Friday 16th September 2016
Media Release for immediate use
Te Iwi o Maniapoto me ōna hapū maha

The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board (MMTB) is seeking the mandate of iwi members to negotiate Maniapoto’s outstanding historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. MMTB will be working with Maniapoto kaumātua and Wai Claimants to take this process forward.

After being informed by the Crown that the claims process for Maniapoto had stalled, MMTB decided to go out and ask our people to support us in negotiating a settlement on their behalf.

“We have an opportunity to get the settlement process moving again and bring our people together to achieve the best possible outcome for Maniapoto,” says MMTB Chairman, R. Tiwha Bell.

“The first step has been to meet with the Kaumātua Kaunihera who gave us their support. The next step will be to meet kanohi ki te kanohi with all of the Wai claimants. Then we will go out to our people to explain how we would work on their behalf and how they can be involved.

“It is our intention to be open and inclusive with te iwi o Maniapoto and that will start with information hui to explain the proposed process and to answer questions. Details of the hui across the rohe and for taurahere will be announced next week.

“Given the importance of settling our claims for all of Maniapoto, our iwi now has the opportunity to make some solid progress and this needs to be put to our people for their consideration. A muri kia mau ki tēnā, kia mau ki te kawau mārō, whanake ake, whanake ake ” states Mr Bell.

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