July 20, 2022
Iwi tell Crown hands off Aotea
Ngātiwai Trust Board and Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Hapū Trust have told Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little to remove properties on Aotea Great Barrier from the settlement offered to Hauraki iwi.
Ngātiwai chair Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards says the only people who conduct tikanga, place rāhui and live on the Barrier are Ngātiwai and Ngāti Rehua whanau.
He says his board commissioned a report from independent historian Tony Walzl which found errors in a 1998 Māori Land Court judgement that the crown used as a basis for the settlement offer.
In his evaluation of historic land transactions between 1838 and 1856 Mr Walzl also found no Hauraki-based interests on Aotea.
Ngāti Rehua-Ngātiwai ki Aotea Hapū Trust chair Opo Ngāwaka says Hauraki are whanaunga, but his iwi will never support them being offered settlement on the island.