One of the contenders for a seat on the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust says the jailing of former trust chair Sir Ngatata Love is being used as a smokescreen by directors who want to keep the lid on what they are doing with the former Shelly Bay defence base.
James Wheeler was at the trust’s annual meeting on Saturday where Dr Love’s supporters won a motion calling on the board to cease its discussions with developer Ian Cassels and to allow members to determine the future of the land.
The trust says its joint venture with Mr Cassels’ Wellington Company to build 300 dwellings on the site complies with the trust deed, and a membership vote is not required.
The land has lost money since it was bought in 2009 after filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson showed plans for a joint development.
Those fell through because of a demand he give a $750,000 consultancy to Dr Love’s partner.
Mr Wheeler says It’s not about Dr Love, who is in jail for taking a payment that should have gone to the Wellington Tenths Trust.
"This has been blown out of proportion by some of the trustees who want to take the heat away form the Shelly Bay negotiations and Ngatata has nothing to do with this. We need to be back on song with our mahi doing the right things for the owners," he says.
The AGM also called for an independent review of the trust’s operations since 2009, which would cover other deals Dr Love instigated.
