Iwi and hapū in the Hawke's Bay rohe are set to have more say in council-making decisions.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
That comes as the Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill passes its third reading.
It aims to establish a statutory body called the Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee.
The new law will ensure that iwi entities and the Regional Council can appoint representatives to the Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee and ensure Māori have more input.
The joint committee will be made up of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Māori representatives that will be chosen from nine iwi or hapū groups.
They will have a role in the development and review of the regional policy statement and regional plans for the Hawke's Bay Regional Council region.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said it will form the basis of a new, constructive, on-going relationship between the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the iwi of the rohe.
Mr Finlayson said the bill has received unanimous support from iwi and from the Regional Council.
The agreements were made in the Ngāti Pāhauwera Deed of Settlement and recorded in the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Deed of Settlement.
