March 04, 2019
Festival heightens Ihumatao split
FULL INTERVIEW WITH TE WARENA TAUA CLICK HERE
FULL INTERVIEW WITH PANIA NEWTON CLICK HERE
Representatives of the Ihumātao community and Fletcher Building are pushing back after a weekend Reclamation Festival to support a protest against the company’s plans to develop land next to the south Auckland village.
Te Kāwerau a Maki executive chair Te Wārena Taua says the protest group led by Pania Newton and the Save Our Unique Landscape group does not represent mana whenua of Ihumātao.
He says after failing to purchase the land from the Wallace family and to block the development through the courts, he and the late Marianne Roberts negotiated the return to mana whenua an 80 metre strip around the special housing area, as well as make available some affordable housing.
That will make a bigger difference to the community than SOUL’s plan to save the land for the people of Auckland.
"We have over 200 families who are not at the marae, at the village living, there is no space for them becuase there is no area for housing, Our people want housing also. If we got 40 homes at affordable prices, that actually extends the size of the village," Mr Taua says.
He says Ms Newton has no mandate to speak for Ihumātao, and the SOUL occupation is blocking much needed new housing.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com