I tēnei rā, i hui ngātahi te iwi o Whanganui me ngā minita o Te Karauna ki Kaiwhaiki Marae ki te waitohu i te whakataunga kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi e kīa ana ko He Rau Tukutuku.
E $55 miriona tāra te wāriu o te whakataunga, ā, e whakahoki ana i ngā whenua hoki me te whakamana i te iwi o Whanganui ki ngā tini ture.
Hei tohu nui tēnei i roto i te tukanga rongoā roa kua roa nei, whai muri i ngā tekau tau o te whiriwhiringa. I mua i te waitohutanga, neke atu i te waru rau rua tekau ngā uri o ngā hapū o Whanganui i pōti, ā, waru tekau mā tahi (81%) paiheneti o rātau i whakaae ki te kōkiri whakamua i te kerēme.
I whakaatu a Te Kenehi Mair, te Kaiwhiriwhiri Matua mō te Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust, i tana harikoa me tana māhutanga o te ngākau i tēnei rā. I kī ia ka hoki tōna mahara ki ngā tūpuna nā rātou i whawhai tēnei kaupapa.
“Ka hoki āku whakaaro, tōku mahara ki a rātau me kī, o tātau tūpuna i whawhai tēnei kaupapa i te wā i ora ai rātau,” i kī a Mair. “I runga i tēnei rā ataahua, me kī tēnei rā hainatanga o te whakataunga i te whenua, harikoa te ngākau”.
Nā te Minita Whakawhanaketanga Māori a Hon. Tama Potaka i whakaae ki te mamae o te tukanga, me tana kī, he ara mamae kua takahia e tēnā iwi, e tēnā iwi. I kī hoki a Potaka me āta tirohia te tukanga whakataunga a Te Karauna kia kore ai e tino mamae ngā iwi, me te mea hoki me whakapūmau ngā huarahi mō te pūtea, te hononga, me ngā tukanga kia pūāwai ai te whakaaro kōtahi.
“He ara mamae kua takahia e tēnā iwi, e tēnā iwi, ēngari mō ēnei rangi, he rangi whakapāha, kātahi, ēngari te whakariterite mai hoki i ngā ara whai pūtea, whai hononga, tūkanga hoki kia pūāwai mai ai te whakaaro, kei konei te Kawana, kei konei te rangatira,” i kī a Potaka.
Ahakoa te tutukitanga o te rā, i kōrero a Gerard Albert, te Kaiwhiriwhiri Matua mō te Ruruku Whakatupua Whanganui River Settlement, mō ngā āputa e tū tonu ana i waenganui i te iwi me Te Karauna.
“Ahakoa kua kīkī rawa ngā turu o te marae, kei te kite tonu au i te whakapuaretanga, ngā whāwhārua e tū tonu ana i waenganui i te iwi,” i kī a Albert.
I whakatūpato a Albert i Te Karauna, e kore te Kāwanatanga e noho ki te whakatūtuki i ā rātou oati i roto i te whakataunga tiriti, engari ka maranga ake te iwi ki te kī atu ki Te Karauna: “whakatikaina tō mahi, tautokongia āku take kia ora ai tōku iwi”.
Inaianei, kua kīia ka aro ngā kanohi ki ngā kerēme kāore anō kia whakatauria e pā ana ki a Tongariro me Whanganui National Parks i raro i te anga o Kāhui Maunga.
“Kaua e wareware, ko Whanganui, ko Te Āti Haunui A Paparangi, he uri mokopuna o ngā maunga katoa me kī hoki, he uri mokopuna o ngā National Parks,” hei tā Mair anō.
Kua rite kē ngā uri o Whanganui iwi ki te whakatau i aua kerēme Kāhui Maunga.