Taupō District Council Working With Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board On Joint Management Agreement
Taupō District Council and Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board are working together to restore and protect our waterways.
In recognition of the importance to the Taupō District of protecting our waterways, Taupō District Council and the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board are working on a Joint Management Agreement.
The purpose and focus of this draft Joint Management Agreement is to protect the water of Lake Taupō (Taupō Moana) and the Upper Waikato River.
This agreement will enable the shared protection and restoration of these waterways for future generations.
It fulfils requirements under the Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Act 2010 (Upper Waikato River Act 2010), completing the Council's commitments to the iwi of the Upper Waikato River. The Council already maintains agreements with Te Arawa River Iwi Trust (signed in 2017) and Raukawa Settlement Trust (signed in 2013).
This new draft agreement also builds on 20 years of successful collaboration through the Lake Taupō Protection Project, which has successfully reduced nitrogen levels entering the waterways.
The draft agreement establishes a shared vision: thriving, healthy waterways that sustain abundant life and prosperous communities. Crucially, it recognises that these same communities have a responsibility to protect and restore the wellbeing of Taupō Moana and the Upper Waikato River for generations to come.
It will see both organisations collaborate on work such as monitoring and enforcement, district plan reviews, resource consent application assessments, and enabling customary activities. These are all mandatory matters under the legislation.
The draft agreement also provides for additional collaboration between the two organisations. This includes the opportunity for working together on submissions to central government, for example, on potential law changes. There could be opportunities for staff secondments between the organisations to build capability, as well as joint work on economic development opportunities and service infrastructure projects. The council and the trust board will jointly agree a three-year work plan that will outline joint projects and programmes.
Public access to Taupō Moana for recreation remains under the separate Taupō-nui-a-Tia Management Plan. The draft agreement also creates new opportunities for the community to contribute to waterway restoration, reflecting their shared importance to the people of the district.
Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas is welcoming the draft agreement, which he says emphasises that the health of the waterways is intrinsically linked to the health of the wider district, its communities, its economy and its people.
'With the trust board representing Ngāti Tūwharetoa as mana whenua and legal owners of the waterways and the Taupō District Council as the local authority, it makes sense for us to work together to protect and restore our beautiful lake and rivers for the benefit of everyone.'
The draft agreement will go to councillors for their consideration at the council meeting on Thursday 31 July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
20-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Can you afford to die?
New Plymouth District Council told the Herald this was for a double-depth plot and interment fee, but there were cheaper options. The cheapest burial fee on the list was Taupō's, at $1455. The Weekend Herald also talked to those in the industry, who said one in two Kiwis will now go into debt to cover the costs of a funeral. But funerals are so much more than just where a person is buried. They're a celebration of a life well-lived, or a recognition of one ended too soon. An epilogue to a person's life story. They are a place to share grief with others who feel the same pain of loss, exchange stories and keep memories alive. And all of that, unfortunately, costs money. A 2023 report by the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand calculated the average costs for a 'very modest' funeral, arriving at $7500 for a cremation and $10,000 for a burial. The association's cost guide breaks down where all that money goes. Nationally, burials (plot and interment) range from $1000 to $8000, while cremations are between $600 and $1100, and ash burials $200 to $3000. Other major costs include professional services ($3000 to $6500), body preparation ($700 to $1050) and a casket ($1200 to $5000). Then there's everything else funeral-related – venue hire, hearse, celebrant, flowers and the death certificate, to name a few. The more you add to a service, the more the costs mount. Even those service sheets handed out at the beginning of a funeral, decorated with photos of the deceased and detailing the service order, cost between $2 and $3 per sheet. It's a drop in the bucket compared to the rest, but it all adds up. Where does all that money come from? Work and Income New Zealand (Winz) has a funeral grant that offers up to $2616 for some families, and ACC covers $7990 if the death was the result of an accident. Fourteen per cent of funerals are pre-paid, the funeral association says. Some people's funerals will be covered by their estate. But the remainder will need to have their farewells paid for by their friends and family – another burden to place on people already dealing with loss. They will have to make the hard choices about pine versus MDF, sausage rolls or macarons, newspaper notices or Facebook posts, lilies or roses, and they'll have to do all that while talking to funeral directors, filling out paperwork, informing relevant parties and receiving condolences. It's worth having a conversation now with loved ones to let them know your wishes and come up with a plan for how to fund your final goodbye. Do it before it's too late. Our deaths will be hard enough already for the people we leave behind. We don't need to add to that burden. Sign up to the Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- RNZ News
Is offal on the cusp of a comeback?
A turn off or offally good? A once forgotten food could be on the cusp of a comeback. Offal is now on the menu for some school lunches with the company behind the programme now using a mince that is a blend with beef and trim heart. The food code means that if you are using a blend it must be disclosed - either as offal or the specific names - like liver and kidney. While most of New Zealand's offal is exported, there's a growing number of people who advocate for greater use - including the organisers of the 'offaly good' festival coming up in Auckland. Hannah Miller, a chef turned butcher who runs 'A Lady Butcher' is also a huge fan of using a 'nose to tail' approach and spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Scoop
15-07-2025
- Scoop
Endorsement Secured For Karanga-a-Hape Station Project
Press Release – Auckland Transport AT Group Manager Rail Infrastructure Jane Small says AT has listened and responded to feedback from the community. Auckland Transport has found a way forward for plans to improve the area surrounding the new Karanga-a-Hape Station – a key part of the transformational City Rail Link project. It will ensure the thousands of people expected to use the station each day will find the surrounding streets easy, safe and welcoming to move through, while also allowing for future growth and development. The design of the Karanga-a-Hape Station Precinct Integration Project was revisited after an updated plan shared with the the Waitematā Local Board in April 2025 raised some concerns. It led to calls by key stakeholders for AT to reverse proposed design amendments and reinstate certain features. AT Group Manager Rail Infrastructure Jane Small says AT has listened and responded to feedback from the community. ' We take feedback from the community seriously, which is why we took time to revisit the design and engage widely,' she says. 'In a public project like this, it is challenging to satisfy everybody completely. We have worked hard to balance the different perspectives in the local community, and ensure the project aligns with plans and aspirations for Auckland's city centre, maximising the positive impacts of the City Rail Link.' 'The changes more closely mirror an earlier Auckland Transport design which prioritises walking, cycling and pedestrianised areas, while still improving access for service and delivery – retaining loading spaces in areas where we've heard they are important. 'The best part about an engaged community is that we understand the full range of views. There have been a few compromises on some elements, such as keeping the one-way traffic lane on East Street, and on the approach to upper Mercury Lane.' When the City Rail Link opens, the new Karanga-a-Hape Station will become a focal point for public transport. This project delivers both permanent and interim improvements to the streets around the new station making it easier, safer and more welcoming for pedestrians to move through the neighbourhood, while also allowing for future growth and development. The latest recommendations were reached after Auckland Transport undertook another round of engagement with key stakeholders and elected members, including several site visits. Options were assessed to ensure they aligned with strategic plans, including the City Centre Masterplan. 'We'd really like to thank the local residents and businesses for their patience and time as we worked together to find solutions,' Jane Small says. The Waitematā Local Board has now accepted the recommendations which included: Mercury Lane: Upper Mercury Lane will operate as a pedestrian space with vehicle use only permitted for access to buildings on the lane (including e.g. emergency services, residents, maintenance/construction). This will be actioned as a pilot 'traffic filter' scheme for up to two years – with the opportunity for local input before being made permanent. Electronic bollards are being installed that can be lowered by authorised users. Cross Street: retaining the loading spaces required by local businesses but adding footpaths through a boardwalk design, adding further traffic calming at the Upper Queen Street entrance, adding more lighting, and replacing some paid parking spaces with loading spaces at the eastern end of the street. East Street: retaining the existing bi-directional cycleway and the single-lane northbound for vehicles, with devices to prevent vehicle use of the cycleway, and retaining the raised table pedestrian crossing linking to the new station access laneway. Notes: The Karanga-a-Hape Station Precinct Integration Project was initiated in 2022. Other streets in the project remain unchanged including cycleways on Canada Street, Mercury Lane and Pitt Street, footpath improvements, and new bus lanes on Pitt Street. Construction is already underway on a number of these improvements with all changes set to be completed before the City Rail Link opens. AT will continue to work with the local community, with opportunities to make further changes in the future likely, as the area around Karanga-a-Hape Station continues to grow and develop. The Karanga-a-Hape Station Precinct Integration Project aims to: Make it easier, safer and more intuitive for people to move through the neighbourhood on foot, especially when using the new station entrances Connect people arriving in the neighbourhood by bike to existing cycling facilities Improve connections between buses and trains Provide better connections for users with accessibility needs The full report and recommendations can be found here About the City Rail Link The City Rail Link is the biggest and most transformational rapid transit development for Tamaki Makaurau. When it's finished Auckland will have a better, more connected transport system, making it easier to connect with people and places. Alongside increasing the number and frequency of services across the rail network, it will also improve access to the city centre via its new and redeveloped stations. There will be big cuts in journey times, trains every 5-8 minutes at peak across most of the network, more reliable trains and new easier connections – for example direct services from west to east Auckland and simple transfers to busways. It includes underground rail tunnels up to 42 metres below the city, which connect downtown's Waitematā Station (Britomart) with the Western Line at the new Mangawhau Station (formerly Mt Eden). Before the City Rail Link can open in 2026, there is a lot of work to do across the wider Auckland rail network to get it ready. This includes KiwiRail's Rail Network Rebuild, integrating, testing and commissioning of new systems and all of the work AT is doing to be ready to provide a great customer service – from developing new timetables and driver training to safety assurances and practicing running the new timetable. Bus services are being significantly improved to increase connections to the CRL and this will mean better connections across the city, including to other rapid transit like busways.
