Te Arawa turned out in force at a Government hui near Taupo on water rights yesterday.
Although Tainui boycotted their consultation hui on Tuesday, about 50 Te Arawa members were part of the more than 100 people who attended.
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has been travelling the country to meet 10 iwi and hapu who have a specific connection to the fresh water and geothermal resources used by the state-owned power companies Mighty River Power, Meridian and Genesis.
He addressed around 120 Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa members at Wairakei Resort.
Among those attending was Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman Toby Curtis, who said about half of the 100-plus people were from Te Arawa.
For Mr Curtis, attending the hui was a matter of respect and also an opportunity to have questions answered.
"If the Government is good enough to come to us, we should be good enough and respectful enough to return that opportunity. It was good to see where they were coming from and hear what they had to say and what they were hoping to achieve."
Mr Curtis said each person responded to the presentation differently as they each had different views of their understanding of the Waitangi Tribunal report suggesting iwi be given a "shares-plus" option, giving some Maori shareholders rights above those of other shareholders.
"The minister gave the Crown's position which wasn't quite what they believed was the position presented by the report. There were other people that asked questions; he responded very well to all of those questions. Some were very direct but respectful and others were very cutting. As far as I'm concerned, Mr English didn't try to put any of those questions under the carpet."
Mr Curtis said Mr English presented the Crown's position very well, whether iwi agreed with it or not.
He said there was still some talking to be done and Te Arawa would be having a meeting within the next week to "have a chat" about their next move.
Any submissions on the issue are due by October 5, a time frame Mr Curtis said was "rather brief" as many people were still trying to absorb all the information.
Ngati Tuwharetoa paramount chief Sir Tumu te Heuheu said at the hui he expected the iwi's own preference - to keep engaging directly with senior government ministers over water rights to continue - to be at odds with King Tuheitia's water summit last week.
At the summit, 1000 Maori voted to support a unified approach to water claims and to support the establishment of a new body to establish a framework over water rights.
Sir Tumu said he was "compelled by circumstances" to clarify the position of his iwi.
"Ngati Tuwharetoa is in an extraordinary position of having customary ... and proprietary rights over the very lakes, waterways and geothermal fields [where energy companies operate]."
He outlined the tribe was still waiting "patiently" for the Waitangi Tribunal to report back on its 2006 geothermal and hydroelectric claim and said he had been mandated through multiple internal hui to deal direct with the Government - he hoped that would not change.