Whaitua te Whanganui-a-Tara

Whaitua te Whanganui-a-Tara Committee is a group of local people from Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Wellington assigned with developing a programme to improve the quality of our streams, rivers and harbour.

The Committee is co-managed with mana whenua and adopted a set of kawa/principles to help drive its work. These have guided the process over the two years and ensured that the final outcome takes an integrated and holistic approach to water management, while hearing from many communities and groups through its process.

Meet your committee members.

Final Reports and Launch Event

"Kei te putake o Whaitua te Whanganui a Tara tona mauri mana motuhake... hei oranga mo te katoa i noho ki konei."

The mauri of Whaitua te Whanganui a Tara and the communities who live within it is nurtured, strengthened and able to flourish.

The Whaitua te Whanganui-a-tara Committee has now completed its deliberation and submitted their final reports to Greater Wellington. The full Committee and the mana whenua partners in Te Kahui Taiao have produced two reports that are complimentary to each other and the contents of both are required to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and achieve Te Mana o te Wai. You can read the final reports here:

Te Whaitua te Whanganui-a-tara Implementation Programme

Te Mahere Wai o Te Kāhui Taiao

You can watch the addresses from the launch event, including the Committee co-chairs, mana whenua leaders and Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter.

The Whaitua Process

Whaitua is te reo Māori for catchment or space. The Wellington Region is divided into five whaitua, each of which will have a Whaitua Committee assigned to develop a programme to improve water quality. You can find out more about the previous Ruamāhanga and Te Awarua-o-Porirua committees.

This integrated approach to water management recognises the value of Ki Uta Ki Tai (from mountains to sea), the interconnectedness of nature, and sees the whole path of water, from mountains to sea, as something to be sustainably managed.

Whaitua committees’ recommendations are guided by the principles of Te Upoko Taiao – Natural Resource Management Committee which underpin the overall management approach of the regional plan.

Community Input

The whaitua process has been community and iwi led, and committee members have come from a variety of communities across the whaitua. For those who want to do their bit for water, this process is a real and tangible way to play a part. The committee have directly led run community engagements and workshops to understand the ways in which communities in this whaitua use and value water, where the problems are, and how locals want to deal with those issues. 

How can I contribute?

Achieving the vision for improving our waterways will require contributions from everyone, especially communities. Please read these reports and think about how the issues relate to where you live. We will notify upcoming regional plan changes to implement the whaitua implementation programmes. Keep an eye out and have your say.

If you have any feedback, invitations, or suggestions, please email us at whaitua@gw.govt.nz.

Current state - Water quality and ecology

A report was prepared to inform the Whaitua Te Whanganui-a-Tara Committee about the current state of the catchment's water quality and ecology. Read the report.. 

Staying Connected

The best way to keep up to date with the whaitua process is here on this webpage or on Facebook. We will keep you up to date on water issues, invite you to events and update you about ongoing implementation.

You can contact us by email Whaitua@gw.govt.nz

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