March 18, 2013
Ngapuhi still duelling over Tuhoronuku mandate
As hearings resume on Te Paparahi ō Te Raki claims, northern leaders are still at odds over how any historic settlement will be negotiated.
Words are flying over the process to get a mandate for Tuhoronuku, a subcommittee set up by Te Rūnanga ō Ngapuhi to represent claimants.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson has set a timetable and work plan for resolving issues over Tuhoronuku's mandate, which is being contested by Te Kotahitanga, which represents some of the leading hapū.
Ngapuhi kaumatua Dennis Hanson says Tuhoronuku has done enough to show it can represent the whole iwi.
"76 percent of Ngapuhi that voted, as not all of Ngapuhi voted. We know that not every Māori votes anyway, but 76 percent of those that voted, voted for Tuhoronuku so it accept that graciously and let's work together graciously, integrated on behalf of all of Ngapuhi for Ngapuhi," he says.
But one of the Ngapuhi Rūnanga's most persistent critics says Tuhoronuku has not been able to generate sufficient support, despite the million dollars spent by the rūnanga promoting it.
Peter Tipene from Te Kotahitanga says since the mandating election in 2011, hapū have continued to resist.
"The fact of the matter is if you look at any other iwi who have settled and got a mandate, they are in the range of 99, 98, and 97 percent so if anyone is going to say that 76 percent of the biggest iwi in the country is a mandate they're kidding themselves. What's more is the Crown knows this and if it was such an overwhelming mandate, why didn't Chris Finlayson sign it off immediately," he says.
Mr Tipene says there is still room for compromise, as long as the parties keep talking to each other.
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