• Gisborne District Council acquired land from Ngāi Tāmanuhiri for water supply, sparking disputes.
• Researcher Jane Luiten’s report highlighted historical injustices and led to a new strategic partnership.
• The council adopted a framework for collaboration, focusing on sustainability, equity, and environmental stewardship.

A historical research paper described as “heartbreaking”, “fascinating” and “a travesty” shows how Gisborne District Council acquired land from mana whenua for the district’s water supply system.

The first of a total of 17 parcels of land situated in the tribal rohe (territory) of Ngāi Tāmanuhiri was first obtained by the council in the early 1900s and the last as recently as 1991.

The area, collectively known as Maraetaha, comprises Waingake, Pamoa and Mangapōike and includes three supply dams, pipelines and associated infrastructure.

Since 2020, the council and mana whenua group Maraetaha Incorporated have worked together to deliver the Waingake Transformation Programme.

In 2022, they formed the Waingake-Pamoa joint steering group and a memorandum of understanding was signed. However, disputes soon emerged about how the land was acquired.

The solution was to engage Gisborne researcher Jane Luiten to conduct an independent research report.

Maraetaha Incorporated chairwoman Bella Hawkins said it had a respectful partnership with the council.

“That makes sure decisions about Maraetaha whenua [land] are made in collaboration with our voice and our story is now known as part of the decision-making process,” she said.

“The process has been an awakening of kaitiakitanga manaaki [supportive guardianship] and rangatiratanga [self-determination] as the council have become more aware of and now acknowledge the wrongs committed by their predecessors at [the] council. Moving forward, there are some wrongs to be made right.”

As an outcome of Luiten’s report, Maraetaha trustee Beth Tupara-Katene put together a “strategic direction”.

Its mission statement states the parties are committed “to fostering collaboration, innovation and responsible stewardship to maximise the social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits of our land and water”.

Last Thursday, the council voted to adopt the strategic direction as a framework for the collaborative relationship between Maraetaha and the council to work towards mutual outcomes.

Councillor Ani Pahuru-Huriwai said what Maraetaha had endured to provide water for this region was “heartbreaking”.

Councillor Larry Foster described a six-hour council wānanga with Luiten about the report as “really emotional”.

One of his visits to Waingake still haunted him, he said.

“We stood up on the highest point and the land was crying ... not one bit of bird life, nothing, and I thought, ‘What have we done?’ I still feel it today.”

Councillors Andy Cranston, Collin Alder and Teddy Thompson questioned whether the report would need to be peer-reviewed.

Alder said it was a “fascinating document” but he was concerned parts were critical of past councils and questioned whether they had been given a right of reply.

Councillor Debbie Gregory said the fact it was recent history made it a bit more difficult to consume.

“The names we read ... we know them ... but they were working with the best intentions for the community with the knowledge they had at that time. We are so lucky we have more knowledge than they ever had to be able to make these good decisions.”

Councillor Rhonda Tibble said Luiten’s report consistently “reminds us” councils were summarily created to remove all asset classes from Māori hands and into settlers’ hands.

“We cannot hide that fact. That is the history of New Zealand,” she said.

Councillor Nick Tupara said the events were a “travesty”.

Some would not believe it and he welcomed a peer review, he said.

“A lot of this history is uncomfortable. Go and have a look at what our tīpuna went through... own the stories. Remember you are part of those stories. You are part of what happened before and you are part of what happens in the future.”

Gisborne Deputy Mayor Josh Wharehinga said he was proud of how far the council had come in these discussions.

“The strategic direction is a common-sense approach,” he said. “It talks about partnership and collaboration. Sustainability and environmental stewardship ... equity, economic development and prosperity ... This isn’t a difficult document for us to agree to.”

Luiten writes in her report: “Gisborne’s water works are part of the pattern of one-way transfer of land and resources out of tribal ownership ... The Waingake Transformation Programme has the potential to be a good story, not just for the environment but as a pathway forward through the legacy of colonisation.

“[The parties] have an opportunity to showcase what meaningful partnership could be between local authority and tribal mana.”

The report, titled Gisborne’s Local Government Waterworks Acquisitions of Maraetaha 2 Lands, is accessible on Gisborne District Council’s website.

LDR is a local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.