October 19, 2012
Poroti Springs example of water frustration
The lawyer for the New Zealand Maori Council says the Government won’t address water claims, however well founded they are.
Donna Hall says the council will file a challenge in the High Court today to stop the sale of shares in Mighty River Power until the Maori interest in water is defined and accounted for.
She says in the wake of the Waitangi Tribunal’s initial report on water the Government conducted a sham consultation with selected iwi.
It ignored claimants like the owners of Poroti Springs, whose water has been siphoned off for Whangarei’s town supply for more than a century.
“Poroti Springs have resisted and sought to have their mana over the water recognised, they’ve fought to hold on. They have watched their water being allocated to third parties by regional councils and organisations set up by the state through legislation. All of these water drawers get authority from the regional council process and Poroti is there as an observer watching what is happening to their water,” Ms Hall says.
An independent commissioner this week refused an application by water exporter Zodiac Holdings to take more water from Poroti Springs.
He said it was because of monitoring problems and the impact on Maori cultural values – but said any Waitangi Tribunal claim over the springs could not be a factor in his decision.