Hapū appeals airport plan to move children and marae

Ngāti Uenukukopako has appealed plans by Rotorua District Council and its airport company to force them to move their kohanga, kura and marae and stop them from building on ancestral land.

The Te Arawa hapū recently fi led the appeal to the Environment Court against proposals which would introduce harsh land use restrictions and turn Rotorua Airport into an international aerodrome.

Hapū appellant Hera Naera said the proposals would be disastrous for Ngati Uenukukopako’s future and the current Te Kohanga Reo and Te Kura Kaupapa o Ruamata Marae, Ruamata Marae, Pikirangi Marae and hapū members wanting to build homes.

“Even with the mitigation that’s being offered, the hapū will still not be safe and able to grow and prosper – RDC and the airport company should be ashamed of themselves,” Mrs Naera said.

“This hapū is still recovering from the confi scation of their land, the relocation of their marae and the desecration of their burial grounds which allowed for this airport to be built in the fi rst place.

“All the hapū want is what any other community in Rotorua wants – to ensure the health and safety of their children and to be able to develop their culture, land and resources in a sustainable way. And this is what they will be seeking in the appeal.

“Ngāti Uenukukopako has paid the piper and to ask them to compromise anymore than they already have would be tantamount to raping them all over again."

Two independent commissioners heard submissions on the airport proposals, but hapū submitters believe the pair struggled to understand the impacts on the hapū, Mrs Naera said.

While central Government was addressing the hapū’s historic land grievances, RDC and their airport company were advancing plans to repeat similar wrongs, Mrs Naera said.

ENDS

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