Māori Council is calling for an investigation into the Kaikōura rebuild

Sunday, 19 January 2020

The newly constructed safe stopping area at Ohau Point on State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura.

The Māori Council is calling for an inquiry into the Kaikōura rebuild and is backing a community group calling for the halt of new work on State Highway 1.

The New Zealand Māori Council has called for an end to the emergency provisions enacted after the Kaikōura earthquake in 2016, which require 'little or no consultation for new works'.

Māori Council executive director Matthew Tukaki said he was asked to intervene after being told the ongoing construction was 'killing the heart and soul' of the community.

'The question is, has this project gone well above what it should have done?,' Tukaki said.

* State Highway 1 rebuild along Kaikōura coast two-thirds complete

* Kaikōura road and rail rebuild up against fantastic feats of engineering**

Major slips covers State Highway 1 near Kaikōura after the 7.8 earthquake hit in November 2016.

After meeting with the Minister for Transport Phil Twyford and community group Protect Our Unique Kaikōura (POU) in October, the Māori Council detailed its concerns saying it believed the recovery alliance, The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR), was 'acting outside of the spirit and scope of the emergency provisions'.

'There's no doubt that what's been achieved is an engineering marvel. But it wasn't meant to be an engineering marvel, it was meant to ensure that the community could continue living their lives, in some ways, as if nothing had happened.'

A letter from Tukaki to Twyford said the ongoing construction work was having 'negative impacts on the well-being of the entire community who continue to be shut out of decisions with illegitimate references to the emergency legislation'.

The 2016 earthquake destroyed road and rail along the South Island's east coast.

A spokesman for Minister Twyford said on Friday, the minister was 'considering their letter and would reply in due course'.

Tukaki had concerns the construction of 'unnecessary' barriers meant Māori had been denied customary rights in accessing kaimoana and sites of cultural significance.

He had called for an inquiry into whether or not works along the coastal strip fell outside the work approved. This included the shared user path and works like the road realignment at Half Moon Bay.

Kaikōura locals, backed by the Māori Council of New Zealand, are questioning whether the rebuild has gone too far.

The community was 'deeply concerned' that this was a case of 'build now and ask permission later', he said.

Tukaki called for an 'audit and internal inquiry' into the budget allocated to NCTIR to ensure it was not a case of 'invoice creep' where contractors were seeking payment for work that did not need to occur, or was not approved.

Protect Our Unique Kaikōura coast spokeswoman Sharon Rayner, of Ngāti Kurī, said it was grateful for initial works and the re-opening of State Highway 1, but it had continued beyond what was necessary.

The collective formed in 2019 and was made up of mana whenua, surfers, divers, farmers and fisherman.

'There's concrete through bays and beaches, barred fencing, blocked beach access and non-essential guard rail littering the entire coastline,' Rayner said.

'Blocked access to mahinga kai food gathering areas, disregard to our urupa, desecration of a significant cultural talisman, trampling through wahi tapu sites and turning our beautiful natural coastline into a sideshow for tourism,' she said.