April 10, 2024
Wairarapa Moana story shared with UN
Wairarapa Moana Incorporation has had a chance to lay out its grievances to the United Nations special rapporteur on Indigenous peoples.
Chair Kingi Smiler says they were able to show Francisco Cali-Tzay around Lake Wairarapa, which was taken from its owners in 1895 without promised reserves being set aside, and the Pouākani lands near Mangakino which were offered in compensation.
Some of that land was then taken in 1949 to build the Maraetai lake and hydroelectric dam on the Waikato RIver.
The incorporation’s attempt to get that land back through the treaty process was aborted when the previous Goverment sidestepped a Supreme Court judgment by jamming the claims into the Wairararapa historic claims settlement.
Mr Smiler says it’s a history that shows New Zealand’s record on race relations and Indigneous rights is now significantly behind other countries.
“One example is Canada which has a far better record than New Zealand does in recognising Indigenous rights and making sure that appropriate redress is made and those challenges are still before us with this Government,” he says.
The Wairarapa Moana claim could form part of the five-yearly review of New Zealand’s human rights record by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on April 29.