May 13, 2016
Sovereignty on menu for Tau
An advisor to the Iwi Chairs Forum says Sonny Tau’s status as an iwi leader shouldn’t be diminished by his convictions for shooting protected kereru and then attempting to pass the blame on to a relative.
Mr Tau pleaded guilty in the district court at Invercargill on Monday and will be sentenced next month, with the judge indicating that should total $25,000 in fines, 100 hours of community service and a curfew.
The Ngapuhi Runanga says it is considering whether Mr Tau can return to serve out his time as chair.
But Willie Te Aho says Ngapuhi is caught by its acclamation for a Waitangi Tribunal finding that it did not cede sovereignty by signing the Treaty of Waitangi.
"Don’t hold him to account to Pakeha law that you don't acknowledge. No crown official consulted with us in terms of the harvesting or not harvesting of those species, so what I say to my brethren in the north is that you can't champion the laws that don't apply to you and then try and use those same laws to have a go at Raniera Tau," he says.
Willie Te Aho says Mr Tau has done the most important thing in Maori terms, which is go down and apologise to Ngai Tahu for hunting in its rohe without permission.
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