The Waitangi Tribunal must sit in urgency to enquire into the process by which Government has given Tūhoronuku a mandate to settle all Ngāpuhi treaty grievances.
This is the crux of an application filed only on Wednesday and follows action initiated by Ngati Hine last week to pull out of the mandate process Tūhoronuku are following.
Following the Tūhoronuku meeting in Hokianga on Tuesday of this week the Hokianga Hapū and Whanau Collective have applied for an urgent hearing of the Waitangi Tribunal.
Chairman of the Hokianga Hapū Whānau Collective, Rudy Taylor says, “The Hokianga is strong about how we see things going forward and that's something that we said we'll take it to the tribunal and also we will not participate in this process.”
It’s the hot issue on everyone’s lips at moment following Ngati Hines' decision last week to withdraw from the process. Te Kaea has been advised that other hapŪ in the wider Ngāpuhi region are meeting to consider the options available to them.
Taylor says, “So you know you got a lot of the hapū now making their own voice stronger and of course Waitangi has pulled out you know out of this whole process so we want to stand strong together.
Its been over three years since the stage one tribunal hearing in Ngapuhi that focussed on the 1835 Declaration of Chiefs and Te Tiriti where its was claimed Ngapuhi has never ceded sovereignty. And to date the claimant hapu are still awaiting the report.
A two day meeting begins in Whirinaki this afternoon that will allow Hokianga hapū to continue their discussions on the matter.