Post by Kiwi Frontline on Feb 23, 2018 16:25:41 GMT 12
MANA WHENUA MEMBERS WALK OUT OF MEETING OVER TE MATA PEAK TRACK
The meeting went well until it reached the third item, which was the issue of the controversial track, which was built by Craggy Range winery late last year. The winery agreed to remove the track in December after a public outcry and criticism by Ngati Kahungunu.
"The meeting was called to have a better relationship with Maori. That was fair enough. When they brought up the track I asked what it had to do with the trust board when it was an issue that had been resolved as far as I was concerned. Craggy Range gave the undertaking that it would be remediated and we accepted that," MacDonald said.
MacDonald, a Waimarama kaumatua, said board member Michael Bate told the meeting that the track was not going to be remediated.
"He said 'let's be honest, the track will not be remediated'. He also said it was a landscaping issue, not a cultural issue. Someone like Michael Bate certainly isn't going to tell me what is or isn't a cultural issue. But that wasn't really the issue, the issue was why were we even discussing the track. I just felt it was highly inappropriate," MacDonald said.
"I wasn't there to discuss the merits of leaving the track as it was. I was there because I'd been told the meeting was about seeing how to get more Maori representation on the trust. So I left. Rose followed me," he said.....
www.stuff.co.nz/environment/101597694/mana-whenua-members-walk-out-of-meeting-over-te-mata-peak-track
The meeting went well until it reached the third item, which was the issue of the controversial track, which was built by Craggy Range winery late last year. The winery agreed to remove the track in December after a public outcry and criticism by Ngati Kahungunu.
"The meeting was called to have a better relationship with Maori. That was fair enough. When they brought up the track I asked what it had to do with the trust board when it was an issue that had been resolved as far as I was concerned. Craggy Range gave the undertaking that it would be remediated and we accepted that," MacDonald said.
MacDonald, a Waimarama kaumatua, said board member Michael Bate told the meeting that the track was not going to be remediated.
"He said 'let's be honest, the track will not be remediated'. He also said it was a landscaping issue, not a cultural issue. Someone like Michael Bate certainly isn't going to tell me what is or isn't a cultural issue. But that wasn't really the issue, the issue was why were we even discussing the track. I just felt it was highly inappropriate," MacDonald said.
"I wasn't there to discuss the merits of leaving the track as it was. I was there because I'd been told the meeting was about seeing how to get more Maori representation on the trust. So I left. Rose followed me," he said.....
www.stuff.co.nz/environment/101597694/mana-whenua-members-walk-out-of-meeting-over-te-mata-peak-track
