September 27, 2018
Little happy with Ngāpuhi process
A third round of consultation hui will be held next month on proposals to evolve the mandate for negotiating Ngāpuhi’s historic settlement.
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little says Ngāpuhi has engaged positively and constructively in the previous consultation rounds, and many innovative ideas and possible solutions to longstanding issues have come forward.
He says after attending 14 hui here and in Australia he is feeling positive about making progress.
"Since we started putting out a very bare bones proposal at the beginning of August more people, more hapu have been engaging over what it could mean, what it could look like, what needs to be added to it, what should be changed. You don't want to count your chickens and you don't want to get ahead of yourself. There's a long way to go yet. But I'm pleased we seem to be moving to a situation where a lot more hapū, a lot more Ngāpuhi people seem to see there is an opportunity here where they see their place and are prepared to pick up," Mr Little says.
The refined proposal will be available on October 5 and the hui will start a week later, with the deadline for submissions extended to October 23
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