Nō te wai te mauriora, water is the wellspring of life.

Taupō District Council and Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board are working together to restore and protect our waterways.

In recognition of the importance to the Taupō District of protecting our waterways, Taupō District Council and the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board are working on a Joint Management Agreement.

The purpose and focus of this draft Joint Management Agreement is to protect the water of Lake Taupō (Taupō Moana) and the Upper Waikato River.

This agreement will enable the shared protection and restoration of these waterways for future generations.

It fulfils requirements under the Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010 (Upper Waikato River Act 2010), completing the Council’s commitments to the iwi of the Upper Waikato River. The Council already maintains agreements with Te Arawa River Iwi Trust (signed in 2017) and Raukawa Settlement Trust (signed in 2013).

This new draft agreement also builds on 20 years of successful collaboration through the Lake Taupō Protection Project, which has successfully reduced nitrogen levels entering the waterways.

The draft agreement establishes a shared vision: thriving, healthy waterways that sustain abundant life and prosperous communities. Crucially, it recognises that these same communities have a responsibility to protect and restore the wellbeing of Taupō Moana and the Upper Waikato River for generations to come.

It will see both organisations collaborate on work such as monitoring and enforcement, district plan reviews, resource consent application assessments, and enabling customary activities. These are all mandatory matters under the legislation.

The draft agreement also provides for additional collaboration between the two organisations. This includes the opportunity for working together on submissions to central government, for example, on potential law changes. There could be opportunities for staff secondments between the organisations to build capability, as well as joint work on economic development opportunities and service infrastructure projects. The council and the trust board will jointly agree a three-year work plan that will outline joint projects and programmes.

Public access to Taupō Moana for recreation remains under the separate Taupō-nui-a-Tia Management Plan. The draft agreement also creates new opportunities for the community to contribute to waterway restoration, reflecting their shared importance to the people of the district.

Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas is welcoming the draft agreement, which he says emphasises that the health of the waterways is intrinsically linked to the health of the wider district, its communities, its economy and its people.

“With the trust board representing Ngāti Tūwharetoa as mana whenua and legal owners of the waterways and the Taupō District Council as the local authority, it makes sense for us to work together to protect and restore our beautiful lake and rivers for the benefit of everyone.”

The draft agreement will go to councillors for their consideration at the council meeting on Thursday 31 July.

For more information, visit www.taupodc.govt.nz/draft-jma.

© Scoop Media