Consisting of four iwi representatives and four Crown and local authority representatives, the Tauranga Moana Governance Group will ensure local iwi has an equal say in future decisions affecting the harbour and its entrance.
Having received extensive consultation from both the Office of Treaty Settlements and Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Mr Cairns says the framework effectively formalises existing provisions under Section 6(e) of the Resource Management Act.
Entitled “Matters of national importance”, that clause states that all persons exercising the functions and powers of the Act shall recognise “the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, waahi tapu, and other taonga”.
Mr Cairns adds that the Port of Tauranga is “working hard” to re-establish its relationship with the collective, which he describes as having “quite genuine and sincere concerns” for the harbour.
“Relationships were challenged throughout our recent dredging consents process,” he says.
“We have learned a lot through that process and are sincere in wanting to work with the collective.”