August 17, 2018
Co-governance call for water forum
Co-governance call for water forum
Iwi leaders are looking for a direct relationship with the crown over water.
The Pou Taiao Iwi Leaders Group says it won't join a new Māori freshwater forum.
Environment Minister David Parker has invited the Iwi Leaders Group, the New Zealand Māori Council, the Federation of Māori Authorities and other Māori organisations to nominate people to the Kāhui Wai Māori.
Mr Parker told iwi leaders at Hopuhopu earlier this month the Iwi Leaders Group had made a valuable contribution to the debate on water in recent years, but the new Government wants to include more voices, from different areas of Māoridom.
Pou Taiao technical advisor Tina Porou says it's the wrong model for engagement.
"When the crown says 'we're going to arbitrarily on there and we get the last say to decide which people are appropriate,' that's not alright for the chairs. They are very experienced in this space and really it should be co-governed by Māori and by the crown as a true partnership and that is just not the case in this example," she says.
Ms Porou says even if iwi boycott Kāhui Wai Māori, the crown still has an obligation to engage directly with iwi and hapū on rights and interests in water.
Pou Taiao intends to keep working on regionally focused catchment-based systems for fresh water, including developing tools to assist iwi and hapū to determine solutions for their unique hydrological situations.
Mr Parker wants a wide range of voices on Kāhui Wai Māori because many of the issues regarding water quality and allocation affect the owners of Māori land, especially underdeveloped land.
Copyright © 2018, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com