Hui to update iwi on water

Ngati Kahungungu Iwi Incorporated chairman and Iwi Leaders Group member Ngahiwi Tomoana. Photo / File

A Ngati Kahungunu hui in Hastings today is the first of three planned to update iwi members on negotiations with the Crown over water rights for Maori.

The powerful Iwi Leaders Group, made up of tribal leaders from around the country, has been in discussions with the Government over giving iwi more rights of water allocation.

Ngati Kahungungu Iwi Incorporated chairman and Iwi Leaders Group member Ngahiwi Tomoana said ongoing discussion had involved the group putting the case for a new water-management regime with stronger recognition of Maori rights to water.

"We say a good environment is good business and it's on that basis that we have made overtures at a national level to cabinet that there should be a stronger regime recognising our rights [to water]," he said.

"At the moment it's still first-past-the-post and grandparent rights from when water was first allocated. It's not sustainable.

"As we're going to be here for another thousand years, we say we're the most suitable ones to draw parameters around good water use and management."

Ngati Kahungungu chief executive Adele Whyte said today's hui in Hastings, plus another tomorrow in Dannevirke and a third in Wairoa next week, were aimed at updating iwi members on where negotiations with the Crown had go to so far.

"It's about working out, for our hapu and iwi in Kahungungu, what options we want for managing our fresh water," Dr Whyte said.

"We should be examining these issues at a local level as well as at a national level."

Mr Tomoana said iwi were not "baddies trying to gang up on existing water consent holders".

While the Iwi Leaders Group discussions had put forward the idea of allocating water to iwi, he did not want to see a worsening of "over-allocation" issues which were a problem in local catchments.

"We'd be derelict in our duty if we wanted a part of over-allocated water resources so that's not on the agenda for us," he said.

"We're saying to the Crown there should be a banking mechanism so that in time, as pressure eases, iwi could pick up those water rights.

"It might be five years, it might be 20 years, we don't care. We're not going to compromise the environment for commercial allocation."

Prime Minister John Key said over the weekend the government's position on water rights for iwi remained unchanged.

Former National Party leader Don Brash has warned the government a water deal with iwi could lead to a voter backlash.