Te Rūnanga-ā-iwi ō Ngāpuhi (TRAION) are refusing to outline the nature of allegations circulating which led to the resignation of its Chair Raniera (Sonny) Tau.
Rūnanga CEO, Lorraine Toki and Deputy Chair Mere Mangu confirmed Mr Tau’s resignation has been accepted and was effective immediately in a statement issued today.
They outlined that Rūnanga leadership had not been notified by Tau, his lawyers or Police that any charges had been laid and that daily business of the TRAION group would continue.
Toki reiterated, “Any pending investigations into allegations lay solely with the police and is official business which we are not a part of, therefore we have no further comment to make at this time.”
Tau has served a number of years as Chair of the Rūnanga and has also been heavily involved in Treaty Settlement discussions and debate concerning Ngāpuhi.