Regional councillor wants diversity

A plan to get iwi more involved in managing Manawatu¯ waterways is being criticised by a regional councillor, who believes it will leave out other interested parties.

That councillor, John Barrow, was a man alone at Horizons Regional Council yesterday, where debate about the issue became heated at times.

The council is working on changes to how it manages waterway health, partly because its One Plan environmental management guidelines need updating.

As part of the changes, the council would create a committee councillors and iwi leaders would sit on to come up with strategies for different catchments.

Final decisions on what to do would still sit with the full council. Other regional councils, including Greater Wellington Regional Council, have similar models. All Horizons councillors voted to move the process forward, but Barrow voted against going down the governance-with-iwi route.

He said figures provided by the Tararua District Council showed it had spent more than $1 million in the past five years on litigation started by iwi there over wastewater treatment plant consents.

Stuff has asked Tararua District Council to verify the figure. ‘‘We cannot have iwi involved in a litigious process and a collaborative process at the same time,’’ Barrow said. ‘‘It’s almost a conflict-of-interest situation.’’

He wanted more diversity on the committee – ‘‘I’m not happy with five or six councillors being involved either’’ – as plenty of groups had genuine interest in the state of water, including Federated Farmers, district councils and environmental groups. ‘‘To neglect a significant part of our community in favour of 100 per cent iwi representation is not necessarily community representation,’’ he said.

Councillor Jono Naylor said it was ironic Barrow made those comments while a framed photocopy of the Treaty of Waitangi hung on the wall behind him.

Putting iwi and Federated Farmers in the same box was insulting and in conflict with the treaty, he said.

‘‘This is about us trying to show a level of partnership with iwi.’’