Work has continued on the establishment of the Taiao Operational Unit, being given the name by our Kaunihera Kaumatua, ‘Te Hā o Rangi, o Papa’.
Much work to date has been positionings ourselves within the Taiao space to provide working direction most importantly for ourselves but also with those we have, and need to enhance, relationships with, including Councils, agencies and industry.
Foundational mahi has included the designing and identification of the operational functions to best provide for, and drive, our rohe-wide, whanau-informed taiao aspirations. Our policies and taiao management planning define our key intent on how to reflect the collective environmental vision, values and position of our whanau, hapū and iwi of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa.
This has involved the recognition and understanding of the legislative frameworks impacting our participation and the kinds of tools and instruments we will need to improve our outcomes and leverage our input in decision-making.
We began regular engagement with other PSGE’s in Te Matau a Maui to support each other in leveraging our participation in planning processes. As a collective, we are involved in the review and drafting of our regional resource management planning documents for the Regional Policy Committee review. This approach has never been done before and is not in place anywhere else in the motu.
Various proposed legislative amendments over the past 12 months have threatened our mana motuhake and we have been active in the lodging of both written and oral submissions in opposition of Amendment Bills for the Fast-Track Approvals, the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters), the Takutai Moana Act (Marine and Coastal Areas), and for Conservation reform.
We have seen an increase in the number of resource consent applications across the rohe, particularly with water takes and forestry activities. We have been working with Councils and industry to drive the process of pre-application engagement hui. This offers the opportunity for our Kāhui representatives to review the proposed activties with the applicant and have found it drives better understanding between both parties. This has led to a number of Kāhui-directed terms included in resource consent conditions. We recognise that much of our success in these spaces relies on relationship building with industry, Councils and agencies. This provides our whānau, hapū and iwi the platform to express their aspirations and expectations to support and enhance te mana me te mauri o te taiao in a framing appropriate to us and our mātauranga Māori.
