"That in itself was a great success."
But Potaka said the mandate has yet to be accepted by Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little and Te Arawhiti (the Office for Māori Crown Relations).
Before that happens the minister will meet the trust, hear from independent observers and receive another round of submissions on the trust's deed of mandate. Potaka is not sure how long this will take.
"There is one more hoop to jump through. These days the Crown is looking for a strong robust mandate, given the challenges they have had to some mandates."
When mandate is confirmed it could be time for the trust to celebrate, and appoint a negotiation team.
Potaka would like to bridge the gap between people who want the Ngāti Hinemanu group recognised as an iwi within the settlement, and their relations who say that iwi is Ngāi Te Ohuake, with Ngāti Hinemanu and Ngāti Paki as hapū.
For Richard Steedman, a descendant of Ngāi Te Ohuake rangatira Winiata Te Whaaro, the voting re-establishes Ngāi Te Ohuake as an iwi. Over the past few years it has been in the process of establishing its own rūnanga (council), chaired by Robert Martin.
Ngāi Te Ohuake people were once settled across the area northeast of Taihape township. But Te Whaaro and others lost much of their land in the late 1800s, because the Māori Land Court did not recognise Ngāi Te Ohuake as an iwi. Its people scattered to other iwi and hapū.
Steedman said the Crown owed them an apology.
Like Potaka, he hopes rifts between Taihape people will heal once the divisive Treaty claim process is over.
"I'm quite sure that once this does settle down we will all be back to how we used to be, one unified people," he said.
"We have just got to aim for the horizon."
