Ardern says Government 'mindful of obligations' as Bridges asks if public money will be used to buy Ihumātao land

August 28, 2019

The PM also said negotiations are taking place between mana whenua and Kiingitanga with no Government input.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Government is "mindful of its obligations" as Simon Bridges today pressed her whether public money will be used to buy land at Ihumātao.

However, she also said at present negotiations are taking place between mana whenua and Kiingitanga with no Government input.

National's leader has questioned Ms Ardern about the land dispute at Ihumātao in Parliament two days running, trying to ascertain whether the Government is involved in negotiations.

"Will she rule out any public money either directly or indirectly being used to purchase land at Ihumatao?" Mr Bridges asked today.

Ms Ardern laid out the Government's position in the second part of her reply.

"As I just said in my previous answer, the process at the moment is between mana whenua and kiingitanga they are the ones that are in conversation and I want to respect that.

"If you want to know my position on the Crown, of course we are not a party to the conversations happening at present, but from our perspective we know we have obligations, that includes around the Treaty (Treaty of Waitangi), and Treaty precedent, of course we take that very seriously," she said.

Last week Ms Ardern confirmed she will visit Ihumātao sometime after negotiations between mana whenua and Kiingitanga have concluded.

Protestors at Ihumātao oppose a proposed housing development by Fletchers on the land. The land is considered sacred to Māori.

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