By Angela Gregory
OPUA - Anger over the sale of a strip of surplus railway land at Opua to a Far North District Council company has led Maori to start organising an occupation of the new marina under construction.
A Ngati Hine spokesman, Erima Henare, said occupation was a "distinct likelihood" after the sale of the land, which was under claim by Maori groups including his iwi and Ngaphui.
Mr Henare said the land was sold to the council company Far North Holdings Ltd.
The company's subsidiary, Opua Marina Management, is building a multimillion-dollar marina at the port and is expected to finish it early next year.
Mr Henare said the sale had been approved by the Minister for Treaty Negotiations, Sir Douglas Graham, after his officials consulted a representative of the local Ngati Manu sub tribe, Arapeta Hamilton.
The marina development had earlier gained approval without the railway corridor, but Mr Henare said previous marina applications had been stymied because the useful land was under claim.
He said Maori opposed the marina because they regarded the area as a valued food source and his father, the late Sir James Henare, had erected a pouwhenua (marker post) at Opua in 1987 to remind future generations of the Maori customary rights in the area.
The chairman of Far North Holdings, Richard Dimmock, confirmed the company had dealt with Mr Hamilton as a representative of tangata whenua, but would not comment further.
"Our own dealings are private dealings."
A spokesman for Mr Hamilton, Opua resident Ted Kyriak, said his friend had been duped.
Mr Hamilton had agreed the land be released for sale with the intention it would be jointly owned by iwi and Far North Holdings.
Later the council sent the Crown a letter saying the land could not be subdivided, so the sale could be offered only to the adjacent land owner, Far North Holdings.
A spokesman for Land Information New Zealand, Mike Jeffares, confirmed he was informed a title could not be raised on the awkwardly shaped strip.
The 8530 sq m strip was therefore sold at valuation for $150,000 to Far North Holdings.
Mr Jeffares said the land was transferred to Land Information about six years ago for disposal.
Land Information had advertised the intention to dispose of the surplus land as required under the Maori protection mechanism.
Maori with registered claims on the land were also informed they could register an interest to withhold the land from sale.
Sir Douglas had advised Land Information the strip was not suitable for land banking, although two adjacent ex-railway properties were.
Sir Douglas yesterday told the New Zealand Herald land banking was a discretionary process under which valuable sites likely to return to Maori could be identified and set aside.
About 20 per cent of surplus crown land was land banked, while the rest was released for sale.
Sir Douglas said in this case the cabinet had recommended the land not be land banked as it was partly under water and was a marginal strip.
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