Iwi against land bill freehold plan
A bill to freehold to 780 leasehold properties in Waitara could be at risk with the iwi at the centre of the proposal now strongly against it.
Liana Poutu of Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa said the iwi did not support the New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Land) Bill.
She said the land bill would not fix longstanding grievances held by Maori regarding the land, which was confiscated from the iwi and its hapu groups Otaraua and Manukorihi in the 1860s by the Crown.
‘‘Our people overwhelmingly oppose it,’’ she said. ‘‘We can’t ignore that.’’ The bill is currently before the Maori Affairs select committee and during Friday’s hearing Poutu was among the majority who spoke out against it being passed into law.
If it was successful, it would make way for the freeholding of 780 leasehold properties in Waitara, while returning about 60 hectares of reserve land to Te Atiawa.
Another 16 hectares would become available to the iwi for development.
The local government bill has been championed by the New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and Taranaki Regional Council as the way to resolve issues related to leasehold land in Waitara.
To date, the bill has cost NPDC about $436,000 on legal, survey and valuation costs
Initially Te Atiawa supported the drafting of the bill.
However, after considering the bill in its final form, Poutu believed it would do little to address the underlying concerns iwi and hapu had.
‘‘If the bill goes through, then the bill goes through, but it still does not resolve the longstanding grievances,’’ she said.
Poutu did not believe all the possible options had been properly explored and more time was needed to do this.
Many who had spoke up in opposition at Friday’s hearing believed the land should returned to them at no cost.
This included Peter Moeahu, a former Te Atiawa treaty negotiator, who described the bill as ‘‘morally corrupt’’.
‘‘It is time to kill this bill, then we can work to return this land to tangata whenua,’’ he said.
It is unclear how the widespread opposition from Maori towards the bill will impact on the select committee’s approach to it.
The committee has the ability to recommend the bill pass as it is or with amendments. It can also decline to support it.
Poutu said despite its opposition to the bill, Te Atiawa was willing to be part of a process to come up with a solution. She said a multi-agency approach where everybody worked together was one option. ‘‘We understand this leasehold issue needs to be resolved.’’ she said.
The select committee is due to report back to Parliament on March 22. be A man who caused the death of his two-year-old daughter will be sentenced today. Last November, Philip Murray Kinraid pleaded guilty to manslaughter during an appearance in the High Court at New Plymouth.
He was charged in connection with the death of his daughter, Esme Claire Kinraid, after emergency services were called to the family’s home in Hawera, South Taranaki about 11pm on June 26, 2015.
Attempts were made to revive the young girl, but they were unsuccessful. Since his arrest, the defendant has been on bail and living in Dunedin, where he has family ties.
Prior to Esme’s death, the 29-yearold had no previous convictions and had been employed as a chemical engineer at Fonterra.
Sentencing will take place in the High Court in New Plymouth before Justice Rebecca Ellis.
A first strike warning was issued against Kinraid at a previous court appearance.
A Taranaki Lotto player was one of ten who took home $24,510 after Saturday night’s draw, it has been revealed.
A ticket sold at Hawera’s Pak n Save supermarket scored its owner a share of Second Division.
The other lucky winners were spread around the country, including Auckland, Wellington and Greymouth. Four people shared the $1 million First Division prize.
The winning tickets, which netted $250,000 cash, were sold in Auckland, Westport, Otago and Invercargill. Powerball was not struck and would jackpot to $6.5 million.
Reports of gun shots near a small Taranaki beach settlement turned out to be fireworks.
About 11.15am yesterday, a member of the public called police from the car park of the Waitara Bar Boardriders club and said he had heard gun shots in the area of East Beach.
There are more than a dozen homes in the beach settlement, including a known gang house.
Four police patrol cars were stationed at the end of a road which leads to East Beach and both uniformed officers and members of the Armed Offenders Squad were at the scene.
Following police inquiries, Sergeant Bruce Irvine said the loud bangs heard by the caller were the sound of fireworks being set off near the beach.
After confirming this, police left the scene shortly afterwards and cordons which had been set up in the area were taken down.