Tribal conflict brewing over harbour claims

Davis Apiti is happy with the way Aotea Harbour's reserve status is working. Photo / Christine Cornege

A tribal stoush could be looming between Tainui's coastal and inland people as both pursue claims over the harbours of Raglan, Aotea and Kawhia.

The three west coast harbours are all under Waitangi Tribunal claims from coastal Tainui tribes who say they want to pursue their claims exclusively.

But the inland Waikato people, who settled their land confiscation claims in 1995, have also long been sitting on a claim for the harbours, which were not part of their historic $170 million settlement.

Former Tainui Maori Party candidate Angeline Greensill of Raglan believed there would be anger if Waikato pursued its claim to the west coast harbours.

Her uncle, Haami Kereopa, lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal in 1989.

This was originally for the Wainui Reserve but Mrs Greensill said it would be amended to include the harbour, foreshore and lands for all 12 hapu in and around Raglan.

She said the raupatu (confiscation) line ended north of Raglan Harbour, for which Waikato had already claimed settlement.

"And now it's the turn of the coastal people to have theirs.

"I don't think I can see any support if they decide they are going to claim any of the harbours.

"There would be a challenge," said Mrs Greensill.

Jack Cunningham, a Ngati Hikairo kaumatua from Kawhia, told the Herald that more than 20 hapu around the harbour were in the process of forming a collective for their claims before the Waitangi Tribunal.

"We prefer to do our own negotiations," he said.

"We are coastal people regardless of what Tainui hapu we come from, but the point is we have a vested interest in the coast that the river people do not understand. Waikato sees the river as its tupuna [ancestor], we see the moana [sea] as our tupuna."

Davis Apiti of Ngati Te Wehi said a cluster of hapu around the Aotea Harbour had a claim over the Aotea Harbour and another with regards to the Resource Management Act.

He too said they should be left to negotiate on their own, and the hapu planned to meet this weekend at Okapu Marae to affirm that position.

"We have no ties to the [Waikato] river and we can't tell them how they should be doing things," he said.

"So with regards to anything to do with the harbour it should come back to the marae of this area."

The Herald understands that Waikato Tainui discussed the issue at a recent board meeting.

Several calls to Waikato Tainui spokesman Tukoroirangi Morgan and to his office were made, but requests for an interview drew no response.