How - A Step-by-Step Guide to the Te Arotūriki Process - CONTINUED

DETAILS OF CONSULTATION PHASE

Do you need to consult locally or nationally?

Once you have thought about how your proposal may be of significance to Māori, you must now decide how, when and who to consult and decide whether any effects will be local or national.

Local Consultation
The general principle is that if an application will only have local impacts, then it is sufficient to consult with those Māori who are directly affected or who are tangata whenua in the area. Examples might include a field trial (of genetically engineered plants or animals) in a particular location, or where material is being sourced from a native or valued species in a particular region for the purposes of further research or biotechnological application.

Where multiple (but local) groups are concerned, you should seek to consult with all of the appropriate groups. The key thing to remember is that if any hapū or iwi group has concerns about your research proposal, then you need to document the nature and extent of those concerns.

We have already emphasised that where pre-existing relationships with iwi/Māori groups have been developed and maintained (i.e. with the iwi/Māori groups in the region of your facility), consultation is easier and more cost effective with greater general outcomes achieved.

Who you should actually consult with can be quite a difficult decision and you must be guided by someone (like your Māori Intermediary or ERMA) who can help give you a definite answer. It is certainly case-by-case because it depends upon what the aim of the consultation is, what sort of information you are trying to obtain and how far reaching might the implications of your research might be.

If consulting locally, it is not only individual hapū and iwi that you may need to consult with, there could be Urban Māori Organisations in your area, other professional Māori groups who may have a voice you need to consider (eg. Māori Women’s Welfare league, New Zealand Māori Council, Māori congress, the Federation of Māori Authorities.). The section on Understanding Māori Hierarchy may be useful as it outlines the economic and political groupings.

Once you have decided who to consult with, record this in your Consultation Plan Template found here.

National Consultation
National consultation is reserved for cases where there are likely to be national impacts of significance to Māori.

If you are consulting with Māori as part of an application made to ERMA NZ as part of the requirements of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) 1996, then ERMA has specific guidelines for National Consultation, which can be found here.

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