MĀORI OWNERSHIP of FRESHWATER: Legal Paradox Or Potential?

MĀORI OWNERSHIP OF FRESHWATER: Legal Paradox or Potential?

MAIA MOANA ELIZABETH WIKAIRA

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Bachelor of Laws (Honours), at the University of Otago - Te Whare Wānanga o Otākou

October 2010 HE MIHI - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

E iti noa ana, nā te aroha

To Jacinta, I owe you a great deal of gratitude, not least for the support you have given me

this year in producing a piece of work of which I am truly proud. You have taken me on a

legal education the value of which far exceeds its four short years. You are a pillar of

strength, and a pou whirinaki for all tauira Māori who come through law at Otago. I am

honoured to have spent my time under your tutelage.

E te wahine rangatira, aku mihi maioha ki a koe.

To Ethan, kore rawa ngā mihi aroha e mutu e taku tau.

Thank you for the love and support you have given me this year.

To Julia, Danielle, Laura and Carolyn, thanks for being

fantastic flatmates during this busy year.

Lastly to my whānau - Mum, Dad, James and Matiu - nei rā te mihi ki a koutou mō tō koutou aroha, tō koutou āwhina, tō koutou tautoko i ahau kia whai haere i ngā iti kahurangi o tēnei ao. I am truly fortunate to have the best whānau in the world. Ki ōku tungāne, thank you for the laughs and the memories. E mā, e pā, you are my inspiration in everything that I do, and I will never

be able to thank you enough for everything you have given me over the years.

I dedicate this tuhinga roa to you.

Nāku noa, nā Maia

Ko Tongariro te maunga, ko Tongariro te awa, ko Taupō-nui-a-Tia te moana, ko Ngāti Tūwharetoa te iwi, ā, ko Te Heuheu tonu te tangata. Ko tēnei te mihi ki te hau kainga; koutou te mana whenua, koutou ngā kaitiaki e manaaki ana i ngā wai Māori o tōku rohe, o Tūwharetoa.

Ko te wai Māori he taonga tuku iho, kāore he take tua atu i tēnei: ki te kore te wai, matemate katoa tātou. Nō hea tēnei kupu? ‘Mā ori’ – ‘mā ori ori’: i heke mai te wai i te rangi, i a Ranginui, ki runga i a Papatūānuku.

Freshwater is a treasure that has been passed down to us, there is no more important issue: if there is no water, we all die. Where does this word "Ma ori" come from? It encapsulates the continual descent of water from Ranginui, the Sky Father, to Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother.

Lennie Johns - Ngāti Tūwharetoa

Karakia Mihimihi Wai Ora: Report of the Sustainable Water Programme of Action Consultation Hui Taupō Hui 4 March 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

He Mihi - Acknowledgements...... i

He kōrero kīnaki nō Tūwharetoa...... ii

Table of Contents...... iii

INTRODUCTION...... 1

CHAPTER ONE: AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND’S CURRENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR

FRESHWATER...... 4

Opportunities for Māori participation in freshwater management...... 5

Current Māori participation in freshwater management...... 8

CHAPTER TWO: ‘A NEW START FOR FRESHWATER’ CHALLENGES AND

OPPORTUNITIES...... 13

Freshwater Reform...... 14

Who owns freshwater in Aotearoa/New Zealand?...... 15

CHAPTER THREE: A TIKANGA MĀORI APPROACH TO FRESHWATER...... 18

Tikanga Māori: A Māori legal system...... 18

Tikanga Taiao: Tikanga Māori and the Environment...... 19

Tikanga Wai Māori: A tikanga Māori approach to Freshwater...... 20

(a) Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au - I am the river, the river is me: Identity...... 20

iii

(b) Ngā Uaratanga: Values...... 23

CHAPTER FOUR: ‘OWNERSHIP’ AND ITS MANY NUANCES...... 28

A traditional Western approach to property: man and society...... 29

Locke’s theories develop: the ‘incidents’ of ownership...... 30

Ownership and tikanga wai Māori.