February 10, 2014
PM’s Waitangi sweetener leaves sour taste
A Ngapuhi hapu leader says the Prime Minister’s attempt to hurry along Northland claimants by offering an advance on settlement was unfortunate.
Ngati Hine’s Pita Tipene, who co-chairs Te Kotahitanga o Nga Hapu o Ngapuhi, says John Key’s Waitangi Day offer served to muddy the waters, with Ngapuhi Runanga chair Sonny Tau coming back with a demand for a half billion dollar settlement.
He says the Government’s focus should be on building relationships with the whole iwi, rather than trying to buy a mandate by propping up the runanga.
"There’s a saying up here, Te Whare Tapu O Ngapuhi, or the sacred house of Ngapuhi. We all know Ngapuhi is a confederation of hapu and unless hapu see themselves reflected in the foundations of that whare, there will not be a robust settlement in Ngapuhi," Mr Tipene says.
He says what the hapu are looking for is to move Ngapuhi forward through economic development , better education and jobs.
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