Ngāi Tahu court case 'good starting point' for healing South Island rivers, lakes

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

The Waimakariri River in Canterbury, which is degrading in nitrogen and E. coli levels

More Ngāi Tahu freshwater management can “only be a good thing” in helping the recent “destruction” of South Island waterways, ecologists say.

The iwi lodged a case against the Crown in the High Court to establish “shared authority” over freshwater management.

It is seeking a recognition of its rangatiratanga over the water bodies, which can translate to leadership, authority or autonomy.

The iwi says its freshwater rights had not been met by the Crown, which had mismanaged the waterways, leading to their degradation.

**READ MORE:

In February, Greenpeace put three billboards into the algae-filled Selwyn River in Canterbury calling for the Government to cap fertiliser use as part of its freshwater reforms.

* Ngāi Tahu takes Crown to court for 'rangatiratanga' of its waterways

* Federated Farmers query references to indigenous fish in plan change

It wants a declaration the present freshwater legislative and regulatory regime “constrains and encumbers” its rangatiratanga entitlements and that the Crown “ought to design and implement” a way to recognise those entitlements.

A Land Air Water Aotearoa report in September showed poor results for many South Island rivers, especially those which passed through urban areas or pastoral land.

At Coes Ford on the Selwyn River, the water quality was in the worst 25 per cent nationally for nitrogen and was degrading. The Waimakariri River at the old highway bridge fared better, but was worsening in all measures.

University of Canterbury professor Jenny Webster-Brown, who is director of the Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management, said many “great principles” of Māori freshwater management would help the health of waterways.

“They view things in a more holistic, more interconnected way. It’s less about what we can extract and use and more about working with the environment, rather than the plundering of the environment that we have done in the past.”

Freshwater ecologist Mike Joy says Māori rangatiratanga will ensure the “river comes first”

It was “pretty clear” iwi rights regarding water resources had not been protected, she said.

“This is the time for this sort of change in our approach.”

Ngāi Tahu Farming owns 6757ha in dairy operations in Eyrewell, north of Christchurch. Intensive dairy farming has been criticised for its impact on waterways.

This had been a tension within different groups in Ngāi Tahu, Webster-Brown said.

“Ngāi Tahu farmers have a diversity of opinions, and they are not all keen.”

Victoria University freshwater ecologist Mike Joy said a Māori world view was a “really good starting point” in healing degrading water bodies.

Ngāi Tahu upoko Te Maire Tau says more data is needed on waterways

“It’s the kind of view where the river comes first.”

Canterbury was where the “most recent destruction of waterways” happened in New Zealand, he said.

Joy authored a case study last year showing Canterbury dairy farming overshot sustainable levels so much that at least 25 times more rainfall, or a 25-fold reduction in farming intensity, would be needed to dilute nitrate losses.

The next step for the iwi would be full ownership of waterways, he said.

Ngāi Tahu is not seeking ownership of waterways in its case against the Crown.

It was clear Te Tiriti o Waitangi gave Māori tino rangatiratanga, or absolute sovereignty, over waterways, but the Crown “completely failed” to keep up its part of the agreement, Joy said.

However, he disagreed that Ngāi Tahu dairy farms were using best practice.

Ngāi Tahu says its dairy farms are purposely less intensive to limit their impact on waterways

“I assure you there is nothing good about what’s happening on those farms.”

Ngāi Tahu upoko (customary leader) Dr Te Maire Tau said the starting point for healthy waterways was more monitoring and better data.

“That’s the critical point. We need to know what is required.”

Ngāi Tahu purposely did not operate its dairy farms to the capacity it was allowed to through its resource consents as to limit the environmental impact, he said.

It was also test trialling technology which would make the practices more sustainable.

Victoria University associate professor of law Carwyn Jones said it would “absolutely be a precedent setting case”.

The Waitangi Tribunal last year said a test case was required for Māori authority over freshwater.

While there was “well established” law for indigenous rights over land, Māori ownership and management of freshwater bodies was uncertain, he said.

A Federated Farmers spokesperson said it would watch the case with interest and have to wait until the outcome to comment further.

It was usually on the “same page” as Ngāi Tahu in terms of the “critical importance fo water to all New Zealanders”.