Give us $10m or we occupy - hapu

A Lower Hutt hapu is threatening a Bastion Point-style occupation of a park if it does not get a $10 million payout for "confiscated land".

The threat over Waiwhetu's Te Whiti Park was made by the former secretary for Maori Affairs, Kara Puketapu, before Parliament's Maori affairs select committee yesterday.

He wants the payout under the historic Port Nicholson Block settlement legislation, currently before Parliament.

The threat follows Dr Puketapu's surprise resignation last month as a trustee of the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust and has led to a standoff with trust chairman and lead negotiator, Ngatata Love.

Dr Puketapu said his people were upset the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui Ki Te Upoko O Te Ika) Bill did not include adequate recompense for land confiscated by the Crown in the 1940s.

The land was taken under the Public Works Act and used for state houses in Waiwhetu, as well as for Te Whiti Park.

He said the hapu could not be held responsible for the actions of its young people and an occupation of the disputed land was possible.

"The confiscation of the land was a despotic muru-raupatu [wipe out and conquer] act. Our houses were bulldozed down and our people lost their homes. We want an extra $10 million put into Waiwhetu for the recovery undertaken since 1943."

Dr Love expressed disappointment that Dr Puketapu had broken away from the collective iwi approach. Dr Puketapu had been a respected trustee and signed off on the proposed deed of settlement at Parliament last year, Dr Love said.

But his resignation and yesterday's parliamentary submission had badly let down fellow trustees.

The agreed settlement deal included a block of Waiwhetu School land to recognise the hapu's standing, Dr Love said.

Dr Puketapu said he resigned from the trust so he could pursue the $10 million grievance claim.

He was also considering taking the claim to the Waitangi Tribunal. However, the hapu's Waiwhetu claim committee chairman, Vern Winitana, said Dr Puketapu had no mandate to comment on how the claim should be pursued.

The proposed compensation package before the committee includes $25 million cash, purchase and lease-back arrangements for Wellington buildings, including Archives New Zealand, the National Library, the High Court and Wellington Girls College.

The former air force base at Shelly Bay is part of the settlement.

 * Comments on this story are now closed.

- © Fairfax NZ News