Two Te Tai Tokerau tribes want to enter direct negotiations with the Crown, fearing the Government will run out of funding to compensate them.
Annette Sykes. Photo: MANA PARTY
A lawyer acting for the descendants, Annette Sykes, says Ngati Manu and Ngati Rongo have been rounded up into the Crown-preferred Ngapuhi runanga negotiating board, Tuhoronuku.
Ngati Manu and Ngati Rongo have made submissions to the Waitangi Tribunal's Te Paparahi o Te Raki regional inquiry, with Ngati Manu seeking rights to the large Waiwera thermal pools resort near Auckland.
Ms Sykes says the two tribes deserve better recognition and treatment from the Crown and are seeking a distinct settlement, rather than being lumped in with other iwi and hapu.
She says they want a separate opportunity to negotiate with the Crown.