Wind claim will damage race relations – Banks
Ngapuhi's claim for the commercial use of wind defies common sense and will greatly damage relations between Maori and non-Maori New Zealanders, ACT leader John Banks said today.
"New Zealanders are fair and reasonable. Most agree that settling the issues of the past through the Treaty Settlement process is the right thing to do," Mr Banks says.
“But the Treaty Settlement process should be about righting the wrongs of the past, not creating new divisions.
"Ngapuhi's attempt to claim rights over the wind will push many New Zealanders' goodwill to breaking point.
Unlike land or fisheries, the commercial use of wind does not prevent anyone else from utilising it, nor does it diminish supply.
"ACT is a firm believer in private property rights and the right of individuals to go to court to claim compensation if their property rights are impinged upon," he says.
"But the use of wind, commercial or otherwise, does not prevent any other New Zealander from enjoying it in equal measure.
"It is disappointing that Northland iwi have lodged such an opportunistic claim."
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Comments and questions21
The gale force winds over the weekend blew our fence down - can someone tell me which Iwi I should be sending my bill for damages to please? I'm in Wellington. While we're at it, are they going to claim sunshine too because the paint on our house is looking a bit faded and I'd like them to pay to remedy that too please!
yes, and our farm floods at times - apparently it is not our water , so we would like to send a bill for lost production to the appropriate iwi (that stands for I Want It )
LOL I Want It. How true.
Haha. Funny point about your fence. This makes me laugh. But I think as much as people will not like this, It won't affect race relations because as far as I can tell the only Maori that people don't like (sometimes) are the ones on TV. And I stay off TV. Oh and pay attention to the point that it is only one hapu of one Iwi making the claim therefore if the general kiwi is as fair as it is claimed, they will not lump all Iwi into the same waka.
If the Waitangi Tribunal starts allocating wind as well as producing it, all iwi will be fighting for a place in that same waka.
The general Kiwi is not so silly as not to see that whenever a new wind blows money, a new waka fleet is launched.
If Maori want to retain any respect they had better start speaking out against this nonsense and idle greed.
Not to mention the fact that wind itself is a GLOBAL occurence... it doesn't start at one New Zealand coast and end at the other, wind currents flow across the world so what this bunch of losers is trying to put their grubby paws on as their own "asset" might have originated somewhere over Australia, Africa, USA or heck Alaska for all that matters... mind boggles over what people like that were thinking *shrug*
Perhaps you should go to Montana, you might learn something.
Im calling it now, next week they will claim the sunshine and any and all solar panels will now pay a tax to their local iwi. If you ask me even the water claim has damaged race relations, everyone I know says it is just driven by greed and I agree.
The spurious claims are obviously driven by greed but what suckers the voters are for letting their elected representatives get away with even considering all this Maori ........
Taupo Airspace Rights, Rights to New Zealand’s Water, Foreshore Rights, Wind Rights!!!
What next! Fortunately there is only a small, insignificant minority group of radicals with a “chip on their shoulder” that feel as though the Government and the New Zealand taxpayers owe them money based upon their own personal interpretation of the Waitangi Treaty written in the 1800’s. Are these absurd “claims” ever going to stop? I still don’t understand how the New Zealand Government keep’s putting up with these ludicrous demands from such a small minority group. A lot of these people trying to make a buck off of a worn out treaty would be better off getting off of their lazy butts and government benefits and get a job.
No more hand outs to Maori.
No more Waitangi Tribunal Gravy train.
No more ridiculous claims.
No more divisive racist Maori allowed a soapbox.
No more b---$h-t.
This party would win by a landslide.
Who's got the guts to make a stand, end all this palava and put these grubby idiots out in the cold?
John Key: make a stand. Grow a pair and put this gravy train out to pasture. You will have the backing of every non-Maori New Zealander with a brain -- the true wealth creators in this country.
Nice positive message that is. Say Yes to something worthwhile rather than No to something you don't like. It'll make you happy.
It is quite likely that the pre-European Maori did consider the wind as a property in the same sense that the Waitangi Tribunal found for water. That is perfectly reasonable as a history of peoples' beliefs and relationships with the environment, but it is a very different concept of property (in my view at least) from current commercial ownership. So I have no problem with such a view, any more than I would have with people who believe the universe was created by some master creature in 6 days (Mr Banks as one). By the way, water circulates too: we exhale it, it evaporates, it spreads around in the wind and some of it eventually finds its way to our river beds.
Note to Gov't, stamp this sort of rubbish out as soon as you can, (and as the new NO party suggests grow a pair) or all you will have left in NZ is Maori.
Isn't that the point of all this claims?? So the maoris own everything and eventually drive everyone else out??
Perhaps they could take some of their 36 billion handout and feed their kids.
I thought the water one with Maori was a long bow,but the air,wind now I know the inmates are running the asylum.When is someone going to put a stop to this crap.These iwi's have always got their hand out for a handout,stop it now before we are bankrupt.WE must be the laughing stock of the world even entertaining these claims.
Who says we are entertaining the water and air claims--they will be consigned to the bin.
Who is this Mr Rankin- ( the air claims man) he looks to have a lot of Kirima in him- being born in and growing up in the Bay of Islands in the 40's and 50's,I dont recall any Kirima Rankins being around -- (where was he born and educated)- there was however a Maori Rankin family in Russell- nice people - surely he couldnt be part of that family - he looks a bit too bleached.
That is one big assumption,history has showed other things have been handed over,which should never have been entertained.Governments have been so p.C and scared of this minority,it makes your head spin,the gutless wonders who wrote this stuff off over the last 40 years.Now we have these elite Maori parasites trying to screw us for more,hopefully Key will stop it before it becomes some story line in a Mad comic.
Winston's your man
Fence blew down - find the local Iwi, and lodge a claim with the small claims tribunal, shouldn't cost much, and should make interesting news. You might even be able to get one of the TV companies to fund it for you.