Te Hiku Development Trust

Te Oneroa a Tohe Iwi Consent

Media Release: 9th March 2013

Three Te Hiku Iwi met today with the Far North District Council to discuss a consent given to the BBC to close access roads onto Te Oneroa a Tohe (90 Mile Beach) without iwi involvement or approval.

"Our beach isn't just a beach.  It's 'Te Ara Wairua' the spiritual pathway on which all our ancestors and departed love ones travel when they leave us.  We were alarmed after years of explaining this to the Crown and getting this recognised within our Deeds of Settlements, that the council failed to engage with us at all," says Raymond Subritzky.

Council agreed with Iwi to certain measures ensuring that this would never happen again. They will engage with the kaitiaki of the beach, using tikanga Māori as basis of that engagement, and placing a higher priority to the enhancement and protection of Te Ara Wairua.

The council has been developing a Māori liaison function which the iwi will now help to create in order to meet the needs of the Māori communities across Taitokerau.

A new timeframe has been agreed, to bring forward the establishment of the Beach Board ensuring the mana of the hapu and iwi is respected.  The Beach Board, to be chaired by iwi,  will then assume the management and decision making responsbilities for Te Oneroa a Tohe into the future.

"When the BBC come here they will be our manuhiri and we will welcome them as such" says Chair of Te Hiku Iwi Development Trust, Haami Piripi.

A powhiri will be held at Roma Marae at 10am on Sunday 10th, which will be attended by both the Far North District Council and the BBC production crew.

"As far as the filming is concerned, the kaitiaki on the beach will now play their role to ensure a safer environment for everyone.  As kaitiaki we would not close our beach off to our people, our kaupapa is about the protection of the taonga and all the people on the beach," says Piripi.

ENDS

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