Keen To Talk To Mayor About Port Ownership

18 May 2017

News release

NGĀTI WHĀTUA ŌRĀKEI KEEN TO TALK TO MAYOR ABOUT PORT OWNERSHIP

Tamaki Makaurau iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei intends to talk to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff about the ownership of Ports of Auckland Ltd.

“Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has long harboured an ambition to buy back our former land and Waitemata seabed,” says Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust spokesperson Ngarimu Blair.

“We have made this known over many generations to every incoming Mayor and, more recently, signalled this to Phil Goff before and after the election.

“If the opportunity arises we would like to buy it – we are the natural owner and we would do the right thing by the city.”

Blair says Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei understands the wider public interest in the Waitemata and the desire of many people to keep this precious land in the hands of Aucklanders.

“We are committed and able to put together a consortium that can achieve that goal whilst also releasing much-needed capital to continue to develop our great city. We look forward to raising this prospect again with the Mayor.”

The consortium could include other iwi and the NZ Super Fund, he says.

Currently, Auckland Council owns 100 per cent of Ports of Auckland through Auckland Council Investments Ltd (ACIL). It most recently valued the company at $1.1 billion.

ENDS

© Scoop Media