KiwiRail signs first kawenata (agreement) with iwi ahead of Picton terminal work

Friday, 12 March 2021

A powhiri was held at Waikawa Marae to mark the signing of a Kawenata (agreement) between Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Trust and KiwiRail.

In the 1870s when rail was built in New Zealand, it was a matter of “bulldozing through”, now there’s a chance to do things right, says KiwiRail’s projects officer.

On Thursday, a kawenata (agreement) was signed by Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui and KiwiRail, which recognised a partnership with “a shared view to exploring mutually beneficial and collaborative opportunity”.

The agreement was a first of its kind for KiwiRail, which is a state-owned enterprise.

It comes as Picton looks to build a new ferry terminal, a collaborative project between Port Marlborough, the Marlborough District Council, KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency.

KiwiRail capital projects and asset development chief operating officer David Gordon.

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The relationship agreement was signed by Gordon, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui chairwoman Rachael Hāte and Te Roopu Manaaki chairman Ron Riwaka at Waikawa Marae on Thursday.

KiwiRail capital projects and asset development chief operating officer David Gordon said signing the agreement cemented a partnership they had been “trying to build for a while”.

“It’s putting a degree of ceremony and formality around a relationship that’s reached a point, it’s not reached its end point,” Gordon said.

A concept design for the proposed ferry terminal in Picton.

“It is for KiwiRail emblematic of what we’re trying to achieve in terms of our future development and relationship with iwi.”

Gordon said when railway lines were first built in New Zealand, there had not been any collaboration with iwi, and people just “bulldozed through”.

An artist’s impression of what the proposed Picton terminal will look like.

“When we were first in business, going back to the 1870s and 1880s, it was fundamentally a bash on through,” Gordon said.

“The world has changed, we’ve got a chance to do it properly.”

The relationship agreement was signed by Gordon, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui chairwoman Rachael Hāte and Te Roopu Manaaki chairman Ron Riwaka at Waikawa Marae on Thursday.

The agreement said the parties had agreed to enter into the kawenata as confirmation of their commitment to maintaining an enduring relationship founded on shared values and principles.

Hāte said the agreement celebrated how a partnership could work.

“As mana whenua of Kura Te Au (Tory Channel), we acknowledge and value the effort, contribution and mahi that KiwiRail has afforded us as kaitiaki (guardian),” Hāte said.

Te Ātiawa and KiwiRail had an already established relationship developed over many years, in part because of KiwiRail’s activity in Waitohi (Picton), including the Interislander rail and passenger service landing and departing from Picton.

KiwiRail chief executive Greg Miller said this was the first formal kawenata signed with an iwi or hapū, but it would not be the last.

Miller said the agreement was an exciting “milestone”.

KiwiRail and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui had been working together on the plans for the Waitohi Picton Ferry Precinct Redevelopment – which would allow for larger Interislander ferries.

Gordon said KiwiRail was negotiating the final contract with an overseas shipyard for the new ferries.

“The first ship won’t arrive till at least mid 2025, it takes almost a year and a bit to design the ship to the level it’s needed,” Gordon said.