December 19, 2019
Samuels drops application for Ngapuhi review
Peace may have broken out in the Ngāpuhi Rūnanga, with chair Mere Mangu and former MP Dover Samuels withdrawing their joint application for a Māori Land Court review of the organisation’s structure and finances.
It follows confirmation by the rūnanga board of Ms Mangu as the chair in the wake of the sudden resignation of Sonny Tau in October, and the court ruling it had jurisdiction to hear the application.
Mr Samuels says agreement has been reached that a review can go ahead without court intervention.
He says his objection was based on being refused permission to check whether his name and those of his whānau were still on the beneficiary roll, which he saw as an attack on democracy.
"I think it’s incumbent on any structure that says they support and they represent 150,000 people is to have a clear democratic process whereby all beneficiaries of Ngāpuhi have the opportunity to vote for their leadership. That is the constitutional change that is in mind as far as I am concerned," he says.
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