November 16, 2016
Waitara venue for NPDC Land Bill / Waitara hearings
The Maori Affairs Select Committee has received so many submissions on the New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill it is scheduling two days of hearing in Taranaki.
The bill will enact a controversial deal between the council and Te Atiawa negotiators that will return some council land to the iwi while allowing homeowners to freehold their leased sections.
The committee received 114 submissions on the bill, with 53 people wishing to be heard.
The the first round of submissions will be heard tomorrow at the Novotel Hotel in New Plymouth, with the hearing open to the public.
The second hearing will be in Waitara in early 2107.
Committee chair Tutehounuku Korako says the committee will also offer dates to be heard in Wellington either in person or by teleconference if submitters are unable to attend these two dates.
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