13 Mar 2012

Mandate for Crown deal - Te Rarawa chairperson

10:45 am on 13 March 2012

The chairperson of Te Rarawa iwi in the Far North says members have given the runanga a mandate to accept a Crown package, even though only about a quarter of tribal members voted for it.

A vote to ratify the Treaty settlement on offer showed 84.75% of those who voted are in support.

According to 2006 census data from Te Puni Kokiri, nearly 14,895 people are affiliated to Te Rarawa.

Iwi chairperson Haami Piripi says some people may consider the turnout to be low, but the pattern's in line with how Maori vote.

Mr Piripi says the response to 15 hui held throughout the country pretty much matched the result of the voting process, and he feels confident the runanga has the overwhelming support of the people.

He says it was a struggle to track down members to send them settlement voting papers.

Mr Piripi says people can be reluctant to register on an iwi database for fear the information will be misused or passed on to somebody else.