September 19, 2016
Maranga Mai scope undermined mandate
The chair of the body set up to negotiate Ngapuhi’s treaty claims says proposed changes to Tuhoronuku go far beyond what came out of a Waitangi Tribunal report on the mandate process.
Hone Sadler says the trustees Tuhoronuku put on a tripartite working group, along with the Office of Treaty Settlements and Te Kotahitanga o Nga Hapu o Ngapuhi, failed to represent the views of the organisation.
Those trustees, including lawyer Moana Tuwhare, last week demanded Tuhoronuku accept all the recommendations in their Maranga Mai report and give them the job of overseeing the transition to a new structure.
Mr Sadler says the tribunal report was used for a takeover attempt.
"Now if you read the Maranga Mai report it is a new mandate that is required. All the tribunal asked for is strengthening hapu participation, to have an exit clause and to ensure that hapu were taken care of in that process," he says.
Hone Sadler says outstanding issues in Maranga Mai that needed more work including urban Maori representation and the role of the new body Te Hononga Iti that will replace Tuhoronuku.
After their motion was voted down, trustees Moana Tuwhare and Sam Napia wrote to the Minister of Treaty Negotiations asking him to withdraw the mandate from Tuhoronuku.
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