Engaging with tangata whenua

Tangata whenua and the Environment

Tangata whenua have a special cultural and spiritual relationship with the environment, which is included as a matter of national importance under Sections 6 and 7 of the Resource Management Act. This includes, but is not limited to, their relationship with:

• Water

• Wāhi tapu (sacred sites)

• Taonga (treasures)

• Ancestral lands.

Resource consent applicants, as well as Horizons, must consider these matters of national importance when preparing resource consent applications.

When should I engage with iwi and hapū?

Resource consent applicants are recommended to engage with iwi and/or hapū when their proposal may affect tangata whenua values. The best way to identify these values and take these into account is through meaningful engagement with the relevant iwi and/or hapű. In some cases this may be one group, or it may be a number of different iwi and/or hapū groups.

Tangata whenua values may be affected by proposals subject to, or involving:

• ancestral lands,

• significant ecological areas,

• coastal marine area,

• discharges to, or which may enter, the sea, rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, aquifers and air,

• sites and places of significance to tangata whenua,

• Claims Settlement Acts,

• Statutory Acknowledgements,

• treaty settlement land, or

• Māori land.

How do I engage with iwi and hapū?

It is important to recognise iwi and hapū groups often wear many pōtae (hats). Many groups are managing heavy workloads with very few resources, and often full-time jobs on the side. Their work also often extends beyond resource consenting, or even environmental management. We recommend you engage with iwi early in the development of your proposal for these reasons.

In most cases, iwi and hapū within our region prefer you to contact them directly, either over the phone or in person. In some cases, this will be via an initial email, followed by a phone call, a meeting or a site visit. As a resource consent applicant it is your responsibility to initiate and undertake this engagement. However, we can help by providing further advice around engaging with tangata whenua.

Iwi and hapū contacts

There are a range of ways to get the right contact information for iwi and hapū in our region.

• Head to the iwi and hapū contacts section on our website

• Te Puni Kōkiri Ministry of Māori Development maintains a directory of iwi and Māori organisations called Te Kāhui Māngai, which can be found here.

• Contact us by emailing Consents.enquiries@horizons.govt.nz or calling freephone 0508 800 800.

Benefits of engaging with iwi and hapū

Working with tangata whenua and undertaking early engagement can help you to:

• understand the history of your area and site,

• be informed about the views of tangata whenua,

• build meaningful partnerships,

• plan or design your proposal with tangata whenua values in mind, and consider avoidance, and potential mitigations or remediation early during the development phase,

• ensure time pressures are managed early on in the process,

• ensure the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) that must accompany your application identifies and appropriately addresses the potential effects of your proposal, and

• reduce the risk of processing delays through requests for additional information or notification of your consent application.

What happens if engagement is delayed?

You do not need to reach an agreement before you lodge your resource consent application, but we encourage you to record the outcomes of any hui (meetings) so you can include these with your AEE. If the concerns of tangata whenua cannot be resolved, but you wish to proceed, then you may still lodge your consent application. We recommend you include details of any discussions or engagement attempts with your application documents to demonstrate you have made a genuine attempt to engage openly and honestly.

Cost of engaging with tangata whenua

Just like any business or organisation, it costs money to keep the lights on. In some circumstances, iwi or hapū may choose to recover the costs of their time and expertise, just like other technical experts.

To avoid confusion, it's best to ask about potential costs before starting the process. You can ask for an estimate or seek guidance on what is considered appropriate when you formally engage with tangata whenua. We encourage you to consider their expertise in the same way you would value any other technical expert. They are providing essential information to help ensure your resource consent application is thorough and that all potential effects are properly assessed.

If you require any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our Consents Team on  consents.enquiries@horizons.govt.nz or freephone 0508 800 800.