West Coast iwi and regional councillors are looking for reassurance on the status of their partnership agreement, as the government rolls out its RMA reforms.
Ngai Tahu and its two Coast sub-tribes, Ngati Waewae, and Makaawhio (Ngati Mahaki) signed the country’s first Mana Whakahono a Rohe Iwi Participation Arrangement in 2020, with the West Coast Regional Council .
The agreement with its over-arching partnership protocol, Paetae Kotahitanga ki Te Tai Poutini, was set up under the RMA as an expression of the Treaty of Waitangi partnership between the council and iwi.
Hailed as groundbreaking at the time, it set out the ways that iwi would be included in resource management decisions, and won a Best Practice Award last year from the New Zealand Planning Institute.
But at Tuesday’s Regional Council meeting, councillors were uncertain about its future.
“It was introduced under the RMA – and that’s now going through changes – what happens to our West Coast agreement?” Councillor Brett Cummings asked.
Councillor Allan Birchfield - who signed the partnership document as chair in 2020 but has since complained about the cost of iwi input to resource consents – asked if it was a legal agreement.
Ngati Waewae chair Francois Tumahai said he understood it was.
The council’s chief executive Darryl Lew said the agreement had legal weight under the RMA.
“How about if the RMA changes?” Birchfield asked.
“Then it would be a matter of my going to Wellington and talking to the Ministers about it and getting it across the line. That’s pretty much what I’m going to do,” Tumahai replied.
Councillor Peter Ewen said the agreement was a living document, but he was disappointed iwi had signed off on a consented dump of cleanfill waste on the gravel bed of the Grey River.
“In this day and age, it’s entirely inappropriate to have a clean fill dump on a river bed.”
Tumahai said he was unaware of the issue.
The council is about to embark on its first review of the Whakahone agreement and protocol, which Principal Planning officer Stewart Genery said was generally working well.
“It may not be as perfect as it needs to be. There are really good reasons why this is there ( in the RMA). It makes it better for everybody. “
Tumahai agreed.
“Generally its working well, though there are some tweaks to be done. We had some issues in council over this time but we haven’t pushed for the review, and just let things settle down.
“But now Darryl (Lew – CEO) has cemented in an excellent senior leadership team I think we now need to make this document available, a living document that staff can use on a daily basis.”
The agreement had made many issues a lot clearer for iwi and council staff and made for a great relationship, Tumahai said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.