There will be a gathering of the tribes at the High Court at Auckland this morning where Ngāti Whātua is challenging the way Kaipara District Council disestablished its Te Moananui o Kaipara Maori ward.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua chief executive Alan Riwaka says the council breached its obligations under the Local Government Act to engage with local Māori, who include Te Uri ō Hau, Te Roroa, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Wai, and Te Kuihi.
“There’s no goodwill or honesty in this process coming from Kaipara District Council. They’ve just failed to consult with us and the question for me is why would they want to resist our calls for consultation? Even to this day they haven’t bothered to come back and say let’s sit down kanohi ki te kanohi and talk about their proposals,” he says.
