Draft Joint Management Agreement with Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board

This is a legal agreement between the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board and Taupō District Council to work collaboratively to protect and restore Lake Taupō (Taupō Moana) and the Upper Waikato River, ensuring they are thriving and healthy, sustaining abundant life and prosperous communities. This JMA covers activities that the council is responsible for as they relate to these waterways.

Restoring and protecting these waterways benefits everyone in the community. The JMA is also a legal obligation under the Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010 (also known as the Upper Waikato River Act 2010), which mandates agreements between local authorities and Waikato River iwi trusts.

Taupō Moana and the Upper Waikato River are thriving and healthy, sustaining abundant life and prosperous communities who, in turn, are all responsible for restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of those waterways, encompassing cultural, environmental, social, economic and spiritual factors for future generations.

The JMA fosters lasting relationships by enabling both parties to work together better so Council can continue to deliver services and infrastructure to the community. Together, we are committed to protecting and restoring Lake Taupō and the Upper Waikato River for future generations.

Mandatory processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA) for the Upper Waikato River and for Lake Taupō, as agreed by both parties, such as:

• Resource consent assessment
• Monitoring and enforcement
• District Plan development and changes
• Enabling customary activities.

Additional matters will be included if both parties agree. These are proposed to include:

• Working together on advocacy to other organisations
• Building the capability and understanding within the two organisations
• Discussing common areas of interest in economic development and investment opportunities
• Collaborating on the delivery of infrastructure
• Three-year work plans setting out projects both parties want to work on together.

Taupō District Council and Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board will collaborate as required by the legislation on a variety of matters such as:

• Resource consent assessment
• Monitoring and enforcement
• District Plan development and changes
• Enabling customary activities
• Working together on projects that protect and enhance Taupo Moana and the Waikato River.
• Coordinated responses to environmental issues.

The JMA covers Lake Taupō and its tributaries and the Upper Waikato River and its tributaries.

It will only apply to activities that directly affect or are likely to affect the waterways that this JMA sets out to protect.

• Stronger together – Taupō District Council, as the local authority, and Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board as the legally-mandated representative of Ngāti Tūwharetoa under the Act, who are mana whenua and owners of most of the beds of these waterways, are working together for the benefit of all.
• Environmental – Protects and restores the health of the lake and rivers.
• Community – Strengthens relationships and ensures a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone to enjoy now and into the future.
• Ecological – Protects fish, plant, and animal life and ecosystems
• Spiritual – Restores mauri, strengthening the relationship that Ngāti Tūwharetoa has with their moana and awa
• Economic – Clean waterways support tourism, industry, and employment
• Health – Safe water sustains mahinga kai and public wellbeing.

Regular updates will be shared through media, social media, newsletters, and both organisations’ websites to ensure transparency and engagement.

Engagement opportunities - such as restoration projects and education initiatives - will be developed to encourage community participation. The details are still being finalised.

No. We will continue to meet legal obligations under the Resource Management Act 1991.

The primary cost has been staff time from both organisations, alongside legal support for drafting the agreement and a project manager.

Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board works with the Waikato Regional Council under similar partnership models, and TDC has similar arrangements with other Waikato River iwi.

The Lake Taupō Protection Project, established in 2001, united Taupō District Council, Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, Waikato Regional Council, and the Crown to protect the lake. It introduced land-use rules to limit nitrogen discharge and safeguard water quality. The JMA builds on these foundations.

The community can expect to see positive changes in restoration and protection efforts. For most residents, the JMA won’t change daily life, but it reinforces the shared responsibility for protecting our waterways.

Public recreational access to Lake Taupō, such as swimming and boating, remains protected under the Taupō-nui-a-Tia Management Plan.

While the council could manage these responsibilities independently, protecting and restoring the environment is a shared responsibility. Ngāti Tūwharetoa, as mana whenua and legal owners of the beds of Lake Taupō, the Upper Waikato River, and many of the tributaries, have both the cultural and legal right to be involved.

The council represents the broader community and is required, under legislation, to prepare plans, assess resource consent applications and undertake monitoring and enforcement to manage natural and physical resources in the district. A collaborative approach ensures decisions are holistic, well-informed, and grounded in shared responsibility, leading to more effective, long-term protection and restoration.

• Both joint management agreements will operate side by side, but come from different legislation and have different purposes and outcomes.
• In 2009 Council and the Trust Board signed a joint management agreement. That was developed voluntarily under the Resource Management Act and specifically relates to notified resource consent applications or private plan changes on or affecting multiply owned Māori land. Assuming that a hearing is required, the applicant can opt to have a hearing panel that is made up of a combination of commissioners appointed by Council and the Tuwharetoa Māori Trust Board.
• In contrast the joint management agreement that Council and the Trust Board are currently developing is required under the Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010. The purpose of this new joint management agreement is to better enable the Trust Board to be involved in Council’s work to help protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River.

• It makes sense to look at all of the water and land holistically, especially as what happens on land can impact waterways; and water from the tributaries flows into Lake Taupō and ultimately into the Waikato River.
• The joint management agreement must cover the Waikato River and its wider catchment.
• However, in developing the agreement Council and the Trust Board have acknowledged that what happens to Lake Taupō ultimately impacts on the Waikato River.

• No. This agreement is about co-management where the parties will work together to ensure that the services and infrastructure that Council delivers don’t adversely impact on Lake Taupō and the Upper Waikato River.
• The agreement does not transfer decision making from Council to the Trust Board and it doesn’t create shared decision making. Although Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board will be able to provide input to Council to consider when making decisions, Council will continue to be the final decision maker on what work is done, when and what the budget is.
• This is about helping improve Council’s decision making and ensuring that the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River and Lake Taupo continue to be front of mind. The intention is that when Council is delivering services and infrastructure for the community, it does so with a good understanding of and taking into account the values which are important to Ngāti Tūwharetoa.

• The agreement is focused on how Council and the Trust Board work together on the services and infrastructure Council delivers for the community.
• Council intends to comply with the JMA through its existing budgets, which are set out in our Long-term Plan. If extra funding is needed in the future, then that decision would be made by councillors as part of a Long-term Plan or Annual Plan process.
• Council already works constructively with the Trust Board on processes like changes to the District Plan and options for the delivery of some infrastructure. The joint management agreement will mean working closer together on more projects. This should ultimately deliver better long-term outcomes for the community and the environment.
• There are times when Council must deliver projects to meet legislative or regulatory requirements. Where we need to, the engagement processes between Council and the Trust Board will be tailored to reflect the need to get work done in a set timeframe.

• No, the process for a resource consent applicant remains the same as it is now under the District Plan and the Resource Management Act. There won’t be any additional need for consultation or cultural impact assessments compared to the existing situation.
• The joint management agreement sets out the process that Council’s resource consents team already follow to assess resource consent applications. By setting the process out in the JMA we can ensure a consistent application even if we have a change in staff.

Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board gave notice to Council in 2020 that it wished to establish a JMA, triggering an 18-month timeframe for its development as per the Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010 .

After Covid-19 pandemic-related delays, negotiation resumed in late 2024. In September 2024, Council agreed to complete the JMA by 30 June 2025. This is nearly five years since the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board first gave notice.

• Both Council and the Trust Board have interests in the general economic development of the district. It's sensible to have conversations where we can share information and combine resources for the betterment of the wider community.
• Where there might be specific investment opportunities Council and the Trust Board might talk, like Council would with anyone looking to invest in the district.
• However, any conversations will be managed to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure that there is a level playing field for all parties.

Yes, there is already an existing opportunity for Council and the Trust Board to discuss transferring any Resource Management functions under section 33 of the Resource Management Act. If Council decides to consider a possible transfer in the future, then there would need to be a public consultation process prior to a decision being made.

• No there will be no transfer of powers or responsibilities as a result of the joint management agreement.
• Council will continue to be responsible for delivering the services and infrastructure to the community.
• All decisions about what work is done on behalf of the community, how much it cost and how it is funded will continue to be made by Council.

• Yes, we signed joint management agreements with Raukawa in 2013 and Te Arawa River Iwi Trust in 2017, under the same legislation as this joint management agreement.
• Both those agreements are limited to Council’s Resource Management Act functions that relate to the Waikato River and its catchment.

• Council must have a joint management agreement with the Trust Board as per the Ngati Tuwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010. We have similar agreements with Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Trust under the same legislation. The community wasn’t consulted on those agreements.
• These agreements are more about how Council works with the iwi authorities rather than dictating any particular outcome.
• There will be greater involvement of the Trust Board in Council’s planning and infrastructure projects which will in turn help Council to make better, more-informed project decisions. However, Council and the Trust Board must agree to how they will work together including the timeframes. We expect this will enable Council to continue to deliver projects on agreed timeframes and budgets for the community.
• Council will continue to make decisions about the services and infrastructure which are delivered, so there won’t be a change for the rest of the community.

• The agreement will be subject to review after five years but there is an opportunity to bring that forward if some parts are not working as intended.
• We also expect changes in legislation in the next year that will trigger the need to review the relevant parts of the agreement.
• Finally, if the parts of the agreement that go beyond the mandatory requirements are having unintended consequences there is a process for Council and the Trust Board to review them and, if absolutely necessary, they can be removed from the agreement.