July 21, 2016
Healthy water more than nice
An indigenous law expert says a local government-sponsored seminar is a chance for Maori views on water to be more widely understood and shared.
Linda Te Aho from Waikato University's Te Piringa law faculty is speaking at today's biennial Te Oniao conference in Rotorua for tangata whenua from the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regional council areas.
She says there's a lot going on, with the New Zealand Maori Council and supporting iwi preparing for the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into water rights, the Iwi Leaders Forum engaging with the Land and Water Forum and other government policy-making mechanisms, and a general sense change is needed.
"There's a value in having healthy waters. "It's not just a nice thing to have", to quote Riki Ellison. So we really need to keep pushing and that's something that Maori have been excellent at doing, is we have never given up, in trying to restore the health and wellbeing of the waters that mean so much to our ancestors and to the generations to come," says Linda Te Aho.
Te Onaio continues tomorrow, with other speakers including Tuhoe leader Tamati Kruger and Waikato Tainui's Rahui Papa.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com