Kākā Valley development promotes social and economic aspirations of iwi
The Judge’s preliminary comments on Kākā Valley rezoning were welcomed by many in the courtroom in February.
Whilst the plan change was approved in 2022, a group called Save the Maitai appealed the decision through the Environment Court. The comments on rezoning were shared at the summation of this hearing.
Engaged by CCKV as the facilitator for Iwi-project relationships late in 2022,
I had followed the development with interest before this, specifically because of the iwi-developer partnership.
Central to my work is researching and understanding the histories of land loss and land tenure in Te Tauihu.
To those unaffected, these stories can be unknown but are so lightly concealed; peel back a layer of time and there they are. Post-settlement, Te Tauihu iwi have recuperated some ancestral lands lost through the various mechanisms of colonisation. One example of this is Ngāti Koata, who today are the largest landowners in Maitahi Valley.
These are vast environs widely enjoyed with public access being granted through Koata-owned whenua (land).
Ngāti Koata is involved in environmental restoration projects throughout Maitai Valley.
These benefit the natural environment and the community, particularly those living close by. The proposed Maitahi village development promotes the social and economic aspirations of iwi, aspirations that are undoubtedly inseparable from the exercise of kaitiakitanga (stewardship of natural resources).
The Maitahi catchment takes in a valley and hill area called Kākā. From Maitai Cricket ground, the valley of farmland rises to a ridge.
The CCKV housing development is proposed at Kākā Valley. Kākā Hill is a bush-clad hill and is not part of the housing development, having been gifted by CCKV to Ngāti Koata. Kākā Valley farmland is connected to a development called “Bayview”, which extends along the ridgeline to overlook the bay. Bayview is a separate entity from CCKV.
As neighbours, the two entities jointly applied to rezone the land. Having heard criticism of the death-by-a-thousandcuts approach to master planning, the rationale for this approach should not require spelling out.
What is easy to know but not widely known is that Koata Ltd are the largest shareholder of CCKV Maitai with 35% of the shareholdings. Simple facts such as these counter false narratives that misconstrue iwi involvement and further claim iwi are being duped by developers.
Even if Koata Ltd were minority shareholders, as someone who works across iwi-Crown partnership spaces, respectful recognition of iwi Māori as kaitiaki with unique rights and interests looks like, sounds like, and feels like an example of good practice, actually.
If it feels unfair or wrong that prominence to cultural values is not perfectly equated to the percentage of iwi shareholdings... it’s not an iwi problem, or a developer problem, or a maths problem.
Sadly, it’s a continuation of the problem of negative stereotypes that have pervaded tangata whenua for generations.
Taking different forms, these superimposed theories denigrate the intelligence and abilities of Māori. It is the same deficit thinking that insists rangatira did not understand Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840. These narratives have been repeatedly disproven by history and again in contemporary times. Te Tauihu Iwi annual reports and the growth of Wakatū Inc. demonstrate just how inaccurate this thinking is.
Accusations that developers are hiding behind iwi as minority shareholders are nothing less than a continuation of this narrative, albeit veneered with paternalistic sympathy, postured by a small and expensive opposition. To conclude that iwi are minority shareholders, one would need to combine the two separate entities of Bayview and CCKV and then get out a confirmation bias calculator.
Having ascertained that Koata Ltd is not a minority shareholder, and not being used as a shield, it may also be of interest to know that CCKV is predominantly Māori-led; two of the three shareholders Whakapapa Māori and the largest shareholder is Ngāti Koata.
Be it lazy thinking, low comprehension, ignorance, or historical amnesia, or be it something else? Comments on social media referencing “ghettos and undesirables” shine a light, but in the spirit of rejecting deficit narratives, I’ll assume these comments are a result of context gaps:
94% of Aotearoa New Zealand is no longer under Māori ownership. Te Tauihu iwi Treaty settlements were reached in 2014, with an average settlement of $11 million. Treaty Settlements to date total $2.5 billion, just two months of superannuation payments.
Based on today’s market values, the approximate value of confiscated lands in Aotearoa is $4.2 trillion.
This excludes lost-earning potential from land and resources.
When organisations share power, privilege, and resources - undoubtedly gained through the uneven playing fields of colonisation - they are flexing the traditionally tightly held sphere of kāwanatanga towards the restoration of Māori rights and interests. And that’s a good thing.
Across Te Tauihu, we can be inspired and encouraged when resources and power are reshaped towards the restoration of Tino Rangatiratanga, and commend the Together Te Tauihu Partnership Agreement between Iwi and the three councils as an example of this. We can be reassured that there is nothing to lose and so much to gain.
Just as Koata Ltd allows the community to recreate across the valleys and hills of Maitahi, we can support shared positive outcomes such as Maitahi Village.
There’s mana, rangatiratanga, partnership and equity in this story. Instead of exercising our ‘not-fair’ muscles, how about we celebrate it?
And if you are still sitting here going ‘Yeah but ... the environment’, go back and start reading this from the top, and read it again until you get it. And if that doesn’t happen, stop worrying about it. Go and plant some native trees and pick up some rubbish in your suburb.
The contemporary expression and reclamation of Māori rights and interests, and the success of Ngā Iwi o Te Tauihu is central to the collective success of our community. And when we realise this, we will be even more successful.
Jenny (Jen) Bennett is an experienced educator and facilitator who has worked in bicultural spaces throughout her career through partnerships with iwi Māori across education, taiao, research, and strategy. She runs a facilitation practice: Thirdspace Projects Aotearoa and is the contracted Iwi Facilitator for CCKV.