Constitutional lawyer Mai Chen says a claim by hapu who want to own the water in their communities is a long time coming and the Government must tackle the issue now.
The New Zealand Maori Council is drafting a Waitangi Tribunal claim for more than 30 hapu who the council says can prove they once owned the waterways or springs.
One of the claimants, the Whatitiri Maori Reserves Trust, wants to own the water from the Poroti Springs which partly supplies Whangarei.
Ms Chen says the Tribunal is a good place to start because it is a permanent commission of inquiry but she says the current and previous governments haven't wanted to touch the issue of water ownership because it is so contentious.
She says the hapu are saying they have waited long enough and they want their claim dealt with now.
