Tough talking over flood issue

Five months after the 2004 flood Kathleen Matthews, Ashley Tiraha, Deeg Ihaia and Ramene Ihaia stand outside Kauangaroa Marae's historic meeting house, Kimihia Te Atua.

Kauangaroa's Nga Wairiki iwi wants to develop its land and marae - but it has to deal with some flood issues first.

The first step will be a day of talk at the marae on March 30, with an invitation sent far and wide.

Kauangaroa Marae has been at its present site since the early 1890s, Nga Wairiki Ki Uta chairwoman Katarina Hina said.

There are a few houses clustered around it. The marae and some houses are on the flood plain of the Whangaehu River. They were hard hit in 2004 floods and the mid-October flood last year gave the iwi another fright.

It came within half a metre of spilling over the banks and flooding the marae again.

Nga Wairiki, with Ngati Apa, had its Treaty of Waitangi claim settled in 2010. The iwi now had a small budget and was keen to develop, Ms Hina said.

Land opposite the marae, where there was once a school, has been returned to the iwi. Tribal members could return to live there, build kaumatua flats or establish businesses.

But money sunk into the marae or flood plain area would be wasted if flooding continued, Ms Hina said.

"We might as well just chuck our money in the river."

Decisions need to be made and at the March 30 hui the morning will be for talking about the papakainga land.

There will be a presentation from hydrologist Jeff Watson, and Jeremy Cummings will talk about Horizons Regional Council's river protection scheme.

There could be anger and tears as people realise their dreams and aspirations may not be realised. Three or four families live in the flood zone but several more have land interests and family members buried there.

Any development would be expensive, and the iwi would look to top up its budget from sources such as the Lotteries Commission and DIY Marae.

"We don't have millions, contrary to what people think. We have to be able to spread our resource out," Ms Hina said.

The afternoon session is to consider the future of the marae itself, Kauangaroa Marae Trustees chairman Jim Allen said.

There were several possibilities. It could be left as it is, it could be raised up on stilts, the land under it could be built up or it could be moved.

Any possibility was up for discussion.

If the marae was moved, as Nga Rauru's Waipapa Marae has been, there would have to be negotiation first.

"I'm confident it could be moved to one area owned by the iwi that would benefit everybody," Mr Allen said.