The Waikato River Authority says it has concluded a positive year at its Annual General Meeting in Tokoroa on Thursday (11/11/2025), acknowledging significant investment and continued progress toward restoring the health and wellbeing of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers.
Waikato River Authority Co-Chairs Danny Loughlin and Stu Kneebone highlighted the substantial progress made over the past 14 years, with iwi, communities, landowners, and partners delivering 496 restoration projects supported by more than $80.6 million in investment.
River Iwi Co-Chair Danny Loughlin reminded attendees at Papa o Te Aroha Marae that every project, whether mātauranga-led monitoring, riparian fencing, or wetland restoration, represents “a stitch in a much larger korowai of restoration.”
In the past financial year, the Authority approved funding for 36 projects totalling $6,345,873 contributing to the increasing momentum of river restoration across the catchment.
Crown Co-Chair Stu Kneebone emphasised that co-governance remains central to the Authority’s success, noting that Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato must not be diluted or bypassed, but must continue to guide every planning, regulatory, and investment decision relating to the awa.
Meanwhile, the Authority raised concerns about the Government’s introduction of the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill, which will replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) and are proposed for enactment in 2026.
While the Government has stated that the new system will make it easier to build houses and infrastructure, support farmers and growers, boost the primary sector, and protect the environment, the Authority is urging caution.
The Authority emphasised that any new planning system must strengthen rather than weaken Te Ture Whaimana, uphold the principles and commitments of the Waikato and Waipā River Settlements, maintain the co-governance model that has guided restoration to date, and ensure that environmental standards and river outcomes are not compromised.
Waikato-Tainui board member Jackie Colliar said that although the reforms are still in their early stages, the Authority is concerned about the risk of losing the progress iwi and communities have worked hard to achieve, and that the gains made cannot be allowed to slip backwards.
“We expect the Crown to uphold all Treaty settlements as promised, the Waikato River Authority was established through the Waikato-Tainui River Settlement and is therefore inseparable from the integrity of that settlement,” Colliar said.
