Taranaki Whanui endorse Poneke deal

Taranaki Whanui claimants have endorsed a proposed settlement which will make them the landlords of many of Wellington's government properties.

Some 31 percent of eligible members took part, with 98 percent voting in favour of the settlement and 95 percent in favour of the proposed governance body.

15 percent cast their votes online, a higher percentage than the last local body election.

Ngatata Love, the chair of the Port Nicholson Block Claims Team, says the next step is to introduce the settlement legislation into parliament, and he hopes out again before the end of the current term.

The deal is conservatively valued at around $200 million dollars.

It includes 23 sites of cultural and spiritual significance, including Matiu- Soames Island in Wellington Harbour, the former Wainuiomata college and Wainuiomata intermediate school sites, and Pipitea Marae and associated properties along Thorndon Quay.

It also includes a 100 year right of first refusal to buy surplus Crown land in the Wellington area, and the right to immediately buy from a portfolio of properties including Wellington Railway station and the Defence Force's Shelley Bay complex on the Mirimar Peninsula.

WATER TO FLOW FOR WAKATU IRRIGATION NEEDS

Wakatu Incorporation has reached agreement with Tasman District Council over water for its land around Motueka.

It's dropping a High Court appeal against the council's plans to redirect bore water to new subdivisions along the coast, rather than make it available for irrigating the incorporation's land.

Chief executive Keith Palmer says a change in council leadership after the last election was a major factor in the way the parties had been able to find a way through their difficulties.

He says the deal means there will be enough water for everyone who has irrigable land.

FUNDING HURDLE OVERCOME IN GISBORNE PAUA HATCHERY

A Gisborne paua hatchery is almost ready to start growing the delicacy after a five year funding delay.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry promised Te Runanga o Turanganui a Kiwa $230,000 for the project in 2002, but didn't hand the money over until last year.

David Carter, National's agriculture spokesperson, says it was a massive bureaucratic bungle.
Sharon Maynard, the manager of the runanga's education subsidiary, Turanga Aranui, says the delay probably means the organisation is better prepared to use the money.

She says the land-based hatchery was funded by the runanga, and the MAF money was for kai.

"It's mainly focusing on growing algae to feed the paua on at some stage later on. We're just seeing what's the best way to grow it, indoors or outdoors. It's more experimental to find the best feed for them, the best way to grow their feed," Ms Maynard says.

Turanga Aranui will grow paua to about 1 centimetre, and then sell them on to other hatcheries or use them to restock wild populations.

TE TAU IHU TRIBES WANT MOVEMENT ON AQUACULTURE DEAL

Te Tau Ihu iwi have joined forces to seek early settlement of their aquaculture claims.

Richard Bradley from Rangitane says the 2004 Maori Commercial Aquaculture Settlement Act means the Crown has to make a cash offer in 2014 unless it can come up with marine space.

He says there's no chance of finding any unused space at the top of the South Island, so the iwi have asked for aquaculture to be included in their treaty settlement.

He says Fisheries Ministry officials have estimated the total cost of the aquaculture settlement could be up to 100 million dollars.

"Our expectations are a bit greater than that but the opportunity we have is for some people to come down to get a settlement now and other people to come up to get a settlement now, or we just dig in for the long road, see what the ground looks like in 2014," Mr Bradley says.

The talks include Ngai Tahu, so a settlement covering the entire South Island is possible.
 
WELLINGTON CLAIMANTS KEEN TO TIE UP SETTLEMENT BILL

Port Nicholson Block claimants hope legislation putting in place their $200 million settlement can be in place before the election.

The claimants from Taranaki Whanui who settled around Wellington Harbour voted by a 98 percent margin to ratify the proposed settlement, which includes the return of cultural sites like Matiu-Soames Island and Pipitea Marae.

The financial value of the deal lies in the opportunity it gives the claimants to buy and develop sites such as Wellington Railway Station and the Defence Force's Shelley Bay complex.

They will also become the landlord of Crown agencies like the National Library and National Archives, which are built on the former Pipitea Pa.

Claims team chairman Ngatata Love says they want to move quickly on initiatives such as housing for its people.

He says the claimant community, which overlaps with the Wellington Tenths Trust, has considerable experience as a landlord and responsible developer of land in the city, and it has good relationships with the region's councils. 

ANCIENT GARDENING TECHNIQUES PRESERVED IN SOUTH AUCKLAND STONEFIELD

A proposed reserve in south Auckland will preserve the gardening secrets of the ancients.

The park will cover what's left of the Matukuturua Stonefields and the remains of the Matukutureia volcano in Manukau City.

Ngati Te Ata elder Nganeko Minhinnick says it was the home of her ancestor, Te Ata i Rehia, and is an important reminder of her iwi's hold over that part of the region.

She says there are still signs of the sophisticated system of stone walls and raised gardens used to sustain a large population.

"They used the rocks, the stones, to grow their kai. They didn't have to water it because the rocks provided the heat and the water and the necessary things to make the kai grow," Mrs Minhinnick says.

Ngati Te Ata will want a say in how many reserve at Matukuturua is run.