This gift from Whanganui iwi, secured by decades of work, puts us at a confluence of global trends, uniquely positioned to be a world leader and to ensure social, environmental, cultural, spiritual, and economic prosperity for future generations.
Our nation and the world at large are grappling with numerous crises - threats to global peace and harmony, and threats to our way of life.
Daily we see headlines about climate change and the environmental crisis, the mental health crisis and a failing healthcare system, decreasing community engagement in the democratic process, lack of trust in our institutions and traditional systems, a breakdown of morals, and increasing crime.
Science tells us that many of our homes will be underwater within a century. Our climate will change so dramatically that crops we once relied on will fail and extreme weather events (fires and floods and droughts) will become increasingly common and unpredictable. Pandemics will be common. Many will die, and many more will suffer.
Meanwhile, more New Zealanders than ever before are taking their own lives or resorting to crime and drug use. We see the numbers of gang members rising (and demonise them) but fail to ask why is this occurring.
We see people protesting government mandates and armed struggles with police on our capital’s streets, an increasing lack of trust in our institutions and monetary system, and low voter turnouts for local body elections.
These issues are not unique to New Zealand, and all stem from a lack of connection to our environment, each other, ourselves, and a lack of agency and meaning in our lives.
The world is actively searching for solutions.
Te Awa Tupua offers solutions as a set of values within which our community (and others) could achieve true abundance.
The framework is by no means new. It is drawn from ancient indigenous wisdom and generously provided by Whanganui iwi. What is new is that it has been incorporated into the laws of our nation and due to this must be taken into account in almost any major decision in our river catchment.
An example of the kawa at work can be found in the North Mole rebuild as part of the Te Puwaha port revitalisation.
The partners in that project have been generously guided by Te Mata Puau (a collective of hapu representatives that I have also been privileged to learn at the feet of).
Ko Te Kawa Tuawha, the fourth kawa or value contained in the Te Awa Tupua legislation states: “Ngā manga iti, ngā manga nui e honohono kau ana, ka tupu hei Awa Tupua. The small and large streams that flow into one another form one river. Te Awa Tupua is a singular entity comprised of many elements and communities, working collaboratively for the common purpose of the health and wellbeing of Te Awa Tupua”.
What is required by the kawa is a collaborative and truly community-led approach.
How can it work in practice?
When it came time to rebuild the mole the community who use the mole (and know it well) were empowered to direct the process. As a result we now have rocks expertly placed by Cashmore’s to provide good spots to fish from, a walkable track to the end of the mole, and a flat platform at the end to fish off (or watch the sunset etc).
None of these things were included in the original engineering plans but were developed by the community, the contractors, and the partners in Te Puwaha as the project proceeded.
The variation in the way the rocks were placed didn’t add a cent to the project cost, but there are now more plentiful and better spots to fish from on the mole; the community members who were involved in the process know that they helped create a better spot to fish, down to the specific location of some of these rocks. They are better connected to nature, they know their voice matters, they value these things and will protect them.
How is the fishing? Well, I’ve been told snapper has been plentiful the whole way through winter from the mole for the first time in many decades (if ever). The locals tell me that it’s because the rock that was used in the rebuild came from as close to our home waters as possible. This particular rock is now covered in juvenile mussels and a green moss that, it seems, is attracting the snapper.
The reason why we didn’t just get any old rock was because the community and hapu, through Te Mata Puau, suggested it. This level of thinking did not traditionally occur in bureaucratic offices.
These are small examples that only scratch the surface of the transformational power of one of the four kawa; in every community in our district, on any given day, “rocks” are being “placed” that could be placed better and more effectively if the community and hapu drove the process. If all of those “rocks” (whatever they may be) were placed in compliance with Te Awa Tupua, our district would be dramatically transformed. Abundance would result.
Whanganui has a sorry history of squandering transformational opportunities.
We now have an opportunity to be right at the heart of the transformation our species needs: the place where the rest of the world comes to learn, grow and change. Whanganui: Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au - economic, social, cultural, and environmental abundance will follow.
We need leaders from all sectors with the courage and vision to be guided by Te Awa Tupua, We need to embrace this as a community, and be the change we want for our children and our grandchildren. Education and understanding is the first step, closely followed by the courage to be part of the great river’s flow.
- Jamie Waugh is a Whanganui based lawyer, Nga Ringaringa Waewae (Te Kaihau o Kupe) and facilitator of the Castlecliff Rejuvenation Project (Progress Castlecliff Inc).
