BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT ENV-2016-AKL- 42 and 45 IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) AND IN THE MATTER of two appeals under s 120 of the RMA BETWEEN NGA POTIKI A TAMAPAHORE TRUST AND OTHERS Appellants AND BAY OF PLENTY REGIONAL COUNCIL Respondent AND ASTROLABE COMMUNITY TRUST Applicant PRIMARY STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF MANU HUGHES PENE FOR TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI WHAKAUE KI MAKETŪ INC. AND TE ARAWA TAKITAI MOANA KAUMATUA FORUM DATED: 22 nd December 2016
Page 2 INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Manu Hughes Pene. 2. I am the current Chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū Incorporated in Maketū and have served as a board member for five years. 3. I am a member of the Te Arawa Takitai Moana Kaumatua Forum. 4. I am in my 70s and hail from Whakarewarewa, Rotorua. 5. My whakapapa is to Tuhourangi/Ngāti Wahiao, Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Whakaue and others. 6. I have been involved with hapū and iwi development issues while working for the Department of Maori Affairs, and the Department of Internal Affairs most of my working life. 7. I moved to Maketū in 1995 to live on papakainga whanau lands. My house is within 25 metres of the Maketū estuary. RANGITIRATANGA 8. The Maketū estuary is highly significant to Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū. They have challenged county councils, local councils and the Regional Council for many years on the state of the estuary s health. 9. During the MV Rena clean-up I spent three weeks helping to clean-up the oil from the beaches and rocks at Maketū. We had around 30 of our Maketū people in my group. 10. I did not care for those who said they were coordinating the clean-up. 11. My role was as a kaitiaki with our Maketū people to clean up the oil and contaminants from the MV Rena that had dispersed onto the Maketū spit, Okurei Point and the Maketū estuary. Ngāti Whakaue whanau were prominent in the clean-up. We carried with us the responsibility of cleaning, protecting and preserving the coastline from further debris. In undertaking the kaitiaki responsibilities we have carried on from others who have now passed away.
Page 3 12. We had some of our Ngāti Whakaue whanau from Ohinemutu, Rotorua come to Maketū to help clean up, a bus load. I thought to myself what champions they were. It showed the whanaungatanga (kinship) of our people to manaaki (support) one another in such times. TRADITIONAL FISHING GROUNDS 13. From a child to an adult my whanau always sourced our kaimoana (seafood) from Maketū. We relied on the Maketū estuary and the sea to provide for us. 14. The natural character of the Maketū estuary over the years has changed somewhat from diversion works that were carried out and continued resource consents altering the look of it; none that I can say have benefitted the estuary too much. We can get pipi, pupu and flounder in the estuary. 15. Some of the locals go line fishing and catch fish at its mouth. On stormy days, there is a wash up of seaweed and kelp where you can find kuakua (shell fish). EFFECTS AS A RESULT OF THE OIL SPILL ON THE MAKETŪ COASTLINE 16. Our Maketū group cleaned oil along Maketū Spit from the beaches to Okurei Point. I saw oiled seals and birds; some dead and some not. We used the moss method to clean the rocks at Okurei Point; it was great. 17. We had to enter the Maketū spit from Te Tumu because there were booms at the mouth of the Maketū estuary. They also established booms along Maketū Road area for fear the contaminants would enter from other waterways into the estuary. Three photographs of the booms are set out under annexure A. A photograph from the Rotorua Daily Post newspaper in October 2011 showing Ngāti Whakaue whanau cleaning up the Maketū Spit is set out under annexure B.
Page 4 EFFECTS AS A RESULT OF THE OIL SPILL ON THE COASTAL MARINE AREA AND KAIMOANA 18. Maketū is known for its mussels (kuku). They are famous and people come from Rotorua, Tauranga, Tokoroa and even Australia to get a kai (feed) of mussels. When the MV Rena grounded and contaminants were released we did not harvest any mussels for over a year, or two seasons. 19. We also have the salty pipi (pipi kai oneone) in the estuaries. The pipi are small and tasty. There are always lots of whanau gathering pipi in the summer months. After the MV Rena grounding we did not gather pipi either for over a year. 20. On the personal side, I have been diving and fishing at parts of Motiti for crayfish and paua and at Otāiti for hapuku, terakihi, maomao, king fish and snapper since I was a young person. We would go out fishing with my cousins, we would come from Rotorua to stay at Maketū. We caught lots of fish species out there. I was right into snapper, but the school fish on top included kahawai and maomao. We used to catch the odd grouper which gave me a fright because you would only catch those fish in the deep. When I moved to Maketū we continued to go out to the reef. The outstanding natural character of Otāiti used to be untouched and had a surreal feature. On a nice calm sunny day that was the place to be; it was lovely. When the wind got up then best to go fish somewhere else. We would go into one of the bays at Motiti for shelter, sometimes we would go ashore and cook us a feed. 21. I took the opportunity to return to Otāiti during a 2013 trip organised by the Owners. It looked far different with parts of the Rena still sticking up from the reef. Absent was the sound of the birds nose diving into the water catching fish. The Rena has adversely impacted on the natural character of the reef. A photograph of the Rena on the reef in 2013 is shown as Photo 4 under annexure C. 22. The MV Rena wreck will continue to discharge contaminants into the marine area and adversely affect the Otāiti reef and the coastal mainland areas such as Maketū.
Page 5 IMPACT OF THE OIL SPILL AND THE WRECK ON HEALTH 23. During the clean-up, Ngāti Whakaue and the community were at high levels of stress and anxiety especially the old people. Some of our people were arguing about whose fault it was. It was just emotions of anger and fear; you know that is the first reaction to such a disaster. Some tears were shed, when you see the sea turn black and the waves coming in are black with oil that s fear all right. To me I was quite fearful for my whanau, my mokopuna. Here I am a koroua having to deal with this. So, that is why I did my bit to clean the oil and debris up; for the sake of my whanau and our environment. IMPACT OF THE OIL SPILL AND THE WRECK ON LIVING STANDARDS AND RECREATION 24. The significant aspects of Maketū and the adverse effects that the MV Rena grounding did to our people was to take away the ability to live, play, work and carry out cultural activities. People weren t coming to pick shell fish or swim in the estuary, at that time the numbers in Maketū usually rise because of the summer season. 25. The local fish shop was owned by Liz and Hepa Mikaere. They went bust because there were no tourists coming to Maketū and buying fish and chips. They had just purchased a coffee machine so the impact of no customers was severe on their business. The local dairy is reliant on whanau and tourists coming to Maketū during the holidays. During those times the number of visitors coming to Maketū was unnoticeable. FAILURE TO CONSULT 26. I was not invited to the consultation hui held on our marae with the Owner/Applicant. I was not informed that the hui was taking place. It is a shame that we open our marae to others and this is how we are repaid.
Page 6 Dated this 22 nd day of December 2016 Manu Pene
Page 7 ANNEXURE A Photographs of booms protecting Maketū Estuary Photo 1: Boom placement in wetland area of the Maketu Estuary. Photo 2: Maketu Estuary Boom Photo 3: Aerial shot of booms in place at Maketu Estuary
Page 8 ANNEXURE B Photographs of Ngāti Whakaue assisting with clean-up on Maketū Spit Photo from Rotorua Daily Post, Rotorua, October 2011
Page 9 ANNEXURE C Photograph of view of Otāiti / Astrolabe Reef in 2013 Photo: Astrolabe Reef taken when visiting the MV Rena wreck 2013.