MEDIA RELEASE

Andrew Williams, New Zealand First List Member of Parliament

31 March 2012


Ngati Whatua Buying a Pup with Navy Land Deal

Ngati Whatua may have been sold a pup by the Government with the inclusion of the officers and trade training school sites of the old Fort Cautley at Narrow Neck according to Andrew Williams, New Zealand First List Member of Parliament and former Mayor of North Shore City.
"This was the message I put out on 25 October 2011, which unfortunately was ignored prior to the election, but which remains true some five months later. The affected parties are finally waking up and taking interest with the realisation by the public of the deal that has been done by the National Government for this iconic piece of land."

*It is surprising to find that the land is included with the 250 Navy residential properties the Treaty settlement announced by the Government,” said Mr Williams, “as the previous National Government’s plans in the late '90's to sell part of the former military camp land for high cost residential housing was challenged by community groups led by the Tamaki Reserve Protection Trust. This resulted in a High Court decision that the Government was unable to sell the land and it should revert to the public reserve that is the Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve in the hands of DOC and North Shore City Council. (now Auckland Council).”

“The pre-election announcement by the former Minister of Defence and local North Shore MP Hon Wayne Mapp that there will be a 15 year lease back of the land by the Navy, and the fate at the end of the lease will be subject to public consultation is completely inadequate”, says the former North Shore Mayor. “The Government is heading into a mess with the Ngati Whatua Treaty Settlement involving the transfer of Navy land at Narrow Neck currently used for the Officer and Trades Training School.”

“Presumably the same legal principles of the previous High Court case apply to the remaining piece of the land, and the underlying right of the Government to sell the land to Ngati Whatua must be questioned.”

“There must be immediate extensive public consultation over the land’s future and ultimate use to be fair to both the community and to Ngati Whatua. It would be entirely inappropriate with the sensitivities surrounding Treaty settlements for Ngati Whatua to be left fighting the Devonport community and Auckland Council over legality of title, land use, and heritage issues associated with the transfer of the land from the Government. They may wish to seek alternative compensation as part of the overall Treaty settlement on the table.”

“These issues must be faced up to now and the public must be fully informed of the details of the deal with Ngati Whatua and the impact on the Devonport community of the future intended use of all the ex-Navy land.”

ENDS

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