Tapping NZ waterways

THE ROW over Maori water rights has revived the spectre of the foreshore and seabed debate that divided New Zealand. At its heart are much the same arguments – do Maori have customary rights over aquifers, springs, streams, lakes, rivers and geothermal resources that amount to something like ownership rights?

Prime Minister John Key muddied already murky waters last week when he announced the Government would never accept any Waitangi Tribunal finding that Maori own the water.

In fact, the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that Maori aren’t seeking exclusive ownership rights – though acknowledging their customary rights and interests may give them proprietary rights that amount to something similar. resentatives from major iwi groups – most of which have concluded their Treaty of Waitangi negotiations with the Crown. Their involvement in the Land and Water Forum was largely about the management, rather than ownership, of water.

The Government is represented in the Waitangi Tribunal hearing by Crown lawyers. plants on the Waikato River, which affect Waikato-Tainui and Raukawa iwi, who have already settled with the Crown, and Tuwharetoa, who have not settled. Others with unsettled claims involving waterways used by the power companies include Tuhoe’s interest in Lake Waikaremoana and the Genesis dams on the Whanganui River.

Meridian Energy’s dams are largely in the South Island, where the main iwi, Ngai Tahu, has already settled its Treaty claim.