Far North farm occupiers face police eviction

Members of a Far North hapu occupying part of a large farm south of Mangonui now face possible eviction by police within the next few days.

The group moved into shearers' houses on Stony Creek cattle and sheep station on December 23 in a mandating dispute with a local Maori trust board.

That board is negotiating the future of the property with the Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS).

Ngati Aukiwa hapu members met at the farm on Sunday to decide their next move after being told by the office earlier that they should leave the 2275ha property immediately.

But yesterday the group was staying put. "Nothing's changed. We're still here," a spokesman said. He would make no further comment.

Dean Cowie, acting director of the OTS, which holds the landbanked property on behalf of the Crown until negotiations on local treaty settlement claims are finalised, said yesterday that his office was now discussing the situation with Northland police.

"We'd rather not force an eviction but that may be our only option now," Mr Cowie said.

The OTS had earlier sent a letter to the occupiers asking them to leave the farm "forthwith", rejecting the hapu's claim that members had a sovereign right to lawfully occupy the property under unextinguished native aboriginal title.

Ngati Aukiwa also disputes the OTS-recognised mandate of the local Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa Trust Board to negotiate with the Crown over the future of the Stony Creek Station block, known as Waikohatu. These negotiations began last year.

The office maintains that it has legal title to the former Landcorp property on behalf of the Crown.

It says it wants a peaceful solution to the disputed issues, including a historic hapu claim about the farm land being originally alienated from local Maori.

The OTS is also in regular contact with the farm manager and staff to ensure the needs of the station's 1500 cattle and 5000 sheep are being met.

The manager and his staff were issued with hapu-generated trespass notices on Christmas Eve, giving them 21 days to leave the farm, but the OTS, as employer, does not recognise the notices.

Mr Cowie would not say yesterday when police might be asked to evict hapu members from the station.

During the 33-day occupation, Ngati Aukiwa numbers on the farm have varied from 20 to more than 50, including children.

Northland police rural area controller Inspector Mike Rusbatch, who is likely to be involved in any eviction action, said yesterday that police were maintaining a "conciliatory approach" to the occupation.

Farm stay

* Maori have occupied a Crown-owned farm in the Far North for 33 days.

* Ngati Aukiwa hapu members say they have a right to lawfully occupy Stony Creek station under unextinguished native aboriginal title.