Wayne Smith during he and his brother-in-law's valiant mercy dash through treacherous flood waters. Photo / Supplied
Wayne Smith during he and his brother-in-law's valiant mercy dash through treacherous flood waters. Photo / Supplied
OPINION
The chaos caused across Tāmaki Makaurau last weekend and on the East Coast in the last month is a wake-up call for why the Three Waters reform is desperately needed.
The weather bomb wreaked absolute havoc and it was clear the infrastructure in our largest city, and across our nation is woefully insufficient.
As the National Iwi Chairs Forum (NCIF) prepare to meet at Waitangi this week, we are turning our attention to the impacts of climate change on their communities, whenua.
Many whānau are in mourning, losing loved ones to flooding and extreme weather events that are only expected to grow in frequency due to the impacts of climate change and global warming. We are united in our support of iwi across the motu but particularly in rohe where more rain is forecast.
Iwi Chairs Forum Pou Herewini Parata. Photo / Waatea News
Now, more than ever, we must work together to hold back the tide of global warming and focus on creating solutions that support the resilience of our people and whenua to adapt. That is why iwi are supporting the reform that is sorely needed across Three Waters to build innovative infrastructure solutions, led by Te Mana o te Wai, which will assist in reducing the disproportionate impacts that are falling on our Māori communities.
The 2023 summer has firmly brought to light the impacts of a legacy of poor investment into three waters across Aotearoa, not only in Tāmaki Makaurau, but in smaller communities without rates bases to support the significant investment required. Decisions for the future are not being made in councils for a range of reasons.
Therefore, it is integral that the National Iwi Chairs Forum is purposeful in ensuring that iwi and hapū are around the table to make certain the proposed Three Waters reform achieves outcomes that address the issue.
Rukumoana Schaafhausen, Freshwater iwi chair (Ngāti Haua and a member of the Three Waters Governance Board), continues: “Sharing decision-making with iwi Māori is not something to be concerned about.
In these states of emergency, time and time again, it is our marae opening their doors to care for all our community. We are at the frontline protecting our waterways and we have thousands of years of mātauranga which can provide a paradigm shift in how we prepare for a climate-impacted future.
Sharing the load together is not to be feared, but welcomed.
The clean-up is underway for those impacted by these extreme weather events, however for NICF, it is not a case of focusing only on the next few weeks, but for the generations to come, as these events become more common and set to take a greater toll on those of our whānau who are the most vulnerable.
We will manaaki each other, provide shelter and strength in our hardest times, and will be guided by our tikanga as we focus on the solutions that offer the transformative change needed to combat the impacts that will affect future generations.
Herewini Parata is the chair of the Pou Taiao National Iwi Leaders Group, chair of Ngati Porou, a kapa haka authority and former chair of Te Matatini.
