Marlborough councillors have dismissed claims from commentator Duncan Garner that their recognition of an iwi environment plan is evidence of "co-governance creep" happening "by stealth".
Garner’s comments came up at the council's environment and planning committee meeting on Thursday, where councillors unanimously voted to recognise Ngāti Kuia’s iwi environmental management plan, Ngā Kanohi Kārearea.
The plans set out an iwi's values and priorities for resource management in their whenua. Under the Resource Management Act, councils had to take these documents into account when making planning decisions.
Ngā Kanohi Kārearea focused on the preservation of the natural environment, and protection and restoration of pakohe archaeological sites, and traditional food gathering sites.
Garner, speaking on his podcast Editor in Chief in a video uploaded to YouTube on March 10, claimed that the council’s recognition of the iwi's plan was an example of "co-governance creep" that was "happening by stealth".
"[The plan is] framed as Treaty responsibility. That's what it's framed as, and that's the play," Garner said.
"That's where the action, that's where the power, and... the control is. [It does] not come across as partnership, doesn't come across as consultation, it's governance."
Ngāti Kuia chief executive Eugene Whakahoehoe told Local Democracy Reporting that Garner's interpretation of the plan's role and function was "fundamentally flawed".
"Duncan's analysis is light, and the whole piece is a blatant attempt to create division and dramatise a very normal occurrence."
Presenting an iwi environmental management plan to councils was a legislative requirement, he said.
"The planning process in councils is difficult and complex. Tools such as the IEMP (Iwi Environmental Management Plan) must be fit for purpose and address the complexity of planning."
"This IEMP consists of words, phrases, rules and conventions that have specific meaning and relate directly to legislation for resource management and Treaty settlements."
During the podcast, Garner said the "encoded language" of the planning document reached beyond advocating for environmental protection, to embedding iwi influence into statutory planning processes.
"If you claim this is simply about caring for an area, then why seek formalised power structures?" he said.
"Responsibility doesn't require control, control requires power, seeking control requires power. And power, whether we like it or not, creates division when it's allocated by ancestry rather than citizenship."
While he acknowledged the council were legally obligated to negotiate resource management with iwi, Garner claimed the council was trying to hide the planning document to avoid a public debate.
"Councils, they're not too keen for us to know about this and they’re not too keen for hordes of people to show up with pickets and pitchforks."
Garner encouraged listeners to attend the committee meeting last week and ask their councillors where they stood.
However, there were no members of the public in the council chamber when the plan was presented to councillors.
Councillor Barbara Faulls thanked the staff member who presented the plan, and added that she was aware of Garner's video.
The council would use the planning document as part of its partnership with iwi, just as it did with other community groups, she said.
“We shouldn’t be afraid these documents... this is all about stewardship, it is about guardianship, kaitiakitanga," Faulls said.
“These are aspirations that all of us should have for our district, not just iwi.”
Faulls said the council had not tried to hide the acknowledgement of the document.
"This is an open meeting, [and] it's all available online. It’s not stealth or dishonesty, it’s all out there for anyone to see."
Councillor Sally Arbuckle said this was not the first iwi plan the council had acknowledged.
“There are eight iwi that we speak with in regard to our environment, and they all, in their own way, should have a say in what our environment looks like. They are all part of our community,” Arbuckle said.
Councillor Gerald Hope said he thought the plan was "well structured", but he wanted to be realistic about enacting the plan’s goals.
“We can only do so much, so I don’t want to see expectations raised across any iwi grouping or across the region, it’s a long-term investment," Hope said.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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