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Te Paparahi o Te Raki has made the second step
in their Treaty claims process today with the Mahurangi hapu cluster.
Mana, Maori land management, economic growth,
govt land sectioning and division tactics were under discussion.
Peata Melbourne was there.
Almost 400 are included
in Te Paparahi o Te Raki's regional inquiry,
that alone creating its own dilemmas amidst the country's largest tribe.
We've been divided by barriers as set out by the law,
and I will not allow them to divide my people.
The Government has taken a step back
and left the Maori to scuffle amongst ourselves.
Judge Coxhead was appointed
as presiding judge over the massive claim.
Today, Mahurangi took to the stage,
paving the way for Ngapuhi's Auckland connection.
The Auckland conflicts have nothing to do with us.
We're under Ngapuhi.
However, there are those who're are telling me
that we're just part of their common majority.
I am not. I am from here.
Most Mahurangi hapu have no lands to call their own.
Mahurangi take a strong stance
in giving them autonomy of the land and people,
but they object
to having their genealogical ties to the land dissected.
We aren't just fighting for pennies,
we're fighting because they're telling us we have no rights,
and I don't agree with that.
Some of our hapu have no marae,
and that's what we're hoping to fix.
We're also thinking of our kids' education with scholarships
and those kinds of things.
The time has come for the people to have a say.
Something perhaps only the tribes can decide.
The next stage of the hearings will recommence before the tribunal
in Hokianga this April.
Peata Melbourne, Te Karere.