<p style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size:12px">M&#333;kai P&#257;tea Claims Trust Manager and former Whakauae Director, Richard Steedman with Gloria Toheriri, the Hearing Facilitator for the Mokai Patea Claims Trust hard at work on day five of the hearings.</span></em></p>

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<p>The first round of substantive hearings into the Taihape rohe land claims took place at R&#257;t&#257; Marae over the week of 06 &ndash; 10 March 2017, hosted by Ng&#257;ti Hauiti. Along with Ng&#257;ti Hauiti there are another three iwi involved in the claims; Ng&#257;i Te Ohuake, Ng&#257;ti Tamak&#333;piri and Ng&#257;ti Whitikaupeka. The four iwi are together represented by the M&#333;kai P&#257;tea Waitangi Claims Trust. The claims, among the last major claims in the country left to settle, cover the area from the summit of the Desert Road down to R&#257;t&#257;, and from the summit of the Ruahine Range to west of the township of Taihape. The Waitangi Tribunal was represented at the R&#257;t&#257; Marae hearings by Judge Layne Harvey and a panel including Sir Douglas Kidd, Dr Angela Ballara and Dr Monty Soutar.</p>

<p>At the close of 2016 the third round of Ng&#257; K&#333;rero Tuku Iho hearings, exploring the origins of local iwi and hap&#363; as well as determining the parameters of their claims region was completed. Those initial hearings provided an opportunity for tangata whenua to share knowledge passed down by their t&#363;puna through oral histories setting the stage for the substantive hearings phase of the claims. The research phase of the inquiry has also now been completed along with the interlocutory process leading in to commencement of substantive hearings.</p>

<p>The substantive hearings week was a big one for local iwi and especially for hosts, Ng&#257;ti Hauiti. Whakauae, as Ng&#257;ti Hauiti&rsquo;s owned and mandated M&#257;ori health research centre, was involved in supporting the week through maintaining a presence both in the kitchen and in the hearings audience to tautoko the M&#333;kai P&#257;tea Waitangi Claims Trust k&#333;rero. There was a strong presence from amongst all four iwi throughout the five days of hearings.</p>

<p>Many hundreds of meals were prepared in the kitchen at R&#257;t&#257; during the course of the week under the very able guidance of Aunty Erena Metekingi-Anson and cousin, Mina Bourke. The two women, together with other wh&#257;nau, had begun their mahi over the weekend preceding the hearings. Whakauae then joined the team of ringawera contributing to the ongoing round of kai preparation and clean up culminating with h&#257;kari on Friday 10 March 2017.</p>

<p>There will be a number of other substantive hearings taking place later in 2017 to be hosted at various M&#333;kai P&#257;tea marae. Whakauae looks forward to contributing to iwi support at these hearings.</p>
