The fate of two deals between Ngāti Maru and the Taranaki Regional Council lies with the leaders who take over when regional councils are axed in two years.
Ngāti Maru is close to securing a pair of agreements setting out how the iwi and Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) will collaborate in future, but the Government has ordered the abolition of regional councils after 2028, as part of sweeping local body changes.
TRC policy lead Finbar Kiddle advised councillors they couldn’t force the agreements on whichever organisation eventually replaced them.
“We can’t bind that future entity, because it’s a future entity.”
Kiddle told the Executive Audit and Risk Committee the best councillors could do was recommend the deals be picked up by any newly minted Taranaki councils.
“We can signal our intent that we like these agreements, and we would like to see them transferred.”
Despite the uncertainty, TRC must, by law, enter into the agreements as Ngāti Maru’s 2022 Treaty Settlement Act requires the council to reach a Joint Management Agreement (JMA) covering the Waitara River and its catchment.
The draft JMA commits to cooperation over farm freshwater plans, mining, wetlands, rivers, water allocation and more.
The iwi has also initiated a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe (MWAR) agreement with Taranaki’s four councils, and TRC is bound to negotiate one under the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Mana Whakahono agreements set out mana whenua involvement in things like planning and consenting rules.
As drafted, Ngāti Maru’s MWAR would first focus on participation in council plan-making, in response to Wellington’s revamp of local planning structures.
The RMA is being ditched, but the Government has said two replacement laws will carry forward any MWAR already initiated or completed.
Ngāti Maru’s draft JMA over the Waitara River includes a Leadership Forum with four members, each from the iwi and TRC.
Councillor Bonita Bigham asked who’d pick up the reins for TRC after 2028, given the Government has ruled there would be no more regional councillors.
“When the governors are no longer in place, how does that Leadership Forum then have the appropriate membership, from whatever the entity to follow will be?”
Kiddle said a lot of detail was yet to be set out in terms of reference for the Leadership Forum.
“Post-2028, we’d need to work through that.
“I guess at first instance the board that takes over [from TRC] would step into the roles on that Leadership Forum.”
The tumu whakarae of iwi agency Te Kāhui Maru, Anaru Marshall, on Monday said Ngāti Maru could only wait.
“What are the councils going to come up with – or what is the Government going to put in place?”
Marshall hoped both agreements would survive the reform upheavals.
“Any new council structure that comes in, we’re just going to have to sit down with them and see if they’re going to recognise and honour [the agreements].”
Marshall praised TRC for diligence in negotiating the agreements, and at Tuesday’s committee meeting, Kiddle returned the compliment.
“Ngāti Maru have been amazing to work with through this process,” Kiddle said.
“They’ve in particular been very pragmatic and focused on the immediate priorities – being plan-making under the new resource management regime.”
LDR is local-body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
