February 07, 2013
$60m Pūtea Raises Heat Of Tainui Debate
The chair of Tainui Group Holdings could be heading for a confrontation with the tribe’s chair over what should be done with Waikato-Tainui’s $70 million treaty settlement top-up.
Sir Henry Van Der Heyden told a hui-ā-tau at Turangawaewae Marae this week that the tribe’s structure reminded him of the dairy industry 20 years ago, when several cooperatives were at each other’s throats.
He says Tainui Group Holdings is being held back by the tribe’s complex governance structure.
The debate is being fuelled by the top-up, with Tainui’s Executive Chair, Tom Roa, suggesting the cash could be used to develop the iwi more directly at the hapū and mārae level.
Sir Henry says that is unwise.
"I think all the capital should end up in TGH but with that comes the responsibility to deliver back to the 63,000 tribal members so we need structures in place for that to actually happen," he says.
Sir Henry’s call for a simplified governance structure is in line with the views of the hui convenor, former Te Arataura Chair Tukoroirangi Morgan.
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