Māori Affairs Select Committee

On Wednesday July 24, members of the Māori Affairs Select Committee convened to hear submissions on The Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill. Originally scheduled to take place in Raetihi, the hearings were postponed due to a tangi and rescheduled to be held at the Beehive.

At the start of the hearings, Committee Chair Dan Bidios acknowledged the loss and thanked everyone for traveling to Parliament. After introductions, Bidios welcomed the first submitter, treating their submission as read and inviting them to highlight any specific points. Each submitter was allocated 5 minutes and was encouraged to leave time for questions.

Te Korowai o Wainuiārua chairman, Aiden Gilbert, made a oral submission on behalf of the iwi.

Following the submissions, the committee held a debrief with Te Arawhiti officials, who will help the committee clarify any outstanding questions. Te Arawhiti officials will collate a report to answer those questions and are scheduled to report back with their responses on August 7.

We trust that once the committee receive the report and fully understand our robust negotiations, overlapping-claims, mandate and ratification process, that they will recommend the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill proceed to the second and third readings in Parliament, with the recommendation expected on October 11.