New Plymouth District Council staff have been being chided by councillors for not talking with mana whenua before taking a council reform proposal to Government. Their failure to comply with the consultation demands of the Treaty of Waitangi – inevitably – came into considerations.
How many councillors were dissatisfied with the staff is not clear. The council has a mayor and 14 councillors.
Like many councils, the NPDC spends ratepayers’ money on arrangements to keep tribal big-wigs happy – or try to keep them happy.
It set up Te Huinga Taumatua, a Māori tribal advisory committee, as a collaborative governance partnership to bridge the gap between local government and Taranaki tribal leaders to ensure Māori perspectives are included in council decision-making.
But tribal leaders – by the looks of things – are readily miffed if they get a whiff of being left out of the action.
The council last month sent a proposal to reform Taranaki local government for the Government to consider under something called the Head Start amalgamation programme.
It was working in unseemly haste – as were most councils around the country when the Government put the heat on them to get on with local government restructuring.
According to Local Democracy Reporting –
A report to Te Huinga Taumatua’s meeting on Wednesday said the Beehive’s three month deadline had left no time to consult mana whenua.
“Engagement with iwi and hapū did not occur at the depth or breadth expected … with compressed timeframes limiting the opportunity for meaningful participation.”
But time pressures won’t necessarily pass muster as an acceptable explanation excuse when it comes to Treaty-based partnerships.
The council’s Future Local Government programme director Helen Gray admitted the shortfall to Te Huinga Taumatua – the iwi advisory committee.
“Initial engagement … fell short of the expectations and [the report] recognizes the opportunity to reset relationships and create space for iwi, hapū, and PSGEs to determine how to participate in these discussions,” Gray said.
Councillor Gina Blackburn wasn’t impressed.
“What a really lovely way to say that our engagement was actually really poor.
“We didn’t engage with our hapū and iwi well at all, in my view.”
Iwi had previously objected to being shut out of council reform talks, Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) says.
Blackburn questioned future engagement as NPDC fleshed out the proposals before the Government’s next deadline in March.
“What are the concrete safeguards to ensure phase two is not another compressed engagement exercise?”
She was one of two councillors whose concerns have been recorded by the LDR reporter.
The other was Cr Dinnie Moeahu, who said staff reports should set out the council’s Local Government Act obligations to Māori, for councillors who hadn’t read them.
“The statutory obligations are very broad and clear in terms of engagement with Māori, and yet such an important part of the document is missing – those actual provisions.”
Moeahu said there was an ideal summary of the Act’s relevant clauses in another report on the committee’s agenda.
“It’s simple, it’s clear, it’s concise.
“It’s also something that can be copy and pasted into many other reports.”
LDR does not mention that:
It set up Te Huinga Taumatua, a Māori tribal advisory committee, as a collaborative governance partnership to bridge the gap between local government and Taranaki tribal leaders to ensure Māori perspectives are included in council decision-making.
But tribal leaders – by the looks of things – are readily miffed if they get a whiff of being left out of the action.
The council last month sent a proposal to reform Taranaki local government for the Government to consider under something called the Head Start amalgamation programme.
It was working in unseemly haste – as were most councils around the country when the Government put the heat on them to get on with local government restructuring.
According to Local Democracy Reporting –
A report to Te Huinga Taumatua’s meeting on Wednesday said the Beehive’s three month deadline had left no time to consult mana whenua.
“Engagement with iwi and hapū did not occur at the depth or breadth expected … with compressed timeframes limiting the opportunity for meaningful participation.”
But time pressures won’t necessarily pass muster as an acceptable explanation excuse when it comes to Treaty-based partnerships.
The council’s Future Local Government programme director Helen Gray admitted the shortfall to Te Huinga Taumatua – the iwi advisory committee.
“Initial engagement … fell short of the expectations and [the report] recognizes the opportunity to reset relationships and create space for iwi, hapū, and PSGEs to determine how to participate in these discussions,” Gray said.
Councillor Gina Blackburn wasn’t impressed.
“What a really lovely way to say that our engagement was actually really poor.
“We didn’t engage with our hapū and iwi well at all, in my view.”
Iwi had previously objected to being shut out of council reform talks, Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) says.
Blackburn questioned future engagement as NPDC fleshed out the proposals before the Government’s next deadline in March.
“What are the concrete safeguards to ensure phase two is not another compressed engagement exercise?”
She was one of two councillors whose concerns have been recorded by the LDR reporter.
The other was Cr Dinnie Moeahu, who said staff reports should set out the council’s Local Government Act obligations to Māori, for councillors who hadn’t read them.
“The statutory obligations are very broad and clear in terms of engagement with Māori, and yet such an important part of the document is missing – those actual provisions.”
Moeahu said there was an ideal summary of the Act’s relevant clauses in another report on the committee’s agenda.
“It’s simple, it’s clear, it’s concise.
“It’s also something that can be copy and pasted into many other reports.”
LDR does not mention that:
- Gina Blackburn, a North Ward Councillor, serves as the Kaitiaki Te Whiringa of Ngāti Mutunga in Taranaki and works as a Pouwhakakaupapa (Project Manager) for Te Kōtahitanga o Te Ātiawa. She holds a Master’s degree with Distinction in Māori and Indigenous Leadership from the University of Canterbury.
- Dinnie Moeahu has Māori genealogy linking him to the Te Ātiawa, Taranaki, Ngāruahine, and Ngāti Porou tribes. He serves as the Co-Chair of Te Maruata, the national collective representing Māori elected and appointed members within Local Government New Zealand.
Helen Gray said council staff would include the legal obligations in coming reports. She also set out a programme of iwi and hapū input to ongoing work on local government reform.
“The programme would include a series of wānanga and a review of Treaty settlement arrangements and existing partnership mechanisms.”
Tribal leaders Wharehoka Wano and Mitchell Ritai have already been appointed as representatives on the council’s Future Local Government steering group and:
A dedicated iwi and hapū engagement lead would be hired.
And:
Te Huinga Taumatua also criticised the council’s draft Tiriti o Waitangi Outcomes Framework.
But Local Democracy Reporting does not make clear which non-Maori leaders – if any – were consulted while Maori groups were bypassed.
But PoO established that the Head Start pathway allows councils to drive reorganisation and propose a new structure that works for their region, rather than waiting for the Government to make the decision for them.
Councils which take this option had to lodge an outline Head Start proposal by 9 August.
If the Government approves an outline proposal in principle, councils then have until March next year to complete a detailed proposal. Government decisions are expected by the end of September.
If councils do not take part in the Head Start pathway, or the Government does not approve an outline proposal, they will be part of the Back Stop pathway. That means the Government will decide what happens in that region after the 2028 local body elections.
A report on the Taranaki District Council’s website is headed
Shaping Taranaki’s Future
It says the District Council and Taranaki Regional Council have submitted a joint Pathfinder Proposal to central Government “as a constructive way to contribute to the Head Start process”.
And then:
The Pathfinder proposal signals the two councils’ commitment to doing the work properly, taking communities and iwi partners on the journey, and ensuring any future proposal is built on robust evidence and understanding.
A key part of the plan over the next six months is meaningful, well-informed consultation with the community and iwi partners. It also includes collaboration with the Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Southland regions to take a fresh look at how current regional and district council services could be delivered more efficiently.
Meaningful and well-informed consultation, it might be noted.
Some people apparently can’t wait.
LDR is local body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.