November 09, 2018
Battle lines drawn as Ngāpuhi votes
The technical advisor for mandated Ngāpuhi negotiating body Tūhoronuku is confident the vote for the evolved mandate will get over the line.
That's despite a vocal campaign by opponents throughout the consultation process run by Te Roopu Tūhono, which included rangatira from Tūhoronuku and Te Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū Ngāpuhi.
Online voting and marae voting booths opened today, and there will be a series of hui over the next month to collect hapū endorsements, starting in Whangārei this evening.
The target is 75 percent of individuals and 72 of the 110 hapū.
Mr Te Aho says what he has heard at more than 100 hui over the past four months is it is time for the iwi to move forward.
"This proposal provides the opportunity for hapū to negotiate directly with the crown and resolve the issues that have been long outstanding in relation to He Wakaputanga, in relation to Ngāpuhi not ceding sovereignty and in relation to a better future for Ngāpuhi so our people have everything to vote for and they make their own decisions in the privacy of their home or on their marae," Mr Te Aho says.
Meanwhile, Takahia te kaupapa – vote no is the message coming from the Ngāti Hine Rūnanga.
Chair Waihoroi Shortland says Te Roopu Tūhono made progress by accepting regional clusters should negotiate their own cultural redress, but it didn't have the courage to allow each taiwhenua to have its own commercial settlement.
"What happened in Hokianga is different to what happened in Bay of Islands, it's different to what happened in Whangaroa, in the mid-north and Whangārei. Each of those areas has laid out their historical claims and each one of them hold the view those claims should settle with them. This model refuses to go the one step further," he says.
The evolved mandate voting and hapū endorsement process runs until 7 and 10 December respectively, and come after 46 consultation hui in New Zealand and Australia, and more than 700 submissions.
Details on the final information hui and how to vote can be found at www.govt.nz/ngapuhi
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