August 15, 2021
Waikato iwi questions water reform disorder
Waikato Tainui fears the Government’s water and resource management reforms could undermine treaty settlements.
Linda Te Aho, the chair of the tribal executive Te Arataura, says the Waikato Rīver Settlement gives the tribe a say in setting strategy for managing the river – but that could be diluted by the Three Waters reform.
She says with multiple ministers working on multiple policy areas, the holistic vision the iwi has for the management of water and other natural resources could be lost.
“Are these reforms actually going to end up with the intended outcome that our water is going to be better off, our people are going to be better off? We’re having to drill down to what detail is given to us as it is drip-fed from each of the various ministries,” she says.
Waikato Tainui will put its concerns to a ministerial oversight group next month – and give some alternate proposals – but Linda Te Aho says a better solution is to involve iwi early in the reform process.
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