The Commissioner of Police, Peter Marshall, and Tuhoe spokesperson, Tamati Kruger, said a meeting in Rotorua this afternoon had been a good initial step towards the future for Police and Tuhoe tribe relations.
In a joint statement Mr Marshall and Mr Kruger said the meeting was essentially a private one solely focussed on having the Police and Tuhoe leaders in the same room to talk.
Details of the conversation remain private but it fulfilled its intention of getting the current Commissioner and some of the senior leaders of Tuhoe talking about the future rather than the past.
There was no agenda on either side for this meeting to go into the specific issues relating to Operation 8 or the recent court case. It was purely and simply an occasion for the current Commissioner to meet in person with a number of Tuhoe leaders.
From his point of view, the Commissioner said he would look forward to talking again with Tuhoe about the nature of the relationship between the Police and the tribe. Mr Kruger said Tuhoe appreciated the opportunity to meet with Mr Marshall in Rotorua and that he was sure it would be the first of a number of meetings to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern.
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