RMA reforms will set up body to ensure tikanga, Treaty upheld
Reforms to the Resource Management Act (RMA) will establish a national monitor for Treaty rights and instruct planning committees and courts to consider tikanga in their decisions.
Among the 850 pages set to replace the RMA there are new provisions which require consideration be given to the development of papakāinga in planning decisions as well as tikanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Experts in tikanga, Māori law and architecture say the two bills are a step towards upholding Treaty rights and ensuring that Māori can develop land held communally under Māori Land Titles.
The new provisions have drawn questions from the Opposition, as the bills introduce a new term to the statue books: Te Oranga o te Taiao.
Decisionmakers are expected to protect te oranga, the health, of te Taiao (the environment), under the rules. Environment Minister David Parker faced questions this week on what that would entail.
National housing spokesperson Chris Bishop said introduction of the term would lead to ‘‘legal wrangling’’ as the courts debated what it meant. ‘‘That means more delays, more costs, and more road blocks.’’
New environmental Treaty rights monitor
Under the Natural and Built Environments Bill, a ‘‘National Māori Entity’’ would be set up to monitor if government bodies use their powers in accordance with Te Tiriti.
Justice Minister Kiri Allan said the bills also ensured that existing agreements about the environment, made in Treaty claims settlements, would be adhered to.
While the National Māori Entity has the power to consult, investigate and submit on matters of the environment and Te Tiriti, it cannot force anyone to do anything.
Professor Carwyn Jones (Ngāi Te Apatu, Ngāti Kahungunu), a tikanga and legal expert of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, said the entity was ‘‘a positive step’’ towards incorporating mātauranga Māori into environmental management.
‘‘It can provide these reports, but importantly whoever they’re monitoring and reporting about need to respond to these reports,’’ he said.
‘‘While there are existing mechanisms for iwi to submit resource management plans, there has been no obligation for government agencies to respond in any transparent or accountable way.’’
While decisionmakers could still disagree with the National Māori Entity, the new law would require them to explain why they disagreed.
The inclusion of a focus on Te Oranga o te Taiao would continue Māori engagement in conservation of the natural environment, Jones said. However, he was concerned the bill’s pigeonholed Māori interests in the natural environment.
A focus on Māori land
Housing Minister Megan Woods said the reforms would introduce a requirement for a national direction on papakāinga and Māori housing.
‘‘The RMA is well past its use-by date. It has failed to enable the housing we need, and it has failed to support Māori housing aspirations.’’
She said national direction on papakāinga, and the requirements to consult Māori and better incorporate mātauranga Māori, should make it easier to develop Māori land.
University of Auckland Māori architecture professor Anthony Hoete (Ngāti Awa) said current planning restrictions had not kept up with the needs of Māori.
‘‘We would advocate a shift away from individual dwellings,’’ he said.
Hoete was working with whānau and hapū to design papakāinga that fit the needs of their people, working often on Māori land – which sits in communal ownership.
Māori land can be difficult to build on, given banks have been less willing to lend, and the structures need to contribute to something for all the owners. Hoete hoped that the proposed planning law, with its greater focus on Māori viewpoints and tikanga, would mean papakāinga could be built more easily.