September 25, 2012
Unity in difference over water options
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English will be hoping for a good turn-out at his fourth water consultation hui in Te Kuiti today, as he tries to tick the boxes to allow the Government to sell shares in Mighty River Power.
The hui are only to gauge iwi views on the suggestion by the Waitangi Tribunal that some sort of enhanced share allocation could satisfy Maori interests in water.
Raukawa and Ngati Maniapoto are expected to present a wider view on why they should have more say on the way the region’s rivers and lakes are managed.
Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia says there is unity among Maori that now is the time to sort out long-standing water issues, regardless of what is happening with state asset sales.
“None of us should doubt the unity of purpose, and when we come together, that’s what it is. It’s not about all having the same idea about how to do it, but we know that the water is and the most significant issue that will confront us as a people. It’s not about ownership but it is about our rights, our responsibilities our obligations to look after the water in our rohe and we’ve always been denied that option,” Mrs Turia says.