Mahuta Nanaia: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — In Committee 
Mahuta Nanaia: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:667;Page:14483] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato) 
: 
 Now that we are in the Committee stage of the bill I really want to draw the attention of the Committee to a point I raised in the second reading that was not addressed by the Maori Affairs Committee in relation to the upper Waipa catchment. As was stated by the select committee it received a submission from Maniapoto asking it to determine the boundary of Raukawa’s interest in the upper Waipa catchment. Rightly the committee said no to that and that it was more a matter for Raukawa and Maniapoto to determine. The issue that I foresaw and raise with the Committee is that although there are very strong whakapapa links between Raukawa and Maniapoto as they apply to the upper Waipa catchment the current-day manifestation of those whakapapa links does not show itself in a practical sense in terms of the residence along the Waipa River. So it is my strong contention that we will probably revisit this particular matter with a view to possibly amending the bill. 
I draw the attention of the Committee to clause 43(2)(a)(ii) which is specifically the part of the bill that I foreshadow that at some time in the future I intend to bring an amendment to the House on in order to actually clarify the nature of Raukawa’s interest in the upper Waipa catchment. I say this with a level of confidence because in effect this settlement takes precedence over a settlement that is yet to be determined with Maniapoto. Substantially the issues raised in the Maniapoto settlement will be about the Waipa River. So we have a situation where Waikato was ahead of the game: iwi negotiated the Waikato River settlement and understood that the Waipa River was an important tributary and affected the end game of what was being achieved in the Waikato. Maniapoto were behind the eight ball and are yet to have their settlement determined. But Maniapoto are absolutely focused on ensuring that the whole of the Waipa catchment will be addressed in a similar manner to the Waikato and that will determine the full extent of all the interests along the Waipa River. So we have a situation where Raukawa rightly said they had some interest in the Waikato River and they believe it also extends to some area of the Waipa. I believe that that matter will come up in the future but I wanted in good faith to raise it with the Committee because we should put our mind to it when we start to review the practical effect of how this legislation will be implemented. 
Notwithstanding that the joint management agreements I believe will be a really positive opportunity for iwi to participate in the practical implementation of achieving the aspiration of a clean Waikato River because the agreements will enable iwi to participate in the policy and planning processes and in the regulatory processes through the monitoring of water quality and the monitoring of resource consents—but also through determining the extent of customary interests. How that will manifest itself for each of the iwi Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa may be very different but I think it is an important progression in terms of how iwi see themselves as being positive contributors to resource management and certainly to the better management of their waterways. 
I say on the point of joint management agreements that I was very heartened to see that Tuwharetoa has led the way on those without a Treaty settlement but with the support of the Taupo District Council. I attended a couple of years ago a ceremony at Waihi where the Taupo District Council had a full and extensive consultation or negotiation with Tuwharetoa and they basically went down this route. I believe that if we can try to ensure that councils work in that kind of manner with iwi then we are continuing to push iwi at the front end of the resource management processes rather than at the back end where they have to object. We are encouraging iwi to be a critical part of deciding the way that resource consents are administered in their areas and of monitoring those consents and that can only be a good thing.