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Applying for general release or release with controls

Pre-application consultation

Consultation with Iwi and Maori organisations

The HSNO Act requires the EPA to make informed decisions in relation to the interests of Maori, and it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide sufficient information to make that decision. Experience from recent considerations suggests that most of the issues that concern Maori are the same practical concerns as those of the wider population. However, these are often cast in a context that is specific to Maori, and unfamiliar to the wider public. Issues also arise that are specific to the Maori world view, and that view may well vary from one iwi/hapu/whanau to another. In order to capture and address these ideas to the satisfaction of the EPA it is essential to enter into comprehensive consultation with Maori. Consultation must be carried out at a national level unless a case can be made that the eventual distribution of the control agent will be geographically limited.

The Ministry for the Environment [http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/guidelines-tangata-whenua-dec03/html/page4.html] has further useful information and discussion of what constitutes effective consultation.

As an example of how an iwi might view an application to introduce a biological control agent, Table 3 indicates how Ngai Tahu structures consideration of such a proposal against a series of cultural values. In addressing these, Ngai Tahu staff would consider:

Table 3: Major values & issues for Ngai Tahu associated with hazardous substances, new organisms and genetic modification
Whakapapa How does the application affect Whakapapa? Consider the integrity of atua, genealogical links, creation, as well as what whakapapa tells us about what is appropriate for the species involved and who has the rights to decide on this appropriateness.
Rangatiratanga How does the application affect the iwi's Rangatiratanga? Has there been adequate information provided, consultation, involvement, and/or recognition? Does this allow the iwi to uphold its mana or the resource used/affected?
Kaitiakitanga How does the application affect the Iwi's Kaitiakitanga? What are the responsibilities of the iwi in regards to this application. Will the mauri of the resource involved be affected? What effect does this have on the long term wellbeing of the wider iwi, the land or the resources affected? Are there alternatives?
Mahinga Kai Does the application affect any Mahinga Kai, taonga species or valued flora, fauna or ecosystem? What is the effect on the abundance of the mahinga kai? What is the effect on the ability of the wider iwi to undertake mahinga kai? Does the application affect the integrity of the mahinga kai? Also consider long term sustainability; future concerns.
Kawa/Tikanga What traditions, whakatauaki, tikanga and kawa apply or are affected by the application?
Matauranga Is M�tauranga or intellectual property of the iwi affected?

Another perspective on on consultation with Maori is presented in the background information, along with a valuable table of the types of issues that might arise at various stages of a project, and how to address them.

There is no fixed method for consulting with Maori. The Te Herenga network is a network of key contacts within the Maori community who are involved in environmental issues and who potentially have an interest in the HSNO Act. In earlier applications to ERMA New Zealand two distinctly different methods have been employed. One applicant employed a consultant to convene five regional hui nationwide to discuss the issues surrounding biological control and the proposal at hand face to face. A wide range of iwi/hapu/whanau/organisations within the network were invited to attend. The opinions voiced at those hui were summarised and presented to the ERMA New Zealand as the results of a nationwide consultation process. Several other applicants wrote to all entities of the Te Herenga network and provided information about biological control, and about the proposed control agents. Correspondents were invited to enter into dialogue with the applicant within 6 weeks. Further correspondence and phone conversations followed, and the opinions voiced were presented to ERMA New Zealand as the product of nationwide consultation. Although fundamentally different in approach, ERMA New Zealand considered both to be adequate methods.

Nga Kaihautu Tikanga Taiao is the statutory Maori advisory committee to the EPA. Kaupapa Kura Taiao is the Maori Unit within the Agency charged with providing the Authority with Maori advice on specific applications and is also responsible for implementing the Maori participation programmes. The EPA staff are available to assist applicants in the design and implementation of a consultation strategy, and applicants are advised to make contact on this at an early stage.