Govt should have been straight up with Tuhoe - Goff

Phil Goff said National should not have raised Tuhoe's expectations. Photo / Sarah Ivey

National wrongly raised the expectations of Tuhoe over the iwi's Treaty settlement and should have been upfront with them from the start, Labour Leader Phil Goff said today.

John Key yesterday told Tuhoe negotiators that transferring ownership of the 212,672ha Te Urewera national park to the iwi as part of its settlement was not acceptable to the Government.

The decision has come as a blow to Tuhoe, which was expecting the ownership transfer in a second settlement offer from the Crown.

Tuhoe's chief negotiator, Tamati Kruger, voiced disgust at the decision, saying the "eleventh hour" decision to pull the proposal was prompted by "a failure of nerve and loss of resolve".

"It shows what a shambles this process has been. They have raised expectations and then disappointed them, National has been attacked by [Maori Party co-leader} Tariana Turia for being dishonourable and breach of trust.

"What they should have done from the start is be straight up and down with Tuhoe.

"If they weren't intending to pass the park across - and I understand the reasons for that - they should have said so and not raised those expectations."

Last night Tariana Turia said: "As a Maori Party leader I'm tired of the politics of race being brought into the equation - this is an issue of leadership and justice.

"Tuhoe have behaved with honour right throughout the negotiation process. I question what we see happening here."

Tuhoe representatives had met several ministers, other politicians and local interest groups to reassure them about access to the park and the way Tuhoe would run it.

"Despite overwhelming public support, internal National Party political concerns have won out. We believe these concerns are based on superstition and not fact," they said.

Some ministers are understood to be concerned about the issue coming so close on the back of heightened sensitivities over mining on conservation land as well as proposals to allow customary title claims over the foreshore and seabed.

However, Mr Key denied it was because of unease about the potential public reaction to such a move. His main concern was about the precedent it would set.

It was a major departure from the usual practices in dealing with substantial lands in settlements and would have been the first time such a significant piece of the Conservation estate had been handed over to an iwi.

Mr Key acknowledged that it was a strong wish of Tuhoe's and that they were willing to guarantee public access and ensure it was managed in a way akin to a national park.

"We understand that. But it's also been a long-held view from the Government that that would be very challenging - and they were always aware it would be very challenging."

The decision will imperil the Government's chances of reaching a timely settlement with Tuhoe - ownership of that area was one of its "bottom lines" and one of the main reasons it rejected the Crown's first settlement offer.

The negotiators would seek an explanation from the Cabinet.