November 15, 2012
Water Forum confirms Māori interests
Te Wai Māori Trust, which promotes Māori interests in freshwater fisheries, has welcomed a cross sector report that calls for the Government to resolve iwi rights and interests in water.
The third and final report from the Land and Water Forum recommends community decision-making at catchment level, continuous improvement in management practices and clearer rights to take and use water within set limits.
It says the forum did not have a mandate to determine iwi rights and interests, but they need to be resolved if a stable and durable system of water management is to be created.
Te Wai Māori chair Ken Mair says the trust will write to ministers about ways they can discuss water with Māori.
He says that discussion can build on conversations the Government has already held with various iwi, the Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group and through the recent consultation of "shares plus" in relation to the sale of state-owned power generators.
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