Kei te Whareroa Marae te aro i tēnei wā, i a Ngāti Kuku e tāpae whakahē ana ki mua i te aroaro o te pae whiriwhiri i ngā tono ki raro i te ture Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 mō te whanaketanga o te Stella Passage ki Te Awanui.
E rua ngā rā te roa o te kaupapa nei kia tāpaea atu ai e ngā iwi me ngā hapū o Tauranga Moana i a rātou whakaaro mō te kaupapa ki mua i ngā mema tokotoru o te Pae whiriwhiri, ā, ko Bronwyn Carruthers KC, ko Hugh Leersnyder, rātou ko James Whetu.
“E noho i te putanga mai o ngā paihana o ngā kamupene e noho tata ki te marae. Kei te hōhā kei te ngēngē mātou o Ngāti Kuku Tūkairangi mō tērā āhuatanga e pēhi nei ki runga i a mātou,” hei tā Peter Stokes, te Heamana Tuarua nō te Tarahiti ā Hapū o Ngāti Kuku. “Mēnā ka haere tō rātou mahi ki runga i te wahapū ka whati. Ka whati tērā kereme i runga i te section 7. Ko tērā te raruraru anō,” hei tāna .
He mahi nui tēnei i te mea, ahakoa i toa te hapū i te Kōti Teitei i te marama o Hepetema kua hipa ki te aukati i te tono tuatahi, kua hoki mai anō te kaupapa ki te aroaro o te pae whiriwhiri.
Ko te take i roa ai te whakarongo kōrero mō ngā rā e rua, he whakautu i te whakahau a te Kōti Taiao, i kitea e rātou kāore anō te Kamupene o te Wāpu o Tauranga me ngā hapū, iwi mana whenua o Te Awanui kia whakaae tahi mō ngā pānga o te whanaketanga ki tō rātou tikanga ahurea.
I te wā e kōrero ana mō te manawanui o te iwi ki te whakatū atu ki tēnei wero, i kī a Joel Ngātuere o Ngāti Kuku, “engari e pai ana. Ka tū mātou i a rā i rā, i a pakanga i a pakanga.”
“Ko tērā te reo o te kūware ki ngā taringa o te kūware. Kōre ia i tae mai ki te wānanga tahi. Kōre ia e tū ana i tō mātou whenua. E haere ia ki te wahapū me te kaha o tōna reo,” hei tā Joel anō.
Kei te tatari te katoa ki te whakatau a te Paepae Whiriwhiri i te rā tuawhitu o Hepetema. Ka whakatauria e rātou mēnā ka whakaaetia te whanaketanga o te wāpu, kāore rānei. Ko te tūmanako o te haukāinga, kia whakaarohia ngā pānga ahurea me te taiao, ehara i te mea ko te whanaketanga anake o te ohanga.