Hapū feels left out of decision-making about its valley and river
Monday, 7 December 2020
A Manawatū hapū feels it has been left out of decision-making about its valley and river for more than a century, a Waitangi Tribunal has heard.
Ngā Iwi o Te Reureu spoke about how it had lost parts of its Te Reureu area, which borders the Rangitīkei River, north of Halcombe, as part of the Ngāti Raukawa iwi confederations treaty claim.
The fourth week of the 12-week hearing started at Te Tikanga Marae at Tokorangi, north of Halcombe, on Monday. The case relates to the historical purchase of the Rangitīkei-Manawatū block, about 130,000 hectares of land, between Manawatū and Kāpiti.
Lawyer for Ngā Iwi o Te Reureu Adrian Warren said of the hapū’s 8000 hectares beside the Rangitīkei River, about 1800 hectares were surveyed for hapū and now just 1000 hectares remained in Māori hands.
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“At the broadest level it’s a failure of the Crown to protect the tribal land for their future and current needs.”
He said the hapū were undermined and quickly became second-class citizens, but they remained “despite the Crown’s best efforts”.
“Not only are they valley people, but self-assessed river people. They have lived here for 180-plus years.”
He said they had experienced a negative transformation of the river, which had provided identity and sustenance to the people, but the state of the river was now an embarrassment.
“It’s an attack on the mana and identity as sewage and waste water continues to enter it… Valley people remain outside the tent for resource management decision-making.
“It’s tangata whenua without the whenua.”
Farmer Turoa Karatea’s family have been in the area since the 1820s and he has spent 29 years working on the claim.
“It’s never been in our interest, some of the deals that have happened here.”
The river was polluted and had eroded the iwi’s land.
He said flood protection had been built on the western side of the river, but not on the eastern side, bordering their lands. Councils taking metal from the river had contributed to the erosion.
“When you live around here and see what’s happening it’s pretty bloody hard to take. We’re still disagreeing on the same points 60, 70 years later.
“Consultation means talking to you then going away and doing nothing. We’re no further ahead here than we were in the 1950s.”
Wilson Karatea is a fifth-generation Te Reureu farmer and he said the Māori land was heavily fragmented and Māori often felt left out of discussions.
He said even though the area was near the river, it struggled with water supply and many houses relied on rainwater.
He said some blocks couldn’t access the Stanway-Halcombe rural water supply, which is for stock only, so he was part of a group that proposed a Te Reureu water scheme for farmers and people wanting to live in the area.
They were granted $20,000 to look into the scheme, but ran out of funds.
“We’re left with very little land to develop and provide for whānau. We’ve always struggled to get out of first gear, but done the best we can with what we have.”
He said all the family wanted was the same opportunities as neighbouring farmers.
The hearing continues.