Change on the way for 90 Mile Beach

SIGNS OF CHANGE: Vehicles on 90 Mile Beach might soon be governed by more than the open road speed limit.

Te Rarawa leader Haami Piripi gave warning yesterday that the Te Oneroa a Tohe (90 Mile Beach) governance board that will be formed as part of Te Hiku iwi Treaty claim settlements would be looking at making "cultural and physical changes" to the way in which the beach was managed.

He told Radio New Zealand that one of the biggest problems was the number of vehicles, in particular heavy buses, that were using the beach, and that the iwi was concerned about pollution and damage to the land and wildlife.

He was sure the board would be looking to reduce traffic, but first it would have to "measure the changes," to avoid disrupting local life and use of the beach too much.

"But there definitely will be changes around vehicular access," Mr Piripi said.

There had been little resistance so far to proposals to restrict vehicle access, he added. In fact there had been more public concern about changing the official name to Te Oneroa a Tohe, which was a requirement of the agreement.

Mr Piripi made his comments the long awaited Te Rarawa deed of settlement had its first reading in Parliament yesterday morning. The result of decades of work by iwi negotiators, Te Rnanga o Te Rarawa staff and tribal elders, the settlement includes a series of mechanisms and institutional arrangements designed to support Te Rarawa marae and hap entities and complement the organisational and strategic direction of the runanga.

Valued at an estimated $70 million, it will see the return of some 9000 hectares of land to the iwi, a co-governance arrangement covering 32,000 hectares of the Conservation estate and the payment of $27 million cash.

Mr Piripi said he was eager to see the settlement legislation move through Parliament and given effect.

"Te Rarawa and Te Hiku iwi have been waiting for more than a year for our settlements to be brought before Parliament, over which time we have lost a significant amount of momentum and potential for growth," he said.

"There are a number of new local environmental co-governance arrangements, and potential economic development opportunities associated with our settlement, that have the capacity to lift our Te Rarawa people in Te Hiku and beyond, and it is time that we got on with this important mahi."

Importantly, he added, the settlement would be a realisation of some huge opportunities that would empower Te Rarawa and Te Hiku people, whnau, marae and hap to move ahead into the future. It was fulfilment of the aspirations of the likes of Matiu Rata and other elders of that time who had sought to bring prosperity to what had historically been a region of high socio-economic deprivation.

"It has taken hard work and the maintenance of a solid mandate to build an iwi settlement and entity that can provide for today and tomorrow's generations," Mr Piripi said.

"No amount of mere politicking will achieve it, and I pay tribute to the countless hours of effort that people have invested in this process over the many years it has taken to arrive at this historic point in our iwi development."