E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatangamaha o Te Moana ā-Toitehuatahi tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. E ngā iwi me te hāpori Māori, mai Ngā Kurī a Whārei ki Tihirau, mai Maketū ki Tauhara huri noa i te rohe o Toi Moana kei te mihi.

A pānui to share what Komiti Māori and Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council are doing around the rohe that is relevant to iwi, hapū and marae.

The Komiti Māori Meeting on Tuesday 16 August 2022 will be held in Council Chambers at Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga.

Please be aware that if you attend in person, you are required to have a negative RAT result (within 48 hours) before attending the meeting. This includes Councillors, staff, external presenters and members of the public/media.

The meeting will commence at 9.30am and is due to finish at approximately 2.00pm.

The meeting will be recorded and livestreamed. To watch the meeting live, click on the following link. The meeting agenda will be available on Tuesday 9 August on the Toi Moana website.

Tangata whenua presentations will be heard from:

• Combined Tangata Whenua Forum - Elva Conroy
• Bay of Plenty Futures Academy – Cindy Lee and students 
• Ngāti Rangitihi Treaty Settlement/Tarawera Restoration Group - Leith Comer/Anthony Olsen/Tiipene Marr 
• Research into sea level rise and risks to marae - Akuhata Bailey-Winiata - (PhD Masters Thesis/He Toka Tumoana Scholarship Recipient) 
• Maketū Community Led Adaptation Project - Roana Bennett (BOPRC funded project and first to be completed) 
• Perspectives on Climate Change and Māori Economy – Chris Karamea Insley

If you have any further questions, please contact Kataraina O'Brien.

Te Pūnaha Hihiko Fund opens August 2022

Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund aims to strengthen capability, capacity, skills and networks between Māori and the science and innovation system, and increase understanding of how research can contribute to the aspirations of Māori organisations and deliver benefit for Aotearoa.

This year's round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund (VMCF) will open 17 August 2022 and close at 12 noon, 12 October 2022.

DOC Post-graduate scholarships now open

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is offering the opportunity for eight post-graduate students to get a scholarship of $15,000 each for conservation-related research in the natural or social sciences. 

Applications are now open for the 2023 scholarship round. DOC introduced the scholarship programme in 2020, with past recipients receiving scholarships for a wide range of topics including Kauri health, climate change impacts on marine environments and COVID tourism planning.

To qualify for this year’s scholarship round, students will need to align their research to the research priorities of DOC or its funding partners.

Applications for the scholarship are open to fulltime or part time Masters students enrolled at a New Zealand university or NZQA accredited tertiary institution, who plan to do research on a relevant topic in the 2023 academic year.

 Applications close 12 September 2022.

The Māori Freshwater Fisheries Conference is returning for 2022

Te Wai Māori is pleased to announce that after a three-year hiatus due to COVID, the Māori Freshwater Fisheries Conference is returning for 2022!

The conference provides an opportunity to kōrero and share expertise, knowledge and understanding of our indigenous fisheries and their habitat as well as identify opportunities and pathways to better protect our wai and taonga.

The two-day in-person event will be held at the Great Lake Centre, Taupō from 31 August to 1 September, and co-hosted with Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

Wai 2358 - The National Freshwater and Geothermal Resources Inquiry

This inquiry addresses Māori proprietary rights in freshwater bodies and geothermal resources. The inquiry was divided into stages, allowing for the most urgent part of the inquiry to be heard first - Stage 1 (2012), Māori rights and interests in freshwater and the potential impact of the imminent sale of shares in one of the four state-owned power companies. Stage 2 (2015) the Crown's freshwater management regime and its reforms. Stage 3 (ongoing) Māori rights and interests in geothermal resources.

The Tribunal convened an urgent hearing this week (1 - 3 August) on the proposed selection process for Māori representatives on regional planning committees under the proposed Natural and Built Environments Act and its consistency with Te Tiriti and its principles. The hearing involved a number of national Māori representative entities including NZ Māori Council and Iwi Leaders Group. It is anticipated the Tribunal will report its findings within the current quarter. The remainder of the substantive Wai 2358 inquiry matters remain ongoing.

New law gives Ngāi Tahu right to appoint two Environment Canterbury councillors

A bill ensuring two Ngāi Tahu members sit on the council passed its third reading in Parliament on Wednesday night.

As the bill was passed, waiata and haka rang out across the House from the public gallery. Some 40 representatives of Ngāi Tahu, including kaumātua Tā Tipene O'Regan, were at Parliament to celebrate.

The Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill means the iwi rūnanga can appoint two councillors with full voting rights to the council.

New Ministerial Advisory Board on upholding Treaty settlements in resource management system 

An advisory board has been established to help ensure existing Treaty settlements are upheld under the new resource management system.

The Government has committed to repealing and replacing the Resource Management Act with the Natural and Built Environments Act, the Spatial Planning Act and the Climate Adaptation Act.

These Acts will work together to deliver a resource management system that protects and restores the environment, better enables development, and gives effect to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

The Ministerial Advisory Board members have been selected for their expertise in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and understanding of resource management and its importance for Māori.