Business case on restoring Hokianga Harbour to former glory

Northland Regional Council will spend $300,000 on developing of a business case for the remediation of the Hokianga Harbour.

Hokianga Harbour is the fourth largest in the country, and is home to a large number of indigenous species.

But the sprawling waterway needs attention to restore it to its former glory, and Northland Regional Council is putting up $300,000 to develop a business case for the remediation of the west coast harbour.

Māori call the harbour Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe - ‘’the place of Kupe’s great return’' - because it was here that their great voyaging ancestor, Kupe, made landfall from Hawaiki, and here that his descendants settled. Hokianga has been a nest for Europeans, too. Over the past two centuries, sawmillers, shipbuilders, missionaries, traders, farmers, fishers, hippies and artisans have found a home along its sheltering shores.

Council chairwoman Tui Shortland said the business case would estimate the cost and benefits of restoring the harbour, which the council acknowledges is of deep significance to mana whenua and the local community.

“This information could then be used to advocate for funding from central government alongside iwi and hapū,” Shortland said,

An initial strategic business case will be developed to understand the problems - or opportunities - to be addressed and the benefits to be achieved, to assess risks and uncertainties and to recommend actions to support further development of the business case.

She said the council’s Te Tiriti Strategy, key statutory changes - such as Resource Management Act reform - and local government reform will help guide the case.

Shortland said critical to the success of any business case is the need to build strong partnerships between mana whenua, local and central government and key stakeholders.

“Our learnings from the Kaipara Moana Remediation Programme process is that a great business case is only as good as the partnerships that are built around it,’’ she said.

‘’It is critical that any business case is progressed within a partnership model and at a pace that allows everyone to come along for the journey.’’

While the technical development of a business case can be outsourced to consultants, the development of those relationships and partnerships will require strong support from council staff.

The first stage of the business case (the strategic case) should start in the first quarter of 2024 unless additional resourcing becomes available earlier.