Ngāi Tahu’s two regional councillors say they have enjoyed bringing a mana whenua perspective to the Environment Canterbury council table.
Tutehounuku (Nuk) Korako has announced he is stepping down, while Iaean Cranwell hopes to continue to represent Ngāi Tahu on the regional council.
The pair were appointed as Ngāi Tahu councillors by the 10 Waitaha Canterbury Papatipu Rūnanga in October 2022, following the passing of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act.
“We are here for the whole of Waitaha Canterbury, we have the biggest takiwā (ward),” councillor Cranwell said.
“We contribute to the debate from a Ngāi Tahu perspective,” Cr Korako said.
“We are two of 16 councillors so we have to be able to lobby and engage with the other councillors.“We won’t always agree, but we respect it’s their opinion and it’s how they will vote.
“To share the workload, Cr Korako has kept in regular contact with Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura, Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga and southern Rūnanga, while Cr Cranwell has worked with the central and Mid Canterbury Rūnanga.“For our people, it’s got to be face-to-face,” Cr Korako said.
“You could do it online, but it’s better to go and see them.”
Cr Korako said there has been “a lot of camaraderie” around the council table, which was demonstrated last year when their colleagues voted 13-1 in favour of retaining the Ngāi Tahu councillors.
It followed a letter from former Local Government Minister Simeon Brown inviting the regional council to sponsor a local bill to repeal Ngāi Tahu representation.
The response was a resounding “no”.
Looking ahead to the next three years, Cr Korako said there are six priorities for Ngāi Tahu including strengthening the partnership under the Treaty of Waitangi, freshwater, resource management, climate change and biodiversity, governance and resourcing.
Cr Cranwell said much of what the regional council does, around land, water and air relates to article two of the treaty, while other issues like public transport relate to article three.
They would like to see the principle of Te Mana o Te Wai embedded in ECan policy - it means wai has first priority, people second and economic use last, he said.
Ngāi Tahu wants cultural impact assessments to be integrated into consents and not treated as “advisory only”, they said.
Cr Korako said there are opportunities for more shared climate resilience projects, such as river and wetland restoration.
“Ngāi Tahu expects ECan to move beyond consultation towards true treaty partnership,“he said.
“By addressing these issues, ECan can demonstrate integrity, leadership and a commitment to intergenerational wellbeing for all communities in Canterbury.”
As the Ngāi Tahu councillors are elected by the Papatipu Rūnanga, the positions are not part of the local government elections.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
