April 20, 2023
End of court challenge opens door for Marutūahu settlement
A Marutūahu leader is calling for Auckland iwi to come together after Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei dropped its appeal of a long-running case over whether it held exclusive mana whenua over Tāmaki Makaurau.
Paul Majurey says he’s gone public because people were confused Ōrakei had lodged the appeal even though it had come out of the courtroom claiming victory.
He says all tribes with conNections to the area laid out their histories during the 11-week hearing, and the court acknowledged they all had the right to their own histories and tikanga.
“And so with Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei withdrawing from their litigation and all that went with it, that’s another important piece in terms of our Marutūahu treaty settlement claim proceeding. It’s been a long time, we’ve lost a lot of our old people along the way, we still haven’t quite settled. We’re just keen to move on and settle like other tribes have, like Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei has, and others in Tāmaki and have our place,” Mr Majurey says.
He says there is a lot of common ground among Auckland iwi, and they all work together on big projects like Auckland light rail the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.