The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board has announced the appointment of a new negotiator joining their settlement team for the iwi's Treaty of Waitangi claims.
Following a successful Election campaign and appointment as Minister of Māori Development, Nanaia Mahuta had resigned, as well as Peter Douglas.
Chairman Tiwha Bell notes, "We called for people to put their hand up and we got a great response." He says, "As a result, the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board has confirmed that Sir Wira Gardiner will join the team alongside Mook Hohneck, with specialist advisory appointments still in progress."
"We needed to move quickly to appoint a new negotiator so we could keep the momentum going from the Agreement in Principle signing," says Bell.
"We believe this is a strong team which will represent our iwi well. Between them, our negotiators have strong governance, negotiation and leadership experience. The people gave a strong mandate to the Board to progress a settlement that will be decided in the future by the people of Maniapoto.
"We will continue to work hard to front our people, to keep updates on progress happening regularly and to listen to your feedback. We look forward to progressing the work completed to date under Nanaia Mahuta as lead negotiator."
The Trust Board confirmed that their team will continue with the initial Deed of Settlement phase of negotiations in order to get the best outcome for its people.
Further updates will come in the new year.