Section 33 of the Resource Management Act allows a local authority to transfer any one or more of its functions under that Act to an iwi authority. Waikato Regional Council reached a landmark decision to transfer water quality monitoring functions to Tūwharetoā Māori Trust Board. We are advised this is the first transfer of its kind since the Act was introduced in 1991.
The Judges said: We commend the Council and Tūwharetoā for their leadership in overcoming the practical barriers to transfers in this way. It shows the results of out of the box thinking and a huge investment of mutual respect and trust.
