Calls to withdraw Tūhoronuku's mandate following Ngāpuhi hapū hui

More than 300 people turned up to a hui Kohewhata Marae on Saturday. Photo/Supplied

Calls for the government to withdraw its recognition of Tūhoronuku's mandate have been made at a hui one spokesman called the "most incredible" he has been part of.

More than 300 people gathered at Kohewhata Marae in Kaikohe on Saturday to reflect on the recent evolved Ngāpuhi mandate process which saw hapū and individuals vote on a plan, developed through three rounds of consultation hui, to negotiate and settle Ngāpuhi's Treaty of Waitangi claims.

That plan needed support from 65 per cent of hapū and 75 per cent of individuals, but votes did not meet that threshold.

Ted Wihongi, hapū kaikōrero for Te Uri o Hua, said there had been around 400 hui at Kohewhata Marae over the past decade and Saturday's was "by far the most incredible hui" he had been a part of.

"The kaupapa behind holding the hui was to take a more positive frame of mind to try and move this forward and not to repeat the cycle of another three years of endless and very costly hui. There will be too many losses against wins in such a situation," he said.

Wihongi said the hui was extremely positive with every sector of Ngāpuhi able have their say.

A clear agreement from the hui was to send a strong message to the government to withdraw its recognition of Tūhoronuku's mandate to negotiate claims on behalf of Ngāpuhi, which they were granted in 2014.

"The way a majority of Ngāpuhi are feeling is they've been pretty much - and I'll be brutal - bashed again and again and the majority have come to a point where enough is enough," he said.

Tūhoronuku chairman Hone Sadler disagreed and said the mandate was still there for Ngāpuhi redress.

"It's about trying to get people back together again. It's okay for people to be meeting but then at the end of the day what we need to be doing is to see how we can push this through together."

The Northern Advocate asked Minister Andrew Little to comment but he did not respond by edition time yesterday.

However, when asked last week if Tūhoronuku still held the mandate he said "technically, they do".

"Even if you can say technically Tūhoronuku holds the mandate, from the Crown's point of view we're not commencing negotiations any time soon," he said.

Wihongi said following Saturday's hui people were asked to go back to their respective areas to have formal conversations with hapū, marae and whānau before the next hui happens in three months time.

Moana Tuwhare, hui facilitator, said the mandate process had divided Ngāpuhi.

"This hui was open to all the hapū of Ngāpuhi whether they voted yes or no," she said.

The meeting comes after Kia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi - formed by the 31 hapū who voted for the evolved mandate - held a hui at the Kerikeri NorthTec campus last weekend.

Rudy Taylor, co-chairman of Te Kotahitanga and an advisor for Kia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi, said 80 to 100 people turned up to that meeting.

He did not agree with calls for Tūhoronuku's mandate being withdrawn.

"They miss the opportunity to change the evolved mandate," he said.