Listen Now: 
The Chair of Te Rarawa says the row over a supersonic car on Ninety Mile Beach has lit a rocket under the plans to give Far North iwi control of the beach.
Far North District Council has apologised to the iwi for failing to consult over its granting consent to the BBC Top Gear programme to close off the beach to film the high speed car.
Haami Piripi says now iwi have been drawn into the project, the council realises it acted inappropriately.
”When they made their faux pas of approving this event without involving all the iwi, they allowed us the opportunity to explain and to show how iwi perspectives, introduction of cultural capital and local kaitiaki – people of the beach could make all the difference. What that did was then show the council themselves the intricacy of the new beach board that we had agreed on in our treaty settlement process,” he says.
Haami Piripi says the beach board will have an equal split between the council and mana whenua, and it will be chaired by an iwi representative.
Copyright © 2013, Uma Broadcasting Ltd
RELATED NEWS
