Hon Te Ururoa Flavell

Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori

Minister for Māori Development

25 May 2016 Media Statement
Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement Bill) First Reading

“This Bill can never replace or undo the decades of repeated degradation to these very special waters, however it is a start,” says Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell during the first reading of the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement Bill) in Parliament today.

He said the iwi had been forced to watch the sustained misuse and exploitation of their ancestral waters over a century.

Fourteen Whanganui chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in May 1840, and since that time, the Crown has systematically undermined Whanganui iwi rights and interests in the management and use of the Whanganui River.

Breaches include, exclusion from decision-making; concerns submitted through petitions on the impact of river “improvements”, river conservation and protection being largely ignored; and no consultation when the diversion of water from Whanganui into the Tongariro Power Scheme was authorised in 1958.

To this day the iwi maintains this caused extreme harm to the river and its environment.

Mr Flavell acknowledged the role and contribution of towering figures to the claim including the late Rangitihi Tahuparae and Sir Archie Te Atawhai Taiaroa.

A renowned orator, he said Rangitihi Tahuparae was the first person to use the now iconic saying ‘E rere kau mai te awa nui nei. Mai i te kāhui maunga ki Tangaroa. Ko au te awa. Ko te awa ko au’ to describe the tangible link that Whanganui River represented to its constituent Iwi.

Mr Flavell described Sir Archie as a peacemaker and took on the role of spearheading the drive for recognition of freshwater rights. It was a theme that underpinned his drive for the Whanganui River.

As part of the settlement, Whanganui River will be recognised in law as Te Awa Tupua, an indivisible and living whole, from the mountains to the sea, incorporating its tributaries and all its physical and metaphysical elements.

The Crown will no longer own the Whanganui Riverbed, as the River in effect will own itself, however it will still have a role to play. In the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, both Iwi and the Crown will appoint two guardians to the role of Te Pou Tupua. Te Pou Tupua will be the human face of Te Awa Tupua and will symbolise the Treaty partnership.

ENDS

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