December 23, 2021

Te Ūpokorehe steamrolled by Te Whakatōhea deal

Adam Gifford Posted On December 23, 2021

Photo: Te Ūpokorehe Facebook.

Initialling of the deed of settlement for eastern Bay of Plenty iwi Te Whakatōhea is set to go ahead today, despite the objections of a neighbouring iwi.

Te Ūpokorehe has consistently objected to being included in the $100 million settlement, saying it is a separate iwi rather than a hapū.

It has never supported the Te Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Trust mandate and recently presented a petition of over 700 signatures to withdraw its claims, whenua and sacred sites from the Te Whakatōhea settlement.

It says initialling the settlement before creating and running a withdrawal process, as recommended in the Waitangi Tribunal’s Te Whakatōhea Mandate Inquiry Report, would be a breach of the treaty.