Iwi dispute heads to court

An internal dispute within a Taranaki iwi, whose involvement is central to the future of a $200 million dollar roading project, is set to be aired in court.

Te Korowai o Te Haua¯uru Incorporated’s application against Te Ru¯ nanga o Nga¯ ti Tama will be considered at a Ma¯ori Land Court hearing, to be held in New Plymouth on October 18.

The membership of Te Korowai is made up of a group with whakapapa (lineage) to Nga¯ti Tama but believe the ru¯ nanga did not represent their views. In the past, Te Korowai had been critical of ru¯ nanga trustees and their ability to manage iwi affairs.

At the July Environment Court appeal regarding resource consents granted for the $200m Mt Messenger bypass project, Te Korowai – one of the appellants – sought the cancellation of the notice of requirement needed for the road works.

Neville Baker, one of the Te Korowai witnesses, questioned the credibility of the ru¯ nanga and believed there had been inadequate consultation about the roading project.

Te Korowai has been in existence since March 2018 but the exact membership numbers were unknown.

However, at least 15 people have to sign up to create an incorporated society.

The ru¯ nanga is seen by the Crown as the mandated authority for Nga¯ ti Tama and 900 people are currently registered to be able to have a say on iwi affairs.

The application to the Ma¯ ori Land Court, dated September 19, sought a range of orders from the court and it also raised concerns about the accuracy of the iwi beneficiary register.

One order sought by Te Korowai was an urgent, interim injunction suspending ru¯ nanga elections, but this process had since been completed.

After voting closed on September 21, seven new trustees were elected.

The process was independently scrutinised by electionz. com and of the 900 registered voters, 399 voted, representing a 44.3 per cent return.

The internal strife comes at the same time the iwi are believed to be considering its position on whether to accept, reject or seek to change a compensation deal on offer from New Zealand Transport Agency in relation to the Mt Messenger project.

A decision was expected to follow its recent elections and annual general meeting, but to date no outcome has been made public.

When contacted on October 1, Paul Silich, the most recent ru¯ nanga chairman and one of the newly elected trustees, was unable to give any timeframe on when a decision would be forthcoming.