First there was Ihumatao (or Tomato as a non-pc friend calls it, unable to get her tongue or her head around the correct pronunciation) and now Sir Bob regales us with another story in Wellington about property developer Ian Cassels struggling to build 400 apartments in Shelley Bay, “the site a former military base covered with ugly old wooden buildings”. Cassels legitimately purchased the land, I’m sure you know where this is going.
The prime minister signalled back in January that an announcement about the Ihumatao dispute was forthcoming and when no announcement was made, the BFD speculated that the handbrake, Winston Peters, had blocked the government from doing a deal. Waitangi Day came and went and the prime minister was silent on the subject.
In the absence of government guidance one way or the other, time marches on with Fletchers appearing to walk away from the development. It will have cost them money and the local community housing.
“In 2016, it [32 hectares] was purchased by Fletcher Building at which point Save Our Unique Landscape started occupying the land, campaigning against proposed development of the site and calling for it to be made a place for all New Zealanders.
Should it go ahead the development, named after the road it’s on, would include 480 homes, ranging from compact and affordable to spacious, two-level homes, built in five stages over seven years.
Stage one would supply 68 homes and stage two 72.”
Why should developers have to pay the legal costs of sorting out iwi infighting? Here’s an idea: out of every Treaty settlement a portion is deducted to create a future fund for developers who purchase land in good faith but are left high and dry by subsequent iwi infighting. A clawback clause could be adopted to protect future innocent parties in future housing developments. In a country crying out for housing it makes sense to ping the idiots standing in the way, and anyway treaty settlements are due for a good old overhaul.
Judith Collins laid her Ihumatao cards on the table saying “There will be no taxpayer money spent on Ihumatao when I am the prime minister.” Good for you Judith, a stand against divisive Iwi exploitation is well overdue. Let’s put an end to this nonsense once and for all.
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