Taupō district representation review: Differing views on co-governance committee for Tūrangi

A Taupō District Council review proposes reducing the number of Tūrangi-Tongariro councillors and replacing the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board with two committees. Photo / Jared Goedhart

Opinions vary on whether the Taupō District Council should retain separate wards for different areas or whether all councillors should represent all ratepayers and residents of the district.

Submitters on the council's representation review are also divided over whether the Turangi-Tongariro Community Board should be disestablished and replaced with two committees, one a co-governance committee between the local hapū and appointed members, or whether it is just adding another unnecessary layer to representation.

The council is currently made up of 11 councillors and a mayor. Seven councillors represent the Taupō ward, two represent Tūrangi-Tongariro, one represents the East Taupō Rural ward and one represents the Mangakino-Pouakani ward. In addition, there is a Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board with six members.

The council is conducting a review of its representation arrangements following its decision in 2020 to introduce Māori wards, with the intention that any changes be in place for the 2022 and 2025 local government elections. It called for public submissions during July.

The review proposes retaining the same number of councillors for the Taupō, Taupō East Rural and Mangakino-Pouakani wards, but reducing the number of Tūrangi-Tongariro councillors to one and adding two Māori ward councillors. It also proposed disestablishing the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board and replacing it with a co-governance committee made up of equal numbers of Ngāti Tūrangitukua, plus the mayor, the local councillor and one or two council-appointed representatives. Ngāti Tūrangitukua is the hapū of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, with mana whenua (authority) over the Tūrangi area.

There would also be another representative group for the remainder of the Tūrangi-Tongariro Ward. Both groups will be committees of council and their members would be appointed by council not elected.

Public submissions closed on August 9, with 119 received, and the first round of verbal submissions was heard last week. The forum was originally to have been held in person but was moved online due to lockdown. Mayor David Trewavas said while some submitters were happy to give their submissions via Zoom, others wanted to do so in person and that part of the forum would now be held on September 7, Covid alert levels permitting.

Taupō District Council in session. Photo / File

At last week's online meeting there were four submissions: from Stephen Sanderson of Whareroa, Jen Shieff and Heather Macdonald of Tūrangi and Tina Porou and Lauren Fletcher of Ngāti Tūrangitukua.

Submitting on behalf of Ngāti Tūrangitukua, Tina Porou outlined the grievance that arose in 1964 when the Ministry of Works and the Crown confiscated 1540 acres from the hapū to build the Tongariro Power Development and families were forced to relocate from their homes.

Some land was returned in the Ngāti Tūrangitukua Treaty of Waitangi settlement in 1999 and the hapū is now the largest private landowner in the Tūrangi district, including the majority of the town's reserves.

It has been in discussions with the Taupō District Council over the past 18 months to develop a Mana Whakahono agreement, which would cover a range of matters including opportunities for Ngāti Tūrangitukua to make some decisions either jointly with the council or alone as landowners. As part of a Mana Whakahono, a co-governance committee would be established which would effectively fulfil the current role of the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board.

Ms Porou said over the last 18 months there had been ownership of the hapū's individual roles and relationships in the Tūrangi community and "real openness and transparency" around engagement with council staff.

"It has been difficult for us over the last 50 years to see people making decisions over land that, but for confiscation, would have been our families' houses, would have been our families' playgrounds and would have been our families' turangawaewae, which it still is, regardless of ownership.

"But the grievance has brought us to a point of reconciliation and this is a way that we can share the development and growth of our town," Ms Porou said.

Tina Porou presented a submission via Zoom on behalf of Ngāti Tūrangitukua. Photo / NZME

"A Mana Whakahono agreement is not something that we take lightly. The responsibilities that we have been able to discuss with the community have been really clear. What we want is to sit around the table as hapū members and share in the decision-making that's occurring for our township.

"This is about making sure we can participate freely and appropriately in decisions about the growth and direction that our town is going in...to make sure that there are benefits for everybody in the rohe."

Ms Porou reiterated that the hapū was supportive, thankful and excited that the council might determine this was the way to move forward. She acknowledged that it would have to build capacity and capability.

Ngāti Tūrangitukua Charitable Trust chair Lauren Fletcher's submission said the trust felt it was "critical and wholly appropriate' that the council consider a co-governance option with Ngāti Tūrangitukua which would restore the hapū's mana and the Crown's honour by settling the historic grievance.

"We look forward to fully participating in the growth and opportunities that shared decision-making can bring to a town that we all love and have grown up in."

But Tūrangi locals Jen Shieff and Heather Macdonald said in their oral submission that two committees at the southern end of the lake only added another layer to interactions between the council and the community.

Ms Shieff, who addressed the meeting, said through no fault of its members, the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board had been largely ineffectual and should be disestablished.

But the pair felt the two proposed committees would be "cumbersome' and "unworkable" and the proposed mix of three hapū and three council-appointed representatives meant majority decision-making might not be achievable.

"Overall, with the proposed co-governance committee we can see nothing but power struggles, failure to reach agreement with hapū, confusion, non-engagement and inertia."

Instead of having a specific councillor for the Tūrangi-Tongariro area, Ms Shieff said they would be happy to have all councillors, whether Taupō-based or not, representing Tūrangi's interests. They welcomed the establishment of the new Māori wards to enable iwi voices to be heard.

"We think council's Mana Whakahono responsibilities can be met through the Māori ward and generally by partnership with iwi at a high level for the district as a whole."

She said that while the Mangakino-Pouakani ward already had a similar arrangement in place, the Tūrangi-Tongariro area was "complexity on steroids" and there had been a lack of iwi engagement to date.

The only other oral submission at the meeting was from Stephen Sanderson of the Whareroa Residents' Association, who said the association supported the disestablishment of the Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board and the establishment of the two committees, one to represent the southern Lake Taupō area. However, he questioned how the committees would be made up and said the association would strongly support its existing chairman or an appointment by the residents' association onto the representation committee.

The southern Lake Taupō area outside Tūrangi would also have its own committee under the proposed representation arrangements. Photo / Juliet Clarke

"One of the things I see is that the committee could be captured by a certain group and I wouldn't like to see that happen. That's why I think the [association] has to have a say in who's put forward."

If the two representative committees did not go ahead, Mr Sanderson said he felt two Tūrangi-Tongariro councillors plus a Māori ward councillor would provide more say in council matters.

The meeting was adjourned until September 7 for the remainder of the oral submissions to be heard in person.

Representation Review: Summary of submissions

Disbanding Tūrangi-Tongariro Community Board and setting up two representative committees: eight submissions in favour, six against, four disagreed with additional committees

Councillors: Retain a separate ward for Mangakino-Pouakani (89 per cent), retain the Taupō East Rural ward (80 per cent).

Agree with a district-wide Māori ward with two councillors: 71 per cent.

Ten submissions asked for the number of Tūrangi-Tongariro councillors to be kept at two.