Nelson Tenths and the Nelson Weekly Leaders’ Debate

Johny O’Donnell pressed Nelson’s four political candidates to reveal their position on the Nelson Tenths during the Nelson Weekly Waimea Weekly Leaders’ Debate.

 

Here’s a few of his questions and comments.

 

To New Zealand Labour Party MP Rachel Boyack MP

 

• Why hasn’t your government picked up the phone or got around the table with the customary Māori owners?

 

• Is it good enough that the Government hasn’t formally engaged with whānau the entire time you’ve been in office?

 

• You’re the local MP so it’s entirely appropriate that you have a position on this. The largest budget allocation for Te Arawhiti – The Office of Māori Crown Relations – this year was $5m to fight local tangata whenua here in their own court case; it seems bizarre that you don’t have a stronger position on it.

 

To New Zealand National Party candidate Blair Cameron for Nelson

 

• You’ve got an opportunity tonight to actually throw your support behind resolving this case. On the other side of settlement of this case are huge economic opportunities for Nelson. Will you back the whānau as the Nelson candidate for National?

To ACT MP Chris Bailie

• Let’s go to the party of property rights, because this is a property claim. It’s the longest-standing property litigation against the Crown. Why don’t the ACT party step up and commit to resolving this property rights claim?

To Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand candidate Jace Hobbs

• The Green party has quite a bold policy around the return of whenua to Māori, so does the Green party stand with the whānau of the Nelson Tenths?

 

It’s crucial that we have clarity on the position our Nelson candidates take regarding our case. Listen to the candidates’ responses from 43m30s.

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