Petition by Mana Whenua of Te Arawa to Rotorua Lakes Council

(We, who have supported this petition, descend from at least one ancestor of at least one of the following hapū/iwi in Te Arawa: Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Ngāraranui, Tura Te Ngakau, Ngāti Te Roro o Te Rangi, Ngāti Uenukukopako)

We urge Council to stop all work it is undertaking to enable the sale of 10 reserves (some in full, some in part) to anyone, including, the Government's market and social housing property developer Kāinga Ora, community housing providers or others on the market, because:

1. Our tikanga, based on generations of mana whenua experiences, tell us that when whenua isn't going to be used for the purpose it was taken or acquired (in this case, as reserves), then that whenua must be returned to its original owners (in this case, the hapū or iwi who have mana over the area where the reserves are located).
   Council has not made that opportunity available to hapu and iwi including Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Ngāraranui, Tura Te Ngakau, Ngāti Te Roro o Te Rangi and Ngāti Uenukukopako.
2. The sale of 10 reserves will likely set a precedent to sell more reserve land in the future.
   Our intergenerational mana whenua experiences with council and other authorities have shown us that when this happens, the quality of wellbeing is reduced for our whānau as they are left with less whenua to enjoy, breath in, gather kai from and to whakawhanaungatanga and manaaki each other at. And no doubt this will also effect our Pākehā whānau who have settled in Rotorua. 
3. There is other whenua available, where all Council services are easily accessible, for Kāinga Ora to build the housing that Rotorua needs.
   Several Māori lands trusts, in charge of hundreds of hectares of land, have offered the agency leases of their whenua for the development of affordable rental housing for struggling Te Arawa and Māori people first and foremost, particularly, whānau and tamariki living in emergency accommodation in motels. Furthermore, owners of general land have offered the agency the sale of their private land which could be developed into housing for the market.

MANA WHENUA PETITION ORGANISER: Renee Kiriona | Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Te Roro o Te Rangi, Ngāti Uenukukopako | 027 205 1818 | reneepureti@gmail.com