Smoke and mirrors hide settlement value

A lawyer for the Marutuahu confederation says the Crown used smoke and mirrors to hide the true cost of a proposed settlement with Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Paul Majurey says last week's Waitangi Tribunal Tamaki Makau Rau hearing flushed out damaging information about the way the Office of Treaty Settlements handled claims to central Auckland.

Other iwi say their interests in the region were totally ignored.

Mr Majurey says the value of more than $50 million in naval housing land on the North Shore the Orakei hapu is to receive was discounted to zero.

He says the Crown is also trying to claim a right of first refusal for surplus Crown land has no financial value, despite evidence to the contrary from other settlements.

“You can nominally purchase it one day, not pay over any money, and collect several millions of dollars in profit the next day, pay out the Crown, and you’ve got your profit to do other things with. And it’s not a bad thing to happen, Ngai Tahu have had it and other tribes have had it, but don’t try to tell us it’s got a zero value to try to minimise what value the settlement is,” Mr Majurey says.

He says the Crown should allow a proper investigation of all Auckland claims.

MAORI LIBRARIAN INCREASE HAILED

The new chief librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library says he is pleased at the increasing number of Maori finding work in libraries.

Chris Szekely, (PRON Cee- Kay) from Ngapuhi, was the city librarian at Manukau City Council, and will now head New Zealand’s leading heritage research library.

He says the number of Maori librarians has grown from a handful to almost 200, and they have worked to make libraries more inviting for Maori as places to work, study and use.

“It’s pleasing to me as someone who was here at an early stage to see a generation later that we’ve got young Maori coming through with degrees, with confidence, with visiuon about where Maori need to be going,” Mr Szekely says.

He was welcomed to the library in Wellington this morning.

LAHAR DOESN’T TEST MARAE FLOOD SYSTEM

The pressure has gone off a marae near the lower reaches of the Whangaehu River with the break in the Ruapehu crater lake.

The lahar of mud and water which was five metres high in the headwaters of the Whangaehu was barely noticeable by the time the extra water got to the river mouth.

Whangaehu Marae spokesperson Pahia Turia says after being inundated twice in recent year the marae has been building a flood protection wall.

He says it's just as well the lahar did not come on top of flood conditions.

“We'd done three sides. We’re on the last side now and yesterday when I heard the crater lake I thought to myself ‘damn, if it breaks we’re in trouble,’” Mr Turia says.

He's disappointed Civil Defence did not warn those living close to the lower reaches of the river that the lahar was on its way.

MAORI ACADEMIC PATHWAYS STRATEGISED

An education symposium in Auckland today focused on how Maori participation in academia can be improved.

From Pupil to Professor was organised by Te Pae O Te Maramatanga, the multi-university centre for Maori research excellence.

Director Linda Smith says there are many barriers to Maori achieving the kind of post-graduate degrees required for academic leadership.

They include steering Maori away from maths and science at high school level, which means students can find themselves blocked off from areas of tertiary study.

“The truth of the matter is wherever we are in the system there are barriers and I think what we’re trying to do is identify the key ones and think abut how all of us, altogether can help get rid of the barrier and get our students through in greater numbers,” Professor Smith says.

She says long term strategies are needed to address the problems.

NGATI WHATUA DEFENDS HOW DEAL WAS STRUCK

The chief executive of Ngati Whatua o Orakei is defending the process used to arrive at the tribe's settlement of its central Auckland land claims.

The Office of Treaty Settlements came under fire at a Waitangi Tribunal hearing last week, with tribunal members and cross-claimants questioning whether Ngati Whatua had got special treatment over other iwi with traditional ties to the Tamaki isthmus.

But Tiwana Tibble says Ngati Whatua had to establish its mandate before talks could start, and there were robust processes used.

Mr Tibble says it was not practical to talk to cross claimants until Ngati Whatua and the Crown had agreed on the historical account to be included in the agreement in principle.

“Because it will not go through a triubunal process, the only record it will have about this case is in the agreed historical account, so it was very important for Sir Hugh and his team at the time to get that right,” Mr Tibble says.

He says Ngati Whatua left some assets on the table for other iwi.

MAORI IRISH CELEBRATIONS A GOOD CRAIC

Ten thousand dollars will be shared between the Waiohiki Marae and community arts centre after a St Patricks Day celebration with a difference in the Hawkes Bay on Saturday.

The Hui and Huili brought together those who share Maori and Irish Whakapapa.

Organiser Dennis O'Reilly says things looked a bit quiet at the church service first thing in the morning, but a big crowd turned out later in the day.

The programme included korero from Ngai Tahu elder Sir Tipene O'Regan and governer General Anand Satyanand, a Celtic-Maori art auction and the St Patricks day dance.

“Then in the evening we had Frankie Stevens and Brannigan and his Ka Pai Band and my god, what a rocking night. We couldn’t get them to the church service mate, but couldn’t keep them away from the party. We were celebrating being Maori, being Irish, and we were celebrating all being New Zealanders. It was great,” Mr O'Reilly says.