BEFORE THE HEARING PANEL 30th OCT 2019 IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER of applications by Horowhenua District Council to Horizons Regional Council (MWRC) associated with APP-1996003740.01 for resource consents associated with the operation of the Levin Wastewater Treatment Plant including discharge to store treated wastewater, discharge to air and discharge treated wastewater to land at “The Pot”, Hōkio Sands Road, Levin. REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONERS DR BRENT COWIE (CHAIR), MS MIRIA POMARE AND MR PETER CALLANDER Hēni Meretini Collins - Ngāti Kikopiri 30th OCTOBER 2019 1. Ngā mihi kia koutou. My name is Hēni Collins, he uri ahau o Hape-ki-tūārangi, o Kikopiri hoki, Ngāti Huia. Our whānau is the Cook whānau, many of whom live in Otaki. I’ve been the secretary of the Ngāti Kikopiri Māori Marae Committee (society) for over ten years, and the Runanga Whaiti representative for Ngāti Kikopiri on Te Runanga o Raukawa for 5 years. I am a former journalist, a writer and researcher for our hapū and iwi, the published author of a book named “Ka Mate, Ka Ora, The Spirit of Te Rauparaha”. I have a Masters of Philosophy (Māori Studies) degree from Massey University (2004). With the support of our marae committee and the Kikopiri Marae Reservation Trustees, I’ve worked on two significant reports for our hapū in recent years - in August 2017 we completed an Oral and Traditional History report undertaken as part of our treaty claim process towards our Waitangi Tribunal hearings next year - this report included seven interviews with elders and a hapū historian; and in March 2018 we completed a Cultural Impact Assessment report on the Waiwiri catchment, supported by the Horowhenua District Council. Both of these reports were done in consultation with our neighbouring and related hapū of Ngāti Pareraukawa and Ngāti Hikitanga. While our marae (Kikopiri) is south of the lake (Papaitonga) on Muhunoa West Rd, we included our historic land north of the lake and stream in these reports. We lost the land north of the stream and lake, and the lake itself, through unjust actions of the Crown in the 1870s. 2. The Waiwiri lake and stream are important to our identity and as mahinga kai, that is, places to gather kai such as tuna (eels), and whitebait. My pepeha: Ko Tainui te waka, ko Ngāti Raukawa te iwi, ko Tararua te maunga, ko Ohau te awa, ko Waiwiri te moana, ko Ngāti Kikopiri te hapu, ko Kikopiri te marae; ko Ngāti Haumia, ko Te Arawa ōku iwi hoki. Tēnā rā koutou katoa. 3. As well as being an identifier in our pepeha as hapū members, lake Waiwiri and its stream are also wahi tapu, wahi tupuna which are significant in our history not just as a hapū, but also regionally and even nationally. Our hapu is so passionate about preserving and restoring our lake and stream that we have applied for a heritage listing with Heritage NZ. a) This was the place where Te Rauparaha’s offer of friendship to Muaupoko was betrayed by the killing of his children and cousin - his oldest son Te Rangihoungariri and his oldest daughter Te Uira, as well as his cousin and close friend Te Poa, whose son had married Te Uira. There is a dark place named Kauae Pango just south of where our Kikopiri marae stands today where their remains were later found (Muhunoa West Rd). As a hapū we are the kaitiaki or guardians of this story, this knowledge of our history. b) Te Rauparaha trained in warfare under his uncle, our tupuna Hape-ki-tuarangi. Our tupuna kuia Meretini Te Akau grew up in Te Rauparaha’s household with her grandmother, Te Rauparaha’s wife Te Akau. Other whānau of Ngāti Kikopiri are also closely related to Te Rauparaha ie they descend from Parewahawaha, his mother’s sister. A descendant of Hape’s older brother Wahineiti, Waretini Tuainuku, told the story of how Ngāti Kikopiri tupuna were involved in obtaining utu for those deaths at Lake Waiwiri, now known as lake Papaitonga. Some of those tupuna involved were his ancestor Te Ruru and Te Ruru’s brother Te Riu. By successfully defeating and taking the island pa from Muaupoko, utu was obtained for the death of Te Rauparaha’s children. It was how we earned our place there. c) So Lake Waiwiri, aka Papaitonga, was the site of both the first attack by Muaupoko and allies against Te Rauparaha and then his (and our) response, his merciless desire for utu, and from the people who had killed his children. Not a pretty story, but an important one. d) The hapū of Ngāti Kikopiri was situated there to keep alive the memories of that grievous wrong, done to young chiefs who were of both Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa - they were of Ngāti Parekohatu through Te Rauparaha’s mother, and on the side of their own mother, Marore, they were from Ngatokowaru and his senior wife Ruaioterangi. Te Poa was an uncle of Marore, and also important to Ngāti Raukawa. Te Ahukaramu and Tuainuku were some of the first Ngāti Kikopiri (Ngati Huia) chiefs who lived there. These are stories we’re sharing with Heritage New Zealand in our application for a wahi tapu status for the Waiwiri lake and stream, which has been supported by Ngāti Toarangatira. As kaitiaki we care deeply about preserving the lake and stream, in a way which honours our tupuna. 4. Lake Waiwiri and the Muhunoa area were hugely resourceful in pre-European times, with great forests stretching to the Tararua maunga (peaks were Pukemoremore and Hanga-o- hia-tangata), plentiful tuna (eels), whitebait, mudfish, kokopu and kākahi in the lake and stream. The forest itself offered plenty of birds, berries and timber for waka and whare. Wetlands - the Reparoa and Tutoa wetlands between the lake and the coast were also significant for resources including tuna (eels), hauhau (mudfish), kokopu, inanga and harakeke. The drainage of wetlands is a grievance which affected our mahinga kai. Plentiful kaimoana were found at the coast, eg toheroa, but now few are seen. a) Our southern boundary was the Ohau river. Our northern boundary was at Rakauhamama lagoon, about 50 chains north of the Waiwiri stream and east along a line agreed between Te Whatanui and Te Rangihaeata, the Mahoenui boundary, north of Mahoenui kainga. The Waiwiri stream was an important mahinga kai, a place to gather food. We had nine pā tuna (eel weirs) on the Waiwiri stream - each had a name, and a chief associated with it. The four Ngāti Raukawa hapū living north of the Waiwiri stream were Ngāti Parekohatu, Ngāti Pareraukawa, Ngāti Hikitanga and Ngāti Kahoro. These hapū lived together but had separate mahinga, cultivation areas and pā tuna. Two of these descend from Kikopiri - Ngāti Pareraukawa & Ngāti Hikitanga. Today they have independent identities but acknowledge their connection to Ngāti Kikopiri. There was a kainga near the mouth of the Waiwiri, and there are “native graves” at the south of the Waiwiri stream mouth marked on a map. b) After our people had occupied it for over 40 years the land was wrongfully given to the Crown’s allies, Muaupoko, by the Native Land Court in 1873. Our tupuna fought to retain it. When Muaupoko occupied by force, our tupuna took up arms to defend it. Our houses were burnt down by our opponents. Our tupuna then, after being persuaded into a deal in 1874 on the promise of reserves, “between lake Papaitonga and the sea”, fought for decades in the court to obtain those reserves. After many petitions from our hapū, led by Te Aohou Nicholson and Kipā Te Whatanui, in 1898 a block of 200 acres was eventually awarded to the four hapū along both sides of the Waiwiri stream. The court agreed that the land had been wrongfully taken, but awarded back only a small portion of that taken. The petitions show how strongly our tupuna felt about their land alongside the Waiwiri stream, and the stream itself. 5. At a workshop with DOC in Nov 2017, we developed the following statement: “Our hapū and community take pride as active kaitiaki in the healthy Waiwiri catchment and whenua. The pristine, beautiful lake and streams are our food baskets and ecological taonga for ourselves, future generations and to manaaki manuhiri.” a) Some of the reasons the lake has become degraded are due to sediment run-off, too many bores in the catchment, housing developments near the lake and commercial fishing of the eels over a number of years, permitted by the Crown. In the Waiwiri stream there are also depleted eel stocks, low water levels and degraded water quality. b) We understand and appreciate that some concessions have been made by the Horowhenua District Council, for example the development of a new wetland, to help absorb and filter toxins; and greater involvement by our hapu and iwi in the decision making process - but we also want to see changes which ensure that any water running into the Waiwiri stream is clean enough so that our people can be assured its OK to eat kai from it. Preferably clean enough to drink. i. We want to see the waste-water cleaned up as much as possible before it reaches the Pot, ii. Spread the waste-water over more land, 250 ha + iii. More filtering to protect the stream. iv. No drains should directly enter the Waiwiri stream. v. We want as much fencing and planting as possible on the whole length of the stream, with cattle kept away from it.