November 01, 2012
Tuhoronuku gets behind new Ngapuhi mandate push
Ngāpuhileader Sonny Tau says his rūnanga will work with Crown officials to ensure the body set up to negotiate the tribe's historical claims is as representative as possible.
An opposition group, Te Kotahitanga, has already rejected the latest proposal by Treaty Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson to break the 18-month impasse on who has the mandate.
Mr Tau says the rūnanga is prepared to make changes to the negotiating body it set up, Te Rōpū ō Tuhoronuku, to ensure it is completely independent from the rūnanga.
He says Te Kotahitanga insistence that only hapū should have a say flies against reality.
"My ancestors didn't sign the Tiriti ō Waitangi for their hapu. They signed it on their rangatiratanga. They didn't have to have the hapu ok to go ahead and do this and do that. That's a different type of leadership. Us leaders today have to ensure that every Ngāpuhi has an equal opportunity to benefit from the grievances that we will be settling with the Crown," Mr Tau says.
He says the minister's proposal that the Tuhoronuku be expanded to include four urban seats, which Te Kotahitanga opposes, acknowledges the reality that most Ngapuhi members live outside Te Tai Tokerau, and many of them don't know which hapu or marae they came from.
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