By KEVIN TAYLOR
Tainui's affairs are paralysed and banks have been left unpaid after a faction on the tribe's executive blocked the Crown's final $13 million treaty settlement payment.
Tainui owes $14.3 million to the HSBC after it borrowed $A11 million for business development in Australia.
The security over the debt includes land that many public buildings in Hamilton sit on - the courthouse, the police station and Waikato University.
Tainui also owes $3 million to the BNZ.
Kingi Porima, chairman of the executive, Tekaumaarua, warned yesterday that the HSBC would probably move now to recover its debt.
The bank's head of credit in New Zealand, Murray Beatson, refused to comment, citing client confidentiality.
Tekaumaarua met yesterday but failed to agree on a resolution that would have allowed the Government to give it the final payment in the $170 million treaty settlement.
The executive's makeup was split evenly between two factions when Tainui's parliament, Te Kauhanganui, voted on Sunday to add five supporters of chief tribal negotiator Sir Robert Mahuta to Tekaumaarua.
The Government withheld the settlement payment last week until the five vacancies on Tekaumaarua were filled.
Mr Porima yesterday criticised Treaty Negotiations Minister Margaret Wilson's move to impose a condition on the final payment requiring a resolution from the executive.
He said it was appalling. Previous settlement payments had not required such a resolution.
Mr Porima did not rule out court action to force the Government to make the payment.
But he said he was sick of going to court, and Tainui beneficiaries were also sick of the executive spending money on lawyers.
"We will just continue to sit back and wait now and see. We are still solvent, but this does not help."
Sir Robert's faction said last night that Mr Porima and executive secretary Lisa Ferguson could not provide information sought by the five new members.
"As a consequence, we had to vote against the motion until we have the information," said member Hare Puke.
"We are concerned what the money is to be used for. No doubt it will be used for debt reduction and we have every intention to repay debt, but we cannot be expected to make a decision with less than 24 hours' notice and with no information."
Ms Wilson could not be contacted last night.
In another blow for the tribe, an out-of-court settlement reportedly worth between $500,000 and $600,000 has been reached with former Tainui Developments chief executive Greg Parker.
He took a personal grievance case against the tribe's property arm after he was sacked last November. Mr Parker refused to comment, as did his lawyer, Mark Hammond.
Both cited a confidentiality clause in the settlement agreement.
Mr Porima also refused to comment. Mr Parker still has defamation proceedings filed against Sir Robert.
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