Hastings District Papakāinga Development Guide
A collaboration between Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Kooti Whenua Māori and Hastings District Council
Hastings District Council received the accolade of Highly Commended in the 2009 NZ Post / SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards (Joined-up Local Government), for the collaborative work that went into the development of its Papakāinga Development Guide.
The development of the guide brought together the many processes and approvals needed by Māori landowners in Hastings District for a papakāinga development on their land.
Papakāinga development
Papakāinga development (1) is the highest strategic priority for Māori in Hastings District, according to research undertaken by Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.
Papakāinga development is permitted under the Resource Management Act 1991, Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, and Hastings District Council’s various planning documents since 1997.
Before this project, Māori landowners had to seek approvals from the Hastings District Council, the Māori Land Court (Te Kooti Whenua Māori), and Te Puni Kōkiri before they could proceed with a papakāinga development. Despite the strong demand for papakāinga housing, few consents were granted.
Potential applicants were caught between Council and Court. For example, shareholders of Māori land could not lodge building consent applications with the Hastings District Council without an authority on behalf of all the owners. Council staff referred potential applicants to the Māori Land Court, but they would not provide authority without evidence from the Council that the applicant had approval to build on the land.
A collaborative response
To address this situation Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Kooti Whenua Māori and Hastings District Council came together to find a solution. They resolved to:
- produce a step-by-step guide to papakāinga development
- make the three agencies’ consent information, policies, procedures and responses to papakāinga development applications consistent
- develop and strengthen relationships between the agencies.
Project planning
The project partners engaged a certified project management professional to manage the project in accordance with the Project Management Institute’s good practice principles, tikanga and Ngati Kahungunu kawa.
The project received approval to proceed from council and the central government agencies’ senior management teams. Policy direction came from the Long-term Council Community Plan, and the project was governed by a steering committee from the three agencies.
A whānau reference group (of people who had experienced the process, or were currently working through it) acted as advisors. The project also involved a Roopu Pakeke – a cultural advisory forum of kaumātua and kuia who provided cultural direction and oversight, and were arbiters of the use of Māori conceptual frameworks, whakatauaki (proverbs) and language. The involvement of these two groups ensured that a high quality and usable guide, acceptable to its intended audience, was successfully produced.
The project was evaluated throughout. Presentations on the results were made to staff of each agency, the whānau reference group, the Roopu Pakeke, and to a national papakāinga forum of Māori design, environment, engineering, iwi development and local government professionals.
Staff from all parts of the Council were involved, including:
- building inspectors
- consent planning officers
- environmental policy planners
- Strategic Advisor Culture and Heritage
- Team Leader Environmental Planning and Policy
- Team Leader Building, and Resource Consents.
Staff from the Māori Land Court including officers who processed applications for orders to occupy the land and understood the four types of legal forms, and Māori engagement advisors were also involved.
The project used the Te Puni Kōkiri governance and management toolkit to train whānau to develop infrastructure that meet their legal and customary obligations to the whānau and the whenua.
Finally, a designer-writer-project leader was appointed.
Outcomes
The project became a benchmark for relationship and policy development.
Officers from three different agencies (which each made equal contributions to the budget), the project leader and the whānau developed a shared purpose and understanding – about processes, objectives, statutory schemes, regulations, values, whenua and whakawhanaungatanga.
More Council officers now understand and support the aspirations, and the process, for papakāinga development, and Māori Land Court officers appreciate the relationship between the application for court orders and the District Plan.
The strong relationships forged provide a strong basis for future projects. For example, the waahi tapu and reservations guide, hapu management plan guide, marae development plan guide, and Māori tourism development guide are all related to the Council’s economic development and marketing strategy.
The guide itself is innovative, and makes complex processes easily understood. It is being used by other councils. Progress in building the houses in a papakāinga development is monitored electronically through the resource consent process.
The three agencies now make joint presentations at hui for applicants for papakāinga development – and include building inspectors, resource consents officers and environmental planners.
The Council could not have achieved these outcomes by working on its own.
The engagement of the Māori community was enhanced by the involvement of Te Puni Kōkiri and the Māori Land Court. With Te Puni Kōkiri, the Council could reach a wider section of the Māori community, including those suspicious of Council processes.
The Māori Land Court’s involvement ensured accurate information about the different options available under the Te Ture Whenua Act, and the appropriate times in the planning process to contact and gain information or approvals from the Court.
For more information contact Hastings District Council council@hdc.govt.nz.
(1) Papakāinga is a form of housing development which occurs on multiply-owned Māori or ancestral land. The literal meaning of Papakāinga is, ‘a nurturing place to return to’.
