Mana whenua representatives considered for Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence

By Lauren Crimp of RNZ

Mana whenua may finally have a seat at the Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence table.

The regional council’s Civil Defence committee will on Monday consider a proposal to have mana whenua representatives join the committee.

A 2021 review of emergency management in the region found Māori were not properly involved - but they should be.

“This would help ensure that the needs of Māori communities were better understood and accounted for, and the capabilities of Māori organisations incorporated into planning,” the 2021 review said.

The proposal said Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence could not - and should not - wait for the law to enforce Māori representation on Civil Defence committees.

Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Joint Committee chair Hinewai Ormsby is open to community-led disaster response. Photo / Supplied

The Emergency Management Bill was expected to do that, as well as establish a National Māori Emergency Management advisory group.

It was meant to be introduced in August last year, but lengthy delays meant it was only introduced to Parliament this month.

Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence staff said it did not seem likely it would become law before the end of this year.

It still had to go through a select committee and the House, and the October election would likely slow things down, it said.

“For Hawke’s Bay, tangata whenua participation in emergency management is a critical element of the region’s recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and future responses and cannot wait until the lengthy legislative process concludes,” the report said.

On Monday the committee would vote whether to appoint tangata whenua representatives “as advisory, non-voting members”.

Wairoa in northern Hawke's Bay after the Wairoa River burst its banks during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group

They would represent Mana Ahuriri, Maungaharuru-Tangitu Trust, Heretaunga Tamatea Settlement Trust, Tatau Tatau o Te Wairoa, and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.

- RNZ