August 20, 2020
COVID caution stymies kaumātua hui
COVID-19 restrictions means a planned sit-down between Tauranga Moana and Hauraki kaumātua has been postponed for a second time.
Ngāi Te Rangi Settlement Trust chair Charlie Tawhiao says the hui was part of mending the fractured relationship between the iwi groups caused by the Crown's approach to treaty negotiations.
Ngāi Te Rangi has opposed Pare Hauraki being given a seat on a board overseeing Tauranga Harbour, despite its interests in land at the north of the catchment, and at it being allowed to buy settlement properties in the Katikati block.
Mr Tawhiao says a kaumātua-only hui was a way to focus on tikanga and whanaungatanga, instead of differences.
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