Statutory Acknowledgements in the Manawatū District

Statutory acknowledgements are statements of cultural, spiritual, historic, and traditional associations of an iwi with a site or an area that have been acknowledged by the Crown in a Treaty of Waitangi settlement process. The areas include land, geographical features, lakes, wetlands and coastal marine environments that the iwi is associated with. Statutory acknowledgements are only made over Crown land, or where it relates to a river, lake, wetland or coastal area, it only applies to that part of the bed in Crown ownership or control.

They have legal weight due to their inclusion in a Treaty Claims Settlement Act. The purpose of the statutory acknowledgements is specified in each Claim Settlement Act, but generally includes:

• A requirement for Councils to forward summaries of resource consent applications to the post Treaty settlement entity if the activities lie within, adjacent to, or impact directly on the identified statutory areas, unless there is an alternative agreement with the iwi;
• Empowerment for iwi to quote the statutory acknowledgement as evidence of the association that the iwi has with a statutory area in consent decision-making processes.

Statutory Acknowledgements can direct, or help to guide Manawatū District Council engagements. Council recognises the complexity of the Treaty Claim Settlements process, and continues to invest in growing relationships with all Māori within the District.

Council has a responsibility to attach information recording statutory acknowledgements to the District Plan. It is important information for resource users to consider when making an application for resource consent. Statutory Acknowledgements in the Manawatū District are outlined in Schedule 1 (PDF file, 4.9 MB) of the Manawatu District Plan document.