JOINT MEDIA RELEASE Iwi in Wairarapa concerned at South Wairarapa District Council’s misinformation, delay tactics and lack of engagement for the establishment of Māori wards
Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne o Wairarapa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki Nui-a-Rua Settlement Trust and Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā trust are extremely disappointed with the South Wairarapa District Council’s continued misinformation, delay tactics and the inability to engage with tangata whenua for the establishment of a Māori ward.
The Wairarapa Iwi entities are aware that all voting needs to be completed by Friday 21st May 2021 for the establishment of Māori wards to determine whether a Māori ward will be required for the Local Government Body elections in 2022.
“It was clear to me that South Wairarapa District Council are under prepared, have not done the proper research and have seemed to have deliberately delayed any decision making on the establishment of Māori wards,” says Tiraumaera Te Tau, Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa.
The iwi feels the deliberate delay tactics of these decisions will have consequences for tangata whenua marae, hapū and iwi within this region, and perpetuates longstanding inequities, injustices and historical trauma previously suffered by their people in the past and that still face them today.
As Te Tiriti partners of South Wairarapa District Council, the lack of engagement with tangata whenua whānau and hapū contravenes the provisions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, also undermining the Council’s Te Tiriti responsibilities and obligations.
All four iwi entities are calling for an immediate response from South Wairarapa District Council Mayor about how their Council will address these concerns and make the decision prior Friday 21st of May 2021.
ENDS
Contact:
Tiraumaera Te Tau - Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa
Rangitāne o Wairarapa stands with Wairarapa Community calling for due diligence in Wakamoekau Community Water Storage Scheme
MEDIA RELEASE
Wairarapa iwi Rangitāne o Wairarapa stand with the Wairarapa Community and welcome their peaceful protests at Greater Wellington Regional Council Masterton today. We share their concerns around the environmental, cultural and economic impacts of this project, and we stand with them in calling for a better process from Wairarapa Water Limited.
ENDS
Contact:
Tiraumaera Te Tau - Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa 027 318 5451 chair@rangitane.iwi.nz
Amber Craig - Deputy Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa 027 255 5663 deputychair@rangitane.iwi.nz
Wairarapa Water Storage project plagued by unrealistic time frames and misinformation
MEDIA RELEASE
Wairarapa iwi Rangitāne o Wairarapa is concerned at the rushed time frames and incorrect information being used to push a large scale water storage project in Wairarapa. Since January of this year the iwi have raised concerns around the environmental, cultural and economic impact of the Wakamoekau Community Water Storage Scheme, which is being proposed by Wairarapa Water Limited.
“This is a significant project that will have lasting impacts for our future generations and creates huge environmental change. We need to do due diligence to understand the full picture before we, as an iwi, can decide whether to partner with this project,” says Tiraumaera Te Tau, Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa.
Rangitāne o Wairarapa is also concerned at the continued misinformation provided by Wairarapa Water to its stakeholders during field trips and forums. “Wairarapa Water has stated there will be zero impacts to the rest of our rivers and lakes and told us that if we don’t capture water it will be lost to the sea. However, this information is factually incorrect, not just with mātauranga Māori but also from science,” said Amber Craig, Deputy Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa.
The iwi have proposed a way forward which includes undertaking a Cultural Impact Assessment, but this has been dismissed by Wairarapa Water, a move which Craig says is part of Wairarapa Water’s dismissive approach to hapū iwi concerns and the importance of mātauranga Māori.
“Instead of working with us to do the research needed to ensure this is the best approach for our communities, our environment and our economy, Wairarapa Water have said we need to simply approve of a prescribed methodology for a cultural impact assessment by December 2020, which it would be irresponsible of us to do,” says Craig.
With work due to start on the water storage project in 2022, Rangitāne o Wairarapa are clear that they are the only entity that have the mandate to speak on the cultural wellbeing of Rangitāne o Wairarapa. “According to the United Nations, indigenous peoples have the right to give free, prior and informed consent that may affect us or our territories. Rangitāne o Wairarapa will contest any project where we do not understand the full impacts through a robust and thorough process which considers our whenua (land), wai (waters) and tangata (people).” explains Craig.
“Our kaumātua (elders) tell us that Rangitāne people historically had pā sites alongside the Wakamoekau river. Our rivers are wāhi tapu (sacred places) for us. We have been here for many generations and we will continue to be here for many generations to come. Our whānau are the descendants of the people who lived here and we have a responsibility to them and our future generations to ensure these places flourish.” says Te Tau.
ENDS
Contact:
Tiraumaera Te Tau - Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa 027 318 5451 chair@rangitane.iwi.nz
Amber Craig - Deputy Chair of Rangitāne o Wairarapa 027 255 5663 deputychair@rangitane.iwi.nz
Further information and background:
Rangitāne o Wairarapa is a mandated iwi authority with Greater Wellington Regional Council for Wairarapa: https://www.gw.govt.nz/rangitane-o-wairarapa/
Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a specific right that pertains to indigenous peoples and is recognised in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It allows them to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories. Furthermore, FPIC enables indigenous peoples to negotiate the conditions under which projects will be designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated. This is also embedded within the universal right to self-determination: https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf
The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 discusses Ki Uta, Ki Tai which refutes statements made by Wairarapa Water on the environmental impacts of their proposal: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/national-policy-statement-freshwater-management-2020?fbclid=IwAR392x4ntA6OHUClCkXhwwnGcsfKH5LIcAmkMdkFka7b4IlJNipiTLG0KmA
Kahungunu ki Wairarapa are also an iwi within Wairarapa but have different histories and relationships with local entities.