The agreement includes the intention to transfer 128ha of council-owned grazing land at Airport Road and the South Spit. Photo / Bevan Conley
The agreement includes the intention to transfer 128ha of council-owned grazing land at Airport Road and the South Spit. Photo / Bevan Conley
The final draft of a relationship agreement between Whanganui’s council and hapū and iwi, has been released but elected members still need to vote on whether to adopt it.
Te Tomokanga ki Te Matapihi was originally set to be released publicly on February 13 – the day it will be voted on by district councillors.
According to the final draft, the relationship agreement was based on mutual respect and benefit, integrity and trust, with hapū and iwi represented by Takapau Whāriki, the post-settlement governance entity.
It involved developing processes that “enhance Ngā Hapū o Te Iwi o Whanganui’s involvement in all council’s decision-making”.
Council chief executive David Langford said that was nothing new.
“The Local Government Act requires all councils in the country to find ways of including Māori, iwi and hapū in its decision-making processes, and there is a similar requirement in the Resource Management Act,” he said.
“That has been required by law for over 20 years now and council has been doing it.”
Council chief executive David Langford says involving iwi in council decision-making is required by law. Photo / NZME
The final draft said that within 12 months, parties would explore a long-term strategy to provide Ngā Hapū o Te Iwi o Whanganui with an opportunity to acquire council-owned land.
“Or, where transfer is not possible, to provide a right of first refusal or long-term lease to Ngā Hapū o Te Iwi o Whanganui.”
Langford said nothing in the relationship agreement overruled the council’s normal procedures for selling land.
“Council would have to approve it and, if we needed to, we would consult with the community before deciding to sell it,” he said.
“Once the decision to sell has been made, we give iwi the first rights to buy it.
“If they don’t want to, it goes to the open market and we sell it through a real estate agent the way we normally would.”
He said the community would not lose out on anything because the council would still receive market value for land.
Te Tomokanga ki Te Matapihi includes the intention to transfer 128ha of council-owned grazing land at Airport Rd and the South Spit to Ngā Hapū o Te Iwi o Whanganui.
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said the transfer was separate from the trust’s settlement with the Crown.
“This was initiated by [former mayor] Michael Laws and championed by [former mayors] Annette Main and Hamish McDouall, and we are continuing this process in good faith,” he said.
“It has been a very long time and I’m not going to curtail that.
“I’m here to honour what they’ve been promised.”
In 2009, the Chronicle reported that the council and Tupoho had signed a deal for the two organisations to form a governance structure to manage the “ailing” port.
The deal included the return of more than 50ha of council-owned land in the Landguard Bluff area that contained wāhi tapu (sacred sites) for Tupoho.
Laws and councillors present signed the deal, with representatives from Tupoho.
Trust chairman Ken Mair says "the right thing is going to be done at last". Photo / NZME
Whanganui Land Settlement Negotiation Trust chairman Ken Mair said the land was “an important area of cultural significance”.
The agreement said within six months, the parties would explore potential ownership, governance, management, and administrative arrangements at: Pukenamu Queen’s Park; part of Gonville Domain/Tāwhero; Kai Iwi Beach/Mōwhānau Reserve; part of the Lake Wiritoa bed; the recreation reserve adjoining lakes Wiritoa and Pauri; the Lake Pauri marginal strip; Kokohuia and Te Pungarehu o Tutemangarewa (a small area of land near the port in Castlecliff).
Through the charitable trust, the parties would “continue to work together to improve the social and economic outcomes for all Whanganui people”, it said.
Mair told the Chronicle last week that Toitū te Whānau would ensure the localisation of decisions, rather than “an anonymous bureaucrat within Wellington”.
The final draft document said the parties would develop plans to cover communications, including managing confidential information.
Langford said those protocols applied to any party the council had a relationship with.
“They’ll often be given confidential information because it’s necessary for them to deliver a service.
“If the contract ends or they finish their work, they have to return the copies of the information they’ve given them so it stays confidential.”
Councillors will vote on whether to adopt the agreement at a council meeting on February 13.
There are two drop-in information sessions on the agreement on Thursday, January 30: 9.30-11am at the lakefront lawn at Rotokawau Virginia Lake, weather permitting; and 4.15-5.45pm at the Castlecliff Community Hub and Library.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
