A Te Arawa land trust that is trying to evict home owners from leased Maori land says it is prepared to find a positive outcome for both parties.
Concerns over pollution leaking into the estuary from septic tanks have prompted Te Arawa Lakes Trust's commercial arm, Te Arawa Management, to issue eviction notices to home owners in Little Waihi.
More than 20 homes have been served with eviction notices, saying they have to be off the land by April 30 next year.
As part of its Treaty of Waitangi settlement, the trust owns 14 lakes in the Rotorua region and areas of land at Maketu and Little Waihi.
A letter signed by Te Arawa Management director Roku Mihinui, dated May 6, was sent to some home owners in Little Waihi who are on Maori land and it told them a "Licence to Occupy" was originally entered into with the home owners, that the licence was "at the will" of the licensor and that the trust had the right to end the lease on land it owned in the area.
Attempts by The Daily Post to contact Mr Mihinui have been unsuccessful.
However, Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman Toby Curtis told The Daily Post the letter of eviction was a formal requirement and the matter of the eviction clause had to be raised.
He said houses with septic tanks in Little Waihi were having an environmental impact on the area and the trust was left with little choice but to do something about it.
"We are not here to just try and kick people out on the street. That has never been the case. But it is part of the trust's mandate to protect our land for Maori and for all of New Zealand," Mr Curtis said.
"I would prefer to be talking directly to the families who it affects rather than a trial by media."
Mr Curtis said the trust was prepared to meet and talk to the families in an effort to find a positive solution for both parties.
"The trust intends to meet with those concerned, and others, to discuss the issues of licences to occupy relating to Little Waihi and other broader matters covering lands that are under the jurisdiction of the trust," Mr Curtis said.
"At this time, the trust will present background information on the situation and is willing, as it always has been to date, to consider a positive way forward."
Mr Curtis said the trust was in a difficult position because it needed to be able to protect Te Arawa's assets as well as be mindful of those people whose lives the trust's decision could impact on.
"At the end of the day we have to do what is right for the land, the iwi and New Zealand as a whole."
Mr Curtis said he would not go into specifics about what future plans the trust had for the area until they had talked through the options with the home owners.
The trust was planning to hold a meeting with the home owners on June 13, Mr Curtis said.
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