A claim runs through it on Home Services

Jan

A claim runs through it

posted by admin in Window Cleaning

In the shadow of Huntly Power Station, Tainui kaumatua Tiki Green launches his boat into the Waikato River. The water is a muddy brown, stirred up by days of rain. At its edge an empty Coke bottle bobs about next to a cardboard juice box and a half-submerged plastic bag. Fifty years ago, Green’s family met others here as they washed their clothes in this water. “It was our laundry, our swimming pool,” he says. “The water was clean and clear.” Clearer, maybe, but definitely not cleaner. At least according to Environment Waikato (EW) scientist Bill Vant. Fifty years ago septic tanks at Hamilton’s Parana Park were discharged directly into the river. “The bacteria levels were 100 times higher than they are now,” Vant says. So much for clean washing. Vant argues that today the river is in a “pretty good” state. “At least, it’s better at Taupo than at Mercer.” And compared to the Thames or the Seine it’s positively pristine. While water quality is excellent at the river’s source, the eight hydro dams along the middle reach provide an environment that drastically increases sediment, nutrient and mineral levels. Then there is the problem of high nitrogen levels, particularly in the Lower Waikato. The nitrogen feeds algae, which reduce water quality and that becomes a public health issue. Vant says one of the success stories of the Resource Management Act has been the ability of EW to control what goes in the river from industry and sewage plants. As a result, pollution from controllable sources has fallen dramatically. “But that has made us aware of what’s been going on in the background,” says Vant. One thing is the intensification of farming. “We can link the stocking rate to the level of nitrogen in the water,” he says. It’s a link Green also makes when he watches the algae turn Lakes Waahi and Hakanoa bright green from November to February. Green has fished the Waikato for more than 50 years and remembers the abundance of mullet and eels - fish stocks that have been drastically depleted. “My forefathers taught me that what I take out of the waterways I give back. But people haven’t been giving back.” “Giving back” is perhaps the core of Tainui’s controversial draft agreement in principle for settlement of its Waikato River claim - a wide-ranging but short-on-detail document that puts the tribe at the forefront of river management and control. The draft agreement was released in May amid mounting concern Tainui wanted ownership of the river water. Ownership is not part of the draft agreement, but the situation remains confused over whether it will be revisited at some later date. Officially, it has been “reserved for another day”. However, in an effort to dispel those concerns Tainui has repeatedly explained its concept of ownership is more spiritual than possessive. The tribe has also embarked on an intensive programme of consultation over the river claim in an effort to convince stakeholders, including councils and farmers, that its intentions are inclusive rather than divisive. Tainui co-negotiator Tuku Morgan told a meeting with Waikato District Council last week, for instance, that “we want to work with everyone who has a connection to the river to promote its health and wellbeing”. “We want to take those compelling concerns and issues back to the Crown with a view to amending them.” Morgan has lost some of the arrogance that accompanied him into Parliament, and seems genuinely more conciliatory. Meanwhile, Tainui’s consultation presentation is slick and professional; Lady Raiha Mahuta, the tribe’s other co-negotiator, is a solemn and sober speaker who instantly commands attention. Other tribal experts present legal and environmental issues, and explain how the agreement will work. The details of the draft agreement are easy to follow. A Guardians Establishment Committee will be set up to develop a vision and strategy for the river. Once that strategy is completed it will evolve into a Guardians of the Waikato River body responsible for the length of the river. In addition, there will be the Waikato River Statutory Board. It is responsible for Tainui’s section of the river, from Karapiro to Port Waikato, and its duty, essentially, is to implement the Guardians’ vision. There is also the Waikato River Trust, a Tainui-only body that forms part of the tribal governance structure. In her soft, quavery voice Lady Mahuta explains to the district council there is presently no co-ordinated body looking at the river as a whole. “In a way this is an attempt to achieve that.” Shane Solomon, a long-time Tainui adviser, goes further. “This is not intended to duplicate the work of other agencies, but is there to enhance their work.” That is also how Environment Waikato sees the agreement working. Chairman Jenni Vernon says Tainui’s vision is also EW’s. Through her office window she watches the rain falling into the greeny-brown sludge that is the waterway uniting the Waikato. “Tuku has talked about reconnecting with the river,” she says. “It is about protecting and enhancing the Waikato River for future generations. It’s not a short-term vision and the river will get worse before it gets better.” As EW sees it, the statutory board to be set up as part of the settlement deal will sit at the policy and governance level. The Resource Management Act, under which consents are issued for water use and discharge, will remain the decision of the appropriate EW committee. “Really it’s about co-governance rather than co-management,” Vernon says. “The community will be represented on the statutory board, but at the end of the day everything will still all go through council.” As Robert Brodnax, EW’s group manager of policy and strategy, puts it, the agreement is not about putting “unfettered power in any body”. Instead, the statutory body may review a number of resource consents to determine common issues and trends and then make recommendations on how those consents might be applied in the future to better reflect the aims of the river strategy. “It’s not a beat-up on farmers or anyone else,” assures Vernon. “People get scared they will instantly not be allowed to carry on as they have. But I have no sense from Tainui that they don’t appreciate that.” If it all sounds as though reaction to date has been cautiously supportive, it is not quite true. Waikato District councillor Rod Wise was persistent in his questioning at the consultation meeting he attended, concerned EW wasn’t being given due recognition by the tribe for its many and varied programmes to improve the river. “It was a well-prepared presentation, but I felt Tuku had no interest in the detail or the process,” he says later. Wise says it is unfortunate Tainui downplayed the role EW has been playing for the past few years with programmes like Clean Streams, fencing of waterways and Project Watershed which addresses flood protection, soil conservation and river management issues in the Waikato catchment. He says Tainui was represented on the Lower Waikato committee for Project Watershed and contributed nothing. The councillor is cautious with his words, but nevertheless says there is talk in the community and within council about Tainui’s increasing influence and power, and that’s why he asked at the meeting about ownership of the water. Under the settlement, the tribe will receive some land either side of the river, which was of concern to some Waikato councillors. “If you’re being a bit cynical you would think getting ownership of the banks is a good start to owning the river,” says Wise. He is also concerned the structure the Crown is agreeing to is top heavy but, like other stakeholders, reserves his strongest criticism for how the new bodies will be funded. If there is one thing uniting everyone from Tainui to farmers in the settlement of the Waikato River claim, it is funding. There is nothing in the draft agreement that addresses support for what is essentially two new tiers of bureaucracy; Tainui and the Crown have not yet negotiated monetary settlement of the claim; EW has no idea what the Crown is proposing. Treaty Negotiations Minister Mark Burton will only say it is subject to further negotiation, and Federated Farmers is convinced landowners will pay a heavy penalty. Lady Mahuta told the district council she did not expect rates would rise because of the settlement. Vernon agrees funding is the biggest issue facing Tainui’s plan for river co-management. “EW is going to be staunch on this - it shouldn’t fall on ratepayers. The detail for me is the most critical, this is a long-term strategy and we need to make sure there are no added costs.” Federated Farmers president Peter Buckley says he expects there to be impositions on landowners and reckons the Crown is about to cause another grievance far greater than the grievance done to Tainui. Like others, Wise has heard talk of Tainui using its settlement cash to fund its river vision and thinks the tribe would gain some goodwill by doing so. However, Lady Mahuta is coy on Tainui’s intentions. “Can we leave it?” she asks the district council. “We still need to put some scenarios to the Crown.” Also of concern is the composition of the new bodies. No one wants the Crown appointees, who will sit on each tier of governance, to come from outside the Waikato. “The guardians have to be local,” says Vernon, a sentiment echoed by Buckley. This issue has arisen at most of the consultation sessions and is one Morgan is prepared to take to the Crown for amending in the draft agreement. Submissions to Tainui closed yesterday. The Waikato Times requested a telephone interview with the minister but his office said he was too busy this week. Some general questions were provided to his office, and written replies supplied. Burton said he preferred to discuss the key concerns arising from consultation with Tainui before discussing them publicly. On the issue of locally based Crown appointees, Burton said he expected the negotiators would consider the issue if it was felt the agreement should be more specific about residential qualifications. Burton also made the point that the draft agreement differs significantly from other settlement agreements.”This reflects the importance of the Waikato River, the relationship Waikato-Tainui has with the river and the parties’ agreement to focus on the health and wellbeing of the river.” There is some disquiet around what is regarded as undue speed to achieve the final deed of settlement. Morgan and Lady Mahuta hope it will be signed by the end of the year, and then go on to Parliament’s legislative programme for enactment. With a general election in just over a year, there is certainly a desire to have the settlement out of the way before politicians become distracted by campaigning. Burton claims it is too soon to speculate on how much time is needed. The Times was unable to question him further. Buckley wants more time and labels the consultation as “very hurried”. But with financial negotiations yet to begin, time is of the essence. It should be remembered that despite concerns over the yet-to-be-defined details of Tainui’s settlement, the desired outcome remains the same for everyone: a cleaner river. Vernon expresses it best: “There is nothing to be gained by it not being successful. But there is anxiety because it’s new.” “This is everybody’s issue, it engages us all and if we are to make the necessary changes it will be easier if people take responsibility. Our ecological footprints are intensifying, that brings management issues which we are all part of.” For Tiki Green, who runs a life skills course of which the first lesson is river tikanga, the settlement is “the best thing that ever happened”. “We are the caretakers of the awa,” he says. “The river has been very kind to me. For 50 years it has supplied me with ika and, in troubled times, we have always gone to the water to karakia. “It is a place of healing.” Morgan would agree. “The last time we had a meaningful say over this river was 150 years ago. That meaningful connection was severed. “There is a huge sense of relief that we are going to be a meaningful part in restoring the health of the river. We fervently believe we can do this because we know her best. It is etched in our thinking and in our identity. “We will do our best,” he promises, “but we can’t do it by ourselves.”