Court case risks new grievances

Media Statement 21 October 2010

For immediate use

Ngati Rarua said commercial entities should not be allowed to drive a wedge into the settlement of legitimate treaty negotiations being carried out by iwi. Ngati Rarua is one of four iwi and Wakatu Incorporation which make of the collective known as Tainui-Taranaki ki te tonga.

Ngati Rarua Chairperson, Amoroa Luke, said she was upset that court action by Wakatu Incorporation had seen the Crown suspend their claims negotiations. She said treaty settlements were supposed to be about iwi as it was iwi who had suffered the loss of their lands and the hands of the Crown.

“Wakatu came along later and had a legitimate role to administer some of the land that was left.

“But, to try and replace the role of iwi in the settlement process was not right. Mrs Luke said replacing iwi with an incorporated society or a commercial entity of some sort was a recipe to create new grievances. “The four iwi of this collective have worked extremely hard to get their claims settled so their people can move forward.

“We can’t afford to have sideshows that potentially create new grievances.

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