Māori Party backs Ngāti Whātua

The Māori Party is calling on the Government to honour its Treaty of Waitangi settlement with local iwi, Ngāti Whātua.

The iwi has sought legal advice after learning that the Government has no intention of dealing with Ngāti Whātua first over the sale of government owned land in Auckland.

“The RFR is a standard provision in most Treaty settlements and in part recognises the paltry compensation paid to iwi for their losses. In effect, the process initiated by the Housing Minister circumvents the requirement to trigger the right of first refusal (RFR) over the purchase of former public works land in Auckland”, says Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox.

“It is antithesis to good faith obligations on the part of the Crown to on the one hand offer apologies and compensation to iwi through their Treaty settlements, and then completely ignore them when it is convenient to do so.

“We have already asked the Government for a ‘please explain’”, says Māori Party Co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.

“If the Crown is able to use other legislation to override the RFR this will potentially have significant implications for all settlements.

“Ngāti Whātua has offered up a number of options to the Crown and we expect the Crown to deal with them in good faith,” says Mr Flavell.

The Māori Party will continue to keep the pressure on the Government to ensure Treaty settlements are honoured.

ENDS

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