MAORI AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE

Transcription

1 TUWHARETOA MAORI TRUST BOARD MAORI AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill Submission From: TUWHARETOA MAORI TRUST BOARD Contact Address: P.O. Box 87 Turangi 3353, and P.O. Box 126 Taupo Contact People: Rakeipoho Taiaroa (Secretary, Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board) and Topia Rameka (Principal Advisor, Taupo Waters Trust) The Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board does wish to be heard in support of this submission. Introduction 1. The Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board ( the Board ) is the mandated representative authority for the iwi of Ngati Tuwharetoa. 2. Lake Taupo and its rivers, tributaries and waters are significant taonga tuku iho (ancestral taonga) of Ngati Tuwharetoa. Ngati Tuwharetoa is linked by whakapapa to these taonga tuku iho. Through these familial links, Ngati Tuwharetoa is committed and bound to protecting and nurturing the mauri of these taonga. 3. Ngati Tuwharetoa is recognised by the Maori Land Court as the ancestral owner of the Tongariro/Taupo region of the North Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand (by rulings of the Maori Land Court of 1887). 1

2 4. The ancestral connections to these taonga were reinforced in 1992 when, by Deed dated 28 August 1992, the Crown agreed that the ownership of the bed of Lake Taupo, the bed of the Waikato River extending from Lake Taupo to Te Toka a Tia (inclusive of the Huka Falls, but excluding the site of the Taupo Control Gates) and the beds of certain rivers and streams flowing into Lake Taupo should be vested in the Board to be held in trust on behalf of nga hapu o Tuwharetoa. 5. In accordance with the 1992 Deed, the Taupo Nui A Tia Block, Te Awa O Waikato Ki Te Toka A Tia Block and Te Hokinga mai o te papa o nga awa ki te Poari hei Kaitiaki o nga Hapu o Ngati Tuwharetoa Block ( Taupo Waters ) were vested in the Board by the Maori Land Court and declared to be Maori freehold land. 6. The Crown and the Board entered into a further Deed on 10 September 2007 which superseded the 1992 Deed. The 2007 Deed, while continuing the fundamental agreements of the parties in the 1992 Deed, recorded further agreements between the Crown and the Board in respect of Taupo Waters. Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act On 22 August 2008, the Crown and Waikato-Tainui entered into a deed of settlement in relation to the Waikato River. The 22 August 2008 deed was superseded by a revised deed datd 17 December 2009 ( Waikato-Tainui Deed ). The Waikato-Tainui Deed includes agreements directed to restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River from the Huka Falls to Te Puaha o Waikato and agreements regarding co-management arrangements in relation to the Waikato River from Karapiro to Te Puaha o Waikato. Those agreements are to implemented by the recently enacted Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act The Board supports the settlement between the Crown and Waikato-Tainui in relation to the Waikato River (and did so before this Select Committee in Feburary of this year). In particular, the Board endorses strongly the overarching purpose of the settlement to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations. Upper Waikato River Deeds of Settlement 9. Following the Waikato-Tainui Deed, the Crown entered into deeds of co-management in relation to the Waikato River with the Raukawa Settlement Trust (on behalf of 2

3 Raukawa) and the Te Arawa River Iwi Trust (on behalf of Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa, Ngati Kearoa-Ngati Tuara and Tuhourangi-Wahiao). 10. The Board and the Crown entered into a Deed in relation to Co-Governance and Co- Management Arrangements for the Waikato River on 31 May The Board s Deed recognises the interests of Ngati Tuwharetoa in the Waikato River and its catchment and in Taupo Waters and provides for the participation of Ngati Tuwharetoa in the cogovernance and co-management arrangements in respect of the Waikato River. 11. The Deed between the Crown and the Board (and those between the Crown and the Raukawa Settlement Trust and the Te Arawa River Iwi Trust): (a) (b) (c) confirms and endorses the co-management and co-governance arrangements in relation to the Waikato River agreed between the Crown and Waikato-Tainui; and provides for the participation of Ngati Tuwharetoa in the whole of River cogovernance arrangements established under the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010, namely, the Waikato River Authority and the Waikato River Clean-Up Trust; and provides for the participation of Ngati Tuwharetoa with Raukawa and the Te Arawa River Iwi in the co-management arrangements for the upper Waikato River from Karapiro to Te Toka a Tia. Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill 12. The Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill ( Upper Waikato River Bill ) will give legislative force to the agreements between the Crown and the Board and between the Crown and the Raukawa Settlement Trust and the Te Arawa River Iwi Trust. The Board supports the Upper Waikato River Bill and its implementation of the co-management and co-governance arrangements in relation to the Waikato River. 13. As noted above, the Board endorsed strongly the overarching purpose of the Waikato- Tainui settlement to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations. That overarching purpose is also confirmed in the Upper Waikato River Bill. 3

4 14. The Board supports the the recognition accorded to the Vision and Strategy with its direct incorporation into the Waikato Regional Policy Statement. The Board was actively involved in the development of the Vision and Strategy through the Guardians Establishment Committee. 15. The Board endorses the establishment of the Waikato River Authority as the appropriate entity for Crown, local government and iwi representation in the management of the Waikato River and the Waikato River Authority s promotion of an integrated, holistic and co-ordinated approach to the implementation of the Vision and Strategy and the management of the Waikato River. 16. The co-management principles underpinning the both the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 and the Upper Waikato River Bill are consistent with Ngati Tuwharetoa s general approach to its own relationships with the Crown and local authorities as reflected in both the arrangements regarding Lake Taupo and in the joint management agreement entered into between the Board and Taupo District Council. 17. The Board also supports the provisions in the Upper Waikato River Bill which provide for the opportunity for the Board, on behalf of Ngati Tuwharetoa, to: (a) (b) enter into joint management agreements with relevant local authorities; and develop, together with Raukawa and the Te Arawa River Iwi, an intergrated river managment plan and fisheries regulations for the upper Waikato River. 18. In this respect, the Board importantly notes that such co-management arrangements under the Upper Waikato River Bill do not derogate from or displace the tikanga of Ngati Tuwharetoa or limit or preclude any existing or future agreements or arrangements between Ngati Tuwharetoa and any Crown agency, local authority or other person. 19. The Board notes that as a result of the timing between the finalisation of the Upper Waikato River Bill and the finalisation and execution of the Deed between the Board and the Crown, there are two matters contained in the Tuwharetoa Deed that will need to be provided for in the Upper Waikato River legislation before it is enacted. Those matters relate to the scope of any joint management agreements entered into by the Board (clauses 38(f) and 38(g) of the Tuwharetoa Deed) and the effect of any upper 4

5 River regulations (clauses 48 of the Tuwharetoa Deed). The Board understands that Crown officials will be reporting seprately to the elect Committee on those matters. Conclusion 20. In conclusion, noting the two matters raised immediately above, the Board supports the Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill. The Bill confirms and builds on the important measures recently enacted in the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 and heralds a new era of cogovernance and co-management for the Waikato River directed to the restoration and protection of the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River. 6 August 2010 Signed on behalf of the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board: Rakeipoho Taiaroa Secretary 5