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