December 04, 2017
Ngati Whatua Orakei loses appeal on exclusivity
Hauraki iwi have welcomed a Court of Appeal decision rejecting Ngati Whatua Orakei's assertion of exclusive Treaty rights across central Auckland.
The court upheld an earlier High Court ruling.
The Ngati Whatua challenged the Crown's Treaty settlements with Marutuahu and Ngati Paoa, and it has threatened to take action against the Treaty settlements of other Auckland iwi if they include settlement properties in what Ngati Whatua considers its heartland.
The Court of Appeal found Ngati Whatua Orakei signed both its settlement deed and the Tamaki Collective deed knowing that neither gave it an exclusive right in respect of any of the land available for commercial redress.
Marutuahu Collective chair Paul Majurey said today's court ruling confirms yet again the rights of all the Auckland tribes who came together in 2009, including Ngati Whatua Orakei, to form the Tamaki Collective in recognition of their many shared interests and rights.
He says Auckland has many mana whenua and no one tribe has superior and exclusive rights over the others.
Mr Majurey says Ngati Whatua is using the financial clout it gained from its own settlement, which was supported by Marutuahu, to try and muscle out other iwi through protracted legal challenges.
Marutuahu and other iwi have continued to work with Ngati Whatua Orakei on other issues, such as meeting with Ministers on the America's Cup project.
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