Whangarei hapu celebrate as Poroti Springs land and water rights bought by Crown

Poroti hapu spokesman Milan Ruka said the groups are delighted that Zodiac Holdings has sold its land and consent to take water from Poroti Springs to the Crown.

The battle is over and the celebration has started, but it's not the end of the war for Whangarei hapu who have been fighting for two decades to stop up to 2.5 million litres a day of water being taken from Poroti Springs.

Whatitiri Maori Reserve Trust, which represents Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau and Te Mahurehure ki Whatitiri hapu, has been fighting for more than two decades to stop water being taken from Poroti Springs, about 20km west of Whangarei.

That battle is now over after Zodiac Holdings - the company behind the plan - sold its land and water take consents to the Crown for $7.5 million.

The news has been welcomed by the hapu, spokesman Milan Ruka said, but the fight to secure the economic future of the hapu was ongoing.

''We're very pleased about this. It's great news for the hapu and it's wonderful to have Zodiac out of the picture,'' Mr Ruka said.

Zodiac had consent to take up to 2.5 million litres a day from the Poroti Springs, with the intention of bottling the water for sale overseas. Zodiac has sold its Poroti land and water take consents to the Crown to be used by the Office of Treaty Settlements to help settle Treaty of Waitangi clams.

Mr Ruka said the sale price seemed generous, but the hapu was delighted the land and water rights would now go into the land bank for Treaty settlements. He said the battle had been long and arduous on the hapu, taking up plenty of time, money and resources.
When asked how the hapu would be celebrating, he said it would be subdued.

''Today we are quite exhausted. Everybody is going to sit down tonight and just take it all in, but it's excellent news and we will be celebrating. Stage one of our strategy was to stop Zodiac and that has happened,'' Mr Ruka said. "It's now on to stage two and that should help secure the economic future for the hapu.''

Treaty Minister Andrew Little said the Government has secured land that's been the focus of Ngapuhi concerns about the health and wellbeing of Poroti Springs.

"The Crown has purchased nearly four hectares of land near Poroti Springs which will be landbanked for a future Treaty settlement. The Crown property purchase includes a resource consent to extract water from the Whatitiri aquifer which feeds the Poroti Springs,'' Mr Little said.

"The Crown has been negotiating for some time to acquire this piece of land because of the cultural significance of Poroti Springs to the local hapu and Ngapuhi. To secure ownership of the property the Crown entered a commercial negotiation and paid $7.5m.

Ngapuhi is currently engaged in discussions around their Treaty of Waitangi negotiations.
This purchase is about addressing the potential for this site to become an asset to the beneficiaries of a future settlement.''