Mana whenua panel works on land review

A Nga¯i Tahu mana whenua panel will work with the Department of Conservation (DOC), two national panels, and the conservation minister to review stewardship land within its takiwa¯ (tribal area).

DOC is reclassifying stewardship land throughout Aotearoa to better protect conservation areas home to threatened species and high priority ecosystems.

Te Ru¯nanga o Nga¯i Tahu kaiwhakahaere (chair) Lisa Tumahai said the reclassification process was of upmost significance to Nga¯i Tahu because a large proportion of its takiwa¯ was made up of stewardship and public conservation land.

Stewardship land is land that was allocated to DOC when it was formed in 1987 and includes former state forest and Crown land considered to have conservation value.

Stewardship land will be reclassified to either add greater protection to the area or could be sold off if it does not hold significant natural value.

About 84 per cent of West Coast land is under the Department of Conservation, and 33 per cent of that is stewardship land.

The most recent reclassification of stewardship land was the 64,400 hectares of Mokihinui River catchment land north of Westport, which was added to Kahurangi National Park.

The announcement of the mana whenua panel comes after Nga¯i Tahu filed urgent legal proceedings in May to pause the reclassification process, which the Government had started without the involvement of Nga¯ i Tahu as its Treaty partner. After reaching an agreement with DOC, Nga¯ i Tahu withdrew legal proceedings.

Tumahai said she was pleased an agreement was reached that properly recognised Nga¯ i Tahu as ta¯ ngata whenua and holding rangatiratanga over its statutorily recognised takiwa¯ .

The mana whenua panel would share traditional ma¯ tauranga (Ma¯ ori knowledge) with two national panels, DOC, and Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan. Nga¯ i Tahu would provide information about mahinga kai places, as well as the future aspirations of the iwi, and be involved right through the process to finalise recommendations to the minister.

Tumahai said the mana whenua panel would ensure the national panel members understood the cultural significance of the land that was being reclassified, including hundreds of years of Nga¯ i Tahu history.

There were many traditional sites on the whenua interwoven with the history of Nga¯i Tahu people, she said.

Members of the mana whenua panel include Te Ru¯ nanga o Makaawhio chair Paul Madgwick, Te Ru¯ nanga o Kaiko¯ura cultural pou chair Maurice Manawatu, Te Ru¯ nanga o Nga¯ ti Waewae chair Francois Tumahai and Te Ru¯ nanga o Nga¯ i Tahu representative Gail Thompson.

The national panels would start in the northern and western South Island to do technical assessments of the conservation and cultural values of stewardship land areas, including assessing land where mining activities were proposed.

The panels would take about eight months to provide recommendations, with the minister of conservation likely to make a final decision on the future of the land next year.