Housing Development Allowed to go Ahead by Urupā Site

Ōpihi Whanaungakore Trustees are disappointed with an Environment Court decision that will allow housing development on land they say is wāhi tapu.

The trustees vow to continue to fight for their tīpuna and for their culture.

“We’re going to go back to whanau and reconsider the options available to us,” trustee Hemi Hireme told local democracy reporting.

The judgement has granted Archeological Authority to develop housing on a reduced area, less than half of a 26.9 hectare Whakatāne District Council-owned block next to the official urupā site. 

Environment judges Jeff Smith and David Cauldwell have released their judgement from a hearing held in Whakatāne on February 10 and 11 in which Ōpihi Whanaungakore Trustees appealed the authority.

During that hearing the trustees’ lawyer, Max Harris, pointed out errors in the way Heritage New Zealand - Pouhere Tanoga made the decision to grant the authority. He sought a reversal or remittance of the authority back to the Māori Heritage Council.

Ōpihi Whanaungakore trustee Hemi Hirime stated that the 56-acre (22.6 hectare) urupā boundary with the Whakatāne District Council-owned development site was “an arbitrary colonial line” and the urupā extended west along Bunyan Road past where residential development had already taken place.

He wanted the Māori Heritage Council to hear the case.

The judgement agreed that Heritage NZ’s decision had been “deeply flawed” and had not complied with the statutory requirements of legislation or the organisation’s own internal criteria.

Heritage NZ failed to consider the opposition from Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Taiwhakaea, and the trustees.

A report said that these parties approved the application which the judgement decided they had clearly been opposed to it.

Heritage NZ also determined that the expert opinion of the Māori Heritage Council was not necessary when its own criteria made it clear that it was.

However, the judgement stopped short of reversing or remitting the authority.

The authority would be modified for a reduced area, with amended conditions “to be finalised between the parties”. 

SUPPLIED: Support: A hikoi through Whakatāne showed the level of support for preventing the development, prior to the hearing on February 10. 

During the hearing, the developer, MMS GP, had provided a revised proposal to reduce the size of the site to be developed which included a 300-metre buffer zone between the legally recognised urupā reserve and the development.

The revised development area would take up less than half of the 26.9ha site.

“By protecting the eastern end of the spit, this increases the apparent footprint of Ōpihi Whanaungakore,” the judgement said. 

The proposal was a compromise the developers had made during its previous mediations with Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa, which had since withdrawn from the appeal.

As Ngāi Taiwhakaea had been a party to the rūnanga’s appeal, the hapū had been unable to testify at the hearing, but has voiced continued opposition to the proposal and has said it is intending to initiate a judicial review of the Heritage NZ decision.

“The court deciding not to return the application to HNZPT (Heritage NZ) for consideration by the Māori Heritage Council, and then granting a modified authority, was extremely disappointing,” Mr Hireme said.

“Our appeal was based on the trustees being ignored by HNZPT. The court found that, in 2022 when the archaeological authority was granted and the appeals filed, the rūnanga and Ngāi Taiwhakaea were also ignored. All we wanted was to be heard. It is what the law provides, and that is what we have been denied.”

"Māori tikanga considers undisturbed land to be tapu (sacred/forbidden) until the appropriate ceremonies are held to make it noa (ordinary).

"The court has decided that the land is already noa. This is the danger of not listening to the Māori parties concerned and not seeking expert Māori opinion. It is the haunting shadow of colonialism – non-Māori determining Māori cultural futures.” 

A timeline has been developed for new conditions for the authority to be mediated between all parties within 90 days of the judgement being released. At that time the panel will decide whether a further hearing is required.

The court found it “may be appropriate” for the appellants to apply for costs against Heritage NZ.

It would reserve any decision on this until the final decision on wording of the authority was issued.

Whakatāne District Council chief executive Steven Perdia said the council was legally bound by an Agreement for Sale and Purchase signed in 2017, which requires the land sale to proceed and access to be provided to enable development to commence. 

“The court’s decision does not change those obligations.”

Heritage NZ did not wish to comment until it had reviewed the decision.