December 05, 2017
Ngati Whatua challenging history lessons
Ngati Whatua Orakei says it wants a substantive hearing on the history of central Auckland where any iwi can put its claims.
The Court of Appeal yesterday upheld a High Court finding that the hapu did not have exclusive rights to any part of the city when it came to land being offered for commercial settlement redress.
Spokesperson Ngarimu Blair says Orakei could now seek a Supreme Court review of that decision.
He says claims are settled by officials based on iwi submissions on their own history, rather than it being an open process.
"What the Court of Appeal said has blocked out potential to go the the High Court to have that full hearing on the history of central Auckland, have everyone's history tested and cross examined to say who has the greatest interest here, who has the mana rather than what we have now where we turn up to meetings and there are 19 people sitting around the table and we are all treated the same and we don't think that's right," Blair says.
Ngati Whatua will continue to lobby the crown and work with other iwi to challenge the treaty process.
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