November 06, 2012
Spectrum claimants heading back to Waitangi Tribunal
Māori claimants are going back to the Waitangi Tribunal to boost their case for a share of spectrum freed up by the shift to digital television.
Communications Minister Amy Adams is believed to be considering auctioning off the 700 megahertz spectrum to companies building 4G mobile networks, with analysts picking it could add between $400 million and $1 billion to the government offers.
A hui of claimants and national Māori organisations in Levin heard that talks with Ms Adams rejected the idea spectrum was a taonga, as the Waitangi tribunal has previous ruled.
Hui chair Whatarangi Winiata says the claimants will seek an urgent hearing by the Waitangi Tribunal on whether they have a treaty right to secure a fair share of the resource, including management rights to spectrum, in order that Maori people, language and culture will survive in the new technological age and beyond.
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