“..Forty-five of Maoridom’s most powerful leaders yesterday gathered at Ngaruawahia in the wake of a hui convened by King Tuheitia –
- and later made it clear they were not going to be rolled by a new pan-Maori body in any discussions with the Crown over Maori rights and interests in water.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Key flatly rejected the claim by King Tuheitia that Maori had always owned the water.
“In law he’s just plain wrong; all the advice we’ve had is that the common law position is the correct position – which is that no-one owns water.”
Mr Key also rejected meeting a pan-Maori body ahead of individual iwi with water claims – and reiterated that there would be no national settlement on water…”
(cont..)
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