Two new agreements between iwi and council in Taranaki aim to improve the health of the Waitara River and the wider environment.
A Joint Management Agreement (JMA) signed on Tuesday commits Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) and Ngāti Maru to cooperate on managing the Waitara River and its catchment.
The two parties also signed a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement (MWAR) under the Resource Management Act, setting out how they’ll collaborate on things like planning and consenting rules.
Te Kāhui o Maru tumu whakarae Anaru Marshall said the council and iwi had established an enduring legal relationship over the river, also known as Te Awaroa.
“Our vision is simple: that the waters of Te Awaroa run clear and life-giving.
“That tuna, inanga, kōura, manu flourish, that wetlands breathe again … that the story we pass on to our mokopuna is not one of loss, but one of renewal.”
The iwi’s 2022 Treaty of Waitangi settlement required TRC to negotiate a JMA which covers rivers, wetlands, farm freshwater plans, mining and more.
A leadership forum with four members, each from iwi and council, can make some rulings with the legal weight of a council decision.
Ngāti Maru, which extends from the upper Waitara River deep into the eastern Taranaki hill country, wants Taranaki’s three district councils, plus Ruapehu district and Horizons Regional Council, to join the MWAR.
Marshall hoped the mana whakahono would survive the Government’s resource management law reform and revamp of local councils.
“If these things get removed ... what do we do, start again?”
Marshall said the agreements didn’t only benefit the iwi, because all communities would gain from joint efforts to look after the environment.
“It’s not rights, it’s responsibilities – and it’s a shared responsibility.”
“I think the risk is that people use [the deals] as a mechanism to misdirect people or mislead people about what they actually are.”
TRC chair Craig Williamson said the agreements would provide a practical framework for working together.
“At the heart, this is about partnership, shared stewardship and the common commitment to improve on the health and wellbeing of the Waitara river for future generations.”
Williamson said the JMA would also help make available funds held under the Waitara Lands Act “to support meaningful action on the ground.”
LDR is local body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
