Post by Kiwi Frontline on Dec 8, 2016 16:05:59 GMT 12
NO RESPECT FOR MĀORI CUSTODIANS, TRIBUNAL TOLD
The Māori custodians of Porotī Springs near Whangarei have told the Waitangi Tribunal they've been treated with contempt for years, by local councils and the Environment Court.
The Whatitiri trustees were awarded legal title to the springs as a water supply in 1896, but say their role as owners and guardians of the springs has never been respected.
Their grievances over the springs have featured prominently in the claims over freshwater taken by the New Zealand Māori Council.
But the trustees appeared this week before the tribunal holding the Paparahi o Te Raki inquiry into the claims of Ngāpuhi hapu and others.
The Whatitiri trustees have told the tribunal that although the Porotī claim forms part of the wider Māori claims over freshwater, the Porotī guardians want a settlement that is separate, and deals with the tangata whenua over their longstanding and continuing local grievances.
They said they were willing to share their water with the community and had always done so, but they wanted their authority and mana over the springs - and the surrounding aquifers and waterways - recognised and honoured....
www.radionz.co.nz/news/top/319862/no-respect-for-maori-custodians,-tribunal-told
The Māori custodians of Porotī Springs near Whangarei have told the Waitangi Tribunal they've been treated with contempt for years, by local councils and the Environment Court.
The Whatitiri trustees were awarded legal title to the springs as a water supply in 1896, but say their role as owners and guardians of the springs has never been respected.
Their grievances over the springs have featured prominently in the claims over freshwater taken by the New Zealand Māori Council.
But the trustees appeared this week before the tribunal holding the Paparahi o Te Raki inquiry into the claims of Ngāpuhi hapu and others.
The Whatitiri trustees have told the tribunal that although the Porotī claim forms part of the wider Māori claims over freshwater, the Porotī guardians want a settlement that is separate, and deals with the tangata whenua over their longstanding and continuing local grievances.
They said they were willing to share their water with the community and had always done so, but they wanted their authority and mana over the springs - and the surrounding aquifers and waterways - recognised and honoured....
www.radionz.co.nz/news/top/319862/no-respect-for-maori-custodians,-tribunal-told