Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust is preparing for legal action similar to the one made by Ngai Tahu to protect their rights over wai Māori.
Trust chair Leon Symes says they are arguing for the Crown to recognise iwi and hapū rights over freshwater in their region, Te Rohe o Te Wairoa, including rivers like the Wairoa River and Lake Waikaremoana
In 2020 Ngāi Tahu lodged a statement of claim in the High Court seeking recognition of its rangatiratanga over the freshwater in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā to address the ongoing degradation of awa and moana caused by environmental mismanagement.
Symes says like Ngai Tahu, despite settling historical claims, the lack of inclusion in how freshwater is managed intrudes on the mana set in the Treaty and established before it.
“The Crown thinks that we can go away and they can ignore us, but we’re not going to go away because these are things that are important to our whānau, our hapū, our iwi. Making sure these rights are maintained in ways we’re bringing some of our expert witnesses to the table, as Ngai Tahu are currently doing with theirs. It just shows the Crown that we have a historical connection that goes prior to the Treaty of 1840 and those have never been, never been succeeded,” says Symes.
The court date is set for March 13.
