Auckland’s advice, the crown and tangata when you are proposing a formal recognition action to help guide the protection of Te Wao Nui to Tiriwa.
For many West Aucklanders, growing meant having the waitākere tracks – also known as Te wao nui the Tiriwa – at his back door. The long afternoons spent manuses on water holes of muddy rails, exploring the bush under Kauri, and watching the sun fall behind the surf along the coast. The ngahere – thick, damp and full of life – was a playground and a sanctuary.
Now, almost two decades after the area was formally recognized by law as an area of heritage, the Crown, Tangata When and Auckland, are proposing a formal agreement to protect and manage this place together.
What is the Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area?
The Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area covers more than 27,000 hectares of forest, coast and small communities in western Auckland, including 17,000 -hectares of Waitākere regional park. It is one of the most biological and culturally significant landscapes in the country – home of dense native ecosystems, old walking tracks and a living connection between Tangata when and their ancestral lands.
This meaning was recognized in 2008, when Parliament approved the Waitākere Heritage Area Law. The law is designed to protect the “heritage characteristics” of the area, including its various ecosystems, landscapes, cultural places and longtime relationships when you have with WHENUA.
One of the most pressing challenges in recent years has been Kauri Dieback, a ground -transmitted pathogen that threatened the iconic native trees. In 2017, Te Kawerau ā Maki put a Rāhui In wooded areas of the intervals, to help stop its propagation. Auckland’s advice continued with formal closures In early 2018. These decisions were made in collaboration with Te Kawerau ā Maki and the Conservation Department, reflecting a shared commitment to protect the ecological and cultural integrity of the area.
The 2008 law also allowed the creation of recognition actions – formal agreements that recognize the special relationship of mana when with the earth and describe how they can contribute to their administration.
Seventeen years later, the first action is now on the table.
What is being proposed?
In the heart of the current proposal, there is a formal agreement – known as Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area, acknowledgment of recognition – being developed between the Crown, Auckland’s advice and Tangata, when you, specifically Te Kawerau ā Maki. Discussions are also underway with Ngāti Whātua about their potential involvement.
The action is based on the 2008 Heritage Waitākere Ranges Law and defines how these parts can work together to take care and improve the area. Recognizes the deep cultural, spiritual and historical Tangata connection when you have on Earth and aim to support the long -term administration of your natural and cultural values.
The proposed action did:
- Formally recognize Tangata relationships when you with the area of heritage;
- Describe how the crown, Auckland’s advice and tangata when you can work together to manage it and protect it;
- And identify practical opportunities for Tangata when you contribute to public land service and management.
In December 2024, the Auckland Council agreed in principle to four -chamber elements of the proposed action:
- Develop a long -term strategic plan for the equity area;
- Create a coordinated work program to deliver this plan;
- Establish joint monitoring and progress and results report;
- And form a joint decision -making committee, according to the 2002 local government law, with 50% representation of Tangata when and 50% representation of the Auckland and Crown Council.
It is important to note that the action:
- It applies only to public lands belonging or managed by the crown or council;
- Does not affect land or private water;
- And does not replace existing governance structures or statutory powers.
Instead, it was designed to support better coordination, transparency and long -term partnership between the parties involved.
How is the area currently managed?
The Waitākere Ranges Heritage Area is managed by the Auckland Board, with the support of the Conservation Department and Community Group, Volunteer and Tangata Wheneua contracts.
The current management structure is based on the 2008 law, which established the values of the area’s assets and established legal responsibilities for its protection. Following the merger of the 2010 local government, Auckland’s board inherited the roles of the former Auckland Regional Council, Waitākere City Council and Rodney District Council. Today, it supervises the Waitākere Ranges Regional Park, monitors environmental results and updates parks management plans.
Te Kawerau ā Maki is regularly consulted on decisions, but there is no formal structure of shared governance. The proposed action aims to change this – not transferring property or statutory power, but creating a more structured and lasting structure for cooperation, with Tangata when you recognize as active Kaitiaki.
Why now?
Seventeen years after the law’s approval, Auckland’s Council says it is the right time to fulfill its intention.
Counselor Richard Hills, chairman of the board’s Planning and Environment Committee, describes the action as a way to formalize the collaboration that is already happening between Tangata when you, local communities, forest guards and volunteers.
For Te Kawerau ā Maki, the action reflects its longtime role, as Kaitiaki and signals a shared decision -making movement that benefits both when and those who use it. Tumuaki Huanga Maori of the Council, Nick Turoa, called an opportunity to honor past promises and build a long -term shared plan for the future.
Waitākere ranges have been inhabited and cared for by Maori for centuries. The 2008 law includes the words of Te Waatarauiihi, a creak that spoke at the 1860 Kohimarama conference. Seu Kōrero described the tracks as inseparable from his people’s life – the land delivered by ancestors who had walked their Ridgelines long before Auckland existed.
For Tangata when you, this relationship is not symbolic. It is exercised daily through the practice of Kaitiakitanga.
The action goes beyond recognition. With 50% representation proposed in a joint committee, it offers the base for genuine co-government. Although the details of the committee’s role are still being developed, this would represent a significant step towards shared decision making.
Similar models already exist throughout motu. The Waikato River authority, for example, has the same representation of nominees IWI and Crown and plays a statutory role in Rio’s health. In Terewera, governance is shared between ngāi tūhoe and the crown through a council that manages the area as a legal entity in itself. Although Waitākere’s proposal does not arrive so far, it reflects the broader change to incorporate mana when in the governance of ancestral lands – not as consultants, but as partners.
Is there any opposition?
Yes – Not everyone supports the proposal.
Earlier this month, Group Walk, TRAMP, Run – representing recreational users of the intervals – a letter circulated to Auckland’s progress clubs who ask individuals who oppose the action. The group argues that a joint committee with equal representation in Tangata when you could conflict with the intention of the 2008 law, which they interpret as an executive authority limiting any group.
What happens next?
It is important to note that the decision to develop a recognition deed has already been taken. Auckland’s Council clearly stated that the consultation is not about having an action – which was provided for under the 2008 law. Instead, feedback is being requested about what Scripture should contain and how it should work – including the strategic plan, the work program, the monitoring structure and the role of the joint committee.
The consultation is open until Monday April 28. Feedback will be analyzed and presented to the Auckland Council, with the final decisions expected in July or August 2025.
This is public interest journalism supported by New Zealand in the air.
