September 27, 2017
Land and people get attention of council
Rotorua Lakes Council’s new general manager Maori says it’s an opportunity to show how Maori can lead change at environmental, social and cultural levels.
Gina Rangi is a lawyer with an environmental and resource management background.
She is also a director of Maori geothermal and land organisations, including Tuaropaki Trust.
She says the council is no longer talking about whether it should work with Maori but how it can do it better.
There is also community consensus on the need to improve the mauri and well being of the lakes, if necessary by changes to land use.
"We can’t ignore some of the social issues around homelessness in Rotorua. Te iwi Maori have specific concerns and also specific skills and contribution to that space as well so I don’t want to forget about some of the social issues we as iwi have to confront, and also it’s really important to ensure Rotorua is a cool place for our rangatahi to grow, to learn, to stay and to give back to the place that they love," Ms Rangi says.
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