Establishing beneficial working relationships with councils and agencies can provide greater opportunities for iwi, hapū and whanau to resolve resource management issues of common concern; before the issue reaches the hearing stage. Like any good partnership there are a number of benefits for building these relationships before there is an issue of concern. Doing so will provide a platform, hopefully based on manaaki tanga, from which to constructively approach and resolve any issues.
Relationships between tangata whenua and councils/other agencies don’t have to involve formal agreements. In many cases the best relationships are those that offer the opportunity to ‘see the colour of a person’s eyes’. That is, a friendly face – or voice on the end of the phone – someone to drop in and see when issues or queries arise. Or even a good contact to meet with for korero and kai who is knowledgeable about current issues. Often the benefits are mutual and may help to foster greater understanding of the environmental knowledge, constraints, resources and goals of each group.