September 21, 2012
Oil drillers told to team up with mana whenua
A Taranaki iwi representative has told delegated at the New Zealand Petroleum Summit that by oil and gas companies should work with Maori even if the area being exploited was not owned by them.
Toka Walden, who is also land manager for New Zealand Energy Corp, what’s important is who holds mana whenua, rather than who owns the land.
He says partnership arrangements with Maori can bring long term benefits to companies.
Fellow panelist Dayle Takitimu, the lawyer for Te Whanau a Apanui, warned them Maori are interested in exploration not just from an economic but also an environmental point of view, and companies should be honest and plain spoken with iwi if they did not want the relationship to get off on the wrong foot.