Freshwater frustration: district council’s commitment to tangata whenua questioned

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Gisborne District Council’s ability to work in partnership under Te Tiriti o Waitangi has been questioned at a spirited closed-doors meeting this week.

The council is racing against the clock to develop a regional freshwater plan by the end of next year — a task it must complete to meet legislative requirements under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020.

On Monday, it sought input from key Māori stakeholders at an introductory hui, as it looks for people with strong connections to the region to become members of the Tairāwhiti Freshwater Advisory Group.

An overview of the policy was provided at the meeting, along with details for creating seven different catchment plans for managing freshwater quality across the region.

But some of those present questioned the council’s commitment to working in the interests of tangata whenua.

Dianne Irwin expressed frustration at how the council took care of the natural environment, saying engagement needed to be meaningful.

“In this plan you talk about the mana of the wai, yet you flush sewage into our awa,” she said. “This plan doesn’t reflect the Treaty partnership.”

Keith Katipa said there was a major issue with the Resource Management Act not being Treaty-compliant, which ultimately reflected in poor outcomes for Māori.

‘We want to do better’

This meant that the best efforts of groups, such as those meeting on Monday, equated to attempts at fortifying a broken structure.

“You’ve got a house that is falling down, and you’re trying to shore it up. But you won’t be able to shore it up unless you repair the foundation.

“The foundation is the Treaty.”

Principal Tamaki Legal Darrell Naden endorsed Mr Katipa, saying one of the foundational aspects of the Treaty was Māori ownership of wai Māori, something that had not been recognised by the council.

“That is our tikanga. If there was ownership, there would be the proper management,” he said.

He also expressed frustration at how long it had taken the council to get the catchment plans up and running.

“The resource isn’t about how much pūtea (money) can be made from it. It’s about whether it is healthy or not.”

A document created for Monday’s invite-only hui says the council is required to publicly notify its freshwater planning policy under the nationwide framework by the end of 2024.

Eleven workshops are required before it can be notified, meaning there was “just enough time to finalise and prepare the plans”, according to Monday’s agenda.

The seven catchments — ranging  from Wharekahika/Waikura in the north to Hangaroa/Ruakituri in the south — have made varying degrees of progress.

Mōtū has refined its draft plan through community consultation while Ūawa is yet to start and still requires an “entry point to mana whenua engagement”, according to the agenda.

Monday’s meeting was overseen by council Māori responsiveness manager Gene Takurua who began proceedings by addressing some of the challenges faced by Māori. That included successive policy positions treating the environment as a resource and not a taonga.

“I want to acknowledge upfront that the crown and mana whenua relationship is not healthy and hasn’t been healthy. For very good reasons there’s lack of trust.

“We as council staff are aware of the lay of the land and we want to do better.”

The council has already undertaken a series of technical works around freshwater monitoring.

Those include habitat assessments of the Waipaoa and Te Arai rivers, regional wetland mapping, fish passage assessments in the Waipaoa catchment, urban watercourse assessments, faecal course tracking in urban waterways and groundwater modelling in the Poverty Bay Flats.

A recording of the meeting was provided to The Gisborne Herald.