October 05, 2012
Tauranga iwi keep focus on clean-up
The chair of Ngaiterangi says iwi in Tauranga want to keep the focus on cleaning up after the Rena disaster, rather than be distracted by talk of compensation.
A year on from the grounding of the cargo ship on the Astrolabe Reef, Charlie Tawhiao says oil is still a constant presence on the coast.
He says while iwi still have differences on some tribal issues, on the moana they are united.
“I think it started as a statement made by the people of Motiti in the very early stages when we have teams going over and we were worried about the people. One of their rangatira have said ‘don’t worry about us and don’t cry for us, cry for our moana,’ that has focused everyone’s attention on what really matters and that restoring our moana to its former pristine state,” Mr Tawhiao says.
Talk about money and compensation just highlights the limited investment that has gone into the clean up so far.