June 13, 2023
Ahiwaru says no claims on Auckland Airport shares without us!
Te Ahiwaru says no to claims on Auckland Airport shares without us!
Maangere mana whenua group Te Ahiwaru Trust are calling on Auckland Council, the New Zealand Government and Waikato-Tainui to acknowledge our ahi kaa as the rightful recipients of any available Auckland Airport shares as a result of Council’s proposed budget cuts.
Waikato-Tainui has declared to actively acquire shares as part of outstanding treaty claims over the Manukau, which crosses over our rohe pootae.
The issue of the airport shares is without a doubt a political hot potato, with Tuku Morgan stating his proposal would see the Crown buy the shares from Auckland Council, then transfer them to the iwi through the Treaty Settlement process. Te Ahiwaru is clear in our view that any discussion of shares must be had with us.
“For too long Te Ahiwaru have been overlooked and dismissed in the political and environmental landscape of Taamaki Makaurau,” says Anya Tahere, Te Ahiwaru trustee who leads engagement with the airport on behalf of the hapuu. “We are the mana whenua and ahi kaa of lands in and around the airport and have been directly impacted by its development and growth, for generations. We are still in presettlement phase and shares being given to Waikato-Tainui, who already have significant resource, cuts our settlement opportunities off at the feet.”
“Our people deserve to be recognised and compensated for the 1863 land confiscations and following injustices that have led to land loss, awa and moana degradation, social inequities and an ongoing encroachment to our papakaainga in Ihumaatao – the longest continual settlement of Maaori in Taamaki Makaurau.
“We shouldn’t be penalised for our limited resource or exclusion from what seems to be the ‘old boys club’ when it comes to deal making.”
Te Ahiwaru is the closest hapuu to Auckland International Airport. It was only 14 years ago the airport exhumed 85 bodies of our tuupuna – believed to be more than 600 years old – to begin building their second runway.
“We have had to put up with waahi tapu desecrated and have had to continue to sacrifice our wellbeing for the greater good of Auckland,” says Tahere. “Enough is enough. Any discussion about Auckland Council’s airport shares that don’t include Te Ahiwaru is a direct and intentional strike against our mana motuhake and rangatiratanga.”
While Waikato-Tainui might own hotels at the Auckland International Airport, it is Te Ahiwaru who are working directly on the new terminal renovations and designs to ensure the narratives of our people are interwoven in the buildings and landscape that serve as the gateway to our whenua here in Taamaki Makaurau.
“We have waited long enough,” adds Tahere, “We will not stand back and watch injustice continue to try and further oppress our people.”
ENDS