Land problems

‘‘Ihumatao II in the making’’ (The Timaru Herald, December 1) is an example of intentional ignorance and prejudice on the part of the developers.

Irrespective of who was first to arrive in New Zealand or Aotearoa, we are all bound by the Treaty of Waitangi. Never mind the legalism and the small print, the intention was for two peoples to live in harmony and mutual respect; it was a covenant rather than a contract. How soon was that forgotten as the New Zealand Wars erupted and land was confiscated from Mā ori for a variety of reasons, many of them dubious.

A farmer in Taranaki recently wrote of his grandfather. The latter had his land confiscated, ie stolen, by the British in Ireland in the 1800s, not an uncommon occurrence. He emigrated to New Zealand and became possessor of land taken when the Parihaka pacifist problem was solved – by armed force. As the Taranaki farmer observed, double standards.

This arrogant conduct was significant of the Pakeha attitude to Mā ori as ‘‘savages’’. Yet at the end of these ‘‘land wars’’ General Cameron with three regiments attacked Gate Pa defended by a few hundred Mā ori. His casualties were horrendous and he declared he would never make a frontal attack on a pa again. As someone later remarked if he’d spoken to World War I generals, thousands of lives could have been saved.

Returning to modern times, the Whakatane council has made unwise decisions which we in Timaru are repeating. Whakatane has set up a commercial area just outside town which has severely compromised their CBD, according to one outside businessman. Shades of our Showgrounds development. Surely there are better ways of using, not abusing, land. The problem does not just rest with councils and developers.

In Whakatane the problem is an aged complex. People of my vintage are gobbling up such accommodation. Are we contributing to the problem?

Dennis Veal Timaru