therefore bypassed the usual processes that would be required under the Resource Management Act. The land was later purchased by Fletcher Building in 2016, following approval by the Government’s Overseas Investment Office (OIO). A claim relating to the land was made in the Waitangi Tribunal in 2015. However, in 2017 a request to have the claim heard urgently was denied by the Tribunal as at that stage development was not imminent.12 Upon purchasing the land, Fletcher Building engaged in consultations with representatives of local iwi and hapū, about their planned construction of 480 houses. As a result of these consultations Fletcher Building agreed, among other things, to relinquish 25% of the land closest to the historic site and not to build on any archeologically significant site. 13 However, there has been, and there remains, disagreement between stakeholders over whether proper representation and consultation took place. One disagreement relates to the assertion that other iwi and hapū who have strong ties to Ihumātao were not consulted or included in the decision-making process for the development.14 The situation at Ihumātao has been brought to the attention of the United Nations (UN) by SOUL (Save Our Unique Landscape), a group established to raise awareness of the Special Housing Area decision on the rights of mana whenua and advocate for the return of the land to mana whenua.15 UN bodies have considered (and are currently considering) the matter. For more information on the background to Ihumātao, see the Report of the Māori Affairs Select Committee on the Petition to Save Ihumātao;16 the Shadow Report on Special Housing Area 62 in Ihumātao, presented by Pania Newton on behalf of SOUL;17 the letter by the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Adequate Housing and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the New Zealand Government;18 and Advice to the Select Committee by Te Arawhiti, the Office for Māori-Crown Relations.19 9