A North Island iwi looks set to make resource consent rulings alongside elected district councillors, in what is being heralded as a first for New Zealand.
Ngati Tuwharetoa is to discuss the possibility of shared decision-making with the Taupo District Council over resource consents on Maori multiple-owned freehold land.
The proposed partnership arrangement would allow the iwi to select representatives to work with councillors.
Taupo Mayor Rick Cooper says if the agreement is ratified by a hui next week, it will usher in a new era of collaboration.
More than half of the freehold land in the Taupo District is in Maori ownership.
