A Ngati Maniapoto descendant says the Government's first consultation hui on water rights was worthwhile attending.
The first of six meetings with iwi and hapu with ties to waterways used by state-owned power companies, such as Mighty River Power, was held in Hamilton on Tuesday night.
More than a dozen people attended, many of them members of the public, but not Tainui iwi leaders.
Dan Te Kanawa, a member of the Ngati Maniapoto Trust Board, attended in a personal capacity.
He says the Government was seeking help from Maori related to an interim Waitangi Tribunal suggestion about offering Maori special shares in its plan to partially privatise some state-owned power companies.
Mr Te Kanawa says there were four options, including whether Maori should receive financial entitlements from the share sales or if they could have rights in how companies use water.
