June 15, 2015
Auckland iwi off to High Court over new land grab
Housing Minister Nick Smith’s attempt to fast talk his way round treaty settlements in Tamaki Makaurau seem to have landed him in court.
Ngati Whatua and Waikato-Tainui have invited the government to join them in seeking a declaratory High Court judgment on how to interpret the right of first refusal.
Both say they are 100 percent behind the government’s goal to ensure more safe, warm, attractive and affordable homes are built in the Auckland region as soon as possible.
But they are concerned that some officials seem to be advising ministers that the guarantee tribes will be offered the land first does not apply when it is to be used for private housing developments.
Waikato-Tainui’s Tukoroirangi Morgan and Ngati Whatua’s Ngarimu Blair say iwi and the Crown should have learned from differences of opinion over the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi in the 19th and 20th centuries that it is much better to resolve differences of opinion early.
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