6 Moving Forward
It was suggested that government carefully consider what the best role is for them to play and then bring together a wider spectrum of expertise to address climate change.
6.1 Further policy considerations
Throughout the country it was echoed that climate change consolidates all other environmental issues. There needs to be a clear framework upon which to build rational domestic policy that achieves environmental outcomes. Contributing to this is a need for more life cycle analysis – the assessment of the full environmental impact of a given product or service throughout its lifespan.
Māori would like to see a tikanga approach to climate change, as part of a unique response to this global issue. There is a need for philosophical concepts, in this policy development, embodying family and culture and thereby aiding people’s ability to see themselves within these principles of kaitiakitanga. A bicultural plan would be ideal.
Māori would like government to recognise that no one policy suits all; there is a need to look at separate processes for Māori in this policy development. This potentially means separate policies which are supportive for Māori.
It was suggested that further analysis be undertaken to best inform Māori decision making around climate change policy. Specific requests were: to look at where Māori sit in terms of emissions per capita; how these policies might impact on the Māori economy; and what the impact of these policies on Māori lifestyle might be. It was queried what cross-sectoral work is going on whereby social issues are teased out alongside the climate change policy development. To assist Māori in making decisions about best land uses, they would like to see government resourcing a land classification process/project. This suggestion was supported by the Māori reference group.
The submission by the Māori reference group supported a specific Māori analysis of the issues, to inform climate change policy development as it relates to tangata whenua.
Although some Māori had been involved in the policy decisions made regarding the Kyoto Protocol, the general feeling was they were not.
Reference was made to a precedent already set with the Taupō nitrogen permit trading scheme. In this instance, there has been some grandparenting and the minimum forestation area was set at five hectares. This precedent could be applied to the relevant sustainable land management and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) policies.
Although the principles were understood by some, many found a greenhouse gas credit market difficult to fathom. They suggested government might want to simplify its information by taking a, “Here’s the market, the statistics and how it works” approach. Some Māori agreed that if there were to be a tradable permit regime, then deforestation permits should be allocated to landowners. It was specifically stated by some attendees that the fishing quota system did not work and that Māori did not wish such a scheme revisited for this purpose.
Some Māori could see opportunities within the proposed policy package, for example the grey credit market for management of pre-1990 forests. Beyond that, the opportunities for Māori were uncertain and more information was needed. The Taranaki hui expressed that although the climate change policy package does contain opportunities, these are not apparent to the majority of Māori.
6.2 Incentives and support
It was suggested that only a serious and well-considered provision for incentives would lead to an increased uptake of policy options and proposed initiatives. On several occasions attendees asked how government expected Māori to deliver. There was a call for capacity building as trusts would need to have their skills improved to help them make decisions about government policy options, which required further encouragement from government.
Some iwi would like to research which of the proposed policy options would best work for them, yet there appears to be no capacity to follow this through. They indicated also that in the forestry area the incentives were as yet insufficient. Some attendees suggested the credits be devolved to forest owners for both pre-1990 and post-1989 forests: “If you don’t encourage replanting of pre-1990 forests then there will be changes in land use”.
Attendees called for further support to deal with urbanization. Creeping urban boundaries and a growing interest in lifestyle blocks in some areas such as Northland has translated into an increase in Council rates. Māori asked for government support to ensure their land was maintained in its natural state or in forestry.
Some Māori have had to lease land to pay for the rising Council rates. They called for central government to work with local government on these issues, so that Māori can retain their land in its natural state.
The policy proposals were considered to provide insufficient incentive to change sustainable land management practices: the positive externalities should be rewarded with incentives and subsidies. One suggestion was that a moratorium, similar to that used with the SILNA9 forests, should be considered by which a small financial incentive would encourage people to keep their forests and would prevent Māori land ‘deforestation’.
Several questions and challenges were put forward to government as to why nothing before 1990 is rewarded or receives incentives; and why there are no incentives for changing from exotic to indigenous species. It was thought these issues need to be addressed and incorporated within future policy.
Many groups considered Māori should have a priority to access value from renewable energy projects that utilise natural resources in their rohe, such as hydro and geothermal energy.
6.3 Regional issues
Several regional issues were discussed at the hui. Some of these related to Council rates and highlighted the need for government to work closely with local government in implementing any policies. To this end, Māori would like government to put in place an auditing process which ensures local government alignment with government policies.
Māori would like to see regional projected impacts reports such as the one produced by Environment Canterbury (ECAN). As regional councils have capacity issues too, Māori would like government to provide them with more support and leadership.
A need for regional transport strategies was also perceived, with a focus on Auckland because it has the largest Māori population in the world, and because it is the fastest growing city in New Zealand.
The removal of obligations on distribution networks to maintain uneconomic lines from 2013 was a specific issue for some areas such as the East Cape. Māori would like to explore opportunities whereby tangata whenua are able to access subsidised support for creating a local network/generation. They already have the technical support presently to manage this properly.
6.4 Engagement and communication
It was accepted that there is a need to address climate change and taking action was supported. However, several comments were made regarding communications and engagement.
Most hui participants felt the need for ongoing communication. However, all the information that government is providing also needs to be managed. A one-pager could be sent out to stakeholders summarising the key issues, and government could use local Māori networks to disseminate this information.
Māori expressed the need for increased general awareness of climate change, and awareness of how people could take personal responsibility within the collective responsibility. Some attendees felt that the focus of the kōrero was on local issues, and that people are not necessarily realising the global responsibility. It was suggested that both Māori and the government need to personalise climate change issues to ensure buy-in and collective action. Support is needed to achieve this objective.
Another suggestion was that dollars would be better spent on education about climate change and on action-focused programmes rather than on consultation. Future stakeholders – school children – need to come on board now. More environmental education is needed. Others would like to see specific resources created for both primary and high schools.
Moving the engagement process forward requires careful consideration from both Māori and government. In addition to domestic engagement, both Treaty partners need to consider how best to involve the indigenous community in the global dialogue. Within this dialogue, expectations on both sides need to be managed.
A variety of models were cited as providing best practice for engagement. One was the national advisory Māori sessions by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) illustrating a good example of a good consultation process. It was recognised that ERMA has considerable budget provisions to achieve this.
A further example of a regional approach was the Te Rawhiti task force, created by involving a variety of representatives from iwi, community and business. This group oversees a regional strategy based on the triple bottom line. This group led to the Te Rawhiti Lands Trust, which signs off on every key decision made by the Tai Rawhiti taskforce.
Māori also questioned how to best share their desires and information with government and acknowledged that this needs further thought.
9 South Island Landless Natives Act 1906.
