PoO was drawn to an article in The Post headed You can’t manage what you haven’t measured: the execution test for water reform starts now
Written by Jason Perera, APAC commercial director for Gentrack Group, the article discussed New Zealand’s water reforms as they cross from policy to practice.
Perara noted that many councils have run water services without metering consumption and without the management-grade cost data any comparable business would consider basic.
Most had no standalone profit and loss for water at all. Without absolute clarity on the total cost of renewing a kilometre of pipe, the promise to complete a ten-year capital plan in full rests on guesswork.
Mention of “guesswork” brings to mind the efforts of local authorities around the country to restore “mauri” to lakes, waterways and what-have-you.
In the Māori world view, this means revitalising a “life force” that is the product of spiritual belief.
PoO for years has waited patiently for someone to convincingly explain how it can be measured, so we can know how much has been lost and be certain that it has been restored after taxpayers and ratepayers have invested heavily in the restoration.
Some measures of water quality are plainly the stuff of science.
The Taranaki Regional Council once explained the physical and chemical measurements that are used to assess pressures on the health of rivers like this:
The measures include bacteria levels, water clarity, conductivity and acidity (pH levels), nutrient levels, dissolved oxygen levels and the amount of oxygen consumed in the breakdown of organic matter. The latter measure is known as ‘biochemical oxygen demand’ or BOD, and is low in healthy rivers.
In all, there are 22 individual measures, which the Council monitors by taking regular samples at 13 sites across the region.
But this week, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown – a bloke with a reputation for eschewing bullshit – brought “mauri” into considerations while enthusing about a major new strategy to improve the health of Manukau Harbour after it was unanimously adopted by Auckland Council’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee.
According to the Auckland Council, the project sets a long-term direction to restore the harbour’s mauri, strengthen biodiversity, improve water quality and build resilience to climate change.
A vision for the future
The strategy builds on work undertaken since Auckland Council adopted a long-term vision and environmental outcomes for the harbour in 2024. That vision is: ‘The Manukau Harbour is healthy and thriving. Its mauri is restored, and life is abundant. Its people are well.’
To help achieve that vision, the strategy sets out eight objectives focused on reducing sediment, nutrients, waste and microplastics, supporting habitat and species recovery, managing marine pests and pathogens, supporting cultural wellbeing, and helping people connect with and care for the harbour.
Georgina Hart, Principal Analyst, Natural Environment Strategy, says the strategy is grounded in scientific evidence, community priorities and mātauranga Māori through engagement with mana whenua.
Yep. Veneration of the Treaty of Waitangi and the principles it has spawned in recent decades requires councils to merge solid science with the mysteries of mātauranga Māori while taking advice from local Maori.
The mayor seems disinclined to challenge this arrangement:
Mayor Wayne Brown emphasises the significance of the Manukau Harbour and the importance of having a strategy to protect and sustain the harbour.
“Like the Waitematā Harbour and the Kaipara Harbour, the Manukau Harbour is one of Auckland’s greatest natural taonga, deeply valued by communities, mana whenua and all those who care for its future. I am passionate about all of Auckland’s harbours and the work Sea Cleaners have done in cleaning out the creeks that feed into all of our harbours. While progress has been made, the Manukau Harbour continues to face significant environmental pressures that require a coordinated and sustained response,” says Mayor Brown.
“We know we cannot achieve this alone. By working together with mana whenua, communities, businesses, government agencies and environmental organisations, we can make meaningful progress towards restoring the harbour’s health and mauri, protecting biodiversity and improving outcomes for future generations.”
We invite Mayor Brown to write to us about how he will know public money is being well spent and that the mauri – when it happens – has been restored?
Te Aka Māori Dictionary has provided this definition:
mauri
Most had no standalone profit and loss for water at all. Without absolute clarity on the total cost of renewing a kilometre of pipe, the promise to complete a ten-year capital plan in full rests on guesswork.
Mention of “guesswork” brings to mind the efforts of local authorities around the country to restore “mauri” to lakes, waterways and what-have-you.
In the Māori world view, this means revitalising a “life force” that is the product of spiritual belief.
PoO for years has waited patiently for someone to convincingly explain how it can be measured, so we can know how much has been lost and be certain that it has been restored after taxpayers and ratepayers have invested heavily in the restoration.
Some measures of water quality are plainly the stuff of science.
The Taranaki Regional Council once explained the physical and chemical measurements that are used to assess pressures on the health of rivers like this:
The measures include bacteria levels, water clarity, conductivity and acidity (pH levels), nutrient levels, dissolved oxygen levels and the amount of oxygen consumed in the breakdown of organic matter. The latter measure is known as ‘biochemical oxygen demand’ or BOD, and is low in healthy rivers.
In all, there are 22 individual measures, which the Council monitors by taking regular samples at 13 sites across the region.
But this week, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown – a bloke with a reputation for eschewing bullshit – brought “mauri” into considerations while enthusing about a major new strategy to improve the health of Manukau Harbour after it was unanimously adopted by Auckland Council’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee.
According to the Auckland Council, the project sets a long-term direction to restore the harbour’s mauri, strengthen biodiversity, improve water quality and build resilience to climate change.
A vision for the future
The strategy builds on work undertaken since Auckland Council adopted a long-term vision and environmental outcomes for the harbour in 2024. That vision is: ‘The Manukau Harbour is healthy and thriving. Its mauri is restored, and life is abundant. Its people are well.’
To help achieve that vision, the strategy sets out eight objectives focused on reducing sediment, nutrients, waste and microplastics, supporting habitat and species recovery, managing marine pests and pathogens, supporting cultural wellbeing, and helping people connect with and care for the harbour.
Georgina Hart, Principal Analyst, Natural Environment Strategy, says the strategy is grounded in scientific evidence, community priorities and mātauranga Māori through engagement with mana whenua.
Yep. Veneration of the Treaty of Waitangi and the principles it has spawned in recent decades requires councils to merge solid science with the mysteries of mātauranga Māori while taking advice from local Maori.
The mayor seems disinclined to challenge this arrangement:
Mayor Wayne Brown emphasises the significance of the Manukau Harbour and the importance of having a strategy to protect and sustain the harbour.
“Like the Waitematā Harbour and the Kaipara Harbour, the Manukau Harbour is one of Auckland’s greatest natural taonga, deeply valued by communities, mana whenua and all those who care for its future. I am passionate about all of Auckland’s harbours and the work Sea Cleaners have done in cleaning out the creeks that feed into all of our harbours. While progress has been made, the Manukau Harbour continues to face significant environmental pressures that require a coordinated and sustained response,” says Mayor Brown.
“We know we cannot achieve this alone. By working together with mana whenua, communities, businesses, government agencies and environmental organisations, we can make meaningful progress towards restoring the harbour’s health and mauri, protecting biodiversity and improving outcomes for future generations.”
We invite Mayor Brown to write to us about how he will know public money is being well spent and that the mauri – when it happens – has been restored?
Te Aka Māori Dictionary has provided this definition:
mauri
1. (noun) life principle, life force, vital essence, special nature, a material symbol of a life principle, source of emotions – the essential quality and vitality of a being or entity. Also used for a physical object, individual, ecosystem or social group in which this essence is located.
The website of Te Ara Taiohi, a body for youth development in New Zealand, went into it more deeply:
Mauri is the life spark or essence inherent in all living things that has been passed down from ancestors through whakapapa. Mauri affects and is affected by the surrounding environment. It is a motivating force and also encapsulates a process of change from Mauri moe, a state where potential is as yet unrealised; through Mauri oho, sparks of interest and the realisation that change is possible; to Mauri ora, an action oriented stage of striving towards full potential (Keelan, 2014; Pohatu, 2011). Mauri, along with tikanga (cultural values) drives the expression of āhuatanga, a person’s characteristics and qualities (Ware, 2009; Ware & Walsh-Tapiata, 2010) and is closely connected to identity exploration and development, and flourishing. Thriving occurs through realisation of one’s inherent strengths and the ability to stand in one’s own truth (Kerekere 2015, 2017b).
PoO is posting this without asking Auckland Council how it will be measuring the unmeasurable.
But the Gisborne District Council gave its definition in response to Point of Order’s questions a few years ago:
- How does Joanna Noble and/or the council define “mauri”?
Mauri is a compulsory freshwater value under the TRMP, which iwi have advocated strongly for.
All definitions are available on our website: https://www.gdc.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/11864/Tairawhiti-Resource-Management-Plan-Master-Copy-Part-E-Definitions-.pdf
- What measure does she and/or the council use to determine whether the mauri of fresh water bodies (or anything else in the environment) is being maintained, degraded or enhanced?
- Who does the measuring – must it be done only by Maori or can non-Maori scientists be trained to establish if mauri has been restored?
The Ministry for the Environment some years ago referred Point of Order to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) 2020 for a definition of mauri. It used Te Mana o te Wai (TMotW) as a key concept.
We had asked the ministry what measure it uses to determine whether the mauri of fresh water bodies (or anything else in the environment) is being maintained, degraded or enhanced.
And we asked who does the measuring – can it be done only by Māori or can non-Māori scientists be taught to do this work?
The ministry’s answer:
Regional councils will be responsible for monitoring, reporting and enforcement under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM). Regional councils must engage with iwi and hapū to understand what Te Mana o te Wai, and mauri as a component of it, means for their respective areas.
To give effect to the NPS-FM, regional councils must develop a long-term vision through discussion with communities and tangata whenua. Establishing a long-term vision for a water body means capturing the needs and aspirations of tangata whenua and the wider community in each region. The long-term vision needs to be based on historical and current pressures on local water bodies and catchments.
Hmm. Mauri cannot be measured by a single physical gauge, but somehow is tracked through holistic, indigenous-led frameworks that merge mātauranga Māori with Western science.
We look forward to someone coming up with a measure that can be applied consistently and accurately all around the country without having to consult a kaumatua.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
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