Co-governance
Co-governance in New Zealand consists of various negotiated arrangements where Māori people and the Crown share decision-making, or Māori exercise a form of self-determination through a devolution of state power. Notable examples include the co-management of natural resources as part of the provision of Māori social services by Māori-focused entities, and statutory Māori representation in local government bodies. In addition Treaty of Waitangi settlements from 2008 often had co-governance agreements where the iwi involved worked with significant rivers, watersheds, coastlines and landmarks.
During the 53rd New Zealand Parliamentary term, the Sixth Labour Government implemented several co-governance arrangements across several public service provisions including healthcare, water management and resource management including Māori wards and constituencies in local government, Te Aka Whai Ora, the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023, and Three Waters reform programme. These expanded co-governance policies attracted vocal opposition from the National, ACT, and New Zealand First parties.
Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, the newly-formed National-led coalition government has announced that it would reverse several of Labour's public service co-governance policies including the Māori Health Authority.
Definitions
There are various definitions for co-governance within a New Zealand framework. The Human Rights Commission has defined co-governance as "the various arrangements where Māori and the New Zealand Crown share decision-making power or where Māori exercise a form of self-determination, albeit as a delegation of state power." Notable examples of co-governance arrangements include the co-management of natural resources as part of Treaty of Waitangi settlements, the provision of social services to Māori by Māori-focused entities such as Te Aka Whai Ora, and the guaranteed inclusion of Māori in local governance.Massey University senior lecturer Giles Dodson describes co-governance as "arrangements in which ultimate decision-making authority resides with a collaborative body exercising devolved power – where power and responsibility are shared between government and local stakeholders." Dodson distinguishes co-governance from co-management, stating that the former deals with strategic matters while the latter deals with operational administrative responsibilities including decision making and problem-solving.
Former Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson has likened co-governance to co-management, stating that "it is not an opportunity to micromanage the officials' work, but a chance to set priorities and to have a say in how to manage a resource." Within a national framework, former Te Whatu Ora Chair and ethical business advocate Rob Campbell has described the framing of co-governance as "sharing responsibility between Māori and ." According to Campbell, the most common co-governance arrangements are those "between the Crown and some tangata whenua structure, often one created by the Crown for the purpose, to partially accommodate Treaty of Waitangi obligations."
University of Auckland Māori studies Professor Margaret Mutu has described co-governance as "we making decisions about their own lives, the government making its own decisions about its people's lives, and both parties meeting to make decisions on matters that relate to us both." Mutu authored the He Puapua report, which was commissioned by the New Zealand Government in 2019 to investigate how New Zealand could fulfill the goals of the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Implementation
Resource management
Notable co-governance arrangements for resource management include the Waikato River Authority, the Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority managing the Auckland volcanic field, the Te Waihora Co-Governance Agreement governing Lake Ellesmere in Canterbury, the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group, Tauranga's Ngā Poutiriao o Mauao, the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust in Waikato, the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Reserves Board, the Parakai Recreation Reserve Board, Ngāi Tūhoe and the Department of Conservation's shared management of Te Urewera's forests and lakes, and the Te Awa Tupua.In 2003, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Rotorua District Council established a joint committee known as the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group, which grew to include the Te Arawa Māori Trust Board. The Strategy Group became responsible for managing the Lakes of Rotorua catchment area, which consisted of 12 large Rotorua lakes and their catchments. In 2006, the committee was given formal status after the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act 2006 transferred ownership of the lakebeds back to the Te Arawa people. In 2007, the Crown signed a memorandum with the two local government councils and the Te Arawa Māori Trust Board to manage the water quality of the Lakes of Rotorua catchment area.
In 2008, the Waikato-Tainui tribe and the New Zealand Government reached a settlement over the tribe's claim to the Waikato river. This settlement was reviewed and out of that came the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 2010, which established the Waikato River Authority as part of a co-governance and co-management framework between the Crown and five local iwi. Reflecting the Authority's co-governance structure, its ten-member board consists of five tribal members and five Crown members. The board operate under consensus decision-making and their vision and strategy is long-term, further than a political cycle, to restore and protect the health of the river for generations to come.
Following treaty settlement negotiations between 2010 and 2012, the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act 2014 transferred ownership of the 14 volcanoes within the Auckland volcanic field to Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau. The Redress Act created a Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau Authority with a co-governance leadership structure consisting of six tribal representatives, six Auckland Council representatives and one non-voting Crown representative. In addition, the Redress Act split the management of the 14 volcanoes between the Authority, Department of Conservation and Auckland Council. As part of the treaty settlement DOC administers North Head and Auckland Council administers Mount Smart. In addition, the Crown owns Māngere Mountain's land and part of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill but the Authority administers the two sites for the purposes of the Reserves Act 1977.
In March 2012, the Mauao Trust, with the support of the Tauranga Moana Iwi Collective, proposed a joint administering body relationship with the Tauranga City Council for the Mauao Historic Reserve. In July 2004, the Crown had agreed to transfer the reserve's fee simple estate to three local iwi in Tauranga: the Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pūkenga. These three iwi subsequently established the Mauao Trust in July 2007 to represent their interests. In mid 2013, the Mauoa Trust and City Council reached a memorandum of understanding and established Ngā Poutiriao o Mauao to jointly run the Mauoa Historic Reserve.
In 2015 Ngāi Tahu iwi, the Crown, and Canterbury Regional Council reached a formal co-governance arrangement to manage Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora and its surrounding catchment. In 1998, the Government had transferred ownership of Te Waihora's lakebed to Ngāi Tahu as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement. Ngāi Tahu's Te Waihora Management Board subsequently worked with DOC to develop a joint management plan for the Lake Ellesmere lakebed and surrounding land. This resulted in the 2009 Canterbury Water Management Strategy, which led to the 2015 co-governance arrangement.
In 2023, the Green Party of Aotearoa announced a NZ$100 million Moana Fund for iwi and hapū to carry out coastal restoration projects around the Sugar Loaf Islands near Port Taranaki, which was inspired by the Kaipara Moana Remediation project.
Public services delivery
During the 53rd New Zealand Parliament, the Sixth Labour Government introduced several co-governance policies and programmes, including entrenching Māori wards and constituencies in local government bodies, rolling out the Three Waters reform programme, creating a Māori Health Authority, and the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023. The Labour Government's co-governance policies attracted opposition from the opposition National and ACT parties, the Hobson's Pledge lobby group and right-wing activist Julian Batchelor.During the 2023 New Zealand general election, co-governance was a prominent election issue, with National, ACT, and New Zealand First campaigning for the reversal of several of Labour's co-governance programmes, including Māori wards, Three Waters, the Māori Health Authority and indigenous biodiversity co-management.
In late November 2023, the newly-formed Sixth National Government committed to reversing the Labour Government's public sector co-governance policies as part of its coalition agreement with ACT and New Zealand First. The Government also pledged to "restore the right of local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards."
On 20 December 2023, the National-led coalition government passed legislation repealing the Natural and Built Environment Act as part of its plans to reform the Resource Management Act framework.
On 14 February 2024, the Government passed legislation repealing the previous Labour Government's Three Waters reform programme under urgency. While National, ACT and NZ First supported the bill, it was opposed by the Labour, Green, and Māori parties.
On 28 February 2024, the Government passed urgent legislation disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora.
On 30 July 2024, the Government passed legislation restoring the right of local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards. National, ACT and NZ First supported the bill and it was opposed by the Labour, Green, and Māori parties.