Man 'owns' Palmerston North
Discussion
Well, I laughed a bit. My mother works for Housing NZ so sees a bit of this sort of thing.
Disgruntled radical campaigner Carwyn Kawana has turned the tables on Housing New Zealand - he has given it an eviction notice.
Mr Kawana, who claims to own Palmerston North, was annoyed by Housing NZ "pestering" him about the house he rents, so he told the agency to get out.
He also planned to issue eviction notices to Palmerston North City Council, the Inland Revenue Department, Linton Army Camp and The Warehouse, he said yesterday.
"I have about 20 [notices] I want to hand out," he said.
Mr Kawana, 37, claims to be from the principal bloodline of Rangitaane and he argues that people who sold land in the area in 1864 had no authority to do so.
"Palmerston North has to realise that our family still owns this land. We never sold it," he said.
IRD was on old cooking grounds, he said, and The Warehouse was on former railway land in the city.
A spokesperson for IRD said it was not aware of any tenancy issue at its Palmerston North site.
Mr Kawana wanted to build a marae at Anzac Park, though the city council said it had legal title there.
He was charged with wilful trespass at Anzac Park after a brief occupation last year, but was discharged without conviction.
On the eviction notice to Housing NZ, Mr Kawana claimed to be the landlord and he gave the corporation three weeks to leave.
The notice to Housing NZ came after it wrote a letter to him, saying he had not met the conditions of his tenancy agreement.
Housing NZ confirmed that Mr Kawana was renting one of its properties and that it had received a letter (the eviction notice) from him. The agency intended to respond in due course.
Mr Kawana said his eldest daughter had been staying on the property in a caravan, but Housing NZ ordered that it be vacated. She had since left.
"We've got this big section and I can't do anything with it," Mr Kawana said.
Anzac Park is already part of a Waitangi Tribunal claim by Rangitaane.
Office of Treaty Settlements director Paul James said negotiations would cover all the iwi's historical claims, including those of Mr Kawana's family.
"The Office of Treaty Settlements has been contacted by Mr Kawana, and is aware of his particular grievances," he said.
"As a general rule we encourage claimant groups to work together to present their cases to the Crown."
THE HISTORY
1864: Rangitaane representatives sell the Ahu-a-Turanga Block, stretching from Apiti to Linton, to the Government for 12,000. Following the sale, the Government lays out a township on the western bank of the Manawatu River and calls it Palmerston to commemorate a British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston.
Ad Feedback 1866: Pakeha settlers arrive.
Mid-1970s: Carwyn Kawana's grandfather, Ropata Kawana, carries out a protest in The Square.
1999: The Crown signs an interim agreement with Rangitaane for $8.5 million. Negotiations for a final settlement are later put on hold when Tanenuiarangi Manawatu's mandate to represent Rangitaane is questioned. In 2008 The Crown confirms negotiations will continue.
February 1, 2007: Mr Kawana pitches a tent in The Square and announces he wants to build a marae at Anzac Park. Mr Kawana's sister, Athenia Kawana, confirms late city archivist Ian Matheson gave her a whakapapa when she was at high school about 18 years earlier. Mr Kawana says it proves his family is the senior blood line in Rangitaane.
May 23, 2008: Mr Kawana digs a hole in The Square and stands a 3-metre carving there. The carving is pulled out by Palmerston North City Council contractors after five-and-a-half hours. The carving is now in Mr Kawana's backyard.
May 30, 2008: Self-styled protester Mr Kawana leads 30 people and a dog on a march from The Square to Anzac Park. Inflammatory placards include "Te Awe Awe not chief" and "Tanenuiarangi mandate from Weet-bix box". He is arrested for trespass after ignoring a deadline to leave.
August 29, 2008: Mr Kawana is discharged without conviction on the trespass charge.
July 3, 2009: Housing New Zealand writes to Mr Kawana because it says he is not meeting the conditions of his tenancy agreement.
July 8, 2009: Mr Kawana sends Housing NZ an eviction notice.http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2613076/Eviction-tit-for-tat-rages/
Article said:
Disgruntled radical campaigner Carwyn Kawana has turned the tables on Housing New Zealand - he has given it an eviction notice.
Mr Kawana, who claims to own Palmerston North, was annoyed by Housing NZ "pestering" him about the house he rents, so he told the agency to get out.
He also planned to issue eviction notices to Palmerston North City Council, the Inland Revenue Department, Linton Army Camp and The Warehouse, he said yesterday.
"I have about 20 [notices] I want to hand out," he said.
Mr Kawana, 37, claims to be from the principal bloodline of Rangitaane and he argues that people who sold land in the area in 1864 had no authority to do so.
"Palmerston North has to realise that our family still owns this land. We never sold it," he said.
IRD was on old cooking grounds, he said, and The Warehouse was on former railway land in the city.
A spokesperson for IRD said it was not aware of any tenancy issue at its Palmerston North site.
Mr Kawana wanted to build a marae at Anzac Park, though the city council said it had legal title there.
He was charged with wilful trespass at Anzac Park after a brief occupation last year, but was discharged without conviction.
On the eviction notice to Housing NZ, Mr Kawana claimed to be the landlord and he gave the corporation three weeks to leave.
The notice to Housing NZ came after it wrote a letter to him, saying he had not met the conditions of his tenancy agreement.
Housing NZ confirmed that Mr Kawana was renting one of its properties and that it had received a letter (the eviction notice) from him. The agency intended to respond in due course.
Mr Kawana said his eldest daughter had been staying on the property in a caravan, but Housing NZ ordered that it be vacated. She had since left.
"We've got this big section and I can't do anything with it," Mr Kawana said.
Anzac Park is already part of a Waitangi Tribunal claim by Rangitaane.
Office of Treaty Settlements director Paul James said negotiations would cover all the iwi's historical claims, including those of Mr Kawana's family.
"The Office of Treaty Settlements has been contacted by Mr Kawana, and is aware of his particular grievances," he said.
"As a general rule we encourage claimant groups to work together to present their cases to the Crown."
THE HISTORY
1864: Rangitaane representatives sell the Ahu-a-Turanga Block, stretching from Apiti to Linton, to the Government for 12,000. Following the sale, the Government lays out a township on the western bank of the Manawatu River and calls it Palmerston to commemorate a British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston.
Ad Feedback 1866: Pakeha settlers arrive.
Mid-1970s: Carwyn Kawana's grandfather, Ropata Kawana, carries out a protest in The Square.
1999: The Crown signs an interim agreement with Rangitaane for $8.5 million. Negotiations for a final settlement are later put on hold when Tanenuiarangi Manawatu's mandate to represent Rangitaane is questioned. In 2008 The Crown confirms negotiations will continue.
February 1, 2007: Mr Kawana pitches a tent in The Square and announces he wants to build a marae at Anzac Park. Mr Kawana's sister, Athenia Kawana, confirms late city archivist Ian Matheson gave her a whakapapa when she was at high school about 18 years earlier. Mr Kawana says it proves his family is the senior blood line in Rangitaane.
May 23, 2008: Mr Kawana digs a hole in The Square and stands a 3-metre carving there. The carving is pulled out by Palmerston North City Council contractors after five-and-a-half hours. The carving is now in Mr Kawana's backyard.
May 30, 2008: Self-styled protester Mr Kawana leads 30 people and a dog on a march from The Square to Anzac Park. Inflammatory placards include "Te Awe Awe not chief" and "Tanenuiarangi mandate from Weet-bix box". He is arrested for trespass after ignoring a deadline to leave.
August 29, 2008: Mr Kawana is discharged without conviction on the trespass charge.
July 3, 2009: Housing New Zealand writes to Mr Kawana because it says he is not meeting the conditions of his tenancy agreement.
July 8, 2009: Mr Kawana sends Housing NZ an eviction notice.
Edited by Jem Thompson on Tuesday 21st July 02:14
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