In 2008 Waikato-Tainui and the government of New Zealand signed a Deed of Settlement to settle the tribe's claim to the Waikato River. A further refined version was signed in 2009 when the government changed from a Labour administration to a National one. The premise of the settlement was the Raupatu which dealt a double blow to Waikato-Tainui taking by the lands and the river.
The Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act (the Act) was passed in 2010. The Act provides for the overarching purpose of the settlement which is "to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations." It enables the vision and strategy, jointly developed by the Guardians of the River, to be deemed as part of the Regional Policy Statement of Waikato Regional Council. The members of the Guardians of the River included the five iwi along the length of the river and relevant territorial authorities. Each territorial authority is required to enter into a Joint Management Agreement with Waikato-Tainui. This allows for co-management of the river by Waikato-Tainui and the territorial authority.
Waikato District Council and Waikato-Tainui entered into a Joint Management Agreement (JMA) on March 23 2010. As the real beneficiary of the settlement is the river, the legislation provides financial redress "the clean-up fund" to achieve the restoration of the health and wellbeing of the river. This agreement affirms the commitment between Waikato-Tainui and the Council to:
- Enter into a new era of co-management over the Waikato River
- Achieve the overarching purpose of the settlement to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations, and
- To provide an enhanced relationship between Waikato-Tainui and the Waikato District Council on areas of common interest
Schedules to the JMA outline the process for engagement to achieve the purpose, principles and objectives of the agreement.
Staff of the Council work closely with staff of the Waikato Raupatu River Trust to implement the JMA.
For more information on the work of the Waikato Raupatu River Trust visit the Waikato Tainui website link:
Schedules to the Joint Management Agreement
There are seven schedules to the JMA with Waikato Tainui that set out the detail of how co-governance and co-management processes will actually work. Four of the schedules are mandatory (ie required under the legislation). The other three schedules are "over and above" the requirements of the legislation, but have been entered into between the Council and Waikato Tainui to enhance the agreement and the objectives of the Act. Below are links to the schedules (where applicable):
Schedule A - Monitoring and Enforcement adopted by the Joint Committee on 12 June 2012
Schedule B - Resource Consents adopted by the Joint Committee on 27 March 2013
Schedule C - Preparation, review of change of a RMA planning document adopted by the Joint Committee on 12 June 2012
Schedule D - Land Management, Acquisition and Disposal adopted by the Joint Committee on 27 March 2013
Schedule E - Customary Activities adopted by the Joint Committee on 12 June 2012
Schedule F - Management of sites of significance (in progress)
Schedule G - Staff Awareness and Training adopted by the Joint Committee on 3 June 2015
A joint committee comprising members of the Council and Waikato-Tainui has been established. The committee meets periodically to discuss matters relating to the implementation of the JMA.
Meeting minutes
The minutes of the meetings of this committee (and the former Iwi Partnership committee, which has been superseded by the Joint Committee) are available at the bottom of this page.
Joint Management Agreement with Ngati Maniapoto
The Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Act 2012 came into effect on 5 April 2012. Under this Act there is a requirement for Waikato District Council to enter into a Joint Management agreement with Ngati Maniapoto. The purpose of the Act is to "...restore and maintain the quality and integrity of the waters that flow into and form part of the Waipa River for present and future generations..."
Waikato District Council, Waipa District Council, Waitomo District Council, Otorohanga District Council and the Waikato Regional Council signed the joint management agreement with Ngati Maniapoto on 3 April 2013.
The minutes for the Waipaa River Co-Governance forum can be found on Waikato Regional Council's website.
Below are the minutes from the hui of the Waikato-Tainui/Waikato District Council Co-Governance Committee.
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