Hapu¯ feels left out of discussions

A Manawatu¯ hapu¯ feels it has been left out of decision-making about its valley and river for more than a century, a Waitangi Tribunal has heard.

Nga¯ Iwi o Te Reureu spoke about how it had lost parts of its Te Reureu area, which borders the Rangitı¯kei River, north of Halcombe, as part of the Nga¯ti Raukawa iwi confederations treaty claim

The fifth week of the 12-week hearing started at Te Tikanga Marae at Tokorangi, north of Halcombe, yesterday. The case relates to the historical purchase of the Rangitı¯kei-manawatu¯ block, about 130,000 hectares of land, between Manawatu¯ and Ka¯piti.

Lawyer for Nga¯ Iwi o Te Reureu Adrian Warren said of the hapu¯’s 8000ha beside the Rangitı¯kei River, about 1800ha were surveyed for hapu¯ and now just 1000ha remained in Ma¯ori hands.

‘‘At the broadest level it’s a failure of the Crown to protect the tribal land for their future and current needs.’’

He said the hapu¯ were undermined and quickly became second-class citizens, but they remained ‘‘despite the Crown’s best efforts’’.

‘‘Not only are they valley people, but self-assessed river people. They have lived here for 180-plus years.’’

He said they had experienced a negative transformation of the river, which had provided identity and sustenance to the people, but the state of the river was now an embarrassment.

‘‘It’s an attack on the mana and identity as sewage and waste water continues to enter it... Valley people remain outside the tent for resource management decision-making.

‘‘It’s tangata whenua without the whenua.’’

Farmer Turoa Karatea’s family have been in the area since the 1820s and he has spent 29 years working on the claim.

‘‘It’s never been in our interest, some of the deals that have happened here.’’

The river was polluted and had eroded the iwi’s land.

‘‘When you live around here and see what’s happening it’s pretty bloody hard to take. We’re still disagreeing on the same points 60, 70 years later.

‘‘Consultation means talking to you then going away and doing nothing. We’re no further ahead here than we were in the 1950s.’’

Wilson Karatea is a fifthgeneration Te Reureu farmer and he said the Ma¯ori land was heavily fragmented and Ma¯ori often felt left out of discussions.

He said even though the area was near the river, it struggled with water supply and many houses relied on rainwater.

He said all the family wanted was the same opportunities as neighbouring farmers.