A central North Island iwi says the Government is unfairly putting the Waitangi Tribunal under pressure.
Ngati Rangi says ministers are making some urgent Treaty claims a priority, but are not putting any more money into the machinery which deals with Maori grievances.
The Tribunal recently announced that it would be concentrating on clearing a log-jam of urgent claims at the expense of routine work.
Che Wilson, the pou arahi (manager) of the Ngati Rangi Trust in Ohakune, says that decision is holding up his own iwi's talks with the Crown.
Iwi members want a Waitangi Tribunal report written so the tribe can enter into negotiations, and Mr Wilson says Ngati Rangi has expressed its frustrations in writing.
Mr Wilson says another tribe, Tuwharetoa, has also told the inquiry of its disappointment.
