Frequently asked Questions
Q: What is Te Pou Tupua?
To understand what Te Pou Tupua is, it is important to describe the context to establishment of this unique station.
In settling longstanding claims for the Whanganui River, Whanganui Iwi sought a legal status for the Whanganui River that placed the River itself as the first consideration in all planning and decision making. It also needed to place iwi centrally in that planning and decision making for the River and bind the Crown, local government and the River community to a common value set, Tupua Te Kawa. Tupua te Kawa is based in the kawa (indigenous law and practice) practiced by Whanganui hapū and iwi.
In 2014, the Deed of Settlement for the Whanganui River (Ruruku Whakatupua) was signed between Whanganui Iwi and the Crown, and in 2017 the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act was passed to give effect to the arrangements.
The new status for the Whanganui River, Te Awa Tupua, required statutory recognition. The station of Te Pou Tupua was then created to provide a face and voice of the legal personhood status of Te Awa Tupua.
Te Pou Tupua do not represent either the iwi or the Crown; rather Te Pou Tupua holds a singular duty to act in the interests of Te Awa Tupua and consistently with Tupua te Kawa.
The role of Te Pou Tupua therefore exists to support, advocate and ensure adherence by the Crown, local government and communities to the status of Te Awa Tupua to assist the required paradigm shift in those areas.
Q: Who should I speak to if I need to use or interact with Te Pā Auroa, Te Awa Tupua or Tupua te Kawa?
It is natural and understandable that councils, Crown agencies, commercial entities, and the community look to Te Pou Tupua for understanding, information and/or direction on Te Pā Auroa, Te Awa Tupua and Tupua te Kawa.
However, the statutory role of Te Pou Tupua must properly be viewed within the broader
context of Te Pā Auroa. In upholding the legal status of Te Awa Tupua and Tupua te Kawa, the
role of Te Pou Tupua is a statutory one.
As Tupua te Kawa recognises, the iwi and hapū of the Whanganui River are at the very heart of, and inextricably interconnected with, Te Awa Tupua. In upholding the legal status of Te Awa Tupua and Tupua te Kawa, Te Pou Tupua must therefore respect that the primary voice of the Awa comes from the iwi and hapū, and uplift that kōrero in the exercise of its functions. As such, the first point of reference for understanding Te Awa Tupua and Tupua te Kawa, and the application of Te Pā Auroa in practice, lies with hapū and iwi who should lead such understanding within the communities of Te Awa Tupua, the Crown and local government.
Links to organisations that you can speak to, including Te Kōpuka nā Te Awa Tupua and Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, are provided below:
Te Kōpuka nā Te Awa Tupua
Q: How is Te Pou Tupua appointed?
Every three years the iwi of Te Awa Tupua and the Crown (through the Minster for the Environment in consultation with Māori Development and Conservation Minsters) jointly appoint Te Pou Tupua.
Iwi and the Crown each nominate a suitable person, then meet to agree one another’s nomination before jointly appointing Te Pou Tupua for the succeeding three years.
Neither person appointed to the station of Te Pou Tupua represents either the iwi or the Crown. Te Pou Tupua holds a singular duty to uphold the legal person status of Te Awa Tupua and adherence to Tupua te Kawa.
Q: Who performs the role of Te Pou Tupua currently?
Te Pou Tupua is currently Turama Hawira and Keria Ponga.
Q: What are the roles and responsibilities of Te Pou Tupua?
The role of Te Pou Tupua is to uphold and speak for the legal person status of Te Awa Tupua. Te Pou Tupua has the duty to engage with and represent, in consultation with communities of Te Awa Tupua, the collective views of those communities within the Whanganui River through the following means:
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Developing relationships at both the central and local government levels.
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Establishing relationships with hapū and iwi.
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Building strategic relationships with the communities of Te Awa Tupua.
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Advocating for understanding and awareness of Tupua te Kawa among all communities of Te Awa Tupua.
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Performing landowner duties in respect of riverbed vested in Te Awa Tupua
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Managing Te Korotete.
Q: This awa is the first river recognised as an entity, but what does that actually mean in the preservation and sustainability of this sacred water source?
Te Awa o Whanganui has always been an ancestor to the hapū and iwi of Whanganui in kawa (indigenous law and practice). Consistent with kawa, the river has now been recognised as a living and indivisible whole in statute, with legal entity (legal person) status the vehicle to carry such acknowledgement.
Recognition of the legitimacy of kawa reforms the way in which planning and decision making in respect of the river is made, by recognising the centrality of the awa first together with its hapū and iwi in a framework shared with the river community. This approach is intended to provide for the preservation and sustainability of its waters beyond that previously possible under resource management law in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Q: What makes the river special?
The river is the source of spiritual and physical sustenance for the hapū and iwi of Te Awa Tupua. It supports and sustains the life and natural resources through the length of the river. It also sustains the hapū and iwi who trace their back descent to some 143 marae (villages) many of which remain occupied along the length of the awa.
The special nature of the River in the eyes of Whanganui hapū and iwi is encapsulated in Tupua te Kawa, the innate value set of Te Awa Tupua:
Te Awa Tupua is an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea. It incorporates the river and all of its physical and metaphysical elements.
The iwi and hapū of the river have an inalienable interconnection with, and responsibility to, Te Awa Tupua and its health and wellbeing. The hapu and iwi often represent this connection through the words “Ko au te Awa, ko te Awa ko au. I am the River and the River is me.”
Te Awa Tupua is a singular entity comprised of many elements and communities, working together for the common purpose of the health and wellbeing of Te Awa Tupua.
Q: What was the process to gain the recognition?
The process of recognition of Te Awa Tupua as a living and indivisible whole resulted from more than a century and half of effort by Whanganui hapū and iwi to have the mana (sovereignty) of the river and the mana of hapū and iwi recognised under the unextinguished kawa (indigenous law and practice) held by hapū prior to, and since, the introduction of imported law and value sets. Te Pā Auroa and Te Awa Tupua recognise the kawa of Whanganui hapu and iwi as the preeminent law and value set, shared in an inclusive framework with all communities to better provide for the care, use and protection of the Whanganui River as Te Awa Tupua.
Because the history that led to recognition belongs to Whanganui hapū and iwi, please follow this link for further information.
Q: What has it meant in the five years since that happened?
Work has been progressed the past five years respectively by Whanganui Iwi entity, Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui and Te Pou Tupua, educating and preparing the Crown, local government and the Whanganui Catchment community of the required paradigm shift required under Te Awa Tupua and Tupua te Kawa.
Under the leadership of hapū and iwi of the Whanganui Catchment, Te Kōpuka nā Te Awa Tupua, a collaborative catchment strategy group comprised of iwi, hapū, central government, sectorial interests, and local government have embarked on construction of Te Heke Ngahuru ki te Awa Tupua, a Te Awa Tupua strategy to action the required paradigm shift.
Q: What are the challenges that the river faces?
The environmental challenges facing the awa are many. Follow the links below to the scoping studies on the Whanganui River.
Q: What would an ideal future look like for the Whanganui River?
Te Kōpuka nā Te Awa Tupua has produced a draft strategy, Te Heke Ngahuru ki te Awa Tupua, to be released on 15 September 2023. The strategy contains a vision for the future of the Whanganui River under Te Awa Tupua and Tupua te Kawa.
Q: How has conservation management changed since the shift to recognise the Whanganui River as a legal person?
Consistent with kawa, the river has now been recognised as a living and indivisible whole in statute, with legal entity (legal person) status the vehicle to carry such acknowledgement. Recognition of the legitimacy of kawa reforms the way in which planning and decision making in respect of the river is made, by recognising the centrality of the awa first together with its hapū and iwi in a framework shared with the river community. This approach is intended to provide for the preservation and sustainability of its waters, native flora and native fauna, beyond that previously possible under resource management and conservation law in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Q: Do you think legal personhood meets Treaty obligations?
Please refer this question to the hapū and iwi of Te Awa Tupua. A link to Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui is provided below: