September 02, 2019
Māori seen as leaders in water clean up
The Greens are looking for leadership from Māori in the clean up of rivers and lakes.
Co-leader Marama Davidson says that's a conclusion that flows form the Waitangi Tribunal stage 2 report on water claims.
She believes the strongest approach to the conservation and restoration of the country's waterways must involve recognising Māori customary and proprietary rights, as the tribunal has indicated.
That includes addressing the over-allocation that has left many Māori landowners without the water they need to develop their whenua into more productive uses.
"How and who we allocate water to makes a big impact on what we are using water for and therefore whether or not we are going to continue to see polluted waterways so we have to do some work around making sure we are bringing the farming techniques to a place that does not further put nitrates and pollutants into our water," Ms Davidson says.
She says Maori have already shown leadership in changing land use.
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