September 19, 2019
No treaty settlement at Ihumātao – Taonui
A Maori academic says there has been no treaty settlement over land at Ihumātao, and the field is clear for innovative solutions.
Yesterday in parliament Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said Ihumātao was referenced in the Waikato-Tainui raupatu claims settlement, the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Tamaoho, and Te Kawerau a Maki settlements, and is currently under negotiation in relation to Te Ākitai Waiōhua.
But historian Rawiri Taonui from Auckland University of Technology says those settlements don't actually relate to the land now owned by Fletcher Residential.
"One of the reasons they’re making that assumption is because the Te Kawerau a Maki settlement was signed at Ihumātao, at Makaurau Marae. While it was signed there that settlement was actually for west Auckland land and the reason it was signed there is they no longer have a marae of their own," Dr Taonui says.
His reading of historical records indicates the principal mana whenua group is a mix of Te Ahiwaru and Ngāti Mahuta, who were left out of the Tāmaki Makaurau collective settlement.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com