LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

infrastructure, growing poverty, homelessness, lack of health, both physical and mental, crime, education, welfare for those in need, and many elderly abandoned by their children whose priorities are drugs, alcohol, crime and self pleasures, including society’s rejection of its responsibility, a very sad reflection on the human race. largest and most influential Maori gathering ever held.

Where on Earth does Mr Howearth get his skewed and distorted information from?

Treaty settlements to December 31, 2016 totalled $3.07 billion (itemised on Kiwi Frontline), and as we all know in the past year OTS has been very active with the taxpayers’ cheque book, so the total is substantially more than this in 2018. Also, what about the huge peripheral/ancillary costs said by those in the know to easily equal this amount?

Further, remember the chiefs sold off most of New Zealand (refer Turton’s Deeds) and not more than 2.5 per cent of the total New Zealand land area remained legally confiscated after 1928. So what land is Mr Howearth currently rabbiting on about?

There can be no argument about the approximately 90 per cent sold.

The 1926 Royal Commission, chaired by Sir William Sim, a Supreme Court judge and instigated by Apirana Ngata and Maui Pomare, found some redress was justified, and the settlements proposed by the Commission were accepted by the Taranaki, Waikato, Whakatohea (Bay of Plenty) tribes in the 1940s, presumably in full and final settlement of all grievances and claims.

Interesting that today land should be regarded as a treasure by the part-Maori descendants of those chiefs, yet true fullblooded Maori chiefs were willing sellers of land in the 19th Century, sometimes not owned by them (requiring subsequent rectification) and some pieces sold several times over — these chiefs certainly did not regard the land as taonga.

Finally, it is pleasing to see that the late Professor FM (Jock) Brookfield, who could hardly be regarded as unbiased, at least recognised that the New Zealand government does have the right to rule, although some modern day dissident backstabbers would like us to think otherwise.