BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT ENV-2016-AKL- 42 and 45. of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) of two appeals under s 120 of the RMA

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Elisabeth Hodges
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1 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 LIAM TE WHEROWHERO TAPSELL FOR TE RŪNANGA O NGĀTI WHAKAUE KI MAKETŪ INC. AND TE ARAWA TAKITAI MOANA KAUMATUA FORUM DATED: 22 nd December 2016

2 Page 2 INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Liam Te Wherowhero Tapsell. 2. I am a Board member of Te Runanga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū Inc. in Maketū. I am a member of the Te Arawa Takitai Moana Kaumatua Forum. 3. I grew up in Maketū with my grandparents Taa and Taka Tapsell. Taa and Taka were very much connected to the natural resources. It was how we lived. We relied heavily on the Maketū estuary, the sea and our mara kai (vegetable gardens) to sustain our existence. 4. Our way of life consisted of gathering food. The Maketū estuary and the sea were our food sources. We relied heavily on Tangaroa (God of the Sea). 5. We relied on the sea for income. Our main income came from collecting agar from the rocks around Okurei. I would ride the horse down the beach to drag the bales of agar from Okurei to our homestead. 6. I am 74 years of age. I went to school at Maketū. In my High School years I was sent to Rotorua and then to Saint Stephens College. 7. I did apprenticeships in brick laying and boiler making and worked all over the world in my trades and hardly ever saw my children. 8. Thereafter I came home and did a Diploma in Sport and Recreation with Bay Of Plenty Polytech. I worked as a personal trainer until I injured my back. WHAKAPAPA 9. My whakapapa is: Hans Felk Tapsell Retireti Tapihana Taa Tapihana Hineiturama Ngatai Tohi Te Ururangi Taka Tapihana Anzac Butcher Liam Tapsell

3 Page When you talk about Maketū every whanau is connected in some way. Many of us have similar whakapapa (genealogy) brought together by the bloodlines. 11. Taa was the second eldest son of Retireti Tapsell and Ngatai Tohi Te Ururangi. Retireti was the eldest son of Hans Felk Tapsell and Hineiturama. Hans Felk Tapsell was the first pakeha trader in the Bay of Plenty who settled in Maketū in the 1830s. He set up a trading post for dressed flax. He employed Ngāti Whakaue and other tribes to process flax for him and in return they would barter for goods. 12. Hineiturama was a chieftainess who was arranged by the Ngāti Whakaue chiefs to marry Tapsell to keep him as a friend for Ngāti Whakaue. 13. Ngatai was the daughter of Tohi Te Ururangi who was a famous Ngāti Whakaue fighting chief. He was the tūpuna that laid claim to Motiti and set his pigs on the island in the 1860s. Tohi led the battle of Te Kaokaoroa at Matata. Unfortunately, he was the only casualty. His wife carried his body on her own from Matata back to Maketū. BOUNDARIES/ROHE 14. We have spiritual and emotional connections to our natural environment. All Māori have those connections to their rohe (area) and we are no different. 15. Our whakapapa connections to Otāiti extend from Ngatoroirangi and Tamatekapua who was the captain of Te Arawa canoe. Ngatoirangi was the tohunga aboard the Arawa and the first cousin to Tamatekapua. Tamatekapua is who we descend from as Ngāti Whakaue. 16. When Ngatoroirangi moved to Materehua, Tamatekapua would watch over his cousin from Te Kuraetanga o te Ihu o Tamatekapu (Okurei Point) in Maketū. He would send his warriors out to Materehua where Ngatoroirangi lived to ensure his whanaunga (relation) was safe or well. 17. They would take him food and goods from Maketū. Tamatekapua ensured that the Tohunga was well provided for.

4 Page Ngatoroirangi, when he was living at Motiti, also took with him some of our whanaunga (relatives) from Maketū. Ngatoroirangi was not alone as the story may suggest. He was a tohunga of the highest order, a matekite (spiritual person) an astronomer, a physicist, a priest and an academic. 19. A tohunga of that calibre would have had to have slaves or his own whanaunga (relatives) to provide the care and safety he needed. That tohunga was very tapu (sacred). He did not do daily chores or hunt and gather kai (food) like a normal person. 20. These things were done by normal people who would have all been servants to him. So, it is my belief that his people of Maketū were at Motiti with Ngatoroirangi and that is why we have a connection to that history and to that whenua. Not only through Ngatoroirangi but also Tamatekapua who was the captain of the Arawa waka and who provided for his well-being. 21. Ngatoroirangi journeyed to Moehau and to Tongariro on his travels. We do know that our ancestors had a sixth sense because his sisters came to help him when he was freezing at Tongariro and gave him warmth by providing hot water springs and fire The battle of Maikukutea started because Ngatoroirangi heard his sister was being abused by her husband, so he returned to Hawaiki to correct the wrongs being done to her (Kuiwai). 2 Whilst he did not put his brother-in-law to death he did leave an impression that if the abuse were to happen again, the outcome would be different. 23. The brother-in-law travelled to Motiti to challenge Ngatoroirangi on the matter. However, he was outwitted by the tohunga who conjured up a great storm which drowned his brother in law and his warriors and left their fingernails stuck in the sand along the Papamoa beach. 24. So, that is a story of our tūpuna and something that I always hold close to me when I go fishing out in the marine area Battle at Motiti Island between Ngatoroirangi and Manaia pre-1840s. History of Te Arawa.

5 Page 5 WHAKATAUKI 25. This whakatauki relates to Motiti and to Ngatoroirangi and goes back to the connections. Ka uhia au ki te paepaeroa ā Rongomaiwhiti (I have donned the cloak of Rongomaiwhiti) Ka Mau au ki te pou taiki ā te Aputahiapawa (I have snared the great tokotoko Te Aputahiapawa (Ngatoroirangi s staff)) Ka ngana noa au ki te iere aniwaniwa (With great courage I listen to the ethereal voices around me) Tera koa ko te tokotoko o te ahuru (The comforting of the tokotoko) Hei kawenga Mai i te kore i te po (To bring forth the darkness the void) Hei whakaputanga atu ki te whai ao ki te ao marama (Into the world of light) Whano, whano, haere mai te toki, hauemi e, hui e, taiki e (Go, go bring me the adze, let it be so.) RELATIONSHIP WITH PATUWAI WHANAU AT MOTITI AND TRADITIONAL FISHING GROUNDS 26. We would fish at Otāiti and Motiti a lot when I was growing up. Motiti whanau living on the island shared Te pataka kai (Maketū estuary) when they came to stay at Maketū. We had a mutual respectful relationship amongst each other. We did not go around asking No hea koe? Ko Wai Koe? (Where are you from, who are you?). As a fisherman if you were to be asked that and then you said Maketū, well it is an unwritten understanding that we are not strangers to the marine area on our doorstep.

6 Page 6 TIKANGA 27. We have obligations to Ngā Atua (Tangaroa) and to those coming after us. This is the tikanga we have always been taught. It is quite simple, and it applies to how we look after our home and our environment. Pick up your rubbish and take it home with you. Don t leave your paru here, it s yours, you take it away with you. 28. So naturally when the MV Rena ran aground on Otāiti we automatically thought it would be taken away, because that is what we would do if we accidentally dropped rubbish in someone else s backyard. Leave the place in a pristine condition when it comes to the environment. It is not yours so you should be handling it as though it has to be returned to Ngaa Atua; not in a mess, kahore he tika (that s not correct). We learnt from a young age to clean up our mess, take your rubbish home with you, don t be paru. 29. Taonga Tuku Iho this means a treasure passed down to us and of course that is how we think about the sea and the reefs. It will always come back to kaitiakitanga obligations to preserve and protect what we have left. He Ipu Karea. 3 EFFECTS AS A RESULT OF THE OIL SPILL ON THE MAKETŪ COASTLINE 30. We were very concerned for the waha puu (mouth of the estuary) at Maketū and Waihi. We were concerned for the birds (manu) on the Maketū Spit which is a sanctuary for native birds. We were concerned for the kaimoana, the pipi, the rocks, and the kuku under the rocks. EFFECTS AS A RESULT OF THE OIL SPILL ON KAIMOANA 31. He aitua (disaster) occurred near the beginning of spring the time for the kohanga (nesting). The impacts are on the spawning of the mullet, snapper, and glass eels. 3 Refers to where your ancestors bones lie. It is a place where you go to connect with them, cleanse your mind and rejuvenate your spirit.

7 Page We could not white bait so Maketū people missed out on gathering kai (whitebait) for the season. The old people only get whitebait once a year and most save it up for special occasions or give some to their inland whanaunga. I whitebait on the Maketū estuary on a regular basis, I have a stand and most days during the season you will find me on my stand, but not that year. 33. No one would gather the pipi or pupu because of the contamination effects. When this aitua occurred, we had to stop whitebaiting and collecting our kai from the Maketū estuary. 34. It was during the spring time when new life was meant to be celebrated. Instead the oil affected the kuku (mussel) spawning, and the kina. The mullet was spawning, and the glass eels were migrating from Tonga into the rivers. This cycle of life or loss of new life had adverse effects on our food sources. ONGOING CULTURAL EFFECTS OF MV RENA REMAINING ON OTĀITI AND THE SEABED 35. The wreck is always there, the oil still leaks onto the beaches and it will continue for a long time. 36. The younger generation may be more resilient. It is easier for them to see the clean-up. However, they are just as passionate as we are in their kaitiaki role. While they leave a lot of the work to the pakeke (adults) we can say they feel it just as much as we do. 37. The spiritual healing powers of our people require the removal of the contamination. No matter what these experts say, there will always be contamination in our food source. This will never be forgiven in our eyes. 38. Unfortunately, the ship s Owners are not taking our future living with the contaminants too seriously. They are just determined to end the whole ordeal for themselves as soon as possible. I would like to know, when they started to think about lodging a consent to leave the wreck at Otāiti?

8 Page Māori are always having to do battle in some form or another. In tribal times it used to be hand to hand combat to settle disputes. Then it moved to battles in the Maori Land Courts. Then to kanohi ki te kanohi debates and now it s using Councils, resource consents and litigation. 40. Some good people are fighting the fight against those who are using the system for their own means. Some of our old people were great orators. They told it how it was. Nowadays you get cowards hiding behind lawyers and the council planning tools. 41. Kunekune Roberts said, when Mighty River Power and those in the upper Kaituna threatened to dam the upper Kaituna awa: If this should go ahead Sir then you leave me with no choice but to fetch my Mere that has been handed down to me from my forefathers to do battle 42. The Owners are to blame for this happening. The Owners are to blame for the way this disaster has been handled. Before they started the clean-up, they looked at how they could legally leave it and walk away. 43. Why are Iwi being told if they remove the wreck then there may be loss of life and that it would fall on their shoulders? That is one of the explanations I have heard. That is not true. The Owners are to blame, and it is cowardly to say Iwi demands for removal threaten life. The Owners actions threaten lives, perhaps they should be reaching deeper into their pockets instead of trying to make others responsible for their mess. 44. If this wreck should stay and it affects our future generations then the blame will be laid at the feet of iwi for not opposing the Owners application for resource consent to leave their rubbish on our doorstep. 45. Maketū were worried about the waha puu of the estuaries; both the Maketū and the Waihi. Did we look after Papatuanuku and Tangaroa? We have to ask that question. Did we fulfil our obligations as tangata whenua and kaitiakitanga in Maketū? We would like to say we did our best, but we still have unfinished business and it has been a long battle for us.

Page 9 IMPACT OF THE OIL SPILL AND THE WRECK ON HEALTH 46. He tino pouri mo o matou koroua me nga kuia. The old people were especially upset because they were helpless.

9 Page 9 IMPACT OF THE OIL SPILL AND THE WRECK ON HEALTH 46. He tino pouri mo o matou koroua me nga kuia. The old people were especially upset because they were helpless. There was nothing we could do to stop the oil, to help our environment. The whole of the coastal area was like that sadness and tears. Many definitely were he tino pouri te ngakau, te manawa mo tenei aitua - the heart would have been very sad and a lot of heart felt feelings for Nga Atua Papatuanuku, Ranginui, and Tangaroa. He mauiui te moana. The sea was, and remains, sick. 47. Without seeing it, there was worry, and anxiety. You would see the old people s body language: slumped shoulders, no smiles, serious, always looking out to sea to see what was happening. The adverse effects from the Rena, he tino aitua tera (that is a huge disaster). 48. I admired our Ngāti Whakaue and Maketū people. I went out on to my porch which is about 20 metres away from the beach and I saw our people out on the beaches early in the morning at 6.30 am preparing to clean the beach. 49. We have not witnessed he aitua (disaster) like this before. The sinking of a ship right on our doorstep; it s a frightening thing. Just to mention the name Rena brings anxiety. Dated this 22 nd day of December 2016 Liam Tapsell

BEFORE THE ENVIRONMENT COURT ENV-2016-AKL- 42 and 45. of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) of two appeals under s 120 of the RMA

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