The co-chairman of the group that had formerly opposed Tuhoronuku says the changes proposed in a new Ngapuhi settlement report are what hapu wanted from the beginning.
The Ngapuhi Engagement Group - a tripartite group comprising Te Kotahitanga, Tuhoronuku and the Crown - released a draft report titled Maranga Mai in which major changes and recommendations include hapu tikanga playing a major role in how hapu representatives are chosen, the potential for a group to represent hapu rather than an individual, and regional groups made up of hapu making decisions.
Pita Tipene, co-chairman of Te Kotahitanga which had opposed the mandate given to Tuhoronuku to negotiate Treaty claims on behalf of Ngapuhi, said he was "elated" by the draft report.
"People are really excited in Ngapuhi," he said. "This is certainly what we wanted. I am elated. We took [Tuhoronuku's Mandate] to the Waitangi Tribunal and our concerns [regarding hapu sovereignty] were upheld in their report.
"The Waitangi Tribunal also found that Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty to the Crown so we needed a mandate where hapu were at the forefront."
