By ANNE SALMOND*
Over the past few weeks, New Zealanders have been arguing about heritage and sacred places. This might have been an informative and constructive discussion. Instead, much of the debate has been ugly, fuelled by statements which are wrong in fact.
In the process, the beliefs of fellow New Zealanders have been ridiculed.
Wahi tapu are, literally, sacred places. Churches, chapels, graveyards and cenotaphs are also sacred places, but these are widely respected.
No sane person in public life would seek to court popularity by mocking those places, or the beliefs they represent. Why, then, have wahi tapu been treated with such derision?
New Zealanders are generally a fair-minded lot, particularly when they are well-informed. To try to bring some balance to the debate, I offer a few observations and correct some false statements.
First, it should be noted that of 6000 registered historic places, only 63 are wahi tapu. The national register has 502 churches, 38 chapels, four monasteries and 13 graveyards, and other sacred sites.
By comparison, 63 wahi tapu registrations hardly seems excessive.
Secondly, it is wrong to claim, as Paul Holmes did on NewsTalkZB last week, that wahi tapu registrations are "a land-grab being used cunningly to disrupt, obstruct and interfere ... that can tie old whitey up a bit ... it is spiritual mumbo-jumbo".
The registration of a wahi tapu has exactly the same status as that of a church or graveyard, a country homestead or a historic area. It does not strip owners of their rights.
Indeed, most owners of a historic place are very proud of their registration. It gives formal notice that this place is of special heritage significance.
Thirdly, and contrary to recent statements, registration does not give others rights or access to a registered site or building. It is simply a device to try to ensure that heritage values are taken into account in planning decisions made by the local authorities.
Irrespective of whether a wahi tapu is registered by the Historic Places Trust, local iwi must be consulted if a resource consent is being sought, since they are affected parties. Nevertheless, heritage values are often outweighed by other considerations in such decision-making.
Thus it is incorrect to state, as National environment spokesman Nick Smith did in a letter to the Herald, that "not a single resource or building consent has been granted on any wahi tapu anywhere".
A number of consents have been granted to put buildings, roads and other developments on wahi tapu. Details of some cases can be seen on the trust's website, along with other fact sheets relevant to these matters.
Fourthly, although its act does not require the trust to consult owners over a registration, it does this voluntarily so as to take all viewpoints and interests into account in its decisions. Its registration processes are constantly reviewed to make them as meticulous, fair and robust as possible within limited resources.
The Historic Places Trust is a grassroots organisation, with 26,000 members. Under its act, it has the statutory duty to "identify, record, assess, register, protect and conserve wahi tapu areas and historic places".
It is improper and unjust that the trust should be attacked for carrying out its statutory obligations.
Because the trust acts on behalf of all New Zealanders, it must always strive to bring people together to achieve better heritage outcomes. These include a shared sense of national pride and identity, knowledge of our history, regional development and prosperity through heritage tourism.
Destructive, inflammatory approaches contribute little to these purposes. The trust gains nothing from these, but will always welcome constructive suggestions on how better to carry out its guardianship role of caring for historic sites and buildings.
* Professor Dame Anne Salmond chairs the Historic Places Trust.
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