Good practice in action: A hands-off approach to collaboration
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After floods in 1999, the Ministry of Health, through the Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust, funded a project by the Whirinaki community to construct a safe water supply.
A 'hands-off' approach to collaboration
Whirinaki is a small rural community in South Hokianga. Māori comprise 90 percent of the population and a large proportion of the population lives on traditional Māori or papa kāinga land.
The Nga Puna Wai o Hokianga pilot project is notable for two key features:
- the management contract for the design and construction of the community water supply was devolved from the Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust to the Whirinaki Māori Committee.
- the project was used by the Whirinaki Māori Committee to create opportunities for employment in their community.
Case study background
When floods hit communities in Hokianga in 1999, outside assistance was offered. The Whirinaki community, however, felt it had people with local knowledge who could save the various agencies time and money. Whirinaki had a good labour force, administration and management skills, so the community asked to be involved in the decision-making and forward-planning processes.
The floods had brought to a head an existing problem with poor water quality. The Ministry of Health approached the Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust to lead a pilot project to provide safe drinking water to marae and communities in the Hokianga. The project, Nga Puna Wai o Hokianga, encompassed 33 marae in the North and South Hokianga areas. Three of those marae were situated in Whirinaki.
Flood-affected water tanks in households, marae and kōhanga reo had been emptied and washed out. Even so, further testing revealed the water to be dangerously contaminated by faecal material, particularly on marae that had become the living quarters for families displaced by flood and landslides.
A further $1.56 million was committed to establishing water treatment and supply systems in the Hokianga, and community input was sought regarding design and installation. Hauora Hokianga, an arm of Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust, took over the management of the fund, and Whirinaki was allocated $100,000 to provide its own water solution.
The project
A project taskforce was formed and, after community consultation, was given a mandate by kaumātua, kuia and the whole community to drive the waterline project.
The decision was made to secure a dam site and establish settling, holding and back-flush tanks, filter systems, pressure-reducing valves, hydrants and the water supply lines. Installation to individual households would come from the main pipeline, so the design had to ensure no backflow occurred. Each household had to use their existing tanks or purchase a second one so that, if the system collapsed, there would be sufficient supply for 14 days while repairs were carried out. All household tanks had to be disinfected before supply could be provided.
The community provided the design ideas and local labour was employed wherever possible. The dam was designed and built locally.
Land issues
A memorandum of understanding was drawn up with landowners across whose properties the pipeline would travel, including three land blocks under European title. The Māori Land Court convened a meeting to obtain agreement from all landholders to the easements for laying the waterline.
The road up to the storage tanks had to be upgraded to allow access for trucks and earthmoving machinery. However the area from the settling tanks to the water source and dam was inaccessible to machinery and vehicles. The workers had to dig trenches by hand and carry in all the equipment and construction materials.
Timeframes
There were times when agency funding was late or there was a compliance restriction under the resource consent. The project timeframes were tested due to design changes in plans, engineering alterations, escalating costs and funding shortfalls. Allowances had to be made for unforeseen legislative demands. Each time these barriers arose, the locals worked their way through any problems to achieve the project goals. A risk-management plan was initiated at every stage.
Maintaining community impetus was sometimes difficult. However the community was always able to achieve a consensus decision when the chips were down and encourage the workforce to complete the tasks. Support agencies showed patience and often worked outside of normal criteria to help locals realise their objectives.
In 2002, the Whirinaki project was visited by the Prime Minister, a number of Cabinet Ministers and officials from local and central government agencies. Whirinaki took its visitors to inspect the work being carried out and spoke about the problems being experienced and solutions found. This event provided the impetus for agency support to increase.
Agency contributions
A number of agencies assisted with proposal development, funding support, Ministerial intervention, brokerage with other agencies to invest in the initiative, project support and project management.
- Hauora Hokianga provided $100,000, which was the leverage for other agency commitments.
- Department of Internal Affairs – The Lottery Grants Board approved $138,390, followed by ASB Bank Community Trust with $171,945 for material acquisition.
- Community Employment Group committed $42,400 along with $63,336 from Work and Income New Zealand to support the work activities.
- Te Puni Kōkiri provided $217,780 for training, application of learning, site and source research, river and flood management, establishing the waterline, planning and maintenance, community profiling and establishment of a Water Board.
- The Māori Land Court contributed $5,000 for the easement plans, consents, legal fees and documentation.
- Regional and district councils worked with the community on flood-prevention work. They also advised on engineering, resource and environmental issues.
The conservative cost for the entire project was put at $738,851, but the real cost was over $1 million, taking into account the voluntary hours put in before the start of the project and in post-project follow up. Trucks, personal machinery and car running costs were not covered and, for the vehicles that did not last the distance, a shrug and shake of the head was the only compensation.
Results achieved
In November 2003, the Whirinaki Waterline was officially opened. The event was attended by the entire community and people from surrounding districts as well as all the agencies, contractors and suppliers involved with the project.
Extended community benefits
- A constant supply of pure water is now provided to three churches, one sports complex, one kura kaupapa Māori, three marae, one kōhanga reo and 56 households.
- Provision has been made for 40 additional households to connect to the waterline and some families with whakapapa connections have returned to the community.
- A kura kaupapa Māori has been established and operates out of a new purpose-built complex.
- A metal road, which is a key route into the village, has been tar-sealed. This was funded by a donation and fundraising by the Whirinaki community.
- The Whirinaki Water Board was established to deal with all matters concerning the waterline and water delivery.
- Through the River Management Committee, Whirinaki has secured a tender to uplift 600 cubic metres of river metal annually and carry out all river management tasks. In June 2005, the committee was contracted by Far North District Council to remove debris left by the 1999 floods.
- A new Trust and business has emerged, and now contracts with Housing New Zealand to provide housing to families on the Rural Housing Programme in South Hokianga.
- Te Puni Kōkiri and Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa are now running a trade-training programme at Northland College
- An additional benefit of the waterline project has been the credibility gained across all agencies and neighbouring communities.
During and at the conclusion of the project, Environmental Science and Research undertook a collaborative evaluation with Hauora Hokianga and Whirinaki Māori Committee (Urban Water Decision-Making Project: Learning from the Stories of Nga Puna Wai o Hokianga, 2005). Hauora Hokianga has been a constant supporter of the Whirinaki initiative, providing vehicles, resources and on-the-spot help when requested.
In February 2008, the Whirinaki Water Board received $39,652 in further funding from the Ministry of Health through the Drinking Water Assistance Programme for repairs, replacement and improvements to the waterline. Nowadays, there is a core group of people who maintain the waterline and system. There has never been a loss of water supply to the connected households.
Key success factors
The following assessment of the project’s success has been drawn from this joint research by the Environmental Science and Research and the Whirinaki Māori Committee.
The Nga Puna Wai o Hokianga pilot illustrates how Government initiatives to address health disparities between non-Māori and Māori can be achieved. The community’s participation in the pilot led to the establishment of a community-owned and managed water supply.
This is an example of what can be achieved when a community's determination to take control of their future connects with work by government agencies and departments to provide a positive result for the community.
The Whirinaki experience highlights factors contributing to success:
- Consultation and liaison – employment of two kaiwhakakōkiri (negotiators) conversant with te reo Māori (language), tikanga Māori (customs) and whakapapa (history and relationships) of the area. These two had technical ability and could liaise between the communities and engineers.
- Community ownership – Whirinaki Water Board manages the day-to-day operations. The ownership of the entire water system belongs to the three marae. The use of local expertise has built community capacity and is likely to lead to subsequent community contracts.
- Solution-orientated – the project team tackled obstacles by working and planning as a team and focusing on the community water supply as their goal.
- Face-to-face negotiations – the Whirinaki Māori Committee used kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) negotiations. This built relationships of trust and understanding between the parties.
Key lessons
The community believes that district and regional councils could have been more accepting of the local knowledge and understanding of land conditions, people, community dynamics and environmental impacts. The councils often doubted advice given to them from credible and respected people in favour of technical hypothesis.
However, everyone is all that bit wiser and more knowledgeable about the machinery of government, legal, financial and compliance matters, as well as being crystal clear about human frailties. The community considers itself rich in human resource and community grit.
The project evaluation identified several contributing factors which played a part in the pilot project being a success. These included the political climate, consultation and liaison, community ownership, project management and the use of kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) negotiation and relationship building.
For analysis of the project, refer to:
This case study was prepared (and updated in February 2008) in association with members of the Whirinaki Maori Committee and the Whirinaki Water Board. It also draws on a report for Environmental Science and Research (ESR): Urban Water Decision-Making Project: Learning from the Stories of Nga Puna Wai o Hokianga.
For more information contact the Whirinaki Water Board:
Maryanne Marino, Simon Lands and Mike Anderson,
phone (09) 4058 488
Fax (09) 4058 489
