Water Rights for Ngai Tahu

Discover the critical insights into New Zealand's water rights with 'Water Rights for Ngai Tahu' by Te Maire Tau. This compelling work delves deeply into the contentious issue of water ownership and management in New Zealand, a topic that influences environmental policy and indigenous rights. With a focus on Ngai Tahu's historical and political context, this paperback explores the complexities surrounding water rights, custom, law, and the Treaty of Waitangi. It scrutinizes the increase in resource consents for water extraction, especially in regions like Canterbury and Southland, where environmental pressures have mounted. Te Maire Tau critically examines how the Crown's historical land purchases—amounting to over 34.5 million acres—interact with water rights claims, probing whether water is truly a non-owned resource. This brief yet profound book encourages discussions on kaitiakitanga, mana motuhake, and tino rangatiratanga, all essential concepts in Maori culture that speak to stewardship, autonomy, and authority. If you’re looking to understand the legal frameworks and indigenous perspectives on water rights in New Zealand, this book is an essential read. Gain a better understanding of the debates that shape our environmental landscape and the quest for rightful ownership and stewardship of water resources for Ngai Tahu. Order your copy now and join the dialogue about New Zealand's future water governance.

Author: Te Maire Tau Publisher: Canterbury University Press
Bind: paperback
Dimensions: 148 x 210 mm
Pages: 74
Publication Date: 17-11-2017

There is perhaps no issue in New Zealand today more contentious than water rights. The Crown claims that no one owns water, but its use, irrigation and treatment are controlled by local governments empowered by the Crown. Since the 1990s resource consents for the taking of water, in Canterbury and Southland especially, have increased dramatically and the environmental situation is reaching a breaking point. After years of discussion some kind of system regarding the ownership of water is inevitable. In Water Rights for Ng?i Tahu, Te Maire Tau considers the historical and political framework that has contributed to the current state of water rights in the Ng?i Tahu takiw?. He explores the customary, legal and Treaty frameworks that feed into the debate regarding the ownership of water. From 1844 to 1864 the Crown purchased more than 34.5 million acres of land from Ng?i Tahu, but in most purchase deeds water is not mentioned. How does this play into claims to water? Should the Treaty be relied upon? How far can kaitiakitanga take us if the goal is mana motuhake and tino rangatiratanga? In this short book Te Maire Tau lays out the historical background and context to water rights, and opens a discussion about where to proceed next in determining a Ng?i Tahu position on water.