Te Aitanga a Mahaki lead negotiator Willie Te Aho has condemned what he calls an “arrogant approach” by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency and its major contractors within the eastern tribe’s rohe.
Te Aho, who also represents Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, said he had reiterated to Waka Kotahi that the transport agency’s model of procurement in Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki was flawed.
“Ko te mana motuhake te kaupapa matua. Ko enei huarahi ka haere i waenganui i te pū manawa o a mātou iwi, engari kei waho mātou e titiro ana ki ngā whakaritenga, ki ngā rautaki.” (”Our right to self-determination is key here. These roads that need to be repaired run right through our iwi, but we are left outside looking in”.)
His comments come after Cyclone Recovery Minister Grant Robertson visited Gisborne to sign the East Coast Recovery Alliance deal that will see Waka Kotahi and KiwiRail work with contracting organisations Fulton Hogan, Downer and Higgins to manage, design and do physical works in the rebuild of state highways and the rail network across Te Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay.
Te Aho says building an enduring road network “must be a part of our economic recovery that we lead”, and believes a major disruption is needed for iwi to be included in all levels of solution-making, “not just on the lollipop signs, but real decision-making”.