Te Kaunihera Kaumatua o Tūhoe standing outside the Supreme Court in Wellington. Photo: Te Kaunihera Kaumatua o Tūhoe
A collective of Tūhoe elders are applying to the Māori Land Court for an urgent hearing to overturn trustee elections for the iwi's post-settlement governance entity, Te Uru Taumatua (TUT).
The application was submitted on behalf of Te Kaunihera Kaumātua o Tūhoe by Parearau Nikora, whose late husband Paki Nikora had fought the iwi authority in and out of court for the past five years.
It follows a Supreme Court order earlier this year for Te Uru Taumatua to hold fresh trustee elections and pay court costs, after a long running dispute with Te Kaunihera Kaumātua o Tūhoe.
Asher Nikora (right) seated with members of Te Kaunihera Kaumatua o Tūhoe Photo: Te Kaunihera Kaumatua o Tūhoe
Te Kaunihera spokesperson Asher Nikora - a nephew to Paki and Parearau - told RNZ the group was going to the Māori Land Court to put an end to what they claimed were "corrupt election processes".
Nikora said the wider issue the recent Supreme Court ruling dealt with was whether the Māori Land Court had jurisdiction over post-settlement governance entities like Te Uru Taumatua.
"On October 3rd, the Supreme Court ruled that the appeal by Te Kaunihera Kaumatua [would be] upheld, meaning that the Māori Land Court did have jurisdiction over TUT, in this particular case, which then laid the foundation to then move forward with Paki's cases."
Nikora said the goal posts kept shifting in relation to election criteria and processes.
"One of the key findings that came out of the Supreme Court was that every eligible Tūhoe is eligible to vote, irrespective of which marae, which hāpu, which community within Tūhoe you belong to.
"Currently that is not the process that is in place. The reality right now is that some Tūhoe qualify, and some don't, even though they meet the overall criteria of being able to whakapapa to Tūhoe and meeting all the eligible age criteria."
Te Kaunihera Kaumātua o Tūhoe want to bring "equity" to the election process, which included reviewing parts of TUT's trust deed to get clarity on how the whole process works.
"That is not the ideal situation that we want to find ourselves in. The goal of the kaumatua has always been to bring things back onto an equal footing where we might be able to go forward in a unified manner.
"At the core of it, it really comes down to the whole issue around the election criteria and and being able to review [it] because that process will bring equity to how we go forward as an iwi."
Talei Bryant (left) and another woman work to hang a hand-painted sheet over a road sign outside Te Uru Taumatua offices in Tāneatua. Photo: LDR / Charlotte Jones
Nikora said there was division within the iwi, with some marae and hapū not able to receive resources like funding, fish allocations and a range of other supports.
"There is a sense that they are being alienated or discriminated against.
"You have these divisions within the communities of Tūhoe at a hapū level... it is not inclusive of all the marae and hapu and that is the core issue."
Asked why some groups were getting resources and some were not, Nikora said it was the "million-dollar question".
"I guess this discrimination is going on within within Tūhoe... if we are not following the edicts that are coming from TUT that puts you on the 'outer' and not part and parcel of the so-called collective.
"[TUT] holds and manages all the Treaty settlement assets on behalf of the people. It is by far and away the most significant entity within Tūhoe, which holds the bulk of those assets, whether they be financial or whether it's land."
Nikora said the election process was set to be ratified this week.
Te Uru Taumatua declined RNZ's request for an interview.