Iwi engagement should have come ‘much earlier'
Southland District Council did not engage with its Treaty partners when formulating a bold new proposal to amalgamate southern councils, a document has revealed.
But mayor Rob Scott has defended the process, saying there will still be opportunities for providing feedback.
Recently, the Local Government Commission announced it would investigate a potential reorganisation of the region's four councils — Southland District Council, Invercargill City Council, Gore District Council and Environment Southland.
The initiative was spearheaded by Mr Scott with a goal of saving money and improving efficiency.
A determination document released by the commission showed the council failed to engage with both Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku and Te Ao Mārama Inc — a company which represents the four Southland rūnanga in resource management.
The oversight came to light after the commission reached out to Te Ao Mārama to request feedback on the potential reorganisation.
Te Ao Mārama told the commission that Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku was not opposed to an investigation, but noted the council did not engage with either party in developing the initiative.
The company said the initiative could impact "matters of importance" to the iwi and there was not enough information for them to form an opinion on preferred options.
Te Ao Mārama kaiwhakahaere kaupapa taiao Dean Whaanga told Local Democracy Reporting his group would have liked to be engaged "much earlier".
Regardless, they supported the commission's investigation and were approaching it with an open mind.
Te Ao Mārama looked forward to sharing their mātauranga (knowledge) and insights with the commission on behalf of Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku, he said.
"We have a good relationship with the Southland District Council and work constructively together."
Mr Scott said he reached out to Ngāi Tahu's chair early in the piece but believed the timing must not have been right for them to respond.
The proposal was not in its final stages and both parties would have an opportunity to feed into the final piece of work, he said.
"It's not a process that you do every week, but I'm comfortable with the way that we've gone about it."
The commission's investigation is expected to take at least 12 months.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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