$1/2m for Maori views on roads

By SIMON COLLINS

A Government agency has commissioned research costing $600,000 on "Maori knowledge and values in roading".

The four-year project is designed to help assess new roads such as the stretch of State Highway 1 near Meremere where work stopped last year because it might have disturbed a taniwha in the Waikato River.

Construction started again in January after Transit New Zealand altered its plans, at a reported cost of $15,000 to $20,000.

Peter Thorby, acting manager of Lower Hutt's Opus Central Laboratories which is co-ordinating the research, said the project was conceived before the taniwha incident.

"There are other issues around Maori and roading," he said.

"Some roading developments run the risk of offending Maori in terms of having, say, tourism past sites of cultural significance. There is also Maori knowledge about particular forms of vegetation that can be used to enhance roading outcomes in terms of managing road runoff."

The researchers will include scientists at Landcare Research and a Ngati Whatua environmental and heritage adviser.