Thursday, 29 October 2020 08:54

Iwi to take over monitoring role

Written by  Staff Reporters
Specific water quality monitoring functions in Lake Taupo have been transferred to the Tuwharetoa Māori Trust Board. Specific water quality monitoring functions in Lake Taupo have been transferred to the Tuwharetoa Māori Trust Board.

A special ceremony was held in Taupo recently for the official signing of an agreement to transfer specific water quality monitoring functions to the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board.

At a meeting in July, Waikato regional councillors voted unanimously in favour of transferring summer bathing beach, regional rivers, rainfall and groundwater quality monitoring within the Lake Taupo catchment to the trust board.

It’s the first iwi authority in Aotearoa New Zealand to have functions transferred to them by a council.

Governance and senior officials from both the council and the trust board were at the singing on October 16, which saw the formal agreement signed by leaders.

Council chair Russ Rimmington described it as an important step forward in resource management for our nation, sending a strong signal that the time has come for more effective engagement between councils and iwi.

“The signing of this agreement is the start of something new, providing the opportunity for Ngāti Tūwharetoa to be directly involved in tracking the quality of these water bodies over time.” 

For Waikato Regional Council, it creates a more efficient method for delivering some monitoring functions, saving it more than $100,000 over a 10-year period.

Regional councillor Andrew MacPherson said at the event that the council had become more confident in working in partnership with iwi.

“Through the maturing of our relationship, we are no longer looking to just meet statutory requirements or minimums. We are seeking greater opportunities to work together, to partner on projects that are mutually beneficial to iwi and the council, and therefore the wider community,” MacPherson said.

Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board will only collect samples – not make decisions – and the data collected in undertaking sampling will remain in the ownership of Waikato Regional Council.

More like this

Farmers send clear message

A cacophany of sounds - barking dogs, the roar of tractors and tooting ute horns - descended on towns and cities around the country on Friday, July 16.

Māori berry venture has big plans

A Māori-owned and operated berryfruit company, Miro, aims to return $170 million annual income in eight years to its blueberry growers using state-of-the-art systems.

Featured

Editorial: Right call

OPINION: Public pressure has led to Canterbury Police rightly rolling back its proposed restructure that would have seen several rural police stations closed in favour of centralised hubs.

National

Machinery & Products

New McHale terra drive axle option

Well-known for its Fusion baler wrapper combination, Irish manufacturer McHale has launched an interesting option at the recent Irish Ploughing…

Amazone unveils flagship spreader

With the price of fertiliser still significantly higher than 2024, there is an increased onus on ensuring its spread accurately at…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Fonterra vote

OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.

Follow the police beat

OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter