September 19, 2013
Spectrum claimants disappointed by set back
Maori spectrum claimant Whatarangi Winiata says the Waitangi Triibunal’s refusal to grant an urgent remedies hearing on allocation of 4G spectrum just delays the inevitable settlement.
The tribunal says it can’t just pick up the previous claims, but must hear the claim from scratch.
That removes a potential impediment to next month’s auction of the 700 megahertz spectrum, which is needed for the next generation of mobile phone networks.
The tribunal says the Crown’s alternative to reserving spectrum for Maori, the offer of a $30 million fund for developing Maori use of information and communications technology, could be treaty compliant.
Professor Winiata says it’s no substitute for spectrum.
"It’s irrelevant really the $30 million. We've got to keep on the line that this is confiscation, and that at some point the nation will recognise that, and the cost to the nation will be a lot higher than if they take positive action now, come to an arrangement that has some signs of recognition of equality," he says.
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