Joint iwi management talks sees packed Taupō council chamber

Friday, 4 July 2025

Talks regarding a major update of a 15-year-old agreement between Taupō’s council and the region’s largest landowners - Ngāti Tūwharetoa - packed out the council’s public gallery.

At an open “information only” workshop on Thursday, about 60 members of the public showed up to hear an update on a review of the 2009 joint management agreement (JMA) with Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board.

A few days before the workshop, Taupō District councillor Duncan Campbell took issue with the draft agreement, and enlisted lobby group Hobson’s Pledge to advertise his concerns to a wider audience, and to “seek independent scrutiny”.

His main concerns were the financial implications of the agreement, its “expanded jurisdictional scope, Treaty-framed governance language”, and the absence of any planned public consultation.

“Unlike the 2009 original—which followed months of public hui and consultation—this new version is being pushed forward with minimal public engagement and limited debate,” he said.

Staff told the meeting the agreement had already passed its statutory review time limit, and was originally put in place under Treaty settlement legislation to allow iwi to jointly manage and protect its water resources in the district.

The meeting heard the new agreement was still in draft phase, and would not be implemented, or otherwise, until the council had debated it publicly on July 31.

Staff said they would release the full draft document well before that time, and did not plan on consulting the public.

Campbell found some support around the table, with councillors Christine Rankin, Rachel Shepherd and Sandra Greenslade also questioning the timing and pace the updated agreement was being introduced to council.

Rankin said considering there had been so many changes the agreement should be parked until after the upcoming elections.

Greenslade said it would be wise to see if upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act, and Local Water Done Well legislation, could affect it.

Staff said the agreement allowed the trust board to have a say in any developments affecting the region’s water resources, including the Waikato River, Lake Taupō, and their catchment areas, and that final decisions on those resources remained with the council.

They said background work began on the updated agreement in February 2020, had been delayed for various reasons, and restarted in September.

Councillors have already attended four workshops about proposed changes.

Councillor John Williamson said it was a joint management agreement, and was not co-governance.

“It’s not a rush job, it’s been a work in progress for quite some time.”

Near the end of the workshop, mayor David Trewavas instructed staff to look into opportunities to hold public consultation and to report back to council at the July 31 meeting.

Deputy mayor Kevin Taylor addressed the public gallery saying many people were only at the meeting after being “sent a letter” by Hobson’s Pledge.

“And if you've been listening to the presentation today … you will note a significant disparity between matters raised in that letter and what you've heard today.

“I'm happy to meet with anybody to answer any questions you have on anything related to this JMA going forward.

“What I don't want is for people to go away with an assumption and an opinion that's not based in fact.”

Councillor Karam Fletcher said the trust board had existed for 100 years “as an entity or body whose sole purpose is to look after a lake that we all love and enjoy”.

“We need to find the best way in which we can work together, and this, I believe, is just a stepping stone around how this relationship can grow and evolve.”