May 29, 2023
Water industry backs Māori input
A Māori water sector engineer says last week’s Stormwater Conference in Auckland revealed broad support for the Government’s rejigged Affordable Waters reforms – including the continuing presence of Māori at the governance level.
Water New Zealand board member Troy Brockbank says attendees were generally supportive of greater Maori involvement.
“Throughout the conference, there was a very strong need and want from those in attendance around te mana to te wai, making sure we value matauranga Maori in the stormwater space and water space, also a lot of korero around co-design, co-governance – in fact even talking more widely around how co-governance shouldn’t be co-governance but really should be just good governance based on Te Tiriti,” he says.
Mr Brockbank says it’s hard to implement principles like te mana o te wai if there is not a Maori voice not only at the decision-making table but in the management and workforce of councils and water entities.
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