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A Northland hapu are challenging the Chinese owners of Motukawaiti
one of the Cavalli Islands.
The tribe belonging to the island have been requesting a meeting
with the Chinese owners, but to no avail.
Motukawaiti is in the north of the Bay of Islands in Northland.
Our reporter Roihana Nuri has this report.
This is the Island of Motukawaiti that was sold to a Chinese investor.
But a rift is forming between the local hapu and the new island owner.
We were saddened to hear that one of our islands
had been sold to the Chinese.
In August, Motukawaiti was sold to St Morris NZ
with one registered director - Wenning Han.
But a mortgagor representative named Haiyan Yang
has registered an $11.5 million mortgage plus interest
over the island in the name of mortgagee Jun Zhang.
The island title also has a caveat in the name of Haiming Jiang.
We don't know who the owner is and where they are.
Dover Samuels believes this sale
is similar to the Chinese Purchase of the Crafar farms.
It's quite deceitful,
the owners puppets are here but we want to meet face to face
with the person who brought the island.
We tried several times to contact the new owner without success.
Ngati Kura want to meet with them.
Perhaps the Chinese will see that we aren't difficult to talk too at all.
The island was brought by the Chinese investor
for between $11 million and $14 million.
We contacted the Overseas Investment Office (OIO)
to see whether or not the sale complied
with the Overseas Investment Act 2005.
According to Annelies McClure, Manager of OIO,
OIO continues to investigate the purchase.
They had the island for just under a year,
but not one of them have approached us the people of the land.
Only with a face to face meeting between the local people
and the new Chinese owners will sort out locals fears
for their ancestral island.
Roihana Nuri, Te Karere.