Te Awa Tupua will take time to manifest

Gerrard Albert with Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson sat the signing of the Whanganui River Settlement in 2014.

It will take time to work out exactly how Te Awa Tupua - the new legal status of the Whanganui River - will be implemented.

What it does mean, however, is decisions affecting the river will now be informed by four values.

Gerrard Albert, chair of post-Whanganui River settlement entity Nga Tangata o Tiaki o Whanganui, spoke at the Whanganui District Council meeting this week to "demystify" aspects of Te Awa Tupua and what it meant.

The bill passed its third and final reading on March 15 which Mr Albert said "was a momentous day for all of us" and came into full legal effect on Thursday.

Mr Albert told councillors there had been speculation about what legal personhood meant but in reality the concept was part of everyday life.

"We're all involved in some way with various legal fictions ... trusts and what have you. I think the council is probably one," he said.

"It's pretty commonplace. What's not commonplace is that we've done it within this context, which is Te Awa Tupua, and it needs to be considered for what it is rather than any other context."

Tepua te Kawa

Te Awa Tupua recognises four "intrinsic values" known as Tepua te Kawa which are intended to be considered when decisions are made around the river and catchment.

The first is that the river is a source of physical and spiritual sustenance, sustaining life and natural resources.

"That's not exclusively an iwi or hapu feeling," Mr Albert said.

Recognising that the river flows from the mountain to the sea is the second, and a concept of indivisibility.

"What that means is that when we think about the river we think about it as a whole rather than just our responsibility as a district council or regional council or any other body, iwi or hapu."

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The third kawa is that iwi hapu have an inalienable relationship with the river which Mr Albert said recognises "a lot of historical issues and nature of talking about things".

The fourth is that small and large streams flow into one another and form one river.

"We need to recognise we've all got an interest in this river and we need to work together," Mr Albert said.

"If you start to look at the whole suite of values they do speak to what this legal person is more than any speculation in the media ... certainly greater than Barry Soper or others can relate to."

How exactly Te Awa Tupua would be implemented would develop over time but it was important people understood what it meant, he said. "Nothing's changed overnight - we haven't seen any discernible difference to the way we operate. We need time to decide what it means to us."

Jamie Ferguson, a partner at Kahui Legal, told the council the intention was that various entities, such as local government, had to have consideration of the river's status and the four kawa when making decisions.

"Where something affects the Whanganui River or activities within the catchment, then under most natural resource statutes decision-makers must recognise and provide for the Te Awa Tupua status and Tepua te Kawa."

But it reached wider than just environmental considerations.

An example he gave was in assessing curriculum under the Education Act.
"It may be that one school wishes to develop some aspect of the curriculum that takes into account aspects of Te Awa Tepua in an appropriate way," Mr Ferguson said.

"What this ensures is that somebody can't turn around and say that is an irrelevant consideration. It's trying to make sure this integrated approach to the river is something that can talk across all frameworks, not just in the environmental space."

Mr Albert said it was was a new way of working that acknowledged intangible ideas as well as physical aspects.

"I'd like to think what we're creating here is an environment through which hapu and iwi are empowered."

Te Pou Tupua

Te Pou Tupua is the human face of the river. They're the two people who will represent Te Awa Tupua.

"Someone's actually got to speak for this legal person," Mr Albert said.

The two people are appointed jointly by the Crown and iwi - each side nominating one person but both having to agree to each others' nomination.

Mr Albert said the Crown nomination had been accepted by iwi and iwi had made their nomination. An announcement could be expected in the next few weeks.

"The duty is only owned to those four values and the status of Te Awa Tupua when those two people perform that singular role. The Crown nominee doesn't represent the Crown; the iwi nominee doesn't represent iwi - they represent the four values of Te Awa Tupua.

"They will be people who are best to uphold those values for all of us and they don't need to come in a particular colour or particular political view."