Marae see threats in clean water bill

• Published date: 27 March 2021
• Date: 27 March 2021
• Publication title: Daily Post, The (Rotorua, New Zealand)

When Maringi James steps on to Te Papaiouru, her marae at the edge of Lake Rotorua, she doesn’t simply see a concrete courtyard or a wooden meeting house. She sees an extension of her home, a place where generations of her whānau have gathered and lived. It’s an incredibly sacred space, governed by Tūmatauenga, the god of war and people.

The 17-year-old has grown up alongside the many whānau living in the surrounding village. “The Te Kōwhai whānau live over there,” she says, pointing to a house next to the wharenui. “And we have whānau baths here”.

White steam from the boiling thermal springs, plotted across the landscape, permeates the air. Those springs have been used by whānau to cook food and keep the baths warm for many years.

James says her people have long had an intimate connection to the water. But now she feels her home, her tūrangawaewae, is under threat. A Government plan to impose tighter drinking water standards on water suppliers, which can include marae, and enforce these, has been keeping her up at night.

She’s particularly worried about plans to give compliance officers the right to enter marae without a warrant if they believe their drinking water supply poses a serious risk to public health.

To most Māori, it is unthinkable that any visitor would ever enter a marae without being welcomed on with a pōwhiri or whakatau. They are essential for upholding the value of manaakitanga (care and hospitality) and ensuring cultural safety.

“Our marae are sacred and are actually a natural extension of ourselves. For many of us here, it feels unsafe. I feel unsafe,” James says.

She is not the only one who is concerned. Many Māori say the Government is not only thumbing its nose at protocol but threatening rangatiratanga by giving officials the right to enter marae without a warrant.

Then there’s the questions that are starting to swirl.

Why are marae subject to the Government’s water bill when there have been no known incidents of marae water contamination causing illness? How will marae survive the compliance costs associated with the new water plan? And why is the Crown telling marae how to look after their own people?

More than 50 marae, rūnanga and hapū across the country have written submissions to Parliament’s Health Select Committee, demanding that marae be excluded from the Water Services Bill.

They say it is unacceptable for the Government to allow officials to enter marae without their permission and impose rules on places governed by tikanga.

A response to the Havelock North water crisis

The Water Services Bill is not really about marae, it’s a response to the Havelock North water crisis. In 2016, more than 5,000 Havelock North residents were poisoned by the town’s drinking water.

Forty-five residents were hospitalised and there were four related deaths.

The Water Services Bill is the Government’s response to an inquiry into the...