A multi-million dollar Tauranga City Council development on a prime piece of real estate will be subject to a minimal lease arrangement, under a co-ownership deal with the Tauranga City Council and mana whenua.
Council commissioners voted on Monday morning to a deal that will see land between Wharf St, Willow St, Harington St and Durham St transferred to a newly formed Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) for $1, subject to a peppercorn type lease arrangement with the city council.
Puhirake Ihaka, chair of Otamataha Trust, which administers property in Tauranga on behalf of Ngāti Tapu and Ngāi Tamarāwaho says the deal has helped get whenua back to the hapū that was previously unattainable through their respective Treaty settlement.
“Certain pieces of land, which had passed out of the Crown’s hands into private ownership, including local government territorial authorities, private ownership by citizens, etc was very much unattainable, couldn't get it back. That was never going to be part of that return, except for things that have happened now.”
The particular block of land referred to as Site A will be the home of the city’s civic precinct that will eventually house a library, community hub and "civic whare" where the new council chambers will be designed as a replica of Māori wharenui.
'Righting a wrong'
Ngāi Tamarāwaho uri Buddy Mikaere, says the deal will go a long way to “righting a wrong that has been with us for many generations.”
The land, as part of a wider block of whenua, was purchased by the Church Missionary Society in the 1830s for the purpose of local Māori, with a commitment to not on-selling it for the purpose of raising money. However, the land battles of the 1860s led to some of the land being "gifted" to the government.
“It gives us leverage if you like because we have taken the high moral ground saying that land is to be used for the betterment of our community.
“In respect to their particular land, it doesn't really have a commercial value, so it’s fine that it should be set up in an arrangement that recognises our mana whenua,” Mikaere said.
Mikaere says Ngāi Tamarāwaho had a close bond with Archdeacon Brown, which can be seen today with many still carrying names associated with Brown, and explains why Tamarāwaho felt the betrayal.
Mana restored
“Having our mana restored through the joint ownership of the civic centre land will achieve that, while the continued use of the land for the public and community purposes represents another huge contribution from our hapū, to this city.”
He says today’s deal sets a precedent that could lead to more opportunities for the hapū to regain the ownership of its whenua.
“The Ministry of Justice, for example, is looking at a similar piece of land to buy to build a new courthouse. So we're saying to the ministry, before you go that far, if you're buying the land, then you need to return it to us first.”
City council commission chair Anne Tolley, said the deal had “nothing to lose and everything to gain” for Tauranga City, and is now subject to public consultation before it is finalised later this year.
