Hapu upset over sale proposal

An aerial view of Marsden Pt where Mighty River Power is selling seven blocks of unwanted land, with (at left) the seven blocks highlighted. Whangarei hapu Patuharakeke is opposing the sale and wants them land banked until its Treaty of Waitangi claims over the land are heard.

Whangarei hapu Patuharakeke has lodged an application for an urgent hearing before the Waitangi Tribunal to stop the impending sale of industrial land at Marsden Pt as it has a Treaty of Waitangi claim over the land.

Government-owned Mighty River Power-which was given the land, some of which contained the now removed old Marsden A and B power stations, in the power reforms of the early 1990s-is selling the land as it is deemed surplus to requirements. Expressions of interest for the seven blocks of land, covering 166 hectares closed on May 22.

But Patuharakeke wants an urgent hearing before the tribunal to stop the sale, saying it will lead to the loss of potential redress of land that is of cultural significance to them.

Prue Kapua, the lawyer who represents Whangarei hapu Patuharakeke, said the hapu wants the disputed sections put in a land bank by the Office of Treaty Settlement (OTS) until its Treaty claims are settled. She said the land in dispute was taken under the public Works Act for power generation purposes, and was no longer needed for that so the hapu wanted it back.

Ms Kapua said the blocks-which contained the old power stations-were among the few land blocks in the area not in private ownership that could possibly be returned to the hapu, which now has virtually no land after it was taken by previous Governments. The hapus only asset is a small piece of land around its Takahiwai Marae.

The disputed sections have Section 27b memorials on them - a status applying to many sites around New Zealand that could potentially be returned or compensated for in Treaty settlements - and Mighty River Power said those memorials would remain even if the land is sold. The company said it had kept Patuharakeke and Ngatiwai up to date about its plans to sell the combined 166 hectares of land.

In its application for an urgent hearing the hapu says by progressing with the sale of the State Owned Enterprise land to a third party, the Crown is effectively depriving Patuharakeke of redress to their last remaining tangible interests.

The sale will most certainly remove the last opportunity that the Crown has to remedy a breach that has been present with Patuharakeke since 1854.

At no other time has the Crown provided reparation or any form of remedy for what is recorded as a confiscation.