The NPSFM places a responsibility on Council to engage iwi/hapū in the freshwater planning process. Council staff continue to invite and support iwi and hapū involvement to the extent they want to be involved or have capacity to be involved.
Staff are maintaining a good faith approach to implementing the aspirations of the NPSFM, supporting a range of tangata whenua-led projects and making connections to organisations and groups. There is an open invitation for tangata whenua to contact Kaupapa Māori staff for a conversation about what the NPSFM might mean for the waterways in a particular place and about what support Council can offer an iwi/hapū in this kaupapa. This will continue to be communicated throughout the engagement process and beyond.
Council is also aware that language such as “NPSFM” and “FMU” does not always land well so we are trying to connect with wording around having conversations so that we can better understand the importance of freshwater to tangata whenua.