Cut councils from Lands Bill: Moeahu

A former Te A¯ tiawa treaty claims negotiator has urged the incoming coalition government to pass the controversial Waitara Lands Bill ‘‘unencumbered’’.

Peter Moeahu has petitioned newly appointed Minister of Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta, to transfer the land fully to Waitara leaseholders.

This would leave out New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), and Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) from retaining a financial share, he said.

Moeahu said the New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill should be amended by transferring the land and accrued income from rentals fully to Waitara iwi, together with caveats over reserve land for public use.

The changes would remove both councils as financial recipients, he said.

‘‘It is not too dissimilar to what is proposed except the NPDC and TRC would no longer be beneficiaries of this land,’’ he said.

The New Zealand Wars began in Waitara over the disputed purchase of the Pekapeka block, Moeahu said.

‘‘Returning this land to the descendants of its original occupiers would be a fitting way to heal this weeping sore of Waitara.’’

Both the NPDC and TRC have had ‘‘a significant advantage for decades of receiving income over the land which was originally stolen’’, Moeahu said.

‘‘The councils should not be beneficiaries of the land.

‘‘If the land was returned unencumbered, it would show an element of goodwill from both council and government.

‘‘Under the bill’s current proposal, both councils remain with their fingers stuck in the pie if reserve land remained under their authority.’’

However Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said amendments had achieved a balanced outcome for iwi, leasees and councils.

‘‘The select committee had made significant changes to achieve this balance which reflected a general consensus,’’ she said.

‘‘To change this again would need to have the bill relitigated.’’

The bill sought to return land confiscated by the Crown in the 1860s to the original owners Taranaki iwi, Te A¯ tiawa, and two hapu O¯ taraua and Manukorihi.

It would allow Waitara residents to buy the current 780 leasehold properties, as well as return 60 hectares to Te A¯ tiawa.

New Plymouth National MP Jonathan Young, who chaired the select committee hearings, was unable to have the bill passed before the election in September.

The bill now guaranteed half of the NPDC share of rent, or proceeds from sales would go to a fund for Manukorihi and O¯ taraua hapu to own land in, or around Waitara. The remaining half of the NPDC funds would continue to go into a perpetual fund for the benefit of the Waitara community, with a governance team comprising NPDC and Te A¯ tiawa representatives.

The TRC’s share of rent, or sales proceeds, would be used on the Waitara River catchment by a joint TRC and iwi committee.

Businessman Grant Knuckey said the leaseholders, many of whom were retired, would find it difficult to take out a mortgage to freehold the land.

He supported the bill but said the land valuation was incorrect.

Knuckey estimated up to $200m would need come from the Waitara community to enable the sales.

‘‘There was an opportunity to buy the land for $21 million and this was turned down which was a mistake. The money could have been put into a housing trust to build homes instead.’’