IN THE MATTER
of the Resource Management Act 1991
AND
IN THE MATTER
of the applications by Genesis Energy for
resource consents for the construction
operation, maintenance and replacement
of the Castle Hill Wind Farm
SUPPLIMENTARY EVIDENCE ON BEHALF OF ALEX WEBSTER OF
KAHUNGUNU KI WAIRARAPA – 2 DECEMBER 2011
Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa
PO Box 132, 4 Park Ave
MASTERTON
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1. Alexander Haddon Webster assistant to Rawiri Smith of Kahungunu ki Wairarapa
2. Also representing Te Hika O Papauma Hapu and Aohanga Incorporation.
3. I am a representative for Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Te Hika O Papauma.
4. The hapu of Te Hika O Papauma is in part represented by all Iwi Organisations at this
hearing.
5. The hapu through its shareholders owns Aohanga Incorporation a coastal station of
7,200ha,
6. There are 1330 shareholders now scattered throughout New Zealand and overseas.
7. Many return to the marae for family gatherings, meetings, tangi or just to have a break.
8. I would suggest that Te Hika O Papauma has Mana Whenua status over the whole
wind farm site.
9. Consultation with the Marae committee has not yet taken place through no fault of
either party, circumstances have prevented this from happening but I hope it will still
take place at some stage in the future.
10. The scene that greats hapu members from the top of the Puketoi Range is of cleared
farmland with areas of scattered bush. This transformation has happened slowly over
the last 150 years.
11. Aohanga can be viewed in the distance from the top of the Puketoi range this is the
view that greets many who have in some cases been away from their marae for many
years.
12. This scene will change very rapidly when building of the turbines take place and the
view will change for the foreseeable future and hapu members will have to live with
that.
13. The power supply to Aohanga Incorporation and the district by today's standards is
poor.
14. The building of the Genesis wind farm will not alter this as all of the power generated
will be exported out of the area.
15. There may be some improvement to the roading infrastructure and the possibility of
some employment for hapu members who live locally but that is an unknown at this
stage.
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16. I believe that the building of the Genesis wind farm will require a level of mitigation or
offsetting.
17. I would also suggest that the level of indigenous vegetation offset is not as good as it
looks as no doubt the owner concerned is receiving ETS credits and this alone will
substantially pay for fencing and animal control.
18. A contribution to a district compensation fund would give Genesis Power a good and
caring neighbour status.



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
Mitigation/offset I would see this as and not restricted to
Naming rights to the wind farm.
A kiosk at the top of the Puketoi range with a historical overview.
A study of an area of our coastline.
A study of ecology and water quality in the headwaters of the streams
associated with the wind farm.
19. This information is sadly lacking and a study of say 5 years would fill in a lot of blanks
around this information.
20. This would help us to address the issues of pollution in downstream waterways.
21. Today the wider community have growing concerns about the future of water, ecology
and habitat.
22. Water quality and silt also has major implications for our coastline and our fisheries.
23. I would see this type of mitigation/offset as a good neighbour approach for Genesis
Power Ltd.
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IN THE MATTER
of the Resource Management Act 1991
AND
IN THE MATTER
of the applications by Genesis Energy for
resource consents for the construction
operation, maintenance and replacement
of the Castle Hill Wind Farm
SUPPLIMENTARY EVIDENCE ON BEHALF OF RAWIRI SMITH OF
KAHUNGUNU KI WAIRARAPA – 2 DECEMBER 2011
Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa
PO Box 132, 4 Park Ave
MASTERTON
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Kia ora koutou
1. Ko Kahungunu raua ko Rangitaane taku tipuna. No Wairarapa ahau
2. Rangitaane and Kahunugnu are my ancestors. I am from Wairarapa.
3. My name is Rawiri Richard Smith and I am a resource consent officer for
Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa
4. I have represented this iwi as we consulted with Genesis, specifically Stephanie
Katherine Murphy, and their cultural liaison consultant, Buddy Mikaere for the last
two years about the Castle Hill Wind Farm Development
5. I also acknowledge that Genesis has accepted the recommendations Kahungunu
Ki Wairarapa has made with the Cultural Impact Assessment
6. I recognize the Mana Whenua status of Te Hika a Papauma in the area of the
Castle Hill Wind Farm.
7. As a part of Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa’s process we try as often as possible to
work with the hapu we associate with.
8. I intend to build on the evidence given by Alex Webster
Three Aspects of Tangata Whenua’s Connection to The Land of the
Proposed Development
9. There is no surprise for tangata whenua that the birth place of the wind is the
place where a wind farm will be located, but the development needs to be aware
of the following three aspects of the tangata whenua connection to the land
proposed for development.
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10. The traditional connection to ancestral land in today’s setting is a life changing
experience for many Maori who are struggling to overcome the effects of
colonisation and assimilation.
11. The source of many rivers in Wairarapa is from this place broadly called Kauru,
meaning headwater, and establishing the health of our waterways from the
headwaters is a cultural perspective that can be expanded on
12. The community development referred to throughout this hearing is an important
opportunity of which Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa wishes to be a part.
13. The protection of the cultural perspective will produce assets for the applicant,
the immediate community, the wider community and for this reason the
protection of these cultural aspects is what the RMA requires developers to
recognise and provide for.
Ancestral Lands
14. Section 6 (e) of the RMA asks the developer and this hearing to recognise the
traditional relationship between tangata whenua and their ancestral lands and
waterways.
15. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa accepts that the permanent residency of the hapu was
closer to the coast and as a consequence many of the wahi tapu areas are
nearer the coast.
16. The ancestral land is referred to in the first lines of the pepeha, or locating
proverb for this area and it states “Ko Puketoi taku maunga”.
17. Today, Puketoi is where returning whanau from this area might view their
ancestral lands for the first time.
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18. When the Castle Hill Wind Farm development is complete it represents an
extensive change to the ancestral landscape with respect to the visual impact.
19. This is an impact that I do not expect Mr Boffa to comment on because
Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa does not seek to change the proposed landscape, but
to mitigate its impact.
20. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa has worked with the applicant on mitigating the impact
and we have worked positively together, but we still feel there is more mitigation
to do because of what is associated with the connection to ancestral lands.
21. There is a depth of intensity in discovering home, especially in the context of the
negativity many Maori face implicitly and explicitly in New Zealand society and
often it is this that builds hope of finding a foothold or a turangawaewae
22. While many families with rural roots have been a part of the urban drift, for many
Maori the return to these roots means returning to their ancestral homelands.
23. The ohomauri or reawakening about Maori identity occurs at different times in a
person’s life and when this occurs for Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa whanau
members from this area there are many reasons why they might return to their
ancestral lands.
24. This 1853 map of the Castle Point Block in this documentation, with typed titles
to clarify the writing on the map attests to the many places Maori were involved
in.
Cultural Health Monitoring
25. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa is mindful of the extensive monitoring programme that
needs to be undertaken in this area.
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26. We also acknowledge that the suite of management plans are effective for their
design and are comprehensive in their coverage.
27. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa would like to include the cultural health indexing and
cultural health monitoring that we are constructing with Genesis
28. We feel this is a part of the kaitiaki responsibilities in the context of being a part
of the rest of the community including Genesis.
29. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa is aware that monitoring from a cultural perspective
could fill some gaps in the usual science, e.g. better information about
indigenous fauna in and around waterways and a holistic viewpoint.
30. Understanding the headwaters from a cultural perspective can lead to better
decision making at all points of the river, most notably the Whareama and the
Taueru rivers
31. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa wants to implement kaitiakitanga as is allowed for in
section 7 of the RMA and as this hearing gives regard to its possibility.
32. We wish to involve our Whanau members to strengthen their contact with the
environment and get a better understanding of the catchment.
33. To this end Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa reminds this hearing that the National
Policy Statement on the Management of Freshwater in section C states that the
objective is “To improve integrated management of fresh water and the use and
development of land in whole catchments, including the interactions between
fresh water, land, associated ecosystems and the coastal environment”
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34. This means that the management of the freshwaters in this proposed
development area should be a part of a whole catchment and should be
integrated with the rest of the community.
35. This national policy statement further identifies tangata whenua specifically by
stating an objective in section D as being able “To provide for the involvement of
iwi and hapū, and to ensure that tāngata whenua values and interests are
identified and reflected in the management of fresh water including associated
ecosystems”
36. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa wishes to be involved in this work as an asset to the
community and as an asset to the applicant.
Community Development Initiatives
37. As has already been expressed above, Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa would like to be
involved in any community initiative at whatever level the commissioners decide
on.
38. We acknowledge the community efforts Genesis have already committed to and
we encourage this community spirit to continue
39. We also acknowledge the desire of the councils to support community
development with respect to encouraging the involvement of Genesis.
Conclusion
40. Kahungunu Ki Wairarapa has balanced many concerns in this development and
while we have put a neutral submission into this process we are confident that
our specific ideas about ancestral land, cultural health in the waterways and our
part of the community will be realised
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6.1 “Archaeological heritage is more than a smattering of individual sites, places and
items. Archaeological heritage is part of a cultural landscape where the linkages
between spatial pattern and themes in development can be recognised and understood.
This does not mean that local authorities must protect wide areas, but that the
significance of perhaps otherwise seemingly modest individual sites and groups of sites
will need to be better provided for in land use planning practice.”
8
6.2 “The relationship between archaeological research and heritage conservation is
directly reflected in the history of heritage legislation in New Zealand over the past 40
years.”
9
The practice of archaeology was concentrated on collection of artefacts up to the
1950s. In the 1960s archaeological sites became the dominant study context. The
Historic Places Act 1993 reflects that methodology.
Current academic work considers archaeological landscapes as the critical subject for
investigation. “It is now considered that the site-based frame of reference on which the
Authority provisions of the 1993 HP Act were based either ignores the evidence located
between sites or else has the effect of amplifying every archaeological finding into a
separate site. Archaeological heritage management needs to be broadened to allow
the protection of areas as well as single sites”
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6.3 While the above refers to implementation of the HPA, many planning instruments
rely on the HPT for much of their cultural resource management.
This includes many planning instruments within the Hauraki Gulf. The RMA is able to
encompass the concept of landscape within its implementation, and in fact s6(f)
requires that action.
6.4 “Landscape is in fact doubly cultural. Its components (‘ingredients’) within the
environment are the product of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years of human
cultural actions. At the same time, however, the landscape as a whole is cultural
because it is created only in the present day by our own cultural and
6.6 There was a consensus among the Think Tank pariticpants on the concept of
heritage landscapes:
• “They are those landscapes, or networks of sites, which deserve special recognition or
protection because of their heritage significance to communities, tangata whenua, or the
nation. They encompass the physical structures and changes made to the environment
by people, natural landforms modified by human action, the meanings given to places
and the stories told about them.”
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• “The concept includes:
o Land, rivers, lakes and sea. They include both physical features and stories.
o The term stories … as a collective term for history, meaning, myth and stories in
written, oral and other forms.
o Heritage landscapes differ from historic sites or buildings in that:
ƒ They can cover large areas.
ƒ They can have many owners.
ƒ There may be many parties with an interest in the
landscape.
ƒ They can have natural and cultural values.
ƒ Unlike sites, which are usually associated with a
particular group or story, historic landscapes can
represent the heritage of many.
ƒ Historic sites or buildings can usually be considered
artefacts. In comparison, heritage landscapes are
dynamic systems, undergoing constant change.
ƒ Heritage landscapes don’t fit neatly into a single
historic period, but are a composite of layers of human
history and human interaction.
ƒ Their significance can include ongoing traditions
associated with that space.:
• “Compared to heritage sites or buildings, heritage landscapes are
therefore potentially more difficult to identify, understand, evaluate
and protect.”
• :Increasingly, one person may be made up of many cultural strands.
An individual may descend from many different tribes, or may be from
both Maori and Pakeha backgrounds, or may be multicultural. These
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multiple identities make it all the more important to be able to tell the
many stories that may be associated with one landscape.”
6.7 Planning to provide for heritage landscapes requires new understandings and new
methods. The change in perspective is a paradigm shift which needs a significant
change in provision. The enactment of s6(f) makes that a requirement, rather than an
option. This map, though not
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6 Matters of national importance
In achieving the purpose of this Act, all persons exercising functions and
powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection
of natural and physical resources, shall recognise and provide for the
following matters of national importance:
(a) the preservation of the natural character of the coastal environment
(including the coastal marine area), wetlands, and lakes and rivers and their
margins, and the protection of them from inappropriate subdivision, use, and
development:
(b) the protection of outstanding natural features and landscapes from
inappropriate subdivision, use, and development:
(c) the protection of areas of significant indigenous vegetation and
significant habitats of indigenous fauna:
(d) the maintenance and enhancement of public access to and along the
coastal marine area, lakes, and rivers:
(e) the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with
their ancestral lands, water, sites, waahi tapu, and other taonga:
(f) the protection of historic heritage from inappropriate subdivision,
use, and development:
(g) the protection of recognised customary activities.
Purpose and principles
5 Purpose
(1) The purpose of this Act is to promote the sustainable management of
natural and physical resources.
(2) In this Act, sustainable management means managing the use, development,
and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which
enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and
cultural wellbeing and for their health and safety while--(a) sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources
(excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future
generations; and
(b) safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and
ecosystems; and
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(c) avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities
on the environment.
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