Reimagining Mataura asks for structure suggestions

Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Hokonui Rūnanga manager Terry Nicholas says it’s time to create a coalition of the willing to restore the Mataura River.

Some 100 people representing groups that work in or around the Mataura River came together Tuesday to tackle its future.

Reimagining Mataura, and extension of the Mataura River Project, is proposing a formal structure to bring interested parties together to streamline restoration work being done along the 240km of catchment and bid for grants.

Or as Hokonui Rūnanga manager Terry Nicholas said: “We need to create a coalition of the willing.”

But how? The Project Steering Group (PSG) are asking stakeholders to put forward ideas of what a structure may look like, before forming a trust to provide operational support and oversight.

Those who attended the meeting are due to reconvene in the coming weeks to go through their ideas and formalise a plan before the end of the year.

Reimagining Mataura aims to take a catchment-wide approach to managing the Mataura River, with a focus on more efficient land and river systems management to hold water at key points, to expand habitat areas and slow peak flow progression.

The river is prone to flooding, the steering group said, and this would be an opportunity to create more climate resilience.

PSG member and Te Tapu O Tāne chief executive Jana Davis was among a group who travelled to the Waikato to learn about river management in the north.

Groups connected to the Mataura River came together at the Ascot Hotel to kōrero about establishing a group to manage the river's health.

The Mataura River system was large and there was a lot of overlap in the work already being carried out by river trusts in the takiwā , he said, which could be strengthened through partnership.

“This could be a turning point,” he said. “This kōrero is so relevant to where we are now.”

The steering group were already doing conservation an monitoring work with funding from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Fonterra and Toitū Te Whenua | Land Information New Zealand.

By establishing a trust, they would be able to build on this momentum and apply for more funding to reduce the financial burden on groups joining the mahi.

“Put all politics aside. This is a community initiative,” Nicholas told the room full of farmers, community groups, council representative and other interested parties.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if we don’t agree. We’ve got a duty of care [to the river].”