Waitara Lands Bill approved by council

Legislation aimed at settling one the country’s longest-running land disputes has been approved by New Plymouth District Council and can now go through to its third reading in Parliament – but not everyone is on board.

Emotions ran high at an extraordinary meeting of the council on Friday where the amended Waitara Lands Bill was approved.

It relates to ground confiscated from Te A¯ tiawa and its hapu¯ in the 1860s and would allow 770 leaseholders to buy the land they live on.

About 120 hectares of land would made available to the Manukorihi and Otaraua hapu¯ in various ways, mostly as reserves, and several multi-million dollar funds for improvements in Waitara.

But leaseholders cried foul over the bill setting out that they’d have to pay full market value to buy their land, and Otaraua hapu¯ withdrew its support, but with the option of entering back in.

The leasehold sections have a market value of $90 million.

Several deputations were heard from leaseholders asking the council to consider costs they had already paid to council rather than expect them to pay full market value.

‘‘You will make us homeless,’’ leaseholder Trent Hall said.

‘‘You will never be welcome back in Waitara. The cut is too deep to forgive you.’’

He said he congratulated the iwi and hapu¯ of Waitara, ‘‘but I hope you will remember we will become the victims of your success’’.

Grant Knuckey said he believed the current leases were over-valued.

‘‘The bill certainly reflects that we can freehold but the fact is a lot of the people aren’t able to refinance.’’

Included in the bill is $50,000 of financial support and advice to help leaseholders through the freehold process.

Councillor John Williams said leaseholders in Waitara had been crying out for years to freehold their land.

‘‘This bill possibly doesn’t answer all of the questions, address all the issues but I believe it’s going a long way towards it.’’

Councillor Murray Chong said they had to pass the bill and then help the people who had been told they had a chance to own their properties but, in reality, had no chance, even with financial advice.

‘‘You’ve still got to have the money to act on the advice.’’

He said the council could be a supplier of a reverse mortgage system to help restore trust in the council.

Gordon Brown apologised to the leaseholders for not being able to help more but the fact remained that the land had been stolen.