Tribal members of Ngāti Takapari, Te Waiariki and Ngāti Kororā hapū are contesting the Ngunguru Sandspit & Protection Society (NSaPS) bid which would see their ancestral lands of Whakaairiora mountain, Ngunguru sandspit and Rangikōrero pā purchased and placed in Crown ownership through a public reserve.
The Ngunguru sandspit Photo: Ngunguru Sandspit & Protection Society
The hapū involved also occupied Department of Conservation-managed lands at Pātaua South last year when alienated ancestral lands became available on the open market.
One of the principles that arose from that issue was that whānau and hapū of alienated land being sold should ideally be offered the first right of refusal.
A December 2021 meeting was the first time the hapū heard of the initiative despite it being supported by a hapū trust who have two 'tangata-whenua' representatives on the NSaPS executive.
A hapū working group was formed to gather further information that included talks with NSaPS.
Working group spokesperson Neta Kerepeti said the group's first meeting was initially about there being zero consultation from either NSaPS or its tangata whenua representatives.
"There hasn't been anything meaningful with hapū. I'm talking about the people who live out there on the whenua, live around the maunga. I'm not talking about legal or formal structures, I'm talking about the people themselves.
Neta Kerepeti Photo: Supplied
"Ahi ka, not only those who keep the home fires burning but to those who whakapapa to the three hapū and therefore to those tupuna, who were the earliest inhabitants of these ancestral lands."
Correspondence to NSaPS since a second meeting of the affected hapū held in mid-January, and attended by more than 70 members of the tribes, outlined the resounding opposition to the proposed purchase by NSaPS.
"The hapū members gathered at Ngunguru Marae were resolutely in favour of a hapū-led purchase. These areas are very significant to our people, we know the sacred places, where our ancestors are buried on these lands and the battles fought.
"We cannot see these lands be turned into public ownership. Our people seek for the lands to be returned to hapū," Kerepeti said.
"We have been communicating in good faith to the executive of NSaPS to explore a win-win outcome that meets the aspirations of both groups, which is to prevent development, preserve its biodiversity, and protect sensitive areas."
She said when the society began to promote its Give-a-little campaign, that would have been one of the earliest notifications the hapū would have seen.
"The society has tangata whenua reps, they number two people. They, in and of themselves, are not the hapū. There is some onus of responsibility, I would think, that the society has to ensure that the source of mandate of that representation is informed and also that source has been checked, and I'm talking about the people."
She says the ultimate outcome is that a hapū-led purchase is successful and the ancestral lands are repatriated to the three hapū.
"Achieving that is a huge win for not only the hapū, but for the wider community within which these three hapū are located. There are spaces and places where we have some alignment with the society's values, aims, goals and aspirations, such as protection of the whenua, wellbeing of indigenous flora and fauna, protection of biodiversity and protection of sensitive sites and the culture of the whenua," she said.
"But you can't do that in isolation from the human element, and in this instance I'm referring to the people of that place. The peoples whose ancestors' bones remain in parts of that whenua. The ultimate is to repatriate alienated ancestral lands back to the descendants of the earliest inhabitants, the tupuna [ancestors] of Ngāti Takapari, Te Waiariki and Ngāti Kororā."
While the hapū acknowledge the conservation work and goals of NSaPS, the hapū working group was surprised at its response to an agreed follow-up meeting to discuss the issue further.
The society proposed instead to appoint themselves as a mediatiion group between the hapū and the two tangata whenua representatives on the NSaPS executive in support of Crown ownership.
NSaPS has initiated a three-tier fundraising campaign that includes an application to DoC's Nature Heritage Fund, a philanthropic co-funder and a Give-a-little campaign.
The conditions of the funding being sought from DoC and its co-funder mean hapū will unlikely to ever be able to repatriate its alienated ancestral lands.
Despite NSaPS indicating in its last communication that there would be no further discussions with the hapū working group until after the purchase is finalised, the working group said it remains open to a solution and dialogue.
Another hui is planned for 19 February and it will be shared on social media among hapū networks.
