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Māori Affairs Minister Urged to Stop Holmes Farm Sale
Māori Affairs Minister Urged to Stop Holmes Farm Sale
New Zealand First wants the Minister for Māori Development to seek an injunction against the Māori Education Trust to block the sale of the former Holmes Farm – Mapuna Atea.
“It is time for Te Ururoa Flavell to give this matter urgency,” says New Zealand First Māori Affairs Spokesperson Pita Paraone.
“The trust is selling the 320-hectare farm, valued at $8.1 million to private investors. This land was originally a gift from the late Edward Holmes in the 1960s to educate Wairarapa Māori, and remains part of a Treaty of Waitangi claim by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa to this day. Māori Television’s Native Affairs has done a fantastic piece of investigative journalism on this.
“Instead of educating Wairarapa Māori, this farm has fallen prey to some questionable business activities by the Māori Education Trust. The Companies Office, Auditor-General and Serious Fraud Office should be taking a close look.
“However, the first priority is to stop the sale because neither Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa nor the memory of Edward Holmes should be tarnished by theMāori Education Trust’s shambolic management.
“This farm needs to be acquired for Treaty Settlement purposes because there is genuine affinity for it by Wairarapa Māori. That cannot happen unless the Minister seeks an injunction,” concludes Mr Paraone.
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