Final approval for resource management agreements with iwi will stay with Horizons Regional councillors, rather than being delegated to staff.
In a marathon sitting over two days, councillors overturned a staff recommendation to delegate authority to staff, instead voting to keep final say on the legally-binding Mana Whakahono ā Rohe (MWāR) agreements.
Councillors also committed up to $10,000 per iwi entity to support them in participating in developing the agreements.
Horizons met last week to make decisions on delegation, funding and the process for negotiating the agreements.
MWāR are statutory agreements under the Resource Management Act 1991 that set out how councils and tangata whenua will work together on resource management matters.
Where initiated by an iwi authority, councils are required to work to a defined process to reach agreement within statutory timeframes.
Horizons has received 11 requests from 14 iwi authorities to initiate an agreement.
They are: Te Kāhui Maru Trust (Ngāti Maru); Te Tōtarahoe o Paerangi Trust (Ngāti Rangi); Te Rūnanga o Raukawa (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga); Rangitāne o Manawatū Settlement Trust; Tanenuiarangi o Manawatū and Best Care (Whakapai Hauora) Charitable Trust (Rangitāne o Manawatū); Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamaki-nui-ā-Rua; Te Kaahui o Rauru (Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi); Te Iwi o Ngāti Tukorehe Trust; Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust and Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Charitable Trust; a joint initiation from the four Mōkai Pātea iwi Te Rūnanga o Ngāi te Ohuake, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Tamakōpiri and Ngāti Hauiti; and Muaūpoko Tribal Authority.
A report from Horizons staff to councillors said there had been a marked increase in iwi initiations nationally and within the Horizons region.
“This reflects a strategic desire from iwi to establish formal participation arrangements ahead of resource management reform,” the report said.
“A number of iwi and hapū groups are choosing to initiate agreements now, before reform is finalised, to ensure they have enforceable participation processes in place regardless of what the new framework looks like.
“This is a reasonable strategic decision.”
Horizons could expect to receive more initiatives within a short period and needed to be well-prepared to respond under statutory requirements, which include completing negotiations within an 18-month timeframe, unless a longer timeframe is mutually agreed.
Several iwi had signalled they wanted to complete negotiations at pace, before new resource management legislation is enacted, the report said.
MWāR agreements were introduced under the Resource Management Act (RMA) in 2017 to provide a formal, enforceable mechanism for iwi participation and making councils’ existing obligations clear.
Once signed, the agreements cannot be changed or ended without the agreement of all parties.
Some councillors suggested Horizons should hold further workshops or defer decisions until the Government enacts RMA reforms – expected soon, with the Environment Select Committee due to report back on proposed new planning and resource management legislation.
Horizons chair Nikki Riley said she sought direction on MWāR from RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop in February.
His response indicated that until new legislation is enacted, the RMA remains the operative framework, including all provisions relating to MWāR.
“The law is the law. We’re required to follow the law,” Riley said.
On funding to support iwi participation in developing the agreements, councillor Ben Fraser said he interpreted the contribution as a payment to iwi for agreeing to a MWāR agreement.
“I’m not comfortable with that.”
Riley refuted the claim.
“I see this as a contribution to the work that is done on both sides. There is considerable effort and work and legal advice that is required by both sides.”
Fraser withdrew the comment.
Councillor Elijah Pue said the agreements did not grant iwi additional decision-making powers, give right to veto or transfer functions or authority away from councils.
“Unfortunately these agreements have been portrayed as something they’re not – as arrangements that give Māori disproportionate influence.”
Pue said decisions on MWāR came down to councils and iwi working together to meet the long-term challenge of environmental stewardship.
The council decided staff would continue negotiating with iwi and facilitating the process, but draft agreements would be workshopped with elected members before coming back to the full council for approval.
Councillors also formally recognised the significance of their decisions, acknowledging that MWāR agreements were of high strategic importance, likely to generate considerable public interest, were of high interest to Māori, and would create permanent legal agreements.
Funding to implement the agreements was deferred. The council agreed to signal future funding in the agreements, but that spending would need to be approved through Long Term Plan budget processes.
Internal costs to the council will be absorbed by reprioritising existing budgets and resources.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
