The Te Atiawa, one of Taranaki’s iwi, Maori have requested the return of 179 hectares of Waitara land. The land was confiscated by the Crown following the1865 Land Wars. The Plymouth District Council must decide whether to return the land to the local Taranaki or to the current 800 leaseholders who wish to freehold it. The Te Atiawa have recruited former Governor-General Sir Paul Reeves (a Te Atiawa descendent) and former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer (a constitutional lawyer) to help represent their case.
