The West Coast Regional Council, Ng\u0101ti Waewae, Ng\u0101ti Mahaki (Makaawhio) and Ng\u0101i Tahu r\u016bnanga signed the country\u2019s first Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreement in 2020 (Photo: Te R\u016bnanga o Ng\u0101i Tahu)<\/p>\n
What are the benefits of these agreements, according to supporters?<\/p>\n
Supporters of the agreements argue they provide an explicit and practical list of ways in which local authorities can give effect to settlement obligations \u2013 something that has historically been lacking<\/a>.<\/p>\n In practical terms, these agreements can cover anything from cultural impact assessments being provided for significant projects and resource consent applications to input into the development of policies, co-design of community infrastructure, reserve management, etc.<\/p>\n Why are they being scrapped?<\/p>\n The initial versions of the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill allowed for existing or initiated Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreements to be carried over into the new RMA system, while not allowing for any new ones to be entered into once the new framework was in effect. When the bills came back from select committee earlier this week, the government announced that as well as making the changes recommended by the Environment Committee, it was further amending the bills so that existing and initiated Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreements would not be carried over.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the bills were introduced, we have become concerned about the rapid increase in new agreements and initiated processes between councils and iwi,\u201d said Bishop in a press release on Monday. \u201cEight existed when the bills were introduced late last year. Since then, several dozen more have been agreed or initiated.\u201d<\/p>\n Who is opposed to the agreements and why?<\/p>\n Vocal critics such as the Taxpayers\u2019 Union and Federated Farmers, who lobbied for the change, say the agreements \u201coverride democratic decision-making\u201d<\/a>, representing \u201canother layer of consultants, planners, lawyers and reports added to an already broken resource management system\u201d.<\/p>\n Act Party leader David Seymour told media<\/a> the government\u2019s decision to scrap the agreements was \u201cacting in good faith to all the other New Zealanders who expect to be treated as equals with equal rights before the law\u201d.<\/p>\n Are they being replaced with anything?<\/p>\n In the press release, Bishop said councils would instead have the option of entering \u201cnarrowly scoped iwi participation agreements to record how iwi authorities will participate in statutory planning processes and processes required to give effect to Treaty settlement redress\u2026 Clear guardrails will be included in the legislation to prevent scope creep.\u201d<\/p>\n With detail lacking on the new agreements, it\u2019s unclear how they will differ from Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreements, but Bishop told reporters<\/a> \u201cthe agreements are a way of essentially putting in place a mechanism for how treaty settlement obligations are given effect to\u201d, and said the change was about \u201cstreamlining and simplifying what that looks like in practice\u201d.<\/p>\n So treaty settlement obligations will be upheld?<\/p>\n The government says yes. In parliament on Tuesday, asked by Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori co-leader Rawiri Waititi \u201chow can we trust that Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlements will not be breached by his government\u2019s RMA reforms?\u201d, prime minister Christopher Luxon responded \u201cbecause we will uphold our obligations under the law\u201d.<\/p>\n But some have doubts. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said a potential flow-on effect was the relitigation of already settled treaty claims. This could lead to taxpayers being forced to stump up millions for legal challenges. \u201cThey\u2019re potentially reopening treaty settlements that were long ago settled. And I think that\u2019s a huge problem for the country,\u201d Hipkins told RNZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kaupapa M\u0101ori environment consultant Tina Porou shared a similar settlement, telling Te Ao M\u0101ori News<\/a> the move represented an \u201coutrageous renegotiation of treaty settlements\u2026 The government is expecting that there will be a two-year negotiation with settled iwi to essentially reopen their treaty settlements and have discussions over their engagement and participation in the resource management system.\u201d<\/p>\nFederated Farmers celebrated the scrapping of Mana Whakahono \u0101 Rohe agreements across its social media channels.<\/p>\n