Waitangi Tribunal hearings to resume in Feilding

Friday, 28 May 2021

The Manawatū ki Porirua Waitangi Tribunal hearings move to Feilding next week.

It will be the sixth week of the Manawatū ki Porirua Waitangi inquiry, which is part of the overall Ngāti Raukawa Treaty claim on the historical purchase of thousands of hectares of land from Manawatū to Kāpiti.

Ngāti Raukawa claims the historical sale of the Rangitīkei-Manawatū block was not done legitimately.

The last session was in Te Awahou (Foxton) in April and now the hearings move to the Feilding Civic Centre on Monday and will run to Friday. The event is open to the public.

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**

Planning subcommittee co-chairman Rodney Graham said that after weeks of discussions, visits and planning, he was pleased to reach this point in the process.

Sir Eddie Taihakurei Durie has been involved in the claim and gave evidence at week four.

Durie has previously said the loss of the land or Te Pene Raupatu had a major effect on the Ngāti Kauwhata whānau and the way Crown officials have dealt with the iwi since the 1820s.

In total 12 weeks of hearings have been scheduled. They started at Hato PāoraCollege north of Feilding in 2020 and will progress to Horowhenua and Ōtaki.