MEDIA RELEASE 20/08/26
Plan Change 1: Protect the Progress Made for the Waikato Awa
Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board says it is prepared to engage constructively with Government on the future of Plan Change 1 (PC1), but any alternative pathway must demonstrate that it can deliver equal or better outcomes for the Waikato Awa and uphold Te Ture Whaimana.
As political attention continues around PC1 and wider resource management reform, Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board Chair John Bishara says the iwi’s position begins with whakapapa.
“Governments and planning systems will change. Our whakapapa will not. For Tūwharetoa, our responsibility to Waikato-iti, Taupō Moana and the Waikato Awa is inherited, enduring and passed on for our mokopuna.”
For Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the Waikato Awa has its source at Waikato-iti, within Taupō Moana. Together with the many tributaries flowing into Taupō-nui-a-Tia, these waters connect Tūwharetoa whenua, people and whakapapa before continuing their journey through the Waikato Awa.
“Our relationship with these waters existed long before the current planning system and will continue long after it,” Bishara says.
“This is why PC1 is not simply a regulatory or political issue for Tūwharetoa. It is about our responsibility to our wai and what we leave behind for the generations who follow us.”
PC1 is an important mechanism for giving practical effect to Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato — the enduring vision for restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River.
Considerable time, expertise and resources have been invested in PC1 by River Iwi, councils, landowners, communities and technical experts. Tūwharetoa says that progress must be protected.
“The health of the awa cannot afford continual delay, uncertainty or the repeated relitigation of work already undertaken,” Bishara says.
“At the same time, our door remains open. If the Government believes there is a better pathway, then we are prepared to sit down and consider it.”
Tūwharetoa is seeking clear evidence and analysis for any proposal to change, delay or replace PC1.
“If there is another pathway capable of delivering equal or better environmental outcomes, maintaining the progress already achieved and continuing to give proper effect to Te Ture Whaimana, then bring that evidence to the table,” Bishara says.
“Our position is firm on the outcome, but we are open to a better evidenced pathway for achieving it. What we cannot accept is losing ground that has already been gained for the awa.”
The Trust Board says the debate should also not be characterised as iwi or environmental protection versus farmers and economic development.
“Tūwharetoa are farmers, foresters, landowners and business owners too. We understand the realities facing people working on the whenua,” Bishara says.
“The challenge is finding practical and durable solutions that support communities and economic wellbeing while addressing the cumulative impacts that have affected the awa over generations.”
Tūwharetoa continues to stand alongside Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi in their shared commitment to restoring and protecting the Waikato and Waipā River systems.
“The awa does not recognise administrative boundaries or political cycles,” Bishara says.
“Restoring an awa takes generations. The measure of the decisions we make now must be whether they leave these waters healthier and more resilient for our mokopuna.”
Tūwharetoa’s position remains clear: uphold Te Ture Whaimana, protect the progress already made, and ensure any future pathway delivers enduring and demonstrably better outcomes for the Waikato Awa.
ENDS
For more information, and media enquiries:
Delilah Parore-Southon
Senior Communications Advisor, Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board
022 173 8239 | delilah@tuwharetoa.co.nz