Ngāti Maru and the council spent years negotiating a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreement under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

The Government’s draft laws to replace the RMA had said Mana Whakahono would transfer into the new resource management system.

But RMA reform minister Chris Bishop announced on Monday the Government would axe the transfer, and the replacement laws would strictly limit new agreements.

“Clear guardrails will be included in the legislation to prevent scope creep.”

Bishop said the Government was worried Mana Whakahono agreements had rapidly increased – from eight when the law was introduced to “several dozen more”.

"Councils will have the option of entering into new narrowly scoped iwi participation agreements to record how iwi authorities will participate in statutory planning processes and processes required to give effect to Treaty settlement redress.”

Te Kahui o Maru tumu whakarae Anaru Marshall said Ngāti Maru had negotiated in good faith to improve the health of rivers and the environment.

“We're deeply disappointed that the Government has chosen to remove this mechanism, mainly because the Mana Whakahono ā Rohe is designed to strengthen the relationship and improve the outcomes for the environment.”

“I think some people don't understand - this is not just for Māori or iwi.”

Ngāti Maru’s Mana Whakahono was intended as a template for others and Taranaki’s seven other iwi had initiated talks, as had the maunga authority Te Tōpuni Ngāraho.

Marshall had no idea what the Government’s new rules would be but said the iwi would not give up.

“We're open to working with anybody and everybody who's got the same goals and values that we have around the environment.”

Ngāti Maru also signed a Joint Management Agreement with Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) covering Waitara River and its catchment.

Marshall was confident that would survive as it was part of the iwi’s Treaty settlement law, not the RMA.

TRC chair Craig Williamson said the agreements had been talked about for eight years before last week’s signing.

“It's quite shocking.”

Williamson said the region was waiting for details about RMA reform and dealing with the Government’s ever-shifting local government revamp.

“I don't know exactly what it's going to mean for the agreements that we have in place here, but it's unfortunate – changing goalposts once again.”

New Plymouth councillor Dinnie Moeahu said the Government change was “100 percent” a political move with an eye on November’s election.

“Mana Whakahono ā Rohe [are] being blown up as claims of co-governance by stealth, or special rights in terms of transferring decision-making powers from councils to iwi.”

“It's none of that.”

He said it was frustrating because iwi and councils had been following exactly what ministers said would be in place.

“It's blowing up because this is what's hot, this is what's popular, this is what divides a country without actually understanding … what a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe actually is, what it does, and more importantly what it does not do.”

In the wake of the Government announcement, New Plymouth District Council cancelled Wednesday’s planned workshop for councillors on Mana Whakahono ā Rohe.

Moeahu co-chairs Local Government NZ’s Māori advisory group Te Maruata and said work on agreements should continue because they were still needed under wider constitutional and legal frameworks.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.