December 11, 2020
Mau Whenua shocked by loss of Wingnut welfare
A member of a group trying to block an iwi-backed development at Wellington’s Shelly Bay says the loss of litigation funding from filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson’s Wingnut Productions was a shock.
Anaru Mepham says Mau Whenua continues to occupy the former defence force base and is looking for ways to raise the $2.2 million needed to fight the case in the High Court next March.
Mau Whenua believes Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust had no right to sell the land, which it bought for commercial development with treaty settlement funds, to developer Ian Cassels.
Mr Mepham says it has also asked the Waitangi Tribunal for an urgent hearing on the issue.
"There are ways of moving around the High Court. We just have to get some advice and do some thinking. The loss of the pūtea to proceed to the High Court was a bit of a shock and it is taking us a day or two to figure out where we go but the fact of the matter is we are occupying Marukaikuru and we fully intend to pursue this," he says.
Since freeing up its cash from Shelly Bay, the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust has more than doubled its assets through other investments and developments in the Wellington region.
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