Chief Executive’s Report

TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI AWA

Chief Executive’s Report

A key focus for the operations of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa this past year was our Environment Court appeal opposing the consent granted to Creswell N.Z Limited by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) to take 1.1 million cubic metres per year from the Awaiti Canal Aquifer for the purpose of bottling water to sell in Aotearoa and overseas.

Earlier in 2018, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa and other parties made submissions in opposition to Creswell’s resource consent application and submitted our Cultural Impact Assessment to support our opposition. Following a Council level hearing later in 2018, Commissioners appointed by the BOPRC determined to grant Creswell consent to, among other things, take and bottle 1.1 million cubic metres per year from the Awaiti Canal Aquifer. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa along with Ngāti Tūwharetoa (BOP) Settlement Trust and Sustainable Otākiri appealed the BOPRC decision to grant the consents.

In support of our appeal the following parties joined us as section 274 parties: Te Rūnanga o Ngai Te Rangi Iwi Trust, Ngāti Tūwharetoa (BOP) Settlement Trust, Ngāti Pikiao Environmental Society, Tuwhakairiora O’Brien and Ngāi Tamawera Hapū.

A mediation was held following the filing of appeals which assisted to narrow the issues but did not resolve the matter. Our appeal ultimately focused on the tikanga effects of taking ground water. Following mediation, but before evidence was due to be filed, the Ngāti Tūwharetoa (BOP) Settlement Trust withdrew its appeal. Sustainable Otākiri also withdrew its appeal of the regional consents (granted by BOPRC) and confirmed it was only appealing the district consents (granted by Whakatāne District Council) alongside a jurisdictional challenge. Ultimately, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa was the sole appellant of the regional consents.

The Environment Court Appeal hearing was held in Whakatāne over 20-24 May 2019. Our evidence was heard at Te Manuka Tūtahi Marae, where we hosted the Environment Court over two days. There was a big turnout of support for our appeal.

In summary, our case, supported by our evidence, was that the ground water take consent sought by Creswell was for too much water, to be sold, too far away. This has both a negative effect on te mauri o te wai and the ability of Ngāti Awa to be kaitiaki. On that basis, we maintained the consent should be declined and Creswell should not be allowed to take the water it seeks to be bottled and sold in Aotearoa and

overseas.

Due to the limited jurisdiction of the Environment Court, our appeal was not about “ownership” of water, broader constitutional issues, or seeking to veto particular types of applications. We are however entitled to take a position on these matters generally and take part in broader constitutional kōrero about water quality, water allocation and a number of other environmental matters. And we do. This is part of our responsibility to Ngāti Awa whānau and hapū, and forms part of our ongoing work.

We have been consistent about our views on Creswell’s application - our Cultural Impact Assessment, submissions to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and our appeal. We continue to rely on advice of our pukenga and the Mataatua Declaration on Water in this context (noting that the Declaration has been approved by the Rūnanga as a relevant Ngāti Awa planning document). We invested significant amounts of time, effort and funding into ensuring that our appeal was robust and relevant. The appeal is still being considered by the Environment Court. We are expecting the decision of the Environment Court this year.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa remain concerned about the continued erosion of Ngāti Awa rights and interests as tangata whenua and kaitiaki within our rohe, and our exclusion from decision making. We intend to continue to be vigilant about this particularly given the up-coming environmental reform proposed by central government.

The Rūnanga approved Ngāti Awa Pōhiri Rau (Ngāti Awa Tourism Strategy) in June 2019 which focusses on caring for and growing our tourism operations with training, employment and business opportunities for Ngāti Awa people. Ngāti Awa Pōhiri Rau has been worked on for some time, and now that it is approved will form a large part of our operational focus in the new year. To that end, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa is seeking support from the Provincial Growth Fund to realise the redevelopment of the Whakatāne Tourism Hub (our Army Hall), create a tourism training and employment pipeline, and develop a night-time tourism experience utilising our historical and cultural heritage sites within the Whakatāne township.

We have also partnered with Whakatāne District Council on a Provincial Growth Fund application seeking financial support for the regeneration of the Whakatāne township, and the building of a boat harbour for commercial boats, including our White Island Tours vessels. The proposed boat harbour development includes a Ngāti Awa lands trust.

We expect a response to these funding applications in early December 2019.

The financial performance of the Rūnanga Group for the year was a surplus of $0.05m. The Commercial Group results are discussed further on page 40 in the Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Chairman’s report.

The Rūnanga itself incurred a loss of $0.6m compared to a loss of $0.3m in 2018. The main contributor to the movement in the result was the investment required to fund our Environment Court appeal.

I extend my thanks to the governors and staff for their continued support and hard work over the past financial year and acknowledge the many Ngāti Awa people who have volunteered and given their time and energy to the iwi. We have a busy year ahead, and together we can meet any challenges we may face.

Naaku noa,

Leonie Simpson

MANAHAUTŪ, TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI AWA