CULTURAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Rationale, Process & Agenda 4 December 2010, Harataunga Marae

Treaty of Waitangi Rights  exist as a people  self-determination  civil, political, social, economic equity  religion, customs and freedom to choose religion Principles  Protection  Participation  Partnership

Resource Management Act  “the relationship of Māori and their culture and their traditions …” [are of national importance] (TDP, s110:6(e))  “… particular regard to … kaitiakitanga” (TDP,s110:7(a))  “… shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (TDP, s110:8)  27 RMA clauses recognise Māori interests (Bell, Lomax & Payne, 2002)

Local Government Act, 2002  “establish and maintain processes … for Māori to contribute to decision-making …”  “…foster the development of Māori capacity to contribute to the decision-making processes”  “ … provide relevant information to Māori for the purposes of (above)..”  “a local authority must ensure that it has in place processes for consulting with Māori (in accordance with the Principles of Consultation)”

NZ Action Plan for Human Rights, 2010  the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or ethnic or national origins  the right to the equal enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights  the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination and the protection of their language, culture, heritage, and relationship to the environment  the right to enjoy one's culture and to use one's own language  the right to freedom of religion and belief Key Action: Improve Māori participation/representation in Local Government decision-making

TCDC District Plan  “to protect the (Māori) heritage resources … and develop a positive relationship with Māori…”(s153, para 3)  “the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions..and other taonga must be strengthened” (s204, para 2)  particular regard for kaitiakitanga … take into account the principles of ToW... to act reasonably and in good faith … to recognise and provide for Māori use of their resources … to actively protect taonga (s215, para 2-4)  greater awareness and understanding... to promote effective consultation and communication.. to recognise the values of tangata whenua involved in all resource consents (s215.4, para 1-3)

Other Statutes/Conventions/Declarations that highlight the need for LGAs to establish good processes for assessing the cultural impact of developments on Indigenous people NZ Health & Disability Act NZ Primary Health Strategy NZ Māori Health Strategy NZ Bill of Rights NZ Human Rights Act Universal Declaration of Human Rights International Convenant on Civil & Political Rights International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Indigenous Children & Youth Convention on the Rights of the Child Indigenous People & the Environment

Objectives  to pilot a tool that will help LGA’s to assess and understand the cultural impact of developments for Māori (within the context of RMA decisions)  to assess the cultural impact of sub-division in Harataunga from a tangata whenua perspective  to consider the specific cultural impact of 3 sub- divisions that have already been approved for development in Harataunga

Hypothesis  Waiora is Māori construct of wellbeing  A Māori construct of wellbeing will provide an acceptable framework/starting place for tangata whenua discussions about the cultural impacts of sub-division

Design  introduce the waiora model as a framework and tool for assessing the cultural impact of sub-division  invite tangata whenua/whānau Māori to take part in an assessment process  compare tangata whenua scores against those obtained from an independent panel of people (preferably involved in LGA/RMA decision-making about Māori RMA issues)  produce a report on the pilot outcomes with discussion about possible strategies to minimise potential impacts/mitigate negative effects (if relevant)  send copies to TCDC, LGAs, Govt Depts, Whānau, others