Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson has been warned about Ngapuhi Runanga moves perceived as hijacking control over the tribe's Treaty settlement, expected to be worth more than $170 million.
Te Kotahitanga has urged Mr Finlayson to listen to hapu to ensure a speedy and united pathway for Ngapuhi to settlethe iwi's Treaty claims.
"It would be a waste of Ngapuhi and taxpayer resources to head down a settlement path that leads nowhere, or even worse, to further conflict between the Crown and Ngapuhi," Te Kotahitanga co-chairman Pita Tipene said in a letter to the minister.
Te Kotahitanga, which represented Ngapuhi hapu, had participated in three processes the minister had initiated to reconcile differences between it and the runanga's Tuhoronuku committee, which claimed to have obtained a mandate for direct settlement negotiations with the Crown. Reconciliation efforts had culminated in the recently-released Tuku Morgan report, "but have been thwarted at every turn by the Ngapuhi Runanga who have moved quickly to disrupt any efforts that might reduce their control of the settlement process," the letter added. Mr Tipene said runanga chairman and Tuhoronuku interim chairman Sonny Tau had rejected the Morgan report, and the runanga had this month changed its rules so it could become the post-settlement governance entity and elected runanga representatives could remain in office longer than the previous restriction of nine years.
Meanwhile, significant issues raised by the hapu had been ignored by the minister and Tuhoronuku.
"Our concerns are about building a fair and inclusive settlement process for Ngapuhi, that is transparent and open, and will ensure standard protection mechanisms are in place for iwi and hapu settlement resources well into the future," Mr Tipene added.
He claimed that an independent Digipoll by TVNZ's Te Karere had found 70.3 per cent of Ngapuhi were unaware of Tuhoronuku's drive for a mandate. Of the 27.7 per cent aware of the mandate, a strong majority (45.5 per cent) supported Te Kotahitanga to lead Ngapuhi's settlement claims.
In addition, only 29,000 Ngapuhi had been sent voting packs, out of an estimated total population of 140,000, and only 6800 participated in the mandating process.
