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The Prime Minister says a Waitangi Tribunal hearing about how the crown granted a mandate to negotiate a settlement on behalf of Ngapuhi will simply delay a settlement.
John Key says there is nothing in the tribunal’s stage one report last week on Te Paparahi o Te Raki claims that needs to change the crown’s schedule.
The report confirmed the view of claimants that their ancestors did not give up their sovereignty by signing the Treaty of Waitangi.
The next step is the hearing into the mandate claim in the first week of December.
Mr Key told Te Hiku Radio that Ngapuhi is in line for a huge settlement, and any further obstacle to negotiations will just cost time and money.
"The vast overwhelming people who decided on the mandate for Ngapuhi agreed with the structure that has been established with Tuhoronuku and that was 76 per cent. And you will always get some groups who believe that they have the real mandate, and they don't acknowledge the mandated body. That is not new in treaty settlements, but in my view, Sonny Tau and his group have the mandate and should able to negotiate with the crown," he says.
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