REFLECTIVE INSIGHT #029 - NGĀPUHI CAN RECLAIM OUR ECONOMIC SOVEREIGNTY WITHOUT ACCEPTING A CENT FROM THE GOVERNMENT

Why hasn’t Ngāpuhi settled?

This weekend my whānau travelled down to Tauranga Moana for the burial of our great aunty who passed away at the age of 101 ½, after living a peaceful and simple life and giving most of her money away to the needy overseas. I carpooled with my sister and niece. On the way home as we were coming over the Brynderwyns, enjoying that majestic view that welcomes us home, the conversation turned to the Ngāpuhi settlement. I did my best to explain, from my perspective, why Ngāpuhi hasn’t settled.

One of the things with explaining something to a 9-year-old (even a very smart one) is that simplicity has a way of rising to the surface. In the simplest terms, even though the $500–800 million potentially on offer would be handy for our whānau right now, what the government wants in return isn’t ours to give away. It belongs to our mokopuna and their mokopuna and their mokopuna.

So what’s the alternative? Find the money somewhere else.

Taitokerau’s “Leaky Bucket” Economy

For too long, our people in the North have been told to wait at the table for crumbs from the Crown to survive. But the truth is, the current system is a draining machine designed to pull out our timber, our talent, and our time, and export it to offshore funds. This system acts as a leaky bucket where our resources are stripped away, leaving us with the constant struggle of low-wage poverty and split-up communities.