February 07, 2022
Spectrum deal falls short for claimant son
The son of the original Māori spectum claimant says an ageement recognising Māori interests in radio spectrum doesn’t go far enough.
The agreement signed last week between claimants, other interested Māori parties and the Government, includes a Māori allocation of 20 percent of the 5G and future spectrum rounds, including of Māori in policy development, and $70 million to set up a Māori Spectrum Entity and invest in spectrum-related businesses.
Graeme Everton, whose mother Rangiaho Everton filed the Waitangi Tribunal Claim 776 in 1999 that Māori had a prior interest in radio spectrum as a natural resource, says it should satisfy the tribunal recommendations.
But he says it still fails to acknowledge all the tribunal’s findings about spectrum as a taonga.
He says the crown is unwilling to give up its kāwanatanga, even when it is the right thing to do.