Cultural impact of Rena contested by local elders

Adrienne Paul (Ngati Awa) argued that the contaminants continuously discharging from the Rena meant the application to leave the wreck on the reef should be declined.

A split has occurred between a Maori tribe and a committee of Maori elders on Motiti Island over the pivotal cultural question of whether the wreck of the Rena is destroying the life force of Astrolabe Reef.

Jeers reverberated around yesterday's hearing to decide whether the wreck should remain on the reef when the lawyer acting for the island's Te Patuwai hapu elders committee wondered how Ngati Awa Iwi was so sure the mauri (life force) had been severed when they appeared not to have visited the reef or accepted an invitation to dive on the reef.

Rena hearing chairman Judge Gordon Whiting ponders evidence on the cultural impact of the wreck on Astrolabe Reef. Photo / George Novak

Lawyer Ian Gordon was making his closing submissions against the case mounted by the Whakatane-based iwi that the reef's life force would be severed if the remains of the ship were allowed to stay.

The elders committee has backed the conditions proposed in the application for the remains of the Rena to stay on the reef, saying it addressed all their concerns about the ongoing effects on culture and heritage.

Mr Gordon said it was the iwi's view that the mauri could not return until Ngati Awa said it could, once all practical measures had been taken to remove the wreck. He said it left the panel in a vacuum because no evidence was given on the threshold to achieve "all practical measures".

The view of the elders committee contrasted sharply with the bulk of yesterday's evidence from Ngati Awa to the independent panel hearing the application.

Panel chairman Judge Gordon Whiting responded that the different views would create difficulties for them.

The solicitor for Ngati Awa Paul Beverley said evidence from the iwi's cultural advisor Pouroto Ngaropo was that only the full removal of the wreck would repair the relationship between the iwi and Tangaroa (the Maori god of the sea), and enable the repair of the mauri of Otaiti (Astrolabe Reef).

"Until the wreck is removed from Otaiti, Ngati Awa will be a sick people."

The iwi's relationship with Motiti and its surrounding waters including the reef has been recognised in claims under the Treaty of Waitangi.

Mr Beverley cited Te Patuwai hapu's own evidence to support the iwi's contention that the wreck on the reef had led to an imbalance between the spiritual realm and the physical world.

Te Patuwai said that every aspect of its sovereignty had been affected by the grounding and the presence of the wreck continued to have a profound effect on the mauri of Te Patuwai's taonga (treasure), Otaiti.

Mr Beverley said it was expected that different Maori groups had a different relationship to the reef and a different perspective on the cultural effect of allowing the wreck to stay.

"The fact that other Maori may have a different perspective does not undermine the validity of Ngati Awa's position - there is no one correct version of the cultural significance of Otaiti."

The iwi's environmental manager Raymond Thompson said expert evidence from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council was flawed when it said the reef would retain its overall outstanding natural character, despite the wreck.

The hearing continues today.

Major Iwi concerns with Rena staying on Astrolabe Reef

* Introduces a "ceiling approach" to protecting areas of outstanding natural character

* Breaches Treaty of Waitangi provisions on the discharge of harmful contaminants

* Contravenes the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples