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The chair of post settlement governance entity Te Tawharau o Te Whakatōhea says a long-awaited treaty settlement is a chance to start rebuilding his iwi’s lost prosperity.
The settlement legislation was read for the first time last week.
Vaughan Payne says to align with its strategy of mana moana, mana whenua, mana tangata. the Opotiki-based iwi negotiated additional marine space to add to its existing 4000 hectare mussel farm.
He say even the MPs referred to the redress as crumbs, considering Te Whakatohea had been a prosperous iwi in the 1860s before the crown invaded, took its lands and destroyed its ships.
“To look at $100 million which is comparable to some of the aid that is given to some of our island relations just relating to Covid, it is crumbs. At the same time as leaders we need to look at those crumbs and turn them into something bigger and better and secure a future for our people and return us to the prosperity we once enjoyed,” he says.
Mr Payne says when the iwi rejected an inadequate settlement offer in the 1990s, it should not have meant going to the back of the queue for 20 years.
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