December 11, 2017
Little ear boosts Ngapuhi spirits
Te Kotahitanga co-chair Pita Tipene believes last weekend was a watershed for the Ngapuhi claim.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little held six hui over the two days to hear from hapu representatives about how they would like to see the parties move towards settling historical claims.
Mr Tipene says there was a message hapu had not given up sovereignty either to the crown or to Tuhoronuku, the body set up to the negotiate the settlement.
While some wanted the mandate taken off Tuhoronuku, others wanted the mandate to evolve, probably in line with recommendations in the Maranga Mai report to give hapu more say.
"There was a strong feeling of people wanting to move forward. They were able to talk to the minister and express that and say we want to move forward quickly. We want to move forward in the right way. We do not want to pass our claims down to future generations to go through a settlement process. We want it done now and we have gone long enough. We want to bring it to a close with you and your government,'" Mr Tipene says.
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