Iwi 'may end up stranded'

Shane Jones argued Ngapuhi should make the most of the momentum it had built up and urged the Tribunal not to encourage the iwi's "atomisation". Photo / NZME.

If Ngapuhi delays its Treaty settlement it may miss the tide of history and end up "like sprats stranded in the shallows", former MP Shane Jones says.

Mr Jones, the Ambassador of Pacific Economic Development and architect of the 1992 Sealord fisheries settlement, was giving evidence at an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing on Thursday into how Ngapuhi's Treaty grievances should be settled.

He argued that Ngapuhi should make the most of the momentum it had built up so far and urged the Tribunal not to encourage the iwi's "atomisation".

The Sealord settlement was also dogged by controversy about its mandate and its impact on hapu, eventually ending up in the Court of Appeal. The judge recognised there were shortcomings in the process and that not all aspirations would be satisfied - but said the Sealord deal was "a tide that had to be taken at flood".

Similarly, the Tribunal had to make sure Ngapuhi did not miss a historic opportunity. The alternative could be to end up "like sprats stranded in the shallows".

In contrast to Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan, who argued on Wednesday that Ngapuhi would be better off pursuing five separate settlements based on hapu groupings, Mr Jones said breaking the settlement up among overlapping hapu claimants would weaken Ngapuhi's chances of substantial redress.

"Ngapuhi is our biggest iwi and deserves to be the powerhouse of the North ... The result is not totally accepted but it is time to move on and catch the tide," he said.

He also called on the iwi to take responsibility for its internal wrangles rather than relying on the Tribunal to sort them out. Mr Jones said he was expressing his personal view, not those of the Ministry that employs him.

The hearings continued at the Copthorne Hotel in Waitangi today with Te Runanga-a-iwi o Ngapuhi chairman Sonny Tau taking the stand.