Council and Tuwharetoa create award winning relationship

Taupo District Council’s relationship with local Iwi Tuwharetoa has won the prestigious IPANZ award for Crown-Maori Relationships at the national IPANZ Gen-I Public Sector Excellence Awards ceremony held in Wellington on Friday night.

The IPANZ Gen-i Public Sector Excellence Awards recognise and reward outstanding performances and achievements of organisations in the New Zealand public sector including local and central government, and state owned enterprises.

The Excellence in Crown-Māori Relationships Award, sponsored by Te Puni Kōkiri, recognises the complex and diverse range of relationships between Māori and government. Taupo District Council won the award for their Joint Management Agreement with Ngati Tuwharetoa. The other finalists for the award were the Department of Conservation (DOC) for their staff development program - Te Pukenga Atawhai, and Opotiki District Council for the Opotiki Harbour Development Project.

Councillor Bernhard Chrustowski, a member of Council’s Regulatory & Hearings Committee, says it is wonderful to see the relationship [with Tūwharetoa] recognised. “The agreement is a big step and we now have to work diligently in order to ensure it works as intended”.

The Joint Management Agreement between Taupo District Council and the Tuwharetoa Māori Trust Board was the first of its kind between a local authority and an iwi. It will see a joint committee of Iwi and Council representatives formed to hear resource consents and private plan changes on Māori multiply owned freehold land under Tuwharetoa ownership. “Our Iwi partners have a huge knowledge base pertaining to their ancestral lands, the direct application of that will be of immense benefit to fully consider the merit of each application,” says Cr Chrustowski.

IPANZ judges commended Taupo District Council and Tuwharetoa Māori Trust Board on the innovative and constructive way in which they developed a shared a decision making process; highlighting the solution as a reciprocal relationship, with each party seeking to understand the viewpoint, circumstances, capability and operating environment of the other and to compromise when required.

The Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ) is a voluntary, non-profit organisation, committed to promoting informed debate on public sector issues. “We're all so busy, that it's difficult to draw breath and take the time to reflect on our achievements. IPANZ believes that to encourage excellence, it's critical to celebrate success. We are all in the public sector to make a difference, and it's appropriate that we recognise our ‘stars’,” says IPANZ President Ross Tanner.