July 01, 2024
Co-governance set up for Wairarapa Moana
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka says a new partnership to run Lake Wairarapa will show the Crown has learned from past mistakes.
Mr Potaka and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith were at Papawai Marae near Greytown on Saturday to mark the return of Wairarapa Moana to iwi.
Rangitāne o Wairarapa Tamaki nui-ā-Rua and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua settled their historical Treaty of Waitangi claims with the Crown in 2017 and 2022 respectively.
Te Rohe o Rongokako Joint Redress Act 2022 establishes a statutory board comprising iwi, Crown, and council appointees who are tasked with governing, administering and managing Wairarapa Moana and the surrounding reserves.
Mr Potaka says that honours the intent of the 1896 Tuku Rangatira, when Wairarapa Māori gifted Wairarapa Moana and its surrounding reserves to the Crown on the basis of a promise was made to provide suitable land nearby, which was never honoured.
A controversial part of the settlement legislation was the decision to wrap in and extinguish claims relating to the land eventually provided Wairarapa Māori near Mangakino and then taken away again to build a dam on the Waikato River.