August 05, 2018
Barrier name change bragging rights denied
The chair of Ngātiwai Trust Board is angry Hauraki iwi have been given the right to change the name of Great Barrier Island.
Haydn Edwards says the deed of settlement signed last week shows Hauraki’s negotiators have successfully used the crown’s flawed policies on overlapping claims to extend their sphere of influence over natural resources beyond their tribal boundaries.
"It is a bit on the nose and in your face when a group that has had no names, no urupa, no maunga, no pa, no marae on Aotea at any time in my lifetime, that they are given the right to change the name from Great Barrier to Aotea. That is a miscarriage of justice," he says.
"He’s disappointed Labour’s coalition partner New Zealand First wasn’t able to intervene.
Ngatiwai’s settlement talks have been on hold for the past two years because of arguments over the mandate.
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