Government and iwi reach agreement for private housing on Crown land in Auckland

Government and iwi reach agreement for private housing on Crown land in Auckland
By Fiona Rotherham Sept. 3 (BusinessDesk) - The government has reached agreement with Ngati Whatua over selling 500 hectares of excess land in Auckland for private housing which had been under High Court challenge. Under the deal announced by building and housing minister Nick Smith today, the government has agreed to give the Nga Mana Whenua iwi and hapu first opportunity to develop any of the Crown land subject to a right of first refusal before offering it to private sector developers. In return, Ngati Whatua has withdrawn the legal pr...