IN THE MATTER The Resource Management Act 1991

AND

IN THE MATTER of a Board of Inquiry appointed under s149J of the Resource Management Act 1991 to consider notices of requirement and applications for resource consent made by the New Zealand Transport Agency in relation to the East West Link roading proposal in

SUBMITTER Ngati Whatua Trust

STATEMENT OF NGARIMU ALAN HUIROA BLAIR

INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Ngarimu Alan Huiroa Blair. I am an Elected Representative of the Ngāti Whātua Orākei Trust which is an elected body that represents the collective interests of the descendants of Tuperiri who established Te Taou, Nga Oho and Te Uringutu mana and Ahi Kaaroa on the Auckland Isthmus in the mid 17th Century. Today those 3 sub-tribes are more commonly known as Ngāti Whātua Orākei.

2. I am authorised to give this statement on behalf of Ngāti Whātua Orākei in support of our submission against the notices of requirement and applications for resource consent made by the New Zealand Transport Agency in relation to the East West Link roading proposal in Auckland. I am authorised to give this evidence on behalf of Ngāti Whātua Orākei based on my expertise in the specific history, korero, tikanga and kawa of Ngāti Whātua Orākei and my previous involvement in a similar application by the then called Transit NZ in 2007 that was not supported by Council Commissioners. I attach that decision at Appendix A.

SUMMARY 3. The key points of my statement of evidence are as follows;

(a) Ngāti Whātua Orākei is an with mana whenua status for the and Mangere area and acknowledges and respects also the ahi kaa and mana whenua status of various Waiohua iwi, namely, Te Kawerau a Maki, Ngati Te Ata, Te Akitai, Ngati Tamaoho, Ngai Tai ki Tamaki and Waikato-Tainui to whom we are very closely related. (b) Ngāti Whātua Orākei has a deep and ongoing connection to Te Tō Waka, Te Papapa, the and Onehunga area. (c) Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers that the East-West Link as proposed by NZTA does not adequately provide for as a matter of national importance the relationship of Ngāti Whātua Orākei to Te Tō Waka, Te Papapa, the Mangere Inlet and the Onehunga area as required at section 6 (e) of the RMA91. (d) Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers that the proposed East-West Link and NZTA prevents Ngāti Whātua Orākei’s ability to adequately practice kaitiakitanga which must be provided for at section 7(a) of the RMA91. (e) Ngāti Whātua Orākei in 2006 made submissions against a similar proposal from Transit (now NZTA) along with over 100 other submitters. This proposal was heard by an Independent Panel of Commissioners which was ultimately not supported. The current proposal should be rejected. (f) Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers that receiving a similar project with further and additional negative impacts on the Mangere Inlet is not consistent with the principles of the that requires the Crown to act in good faith and a duty to actively protect Maori interests including taonga.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS 4. I hold a bachelors degree in Geography and Maori from the University of Auckland and guest lecture in various departments there and at AUT on Maori urban planning, design and media matters. I established the Ngāti Whātua Orākei Heritage and Planning unit in 1998 and led it until 2011. I am an elected representative on the Ngāti Whatua Orakei Trust and am authorised to speak for and on behalf of the tribe on this matter.

CODE OF CONDUCT 5. I confirm that I have read the Expert Witness Code of Conduct set out in the Environment Court’s Practice Note 2014. I have complied with the Code of Conduct in preparing this evidence. Except where I state that I am relying on the evidence of another person, this evidence is within the area of my expertise. I have not omitted to consider material facts known to me that might alter or detract from the opinions expressed in this evidence. As stated in [4], this evidence is on behalf of Ngāti Whātua Orākei Trust and is not, in that sense, independent. However I am aware that only mana whenua can give evidence as to effects on their cultural values, traditions and relationships, in accordance with tikanga. This is reflected in Policy 2 NZCPS.1

NGATI WHATUA ORAKEI - RELATIONSHIP TO ONEHUNGA AREA 6. Ngāti Whātua Orākei have direct associations with the Onehunga area stretching back to the time of the Te Taou/Ngati Whatua invasion and occupation of Tamaki in the mid-17th century. The genealogical links to the earlier occupation groups that were created through the marriages with Waiohua enables Ngāti Whātua to connect to the entire length of the Maori occupation of the Onehunga area.

7. Onehunga and its surrounding land and waterways cannot be seen in isolation but as one ‘township’/resource hub in a Tamaki cityscape of often connected kāinga and use sites. The , in which Onehunga is located, has been long settled by Maori. The ancestral waka Tainui made the crossing via the portage from the Waitemata at Te Tō Waka, entering the Manukau near Otahuhu and ever since it has been a pathway for people crossing the isthmus or coming to Tamaki via portages from the Waikato.

8. The rich marine resources of the Manukau, particularly fish such as kanae/mullet and pioke/dog-shark and shellfish such as pipi, tuatua, tuangi/cockle and tio/oyster have sustained generations of tangata whenua.

9. The name Onehunga itself has been identified as having several different possible meanings. The most popular translation is ‘friable earth’ in relation to the fertile volcanic soils of the area. There were extensive kumara plantations there into the 1840s.

10. A less favoured translation is the ‘Place of Burials’ as the numerous lava caves in the vicinity were used for interment. One-unga – or a place where canoes hauled up is another name

1 Policy 2 includes: “..(b) involve iwi authorities or hapū on behalf of tangata whenua in the preparation of regional policy statements, and plans, by undertaking effective consultation with tangata whenua; with such consultation to be early, meaningful, and as far as practicable in accordance with tikanga Māori; (c) with the consent of tangata whenua and as far as practicable in accordance with tikanga Māori, incorporate mātauranga Māori1 in regional policy statements, in plans, and in the consideration of applications for resource consents, notices of requirement for designation and private plan changes..”

reflecting the location of Onehunga proper and the beach which was destroyed by the first edition of State Highway 20 in 1977.

11. Te Hopua a Rangi is the crater once inundated by the sea then used as a Council rubbish tip and in-filled in the 1930s, now known as Gloucester Park and bisected by the motorway. The tuff ring has a mix of office, light industrial and commercial buildings. The evidence of Te Akitai Waiohua Iwi Authority attests to the high importance of this geological and cultural feature.

12. This volcano, along with the others of Tamaki, is said to be created by powerful tohunga from Waitakere looking to destroy a war party from Hunua. The conflict was provoked by the illicit love affair between a girl of their people, Hinemairangi, and Tamaireia of Waitakere. The tohunga released the volcanic forces of the earth controlled by the unborn god child Ruaumoko, restless within the womb of his earth mother Papatuanuku.

13. These traditions reflect tribal cosmological beliefs and explain the environment Ngāti Whātua Orākei ancestors and their descendants have encountered. They link ancestral names and events to landscapes and provide an unbroken association with the formation of Tamaki Makaurau and its many generations of ongoing human occupation. They also reflect the spiritual nature of the volcanoes – associated with the actions of the gods themselves and the very body of our earth parent.

14. Onehunga was blessed with fresh water sources and the multiple springs that well up from the volcanic rock are still used by industries today. The spring on the corner of Princes St and Spring St had been a favourite watering place of the all Iwi and early settlers alike.

15. Waihihi is the name of a land block of 163 acres at Onehunga ‘encompassing all the most valuable land in the town’ who Thomas Jackson claimed to have purchased from Wiremu Hopihona. Waihihi is also the name for the water ‘boiling out’ of the springs on the north- east edge of Te Hopua a Rangi which still flow today.

16. Te Papapa, or ‘The fortress built with rock slabs’ refers to the district between Penrose and Onehunga. 17. Waikaraka or “Waters of the karaka tree” became the location of the cemetery on the shores of the Manukau Harbour to the east of Onehunga. The bay there has since been reclaimed and is now known as Waikaraka Park.

18. After the death of our eponymous ancestor Tuperiri about 1795, Ngāti Whātua in Tamaki changed their pattern of settlement, coming down from the heights of Maungakiekie and establishing themselves in coastal kainga such as at Onehunga, with seasonal movement related to resource use.

19. Between 1820 and 1840, the two principal places of residence were Mangere and Onehunga which together formed the two halves of a site complex. Each section of the Mangere- Onehunga complex was separately backed by hundreds of acres of light, productive soils, enabling depleted garden plots to be continuously re-located adjacent to the main settlement.

20. A short waka crossing connected the two halves of the ‘complex’ but at that time movement between them at low tide by foot was also possible.

21. Ngāti Whātua Orākei would locate themselves at Onehunga and Mangere in autumn and winter and soon after Matariki, garden work for a new cultivation season would begin in the gardens of the main settlement sites. The people probably lived predominantly on stored food but may have carried out some fishing and shellfish gathering.

22. In the early spring small work parties would move out from the main Onehunga-Mangere kainga to plant “fishing gardens” along the shores of the Waitemata and Manukau, designed to provide food for larger groups in the summer fishing season ahead.

23. By the beginning of summer all new season’s clearings had been planted and full attention turned to fishing. A major dispersal of the population from the main sites occurred along a summer fishing, shark fishing, and sea food gathering circuit, which available indications suggest to have moved methodically through each of the harbour fishing grounds in turn, digging and eating the previously planted and now matured crops of the fishing gardens at a sequence of stations, while the work of getting fish went on.

24. During the summer fishing dispersals only a small caretaker population remained at the main settlements at Mangere and Onehunga to tend pigs and to weed main crop gardens.

25. The end of the full-time summer fishing season came when they moved down harbour from the upper Waitemata around February and returning to their main and subsidiary settlements at Mangere, Onehunga and the vicinity of Orakei to do a little more part-time fishing, to finish drying the fish catches and probably to engage in a number of minor food- getting activities, including the gathering of karaka berries for winter use. Work would then begin on lifting and storing the year’s main kumara and potato crops completing the year’s work2.

26. When Rev Samuel Marsden was travelling from Panmure (Mokoia) to Onehunga on the Manukau, Te Kawau the Chief of Ngāti Whātua provided him with a waka with which to explore. Apihai Te Kawau describes being born at Ihumatao and going backwards and forwards between there, Onehunga and Orakei whilst growing up.

27. Around October of 1837 Ngati Mahuta (also Tainui) under the ariki Potatau Te Wherowhero established themselves at Mangere-Onehunga on land offered to them to share by Ngati Whatua.

28. John Logan Campbell’s account of his first visit to the Ngāti Whātua Kainga at Onehunga is described as thus; “Underneath us [from the base of Maungakiekie], away at the foot of the slope which stretched from where we stood to the shore, close to the beach we could see the blue smoke rising from the native settlement. We walked slowly down the winding, sloping footpath...As we neared the settlement we walked through a large kumara plantation, and upon coming near the huts...Our repast finished with a draught of the most exquisitely clear spring water which gushed out on the beach in a wonderful stream...”3.

29. In the years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, Onehunga was a busy trading port which received large amounts of Maori goods from the Manukau and Waikato to supply the developing city of Auckland. Ngāti Whātua Orākei were major players in this economy.

2 Dr Malcolm Patterson , 2008, Ngati Whatua o Orakei Heritage Report for State Highway 20; Transit Manukau Harbour Crossing.

3 Campbell, J. Poenamo. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd, New Zealand. 1953. Pages 60-61.

30. Onehunga land was ‘bought’ from Ngāti Whātua Orākei during the period of the so-called ‘Fitzroy waivers’ (1844-5) when settlers could purchase land directly from Maori vendors, itself a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. When these transactions were later examined by land commissioners appointed by the next Governor (Grey), the sale of only 8 acres was upheld. Of the remainder, 723 acres became Crown land and a further 575 was also kept by the Crown as defence land - none was made available to its original owners. This despite the requirement under the waiver system that 10% of the land sold was to be kept aside for the benefit of its Maori owners. This historic grievance was settled with Ngāti Whātua Orākei in 2012.

31. The land acquired by the Crown formed the basis for the development of Onehunga from 1847 as a ‘fencible’ settlement, populated by former soldiers who were expected to be available for operations against Maori as anticipated by the dubious perception of the threat of attack from iwi outside of Auckland.

32. The position of tangata whenua deteriorated further in 1863 when the Government invaded the Waikato. Governor George Grey required all Maori around the Manukau and in South Auckland to sign an oath of allegiance to the Crown and wear a badge identifying themselves as ‘friendly’.

33. It was at this time that the Onehunga and Auckland Naval Volunteers combined to comb the waterways of the Manukau for Maori vessels. The famed war canoe, Te Toki-a-Tapiri was seized and left to rot at Onehunga before being rescued by Paora Tuhaere of Ngati Whatua. The waka is on display in the Auckland Museum today.

34. The above account clearly illustrates the settler-led process through which the Maori of Onehunga, including Ngāti Whātua Orākei, were reduced and displaced from their position as mana whenua / tangata whenua, and New Zealand citizens as affirmed through the Treaty, to being viewed as outsiders, a potential threat to the Pakeha dominated town who must be suppressed and ultimately punished. The destruction of the Maori way of life was furthered by more than a century of spoiling of the harbour by industrial, sewerage, farm and domestic waste, as well as land reclamation, that damaged the shellfish beds and left the waters and marine resources of the Manukau polluted. From then until now the people comprising Ngāti Whātua Orākei have striven to have the promises made to them by the Crown honoured, to have their relationships with their ancestral lands supported and to be empowered to fulfil their role as tangata whenua and kaitiaki in the city.

THE INTERESTS OF NGATI WHATUA 35. The ancestral and ongoing relationship of Ngāti Whātua Orākei with land and coastal waters in the project area is a matter of national importance which must be recognised and provided for in terms of RMA s.6(e).

36. Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers that the construction of a highway along the waterfront adjacent to and into the Mangere Inlet and Manukau Harbour further negatively affects its relationship to its ancestral lands at Te Papapa, Waikaraka and Onehunga.

37. Ngāti Whātua Orākei knows well the deleterious effects of roading projects on communities given Tamaki Drive severed our connection with Okahu Bay and the Waitemata in 1932. Tamaki Drive is an immense barrier to the enjoyment of the natural and cultural values of Okahu Bay. The road effectively acts as a bund for storm water and regularly floods the former village and urupa. Pedestrian and cyclist safety is severely compromised with many unreported near misses with vehicles and near misses between cyclists and pedestrians as they compete for the little space afforded to them. The unnatural modification to the beach form has also exacerbated beach erosion and reduced the amenity and recreational values. The Bay never sleeps and those buried in the urupa never rest with the 24/7 noise of a major road.

38. The East-West link cuts off the future potential for Ngāti Whātua Orākei and the wider public to enjoy access to the Mangere Inlet without the disruption, noise pollution, air pollution and the general stress and anxiety that accompanies large roading infrastructure for residents, workers and recreational users. The opportunity for genuine coastal restoration and public access to at least this urban part of the Manukau should be preserved for future generations.

39. Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers the impact on Waikaraka Cemetery to be significant and the mitigation recommended by Mr McIndoe and Mr Brown of a bund, as an attempt to mitigate the visual effects of a foreshore road, to be unsatisfactory. 40. Andrew Brown, our Ngāti Whātua Orākei planner has highlighted the real concerns of both the iwi and with respect to the viability and credibility of NZTA’s assertion it can successfully treat storm water and prevent landfill leachate from entering the Manukau via the proposed reclamations. Ngāti Whātua Orākei is not prepared to gamble that leachates and storm water can be effectively treated via significant reclamations in the coastal marine area in return for a highway that compromises future access to the harbour while delivering limited economic and social outcomes for the community.

41. Further Ng Ngāti Whātua Orākei along with other iwi of wider Tamaki are yet to begin negotiations with the Crown on outstanding claims and grievances to the Manukau Harbour. On behalf of Ngāti Whātua Orākei I recently lodged an application under the Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011 to formerly identify and seek to have our customary interests in the Mangere Inlet and Onehunga foreshore recognised. We intend pursuing these interests directly with the Minister For Treaty Negotiations and potentially through the High Court.

42. Ngāti Whātua Orākei does not support therefore significant reclamation by the Crown to the coastal marine area over which we are currently pursuing our customary rights in. Further we do not support such reclamations of an area where our customary claims have yet to be heard, to a highway that has not clearly demonstrated functional need and appropriateness to be built in the coastal marine area and for which there is no evidence demonstrating that the effects of leachate and storm water pollution can actually be properly addressed.

43. Te Hopua a Rangi – In 2007 the Auckland City Council Commissioners did not support the Notice Of Requirement from the then Transit in part because of its impacts on Te Hopua a Rangi4. They recommended the removal of the overbridge from the project.

44. Since 2007 Te Hopua a Rangi’s conservation status has strengthened and it is now protected as an ‘Outstanding Natural Feature’ in the Unitary Plan.

45. This time the adverse effects are much greater. In addition to retaining the overbridge, the project further disconnects the community from the harbour and port; the definition of the

4 Auckland City Council Commissioners Recommendation To Transit New Zealand on the Notice of Requirement for a New Motorway Designation in Relation to the State Highway 20 Manukau Harbour Crossing Project, June 2007. Para 14, Pg 7.

outside walls and old coastline of Te Hopua to the east are erased with roads; and the motorway within the crater is widened (once again) to incorporate the duplication of roading on Neilson Street and the foreshore which we see as inefficient use of natural and physical resources.

46. The evidence of Auckland Council Archaeologist Myfanwy Eaves at 8.2 (b) notes the south side of the southern part of the tuff ring will be excavated for the road and that; In addition at this location (a), all unknown Māori and European sites will be damaged or destroyed. It is a common phenomenon that the area around a trading centre or port produces numerous ancillary activities and evidence for these may remain subsurface or within with former seabed. Moreover, as Te Hopua was a site of Māori use and occupation, there is potential for even earlier material to be preserved;

47. In 2007 we did not support the NOR given the physical and cultural impacts on Te Hopua and we additionally rejected any offers of artwork as mitigation. In 2017 we find that the proposed NOR has even greater impacts on the physical and cultural integrity of Te Hopua and again we reject the proposal and any proposed artworks and interpretation as any form of meaningful mitigation. We also do not consider that the proposed 70 metre wide road crossing over Onehunga Harbour Road to the port mitigates effects of the project on Te Hopua.

48. Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers that the proposed East-West Link and NZTA prevents Ngāti Whātua Orākei’s ability to adequately practice kaitiakitanga, which must be given particular regard under s7(a) of the RMA91. The Ngati Whatua Orakei Trust is guided by a Kaitiakitanga Framework and describes Kaitiakitanga as; a principle derived from our Rangatiratanga and demands that we have a reciprocal and balanced relationship with our natural world and resources and with each other. Everything is inter-related and dependent on each other. If the land and sea is polluted then the health of the people will be affected as will the mana of the iwi. The perpetuation of our whakapapa and culture is paramount and without a healthy environment that can sustain our population our society as with others are under threat.5

5 Ngati Whatua Orakei Trust, 2017, Ko Te Pukaki – A Kaitiakitanga Framework for the Ngati Whatua Orakei Group

49. Ngāti Whātua Orākei believes the East-West Link does not encourage greater community cohesion but further reinforces to the broader Onehunga, Te Papapa, Penrose and One Tree Hill communities that their needs are secondary to the operation of a highway. Onehunga had their beaches destroyed and replaced by inferior man made pubic spaces. The opportunity for sensitive future development along the Mangere Inlet that meaningfully reconnects the public with the moana will be prevented.

50. The 2007 NOR decision noted ‘that submitters had considered that Transit had focussed exclusively upon the operational needs of the state highway network at the expense of the community that this portion passes through’6. It is our view that nothing has changed with the approach of NZTA and it once again does not adequately address the wider impact of the highway on the surrounding communities.

51. Ngati Whatua Orakei Engagement and Consultation – The NZTA Report by Amelia Linzey titled Cultural Values (and Engagement) notes that Ngāti Whātua Orākei were represented on a ‘Mana Whenua Project Group’. I am unaware of any formal correspondence from Ngāti Whātua Orākei that indicates any level of support for the project arising out of any attendances at these meetings. It is important to note that Ngāti Whātua Orākei’s attendance or otherwise or the receiving of project information solicited or otherwise cannot amount to any level of support for the project.

52. I personally attended one ‘Mana Whenua Governance’ meeting in 2016 for approximately 35 minutes. I left having satisfied myself that the group governed nothing and had no Terms of Reference that gave it any mana whatsoever other than to receive information should one wish for it. The group also included numerous Iwi organisations with tenuous cultural connections to Onehunga.

53. Ngāti Whātua Orākei considers that receiving a similar project rejected by the community and unsupported by the Commissioners 10 years ago with further and additional negative impacts on the Mangere inlet is not consistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi that requires the Crown to act in good faith and a duty to actively protect Maori interests.

6 Auckland City Council Commissioners Recommendation To Transit New Zealand on the Notice of Requirement for a New Motorway Designation in Relation to the State Highway 20 Manukau Harbour Crossing Project, June 2007. Para 16:Pg 3.

54. It is disappointing to Ngāti Whātua Orākei to again have to submit against an NOR from the Crown that will compound the negative impacts of SH20 at Onehunga which we thought had been prevented 10 years ago. The 2017 version of the project is worse given the greater impacts on Te Hopua a Rangi and proposal to build a highway on the Mangere Waterfront, including reclamation in the Manukau Harbour. It is a very backwards step to consider that despite growth in the importance of urban design and urban regeneration that 10 years later we are having to again stop a motorway project that will further disconnect our communities from their taonga the Manukau Harbour.

Ngarimu Alan Huiroa Blair

22 May 2017