Ng¯apuhi deal talks advance

Nga¯ puhi negotiations continued to progress after meetings with Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little over the weekend.

The talks included Tu¯ horonuku representatives Hone Sadler and Sonny Tau, as well as Te Kotahitanga leaders Pita Tipene and Rudy Taylor.

Tuhoronuku is the entity that holds the mandate for negotiating with the Crown on behalf of Nga¯ puhi, New Zealand’s largest iwi.

Te Kotahitanga is a break-away group fighting Tuhoronuku’s mandate.

Little said he was pleased with the tone of the discussions and considered them ‘‘helpful and constructive’’.

Nga¯ puhi representatives would report back to ha¯ pu and iwi.

Nga¯ puhi settlement talks had a ‘‘somewhat chequered past’’, so it was good to get everyone in the same room, he said.

‘‘There’s never any harm in talking and continuing to talk while we have the opportunity and the goodwill.’’

Little said he did not have a fixed timeline for when he wanted this settlement reached but the parties involved had agreed to ‘‘make haste slowly’’.

The iwi’s Treaty negotiations began in 2009 but Tuhoronuku’s mandate wasn’t recognised until 2014.

Then the Waitangi Tribunal ruled that the Crown had undermined the right of hapu to choose who spoke for them when it recognised Tuhoronuku.

The group agreed to hand over the mandate to a new board in 2017 but later backpedalled.

Little said the parties involved would meet for further discussions shortly after Easter.