Council warned on land sale bid

LACK of consultation with Maori and a land claim should stymie a controversial plan to sell a block of ratepayer land to a Whangarei engineering firm, says the Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.
But Whangarei District Council disagrees with Mita Ririnui, saying its legal advice is that there are no impediments to its selling the block of harbourside land and talks are continuing.
Early last year the council voted to sell 6.7ha of ratepayer land at Port Whangarei known as the Kaituna Block to Culham Engineering for $3.6 million.
Culhams had to include a lift capable of hauling large ships or pay a $1 million penalty.
Council community enterprises manager Alan Adcock said that deal had now fallen through and negotiations to sell the land were ongoing with Culhams and neighbouring company Norsand.
But Mr Ririnui said as far as he was concerned the council could not sell the land to Culhams for several reasons.
In any decision-making the council must, by law, take into account four "well-beings", including cultural, economic, environmental and social.
A confidential council agenda item, authored by Mr Adcock from February 7 last year, when the sale was discussed, said "no direct cultural impacts have been identified" in relation to the proposed sale.
Mr Ririnui said "nobody is going to believe that" and the comment probably indicated Maori had not been consulted.
"In an area like Northland, particularly in relation to land along the foreshore and harbour that may have been taken under the Public Works Act, there will be significant issues involved for Maori," he said.
"My view is that it was probably taken under the Public Works Act and if so Section 40 applies, which says it should be offered back to the original owners.
"There's also likely to be a claim over that land so it would make good sense not to dispose of it at this stage. The first thing the council should do is maintain a good relationship with hapu and iwi."
Mr Ririnui said if the council pushed ahead with the sale it was likely buying itself an expensive battle, which would probably seriously affect its relationship with Maori.
He said members of Whangarei hapu Ngati Hau and Te Parawhau indicated to him that they did have an interest in the land.
Mr Adcock said the proposed sale had been on the table for some time and at no stage had any hapu or iwi groups indicated that they had any claim over it.
He said he would not respond to Maori groups until any such claims had been made to the council.
Mr Adcock would not comment on the contents on the confidential agenda item from January last year and did not have at hand details of what, if any, consultation with Maori was conducted over the issue.
"But if there is any other information that comes to light we will consider that."