Tonkin + Taylor and WSP - Innovative Indigenous Partnership

Ngāti Tama is an iwi (indigenous Māori tribe) in Taranaki, Aotearoa / New Zealand, and its members descend from Tama Ariki who arrived in New Zealand on the Tokomaru waka (canoe) approximately 1,000 years ago.

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In the 1860s, wars with British colonists resulted in loss of life and confiscation of land, negatively impacting Ngāti Tama for many decades to come.  Ngati Tama’s subsequent claim against the Crown for breaches of the The Treaty of Waitangi was settled under the Ngāti Tama Claims Settlement Act 2003. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Tama (TRoNT) is the mandated authority for Ngāti Tama and administers its assets.

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In 2016, TRoNT was approached by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA Waka Kotahi) about routing the Te Ara o Te Ata / Mt Messenger Bypass (TAoTA) project through land which Ngāti Tama either owned or exercised mana whenua (authority and responsibility for their tribal area) over. As far as we are aware, this is the first time the Crown has sought to acquire land which had so recently been returned to iwi under a Treaty settlement.

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1.2 Te Ara o Te Ata / The Mt Messenger Bypass Project

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New Zealand’s State Highway network includes a section of State Highway 3 (SH3) which passes through steep country at Mt Messenger. This section of highway is narrow, winding, and subject to frequent landslides and closures.  This main highway connects Taranaki with other regions in the north, and the shortest alternative route is even less secure, and adds several hours to the journey. This project proposed a new section of highway that would enhance travellers’ safety and provide a more resilient route. Ngāti Tama land was essential for this to happen. 

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An Alliance model was chosen to deliver the project. Tonkin + Taylor and WSP are the engineering and sustainability consultants in the Alliance team, and we have supported our client to move beyond consultation and engagement to full participation of Ngāti Tama in the project.  Ngāti Tama is closely involved at all levels of the project, including governance, (having a seat on the Project Alliance Board). 

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The Alliance examined over 20 routes to bypass the existing section of road and, after four years of committed collaboration with Ngāti Tama, its members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the project, which was gifted the name Te Ara o Te Ata (TAoTA) by Ngāti Tama.  

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TAoTA features a new 6 km section of highway, including two bridges and a tunnel.  The project is currently part-way through construction.

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TAoTA offers a dual legacy: a modern, safer and more reliable infrastructure linking the wider Taranaki community to other regions; and a local community that can continue to thrive.

 

"Our people have lived in this area for many generations, and at one time we were responsible for holding back invasions into Taranaki from the north. This time, we can help protect lives and livelihoods. The new road will benefit all our communities.” – Paul Silich, former TRoNT Chair

 

Delivering Lasting Social Benefits and Environmental Justice

 

TAoTA will provide better access for local communities to hospital, emergency services and schooling, and will support the sustainability and growth of local businesses. 

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T+T and WSP worked with Ngāti Tama to develop a set of conditions and a work programme that would put it in a position to be able to support the project.  

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These included an exchange of land (20 hectares of iwi land for 120 hectares of coastal property owned by NZTA, that provides access to conservation areas), a payment to mitigate the cultural impact of the project, an environmental restoration programme, and an extensive pest management programme which would continue in perpetuity and contribute to the restoration of ecological values in this formerly degraded area. 

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New Zealand’s environment is perhaps unique in that it was subject to massive degradation as a result of the introduction of pest animals from other countries, such as goat, pigs, (o)possums, weasels, ferrets, stoats and rats.  TAoTA is the first time a major road project has committed to perpetual pest management and resultant ecological improvement as part of its ecological offset and compensation package: usual practice is for such measures to cease after 2-3 years. The project is a beacon of progress for biodiversity restoration, environmental justice built on partnership with iwi, and sharing of indigenous knowledge and practice.

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All of these agreements have already contributed to the social benefits of the community.

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Environmental justice and conservation are clearly core tenets of the partnership between the Alliance and Ngāti Tama.  Embracing their role as kaitiaki (guardians) of the land, Ngāti Tama’s leadership in ecological restoration reflects a deep cultural connection to the land and its ecosystems. One example has been their reintroduction of the kōkako, a native bird once extinct in the area. T+T and WSP have worked hard to support such initiatives, so that with the TAoTA project, environmental justice continues to grow, strengthening the iwi’s resilience and sustainability.

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As TRoNT board member Conrad O’Carroll says: “The Mt Messenger Project has become not a road project, but an ecological protection project with a road project connected to it.”

 

Improving Equity & Inclusion

 

T+T and WSP, alongside our Mt Messenger Alliance partners have made significant strides in using the TAoTA to improve equity and inclusion with local communities. Ngāti Tama is a full partner within the Alliance, and is integral to the decision making. Involving iwi at all levels of the project, from governance to delivery, is another first for a major NZ road project. Early engagement of local iwi from 2016 was crucial to the journey of partnership. This culminated in overwhelming iwi support for the project to proceed, during a vote in 2020.

Supporting Ngāti Tama and Local Communities through employment and training opportunities is another equity and inclusion improvement. The project has created employment opportunities for Ngāti Tama members, and for other locals particularly in pest management, seed collection, plant propagation, restoration planting, construction and cultural monitoring. 

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The inclusion of cultural monitoring in TAoTA is another critical aspect of the project. A team of Ngāti Tama kaitiaki (cultural guardians) are employed by the Alliance to monitor the project’s work. This is supported by the Ngāti Tama cultural advisory group, Te Rōpū Tiaki, that oversees cultural monitoring to ensure environmental changes align with cultural values, and that safe cultural practices for all workers onsite are followed.