May 21, 2020
Waikato Tainui wants to help solve Auckland dry
The chair of Waikato Tainui’s Te Arataura executive says the current band-aid approach won’t solve Auckland’s water woes.
Rukumoana Schaafhausen says the river is already under stress from over allocation.
She says Watercare and Auckland Council haven’t woken up to the fact Waikato Tainui’s role as kaitiaki and advocate for the awa has been recognised by a treaty settlement.
"The default position by local government is to impose water restrictions or seek consent to take more water. That approach is not sustainable. It's a band-aid approach and we need to work differently and find long term, enduring solutions so that's why we are saying our 2008 Waikato River settlement mandated us to be the voice of the awa. It's time we were in those discussions," she says.
Ms Schaafhausen says a large percentage of Waikato Tainui people live in Auckland, so a dry Auckland is everyone’s problem.
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