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September 29, 2022
Housing veto sparks Tuhoe revolt
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On September 29, 2022
Download AudioA Tuhoe group says the Government caving in to the tribe’s post-settlement governance entity is denying its people the opportunity for better housing.
Matt Te Pou from Te Waimana Kaaku, one of Tūhoe’s four tribal authorities, says whanau lost their deposits after Te Uru Taumatua vetoed his group’s involvement in a government-backed housing initiative.
He says the engagement protocol which ministers have agreed to means iwi members can’t talk to government agencies without going through after Te Uru Taumatua.
Meanwhile people are being denied their most basic need for shelter.
“They’re living in hell. They want a house, they want a roof over their head and that trip down to Wellington was about that. So the short term goal it to get them into houses. The other stuff about the PSGE, we’ve got to sort ourselves out, that’s home stuff, and we really have to get to the bottom of this, that the model we are being sold at the moment is not good for everyone,” he says.
Mr Te Pou says the majority of Tuhoe people didn’t see the new engagement protocols and there is no way hapū or marae would give their authority and tino rangatiratanga away to the PSGE.
