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A statement of claim was filed in court on Friday and the Crown received the papers this afternoon, shortly after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her second term with more Maori ministers than anyone else.
The aim of the action is to try to accelerate the Government’s engagement with Maori in freshwater management.
Lisa Tumahai, Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu president or director, said the claim statement was to address the ongoing degradation of rivers and lakes caused by environmental mismanagement.
“For generations we were excluded from our place as kaitiaki, guided by centuries of wisdom and knowledge transmitted by our tupuna, in protecting the health and quality of the wai (water).
“For too long, governments have talked about tackling these problems, but they have progressed little by little. That is not enough. Now is the time to act,” says Tumahai.
“We have tried to engage with the Crown on these issues to no avail. We agree with the Waitangi Tribunal in its report from stage 2 of the freshwater investigation last year that progress in recognizing our rights, responsibilities and obligations to fresh water in our takiwā now requires a trial case in court. “
The case is being brought by 15 senior Ngāi Tahu leaders from across the Ngāi Tahu area, including Sir Tipene O’Regan and Te Rūnanga or Ngāi Tahu.
Tumahai said that Ngāi Tahu saw the action as a matter of public good.
“We want to work together with all the people of the southern islands to find solutions. Pollution affects us all. We have a generation of New Zealanders who have not been able to swim in our rivers.”
Dr. Te Maire Tau, director of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, said that successive governments had mismanaged fresh water.
“The results are evident in the condition of the rivers, lakes and streams in Canterbury, Otago and Southland.”
He said that Ngāi Tahu was trying to force the Crown to address these issues in association with the iwi.
Rangatiratanga on water meant that Ngāi Tahu has rights, responsibilities and obligations related to fresh water in his area, or takiwā, including doing everything possible to stop the degradation of waterways and the environment.
“This is also a matter of tribal survival: our Ngāi Tahu practice of mahinga kai depends on healthy waterways,” said Dr. Tau.
“Current law is first-come, first-serve, leading to severe over-allocation. It comes from a perspective of water as a resource to be extracted, often far beyond the needs of users. It does not put the science. or the health of the waterways on which our own health depends. “
Environment Minister David Parker declined to comment on Ngāi Tahu’s legal action other than to say, “We intend to promote water allocation issues in this term of office.”
