Hannah Middleton, chief executive of Whanganui and Partners, says although she believed Te Pūwaha was an exceptional and deserving winner, applying for the award was unknown as Te Pūwaha is unique in ways fundamentally different to other economic development projects.
"Te Pūwaha demonstrates 'best practice' for working in partnership with iwi, hapū and the community – and it is hugely gratifying to see this affirmed by the EDNZ committee."
Tupua Te Kawa, the set of innate values of Te Awa Tupua, guides all decision-making related to the Whanganui River, and Te Pūwaha.
The principles of Te Awa Tupua recognise the metaphysical and indivisible nature of the river; the intrinsic and inalienable place of hapū and iwi as the River; and community empowerment through a collective obligation to work collaboratively for the River's benefit.
Working under the guiding values of Tupua Te Kawa requires an innovative, collaborative approach by all project partners. This way of working is not something that has been previously undertaken by an infrastructure project of this scale.
Te Pūwaha project director Hayden Turoa says the answer to EDNZ's question about "achieved outcomes and innovation" looked different to traditional thinking around targets versus performance, KPIs and cost-effective metrics.
"The innovation at the centre of this project is working in a way that upholds kawa and our indigenous values, that recognises the intimate and inextricable connection between people and the natural environment while developing an economic asset for Whanganui."
