First draft Joint Management Agreement information briefing coming up

We know many people in our community are interested in the draft Joint Management Agreement and the process behind it. Our new Mayor and Councillors will be having a series of information briefings on it over the next few months, with the first one kicking off this month.

• Briefing: draft Joint Management Agreement Legal 101
• Thursday 18 December, 10.30am to 11am
• Council Chambers, 67 Horomātangi Street, Taupō 3330
• Open to the public – the community are very welcome to come along and find out more. The session will also be livestreamed and available to watch on our YouTube channel.
• Topic: Explaining Joint Management Agreement requirements set out in the Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010. This is the law that underpins our joint management agreements with the Waikato River iwi.
• Note these are info sessions only – no decisions will be made.

The Joint Management Agreement is required by law and brings together Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, representing the district's largest landowner and iwi, and Taupō District Council to manage, protect and restore the health and wellbeing of the Upper Waikato River for future generations.

A draft Joint Management Agreement was drafted for the previous Mayor and Councillors and Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board to consider last July. They decided to defer it until after the local government elections in October as they felt more time was needed to fully consider the draft agreement and make a robust decision.

We don’t expect any decisions on the draft Joint Management Agreement before mid-2026 at the earliest.