Tangata Whenua - Tangata Whenua2
What Council Is Doing
Council endeavours to create effective partnerships with local iwi. The District Plan provides for the creation of Iwi Housing and Marae Development Plans. Once established these mean that development in accordance with the plan is a permitted activity, and does not require resource consent. In 2013/14, The Waikato-Tainui Environmental Plan was lodged with Council, and the Raukawa Environmental Management Plan 2015 was lodged in 2014/15. When Council is reviewing or changing a planning document under the RMA, both these plans must be considered the same as any other planning document recognised by an iwi authority. Regard must also be given to them when Council considers resource consent applications.
On 27 May 2019, Plan Change 54 – “Papakainga” was launched at a hui at the Te Mata Marae. The Plan Change will evaluate the District Plan’s provisions for “Papakainga” in conjunction with the new Tangata Whenua section in the District Plan, which is to be introduced with` the National Planning Standards.
As of 2018/19, three Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Acts have become operative in our district. The three Acts Raukawa, Ngati Haua and Ngati Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Acts of 2014 form an agreement between the Crown and the iwi to give effect to a Deed of Settlement for all the historical claims by an iwi against the Crown over land or other resources taken in breach of the Treaty.
Ngati Hinerangi is in the closing stages of reaching a Treaty of Waitangi Settlement with the Crown; the Deed of Settlement has been confirmed and at this stage the process is being finalized so the Settlement Legislation can give legal effect to the settlement. The Act is expected to become operative is March 2020.
Another Treaty Settlement that will have an impact in our district is the Hauraki Treaty Settlement; On 22 December 2016 the Crown and the Iwi of Hauraki initialed a Collective Redress Deed. The Deed provides shared redress for the collective interests of the 12 Iwi of Hauraki in the Hauraki region. It also provides certain redress which will then on-transfer to specific iwi to form part of their iwi-specific Treaty settlements. At this stage it is uncertain when the treaty will become operative.
There are 78 waahi tapu sites listed in the District Plan and these include urupa (burial sites), pa and midden sites, and marae.
Consultation
Consultation with iwi is important in creating an effective partnership in the management of the district’s natural and physical resources. Council consults iwi when it receives resource and subdivision consent applications that may be of iwi interest. The graph below shows the trends in the number of consultations and responses. The total number of resource consents in each year is also shown for reference. The number of consultations experienced a steady decrease in the three years from 2008/09, followed by a subsequent fluctuation in numbers and it has remained largely unchanged since 2014/15, which is consistent with a reduction in the total number of resource consents, as is the relative number of consultations compared to total number of resource consents between 2009/10 and 2013/14.
As part of the memoranda of understanding that Council has with a number of iwi, no consultation is made on some types of resource consents, such as breaches of development controls such as yard requirements in urban areas. Additionally, one iwi, Ngati Haua is currently sent a spreadsheet of all consents received by Council rather than just information on resource consents in their rohe. This would have had an impact on the overall number of consultations made by Council and responses received from iwi.
The response rates by iwi to Council consultation have varied in the past ten years, in the range between 20% and 90%, as shown below. In nearly all of the responses received, iwi stated that they had no concerns with the proposals.
Resource Consent Conditions
Developments arising from subdivisions and land-use activities can place significant pressures on iwi interests. Council responds to pressures on culturally significant sites by imposing conditions on resource consents when necessary to protect iwi interests such as pa and waahi tapu sites.
In 2015/16, three resource consents had conditions imposed. These included an undertaking to revisit the consent’s conditions should a co-management settlement act be signed for the Waihou catchment within 12 months, to ensure consistency between the requirements of the act and the resource consent. Also, two consents required archaeological discoveries to be reported to Tangata Whenua and Council; that work must cease immediately and not recommence until after Tangata Whenua values and interests had been considered and written permission had been provided by Council.
In 2016/17, there were two conditions imposed on resource consents; these were in relation to erosion protection earthworks and earthworks to re-contour land and develop a walkway for a tourist accommodation venture by Lake Karapiro. In 2017/18 and 2019 no conditions were imposed on resource consents for the purposes of the protection of culturally significant sites.
Tangata Whenua and Council decision-making
Council has a standing committee of Council called ‘Te Manawhenua Forum Mo Matamata-Piako’. This Forum has two representatives from Council, and each of the iwi in the district. These include Ngati Haua, Ngati Paoa, Raukawa, Ngati Maru, Ngati Rahiri-Tumutumu, Ngati Whanaunga and Ngati Hinerangi. The Heads of Agreement also provides for representation by Ngati Tamatera.
The purpose of the Forum is to facilitate tangata whenua contribution to Council’s decision-making. The members meet four times a year and consider any matter that has the potential to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of Maori communities today and in the future.
How are we Doing?
Anticipated Environmental ResultsTangata Whenua |
Achieved?
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| An acceptance of, and willing participation in, an iwi management plan process and the provision of tangata whenua housing areas judged by the consultation partnership with Council |  |
Learn more about District Plan Effectiveness and read the full report on Tangata Whenua
For information on the various Iwi in our district go to the Te Puni Kokiri website.
For More Information
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Matamata-Piako District Council
PO Box 266, Te Aroha 3342
Phone: 07 884 0060
Fax: 07 884 8865
