An iwi has accused Gisborne District Council of not acting with integrity in its dealings with it during a significant flood-resilience plan.
Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki has pulled out of a hearing about a stopbank upgrade in Te Karaka, and has withdrawn its submission on the resource consent sought by the council.
The council has been progressing its Tairāwhiti Flood Resilience Plan to reduce risk to life and property through options identified in reports and discussions with iwi, hapū and local communities, to be completed by 2028.
It has been holding meetings with multiple communities this week to provide updates on flood resilience plans and funding in North Gisborne City, Ūawa (Tolaga Bay), Tokomaru Bay, Mākarika, Tikitiki and Te Ārai.
As part of the wider programme, the stopbank upgrade in Te Karaka had been endorsed by Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, and a consent application for the project was filed in April 2026.
The flood defences of Te Karaka, northwest of Gisborne, were overwhelmed during Cyclone Gabrielle and hundreds of people were evacuated.
However, in an email last week, the iwi withdrew from a hearing about the upgrade and its submission on the consent sought by the council.
The letter accused the council of not acting with integrity in its dealings with Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki.
Chief executive of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki Trust and lead negotiator for Te Tiriti, Willie Te Aho, wrote on behalf of the iwi, the trust, Turanga Leasing Company and Toitū Tairāwhiti Builtsmart.
Council staff, councillors, East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick and media received the letter in which Te Aho wrote the withdrawal followed attempts to “clarify the partnership” with council community lifelines director Tim Barry online and via email.
“We were regrettably unable to maintain an understanding of partnership with Tim Barry acting on behalf of the Gisborne District Council to the extent that Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki believes it is unsafe to proceed on this matter with the Gisborne District Council.”
Te Aho wrote that the iwi supported the process so “concerns that have been expressed by members of the Te Karaka community in public meetings and in writing through submissions and evidence could be properly responded to in an open and transparent manner and then independently assessed”.
Following these discussions with Barry, the iwi withdrew from all engagement with the council.
“While we respect that the Gisborne District Council has a statutory role and determines matters under those statutory roles, we do not now believe that the Gisborne District Council actually acts with integrity with regard to Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki.”
Local Democracy Reporting has contacted Te Aho to get clarification on comments in the letter and any updates.
Barry said the council remained committed to delivering the project and protecting the community.
“Since Cyclone Gabrielle, council has worked closely with Te Aitanga-a- Māhaki and the wider community through the flood resilience investigations and development of the stopbank proposal.”
The partnership significantly contributed to the project’s progression, including consenting work underway, he said.
“We acknowledge Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki’s decision to withdraw its support. While this is disappointing at such a critical stage, particularly given the collective work undertaken to date, we appreciate that the iwi is not opposing the project and continues to recognise its importance to the community.”
The council would seek further clarification about the situation while remaining focused on the project.
“Our focus remains on maintaining momentum on this critical flood protection project while working to continue engaging constructively and in good faith with Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki,” Barry said.
Barry said this week the council was committed to developing a proposal and was working with “existing and new information to do so”.
The council could not provide further comment on the “new information” as discussions were ongoing.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
