May 18, 2021
Maniapoto makes peace offering after vote
Maniapoto Trust Board chair Keith Ikin says the desire by Te Whakaminenga o Rereahu for greater autonomy can be accommodated within the Te Rohe Pōtae settlement without fracturing the King Country iwi.
A bid by Te Whakaminenga o Rereahu to change the board’s mandate to negotiate the settlement failed to reach the necessary 75 percent threshold.
Mr Ikin says the closeness of the result, 50.5 percent for and 49.5 percent against, gives a clear message more talk is needed.
"We should be able to achieve greater autonomy within the rohe and still have a unified approach to the settlement. What we want is the opportunity to sit down together and talk that through and see if there is a way of doing this," he says
Mr Ikin says the fact Maniapoto and Rereahu are included in the same settlement is not because of the crown’s large natural groupings policy but because of the iwi have a legacy of working together dating back to the days of Rereahu and Maniapoto.
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