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The Greens are proposing changes to the Point England Enabling Bill to protect endangered birds and strengthen Treaty of Waitangi protections.
The Greens abstained on this week’s second reading of the bill, which will allow the government to sell more than 11 hectares of coastal open space at the Point England Reserve to Ngati Paoa to develop for housing.
Co-leader Metiria Turei says while her party sympathises with the tribe’s desire to re-establish itself on a traditional kainga, it couldn’t vote in favour of the scheme cooked up by Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith.
"This is a just another Nick Smith nightmare. Nick Smith and his people have decided this is a grand idea to sell this land. They are trying to cover their backs by doing a pseudo land deal with Ngati Paoa. Ngati Paoa genuinely and quite rightly want to have access to that land. It's just as messy as," she says.
Ms Turei says the Government’s response to Auckland’s housing shortage is to cause huge disruption to its low income tenants in places like Point England and Tamaki, rather than work with communities and iwi on constructive solutions.
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