November 17, 2022
Backlash to resource management change
Tainui executive chair Tukoroirangi Morgan says the Government can expect a nationwide Māori backlash over its proposed overhaul of the Resource Management Act.
He says the proposed Māori participation on regional planning boards falls short of co-governance, which is what Waikato-Tainui has had very successfully for the past 12 years with the Waikato River Authority.
The Iwi Chairs Forum has also rejected the idea of a national Māori entity to monitor compliance with treaty obligations, as it cuts across the mana of hapu and iwi.
“Anything that subsumes the voice of hapu and iwi is completely inappropriate. In Waikato, as I say to you, from Karapiro all the way down to the sea, we speak with a single voice. Only Waikato can speak for itself,” Mr Morgan says.