Mahi with Māori: commercial development projects that succeeded, struggled or failed

NZ Herald

13 hours ago

They show situations where developers either worked with tangata whenua, or places where there was trouble.
At the end, two experts offer commentary on what they see as guides for success and what must happen for projects to work.
Precinct and Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei - Pumanawa Downtown West
The twin tower development is guided by tīkanga Māori, the developers said when they released plans this year. Photo: Supplied / Precinct Properties
NZX-listed Precinct Properties and Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei formed a partnership which could see the pair go sky high.
Two towers, one a quarter of a kilometre high, are being planned in a multibillion-dollar exercise.
Ngarimu Blair, Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei Trust board deputy chairman, says the two have a shared goal to create a great CBD in the city and region.
Ngarimu Blair tells why the relationship works. Photo / Mike Scott
'Precinct, like us, are invested in the waterfront and the CBD,' Blair says.
Luxury golf courses at Te Arai: Te Uri O Hau and Ngāti Manuhiri
Developers John Darby and George Kerr did the initial work. Then American billionaire Ric Kayne built golf courses north of Auckland on land which tangata whenua owned.
Ric Kayne - success with iwi. Photo / Michael Craig
In 2012, Ric and Suzanne Kayne struck a deal with Te Uri o Hau.
In 2002, the hapu got the land as part of a Treaty settlement and it has negotiated to sell 230ha of the forest to Kayne.
In 2020, Kayne did a deal with Ngāti Manuhiri, who bought the Mangawhai south forest as part of their commercial redress under their Treaty of Waitangi settlement.
The result has brought world praise for new golf courses there.
Ihumātao: how not to do it
After years of protest, Fletcher Building sold this Māngere site to the Crown for $29.9m five years ago.
It ditched plans to build 480 homes on the land, once confiscated, becoming a lightning rod for protest, drawing the Soul (Save Our Unique Landscape) group led by the charismatic Pania Newton.
Ihumātao activist Pania Newton. Photo / Jason Oxenham
A memorandum of understanding (he pūmautanga) was signed by the Kiingitanga, the Crown and the Auckland Council, setting out how parties were to work together to decide the future of the land.
A steering committee, or rōpu whakahaere, was established with three ahi kaa representatives supported by the Kiingitanga, one Kiingitanga representative and two Crown representatives.
Plans to move ahead have stalled.
Mataharehare, Parnell - no Erebus memorial
Dove Myer Robinson Park became a site of protest by some in Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei when Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage wanted to build the Erebus memorial there.
Protestors fought against this planned memorial in Parnell, since ditched. Photo / Dean Purcell
But it was storms, not the protests, which resulted in that being ditched.
Papatūānuku had spoken, some said.
A large slip in the lower part of the park into Judges Bay caused by the 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods raised concerns about cantilevering the concrete and steel structure over the park.
Putuki Bay - built but at great cost
Tony Mair and Kitt Littlejohn completed and opened their 181-berth marina, despite weeks of stopwork and much protest.
Trouble hit when protestors and security guards fought each other mid-winter on a slippery pontoon.
Pūtiki Bay, Kennedy Point on Waiheke Island earlier this decade when protestors came out in force. Photo / Dean Purcell
By July 2021, protesters had been occupying the site for more than 120 days, saying work endangers a nearby kororā (little blue penguin) colony, disputing the resource consent and saying they had mana whenua.
Summerset with Ngāti Whātua at Bayswater
This retirement village developer bought land on Auckland's North Shore which the hapū had bought under its 2013 treaty settlement.
Summerset worked long and hard on the 5.7ha deal, said to have gone for $70m but that was never confirmed by either party.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei received shares in Summerset and won education and employment opportunities at the planned village.
Marutūāhu-Ockham Group
A true collaboration between a prominent Auckland apartment development business, previously fronted by Mark Todd, and the collective of five iwi, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Whanaunga and Ngāti Rongoū.
Back in 2021 at the opening Kokihi in Waterview: Paul Majurey, the now-ex Housing Minister Megan Woods and Mark Todd. Photo / Alex Burton
This successful partnership is nearing completion on yet another apartment block: Toi on ex-Unitec land near the heritage Carrington Hospital.
But work has certainly slowed now for the development business, which got a Crown guarantee on the new project.
Douglas Links golf course near Levin
Xero co-founder Hamish Edwards expressed frustration about development, even though he won consent for the golf course.
Xero co-founder Hamish Edwards at Douglas Links, the golf course he is constructing at Ohau, near Levin. Photo / Mark Mitchell
'The process is so long, overly complicated and the involvement of iwi makes the decision to invest in these projects questionable. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have bothered to even start this investment,' he said.
But he won't provide the document sent to Cabinet ministers Chris Bishop and David Seymour, saying what must change.
The Douglas Links golf course under construction at Ohau, near Levin, in April. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It was reported elsewhere that his company being called Grenadier upset some. Calling the course Douglas Links when the whenua already had a name for it was distressing too. It was the site of a pre-1900 pā, Tirotirowhetū.
Engagement with tangata whenua was criticised by Ngāti Tukorehe Trust​ chairperson Tina Wilson as 'tokenistic', leaving a deep sense of sadness and anger. Media referred to activities being the 'act of the coloniser'.
How to engage successfully
Paul Majurey, a prominent Auckland lawyer, has been part of a number of longstanding commercial relationships: the Pouarua Farms partnership with Southern Pastures, Marutūāhu working with Ockham and Fletcher Living projects.
Paul Majurey. Photo / Dean Purcell
He also chairs Te Puia Tapapa, the iwi-led $115m investment fund which is a preferred co-investment partner of the NZ Super Fund.
'The key to these partnerships is mutual respect and taking a long-term approach. When Pakeha organisations have engaged with Marutūāhu in that way, it has been the basis for successful commercial partnerships.'
Māori are long-term investors and looking for arrangements with entities which also reflect the te ao Māori world view, Majurey says.
Investment periods of 15-20 years plus are sought.
'We like assets where we can own the asset for the long term, and prefer sectors like property, infrastructure, and the primary sector,' he says.
Expert on rules of engagement
Grey Lynn-based consultant Mike Dreaver describes himself as being 'comfortable in uncomfortable spaces'.
Mike Dreaver is a consultant who works with iwi, the Crown and others.
For 30 years, he has worked with iwi and hapū, the Crown and the private sector, involved in negotiating Treaty settlements, on governance and partnership arrangements for natural resources and many infrastructure projects.
'I've probably been involved in working on negotiating about 40 to 45 Treaty settlements, most for the Crown side but several on behalf of iwi.'
He was involved in negotiating the Mahi Ngatahi Agreement with iwi of Auckland which gave them development rights for housing on Crown land - 'the trigger for the Marutūāhu-Ockham, Avent-Te Akitai, and Unitec arrangements'.
Ihumātao - how not to do it.
He has negotiated partnership arrangements between Waka Kotahi and iwi in north Taranaki, Manawatū/Tararua and Horowhenua and is now helping offshore-based wind developer Parkwind to build partnership arrangements with iwi in south Taranaki.
Dreaver has assisted in building relationships between iwi and hapū and developers for projects on commercial land, golf courses and research institutes.
He describes himself as a specialist in facilitation, negotiations and policy design development, 'committed to genuine change in the way we do things'.
Asked to list some important lessons from his work, Dreaver provided what he sees as some of the principles or rules of effective engagement.
Back in 2021: Protestors at Putiki Bay, Kennedy Point on Waiheke Island. Photo / Dean Purcell
He emphasised this is only a starting point and there's so much more to relationships which form true partnerships.
Dreaver's advice for developers working with Māori:
Start early and invest time in developing genuine relationships. Understand your partner-representatives, role of those on the ground as well as those in the organisation and iwi/hapū dynamics. Appreciate and value what mātauranga Māori brings to your project – knowledge, experience, connections, relationships. Respect cultural intellectual property. Listen more than you talk. Recognise iwi and/or hapū have competing demands and you are not necessarily their top priority. Frame discussions around people, place and project. Recognise the commercial value of partnership or collaboration at value – land, opportunities, relationships, mātauranga and efficient processes. Don't promise what you can't deliver. Write things down. Record agreements and stick to them. Implement your commitment to the right relationship throughout your organisation.
The first element stressed the need to begin at the project conception via building trust, he said.
'Doing this shows it's more than a tick-box exercise. Don't start when you prepare your resource consent application. Starting early allows you to build relationships over time and look at the range of different ways you can work together.'
For Dreaver, there is no one model or off-the-shelf advice that would work.
But for him, the need to emphasise people, place and project is a key to successful relationships.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald's property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.