Saturday, March 30, 2024

Water gets priority over cows

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Ngai Tahu might have to consider moving its dairy farms if they don’t fit with the tribe’s views on water quality. Riki Ellison, who represents the tribe on the Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group, told a session on iwi interests in water at the Water New Zealand conference in Hamilton Ngai Tahu had a lot of money invested in farming ventures.
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“We rely on water,” he said.

“We want to have a strong economy and environment.

“We may not be able to leave our dairy farms where they are because they may not fit with our water quality objectives.”

Ngai Tahu aimed to produce 2.2 million kilograms of milksolids last season from five Canterbury dairy farms it developed from forestry land with another 300ha expected to come into production this season.

Further dairying development was planned over the next decade.

Ellison said dairy farmers bore the brunt of criticism about discharges to water.

“But they’re not the only ones,” he said.

“We’ve got to make sure that the costs to the environment fall back where they lie.”

The Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group was formed in 2007 to advance the interests of all iwi in relation to freshwater through direct engagement with the Crown over its review of freshwater management.

Ngai Tahu didn’t want to bankrupt businesses but any limits on water had to reflect Maori values more appropriately.

“We want a fair share of what water there is, the same as with aquaculture and fisheries,” he said.

The discussion needed to involve communities, not just Government and iwi.

“There’s a lot of value to be captured by iwi having their share of water,” he said.

“There’s got to be a community solution that’s owned by everyone.”

Ellison said the problem was complex but not impossible. An inter-generational change was needed.

“We regard it (water) as an ancestor but she’s very unwell.”

Julian Williams

Tainui

“The more we delay, the more costly the solution.”

While the National Plan for Freshwater Management was a good start it was not the end point.

“We’ve got to get a lot smarter about the consenting process,” he said.

Councils sometimes allowed more water consents to be granted because they knew all the water they had already allocated wasn’t being used.

Julian Williams from Tainui, who sat on the same group, said that tribe believed water should be treated with the highest regard as every part of the water cycle was important.

“We regard it as an ancestor but she’s very unwell,” he said.

This meant that his tribe’s people didn’t visit water bodies in the way they had in the past.

“You can’t just look to the Resource Management  Act,” he said.

The value of water needed to be explained in its widest context.

“It’s not just about guardianship and protection.”

The foundation of any settlement between iwi and the Crown should be based on the Treaty of Waitangi.

“We are trying to get everyone on the same level,” he said.

For iwi it was not just about ownership but also “sitting at the governance end and setting limits”.

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