Ngati Kororā, Te Waiariki rangatira and Ngātiwai Kaumātua Rōpū chair Hōri Parata says he is supporting an occupation at Pātaua in protest at the continued alienation of ancestral lands exemplified by the way Department of Conservation (DoC) and the Whangārei District Council (WDC) have undermined Māori interests in recent decisions, and to alert potential buyers of long-standing issues relating to land for sale there.

DoC has recently approved the vesting of some of its reserve land to the WDC for a public road, to enable legal access to property owned by the Harrison Trust, which has then allowed the council to approve the Trust’s subdivision application.

A court order regarding inheritance prompted the subdivision application by the Trust, which runs the Treasure Island campground.

Mr Parata says both WDC and DoC determined the applications should not be notified to the neighbouring property owners, despite the fact that they were effectively land-locked behind the property currently for sale.

A solution had been found in 1980 when the Māori Land Court ordered a road to the Māori blocks be formed over the land now for sale. This road had however never been formed by the Harrisons despite funds having been left for that purpose from the previous owner named Fraser after he acquired the land when the Pātira whānau, who whakapapa to the land, were thirty pounds short to return it to whānau whenua.

Parata further states, “I wanted the road over the Harrison property to be formed but because of disagreements with the owner over desecration of wāhi tapu and other issues separate to the road, it never was.”

Māori owners currently use an illegal track over sand dunes on the DoC scenic reserve that was taken by the Department of Lands and Survey due to rating arrears in the 1970s.

The arrears had accrued when many owners were forced to leave their land by the 1953 Uneconomic Māori Land Act. Their land was leased by the Māori Trustee, a government department, to the Fraser family who the local authorities allowed to put in stop-banks on the Pātira land that cut off the Taiharuru estuary from the Pātaua estuary that had joined at high tide.

“This accretion joined the island to the mainland, thereby increasing rates by 90 per cent.”

Kelly Klink, representative of the Pātira Whānau, says, "losing the land that was never supposed to be sold has been traumatic for my whānau. It has also caused years of distress and shame knowing the other whānau whenua have been so impacted by the desecration of wāhi tapu and the wetlands. The whānau ties at Pātaua run deep in their allegiance so while we may be separate whānau, collectively we are one."

Mr Parata said he had lodged a claim in the 1980s to the Waitangi Tribunal for the return of the confiscated land, now in DoC management. Some of this land lies between the property now for sale and the Māori road into Pātaua. It was land that until now had prevented legal access to the Harrison property.

He said he provided an extensive report in a Cultural Impact Assessment on the issue in 2019 when the Harrison Trust executors first applied to DoC for the land to be vested as public road. His report was ignored, and the land was vested. However, DoC failed to notify him of the decision at the time.

“Now I know about it only because of the sale, I’m seeking legal advice on an appeal. An Official Information Act request has been lodged for this purpose.”

Similarly, he says the WDC did not properly consult the Māori landowners over the subdivision application.

Mr Parata said both DoC and the WDC had the opportunity to resolve the long-standing issue during the applications but had failed in their fiduciary duty to protect Māori interests.

He said it was negligent of DoC to continue to allow the scenic reserve to be used as a road, when they had the recent opportunity to create a solution.

Mr Parata said that in 2019 he had been promised the right of first refusal to buy the land from the Harrisons, who he said were now reneging on that verbal agreement witnessed by their lawyer. His lawyer had recently requested a right of first refusal for any whakapapa-based tender to be considered, over the highest market tender, but had been refused outright.

“I also heard at the noho that a hapu member from the island had been refused information on the property after giving his name. This discriminatory behaviour is just not acceptable.”

Ms Klink said, "The WDC continues to breach their duty. Hōri Parata was presenting the Harrison Trust with a genuine offer to beat their best price at tender from a member of the Pātira Whānau. If it had not been for him and other whānau on the land fighting the continued efforts by the Harrison Estate to cut up the land over the decades, then the Pātira Whānau would not be in a position to even have land to buy back.

“Actions over the years such as trying to trespass him and refusing to consult with him or even notify neighbouring whānau who have lived with the shame of not even having a road to drive their kids to school has greatly upset my whānau. The council knew who to talk to but chose not to. The Harrison Estate has not honoured the original deed of the property which stipulates the road to go through and be paid for with money that was left from Fraser. Tim Harrison clearly kept the money and we want to know what happened to it."

Mr Parata said consideration should be given to the fact that he filed his Waitangi Tribunal claim over the island before the government changed the law to prevent claims on private land in 1992.

“That amendment, moved by John Carter and Ross Meurant, needs to be overturned. When whakapapa-based buyers can buy back their land on the open market, as is now the case at Pātaua, they should get a right of first refusal by legislation.”

He said this move could enhance the settlement process and promote the healing of the country’s history.

Mr Parata was one of three guest speakers at the annual Race Relations Day forum in Whangarei yesterday.

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