Rangatiratanga - Our collective voice
Now more than ever it’s time to reflect on the significance of Te Tiriti as we ensure that engagement with Rongowhakaata on issues of concern are upheld by the Crown through our Treaty relationship. We have recently made several submissions in response to the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill and the construction of Stage 1 of the Te Ara Tipuna Trail to ensure our collective voice is heard.
Rongowhakaata demands a direct and meaningful engagement process with iwi, hapū, and whānau to address the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti. This includes recognising our mana motuhake and our historical and contemporary relationship with Pākehā.
Te Ara Tipuna Trail
What is it?
Te Ara Tipuna Charitable Trust has applied for resource consents to construct, operate and maintain a 500 km pedestrian trail which crosses private and multiple-owner land blocks, road corridors, and reserve land around the coast from Gisborne to Ōpōtiki.
The Resource Consent application for stage 1 has been lodged with Gisborne District Council, Ōpōtiki District Council and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and will be processed through a joint submission and hearing process with Gisborne District Council as the lead agency.
The intended trail may be viewed using the interactive GIS map which, can be found on the Gisborne District Council website: Te Ara Tipuna Trail Notified Resource Consent | Participate
What we are saying?
The Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust (RIT) opposes Te Ara Tipuna Charitable Trust’s application for multiple resource consents, to enable the design and construction of Stage 1 of the Te Ara Tipuna Trail (the trail).
We oppose the application on the basis that:
The proposed trail cuts through the Rongowhakaata tribal estate which encompasses Tūranganui- ā-Kiwa north past Puhi Kai-iti; Wainui to Pouawa, out to Te Toka Ahuru (Aerial Reef).
In Stage 1, the applicants claim that the trail ends in Wainui but then reserve the right to expand to the Tūranganui River and Te Toka-ā-Taiau (Taiao – our name for the area).
The applicants claim Te Toka-ā-Taiao and the Tūranganui River as tribal boundaries, but Rongowhakaata assert that this is incorrect. With multiple tribal histories in the area, a formal hui is needed to address this. Ignoring this process disregards our mana whenua status.
The trail aims to “connect us with the ways of our ancestors” and share tribal narratives. We assert that this would be impossible without our extensive input and permission on our whenua.
While Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāī Tai and Whakatōhea have been consulted on the Ōpōtiki end of the trail, Rongowhakaata or Tūranga hapū and iwi, have not received the same consideration.
We are available to speak to this submission and indeed, welcome conversations with the Te Ara Tipuna Charitable Trust. We seek to understand how the Trust intends to adequately include our point of view and affirm that any initiatives or projects entering Tūranganui-ā-Kiwa must be conceptualised, designed, developed and established with and by Rongowhakaata.Click the link below to read the full submission
Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill
What is it?
The bill would amend existing provisions in the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) relating to infrastructure and energy, housing growth, farming and the primary sector, natural hazards and emergencies, and system improvements. The bill would:
specify default maximum time frames for consent processing and establish default consent durations for renewable energy and infrastructure consents to improve process and outcome certainty for system users
make it optional for councils to implement the medium density residential standards (MDRS) and provide plan-making processes that are more flexible and support housing growth
clarify the relationship between the RMA and the Fisheries Act 1996 to balance marine protection with fishing rights
provide more tools to deal with natural hazards and emergency events to improve decision-making and efficiency
increase penalties for noncompliance, remove insurance against penalties, enable cost recovery for councils, and enable the consideration of an applicant's compliance history in consent decisions.
What we are saying?
This Coalition government is focused on development at the expense of the Taiao, and Iwi and hapū rights and interests. We have current examples where the Bill’s ability to fast track certain long-lived infrastructure consents and port proposals are of concern to us.
We opposed stage one of Te Ara Tipuna trail from Ōpōtiki to Gisborne. We were not consulted, yet the trail reaches into Tūranga, our rights, interests, tribal narratives and traditions. Technically, the bundle of consents qualifies to fast track as long-lived infrastructure.
We have submitted on Port developments, including the dredging and port expansions. These developments have significant impacts on the surrounding ecosystems, environment, and tribal significance of the Bay to Rongowhakaata.
We seek to ensure that engagement with Rongowhakaata on issues of concern are upheld by the Crown through our Treaty relationship.
The proposed changes could affect Rongowhakaata land rights, customary marine title, and the ability to protect culturally significant sites and ensure appropriate consultation mechanisms are in place.
Protecting the environment must align with Māori values, such as kaitiekitanga, and ensure the bill adequately addresses environmental impacts and cultural obligations on Māori communites as mana whenua across our local environments and rohe.
There must be meaningful Māori participation in the consenting process, including opportunities for input at the local council level and access to relevant information.
Click the link below to read the full submission
Listen and watch Rongowhakaata’s full oral submission below by Teina Moetara to The Parliament Environment Select Committee March 13. With questions from Rachel Brooking (Labour) and Lan Pham (Greens).
The Regulatory Standards Bill
What is it?
The Regulatory Standards Bill aims to reduce the amount of unnecessary and poor-quality regulation by increasing transparency and making it clearer where legislation does not meet standards. It intends to bring the same discipline to regulatory management that New Zealand has for fiscal management.
The Bill aims to—
promote the accountability of the Executive to Parliament for developing high-quality legislation and exercising stewardship over regulatory systems; and
support Parliament’s ability to scrutinise Bills; and
support Parliament in overseeing and controlling the use of delegated powers to make legislation.
The Regulatory Standards Bill is a proposed law that would set new rules for how regulations are made and reviewed in Aotearoa. On the surface, it looks like it’s about improving the quality and consistency of regulations. But when you dig deeper, it’s clear that this Bill is actually about giving more weight to Crown power and individual property rights, while sidelining the rights and interests of Māori. It’s part of a pattern where the current government is pushing laws that quietly reframe the constitutional foundations of this country, undermining Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the relationship Māori have fought hard to uphold.
What we are saying?
This submission follows our earlier opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill. We view both Bills as part of a broader legislative agenda by the Coalition Government that is regressive, constitutionally dangerous, and dismissive of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The Crown—supported by the government of the day—has legal and moral obligations to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The Regulatory Standards Bill (Bill) is not a neutral legal reform—it is a tool to reframe the constitutional foundations of Aotearoa in a way that undermines the Treaty relationship.
Thirteen years of being a post settled iwi, has shown us the need to continue to protect our rights against changing political tides and government administrations. While we are maturing, and gaining clarity on what we seek from the Crown - this Bill sets out to ‘change the rules of engagement’.
The Bill, presents as a scalable threat, echoing sentiments of similar harm - but across Te Ao Māori and Aotearoa. Prioritising Crown power and private property rights over Māori identity, rights, and aspirations. Though it claims to be a watchdog for the many- it privileges the few under the guise of regulatory fairness.
As Rongowhakaata, we remain watchful and steadfast in protecting our rangatiratanga. The Regulatory Standards Bill does not reflect our values, our Treaty rights, or the future we are determined to build for our uri. We reject it entirely.
Click the link below to read the full submission
