The Clutha River in the Lawrence area, Otago. Photo / Supplied
The Clutha River in the Lawrence area, Otago. Photo / Supplied
Ngāti Kahungunu is backing a South Island iwi's claim for shared control and management of freshwater with the Crown.
Ngāti Kahungunu says taiwhenua, settlement groups, marae, hapū and roopu have agreed to support, join and promote the Ngāi Tahu claim which is seeking co-control and management of freshwater.
The claim could have far-reaching implications for commercial and private use of freshwater, with many iwi of the view that Maori should have a voice in how freshwater is used.
"The state of our rivers and the state of our whenua have been so degraded over the last 50 years and we need an urgent response because the current government regimes have been slow to address these issues," Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana said.
"We want to ensure that Papatuanuku and our rivers and our waiora are nurtured from now on to support successive generations over the next thousand years of Takitimu existence."
Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana said an urgent response is needed to protect and nurture rivers. Photo / Warren Buckland
On October 27, Ngāi Tahu lodged a statement of claim in the High Court at Christchurch.
Rangatiratanga as a concept can be translated to mean leadership, authority, or autonomy for example. However, it is not ownership, it is a practice with rights, responsibilities and obligations.
Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu, the representative body of Ngāi Tahu, and 15 tribal leaders have asked the courts to make declarations that the iwi have shared authority with the Crown over policy and management of the waterways.
It also seeks costs, as well as declarations that recognise the Crown's failings, namely breaching its good faith obligations.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council chief executive James Palmer said the council recognises the enormous importance of freshwater as a taonga for Maori, and its centrality to whakapapa.
"As such the management of freshwater is the principal focus of our work with tangata whenua though our Regional Planning Committee and Maori Committee of Council.
"By law the Council must give effect to 'Te Mana o Te Wai', which demands close collaboration with tangata whenua in developing the management response to protect and restore our freshwater."
Palmer said the council is currently "ramping up its capability to support this".
The Regional Council agrees with Ngati Kahungunu that many of the region's waterways are badly degraded, Palmer says.
"The Council is doing everything within its existing resources and powers to address this degradation but achieving our shared goals will take an enormous effort by the whole community for several generations to come.
"The institutional arrangements for managing water are determined by Parliament and ultimately any further changes to these will need to be determined by the Crown and enacted by Parliament.
"While these matters are before the Courts and the source of discussion between iwi and the Crown, the Regional Council is getting on with doing what it can in partnership with iwi, marae, hapu and settlement groups."
