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A long running campaign by elements of south Taranaki hapu Ngati Tu to carve out land from Paraninihi ki Waitotara has foundered in the Maori Land Court.
Judge Layne Harvey has ruled he has no power to order the return of a 38-hectare block in Winks Rd near Manaia to Ngati Tu Hapu Whenua Topu Trust.
Trust chair Hori Manuirirangi argued his hapu were the rightful ancestral owners, and he has blocked the giant incorporation from farming the land.
Judge Harvey says while there is a complicated and bitter legacy of dispossession and disempowerment for the tribes of the region, PKW is the owner of the land and has the sole right to determine its use.
He asked for further submissions on costs.
PKW says the fight with Mr Manuirirangi has cost it more than $300,000 over the past decade which has been borne by shareholders, who include Ngati Tu.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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