quite difficult to listen to, their lack of knowledge and ignorance is sometimes quite painful, but it’s a process we are required to go through, are required to do,” he says.
Mr Tamati says Nga Motu is the traditional boundary between the iwi, and they have also served as a refuge in time of war.