Land policy ready for offers

Tauranga city council now has a policy in place for dealing with requests from Maori to buy city land.

The draft was approved by the council's City Vision Committee this week after a staff request was made in 2013.

It will be business as usual under new ownership.

This followed an announcement from local iwi, who want ownership of the 5.5ha Mount Recreation Reserve containing the holiday park and hot pools.

Staff requested political direction and the policy, which has been subjected to two rounds of public consultation, is the result.

The mountain itself was returned to Tauranga Moana iwi by the Crown in 2008. The recreation reserve at the base of the mountain adjacent to Adams Avenue was left out of the Treaty of Waitangi settlement agreement, because it was vested with the city council.

The new city council policy has taken a year to get through the council committee process, and now gives them a mechanism to process Maori requests for city land.

As well as the Mount Recreation Reserve, it is understood Maori want ownership of land near or including the Chapel Street service station, to secure an historic access to the estuary.

The policy, however, was subject to a number of last minute changes. Steve Morris wanted assurances that any exchange is a sale at the market rate, and the option of selling at a discounted rate be removed.

Ngai Tukairangi hapu announced it wants the land returned at the Tauranga City Council/Tangata Whenua Committee informal forum held on the Waikari Marae in July 2013.

Ngai Tukairangi say the way the land fell into European ownership is questionable – adding that the interest is in title only. Public access and the commercial operations of the holiday park and the hot pools will continue uninterrupted.

Mauao and its surrounds was taken by the Crown in 1865 under the New Zealand Settlements Act, in an act the Waitangi Tribunal later adjudged to contain 'poignant treaty breaches”.

The confiscation was retrospectively validated by the Tauranga District Lands Acts of 1867 and 1868, which declared the entire district of 290,000acres Crown land, but provided that three quarters be returned to Maori ownership.

The Mount Maunganui Recreation Reserve was created in 1888. Josh says the government cited recreation, quarrying, defence concerns and navigation among the reasons why the Crown deemed buying Mauao necessary.

In January 1980 the recreation reserve was vested with the Mount Maunganui Borough Council at no cost, which was later amalgamated into Tauranga City in 1989.

The Mauao Historic Reserve was returned to Tauranga Moana iwi in 2008.

You may also like....

4 comments

Sorry it's not for sale

Posted on 16-10-2014 11:49 | By Annalist

Council should not be selling off reserve land to anyone. Even more, it should not have apartheid land sales policies. No nudge nudge wink wink preferential treatment for anyone. Good on Steve Morris for holding the line as far as it goes. But please please never sell the Mount reserve land to anyone.


Wisechief

Posted on 16-10-2014 12:56 | By Wise Chief

Council and Government are lying as per usual for at no time have they ever sought or made effort to return any of the lands they confiscated for the lamest of reasons. My great grandfather Te Kotuku Aperahama was the Senior Chief of Tia/Tapuika who had Mana Whenua over these lands with his local relatives from Tauranga Tribes. While these peoples had their family squabbles over the centuries these lands always remain in the same discovery family groups and their descendants. This has not changed since they stepped ashore thousands of years ago. It is simply the arrogance of settlers and their Royal British Armed Militia who camped at Oripi prior to waging war against Waikato is why it came to be the way it is today. Notice how when new Mount police station was built a campaign to drive out the Maori's who lived there started.


@ wise chief

Posted on 16-10-2014 22:43 | By Captain Sensible

"stepped ashore thousands of years ago" (????!!)....is this another maori myth that you think will go unchallenged?! And remind us how maori took land from the people here before them and what happened to those people. I think you need a history lesson, but real history that is....not that make-it-up-as-you-go history designed to keep the grievance industry alive.


NEVER

Posted on 17-10-2014 15:04 | By The Caveman

Council reserve land should never be sold into private ownership. However if the council deems that it no longer requires a substantial area of reserve land it should be SOLD by public auction - open to all comers, not by some behind closed door deal with any particular group.


Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.