A cultural issue report stating that leaving the wreck of the Rena on the Astrolabe Reef will not affect the spiritual or cultural significance of the reef contains no surprises, says Buddy Mikaere.

Buddy is spokesman for the Ngai Te Hapu on Motiti Island who will be submitting in opposition to the owners' and insurers resource consent application to leave the wreck on the reef.

Motiti Island spokesman Buddy Mikaere says there are no surprises in a report on the Rena.

A cultural assessment of the proposal written by Des Kahotea PhD, and Shadrach Rolleston states the issue of leaving the wreck on the reef is highly emotive and hotly debated within the wider community, particularly the cultural aspects.

Forming an authoritative opinion on the proposal is difficult, given the contrasting views and opinions of tangata whenua, and the issues associated with wreck removal activities.

While most affected iwi are publicly calling for the complete removal of the wreck to restore the reef to its ‘pre-Rena state', some iwi are now expressing conditional support for the wreck to remain.

'There is a view that the risk of further damage to the reef and increasing risk to salvage divers from full wreck removal, means that the process of restoration with the wreck remaining in place should be investigated further,” says the report.

The debate is on-going. Some Motiti Islanders say it is possible to rebalance aspects of mauri by prayer and other strategies, which needs to be canvassed amongst tangata whenua most intimately affected by the wreck.

This report says this view is consistent the proposed Bay of Plenty Regional policy statement and the Bay of Plenty Regional Coastal Environment Plan and associated policies, which recognise matters of significance to Maori and encourage tangata whenua to identify measures to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse cultural effects.

The other question is what impact will removing the wreck have on the reef itself? Should the wreck be removed regardless of any further damage inflicted through potential removal strategies? Will leaving the wreck on the reef further derogate the spirituality of the mauri, or will the mauri impose itself on the wreck and make it a part of a wider physical structure including the reef and the wreck?

Dr Desmond Kahotea concludes that leaving the wreck will not further affect the mauri and that full wreck-removal is likely to significantly impact on the physical and consequently spiritual aspects of the reef. In other words, the mauri and the wreck can be reconciled.

In Maori tradition redress for offences like trampling a tapu is a type of restorative justice called muru.

The owner has been exploring the option of a restoration package that recognises the possibility of effects on the communities of the Bay of Plenty.

Four communities of interest are identified; The people of Motiti Island – as kaitiaki of Otaiti and the surrounding waters, Te Arawa at Maketu – with ancestral connection to the reef, Tauranga Moana Iwi, who have been affected by the grounding and the proposal to leave the remains on the reef, and the Bay of Plenty community.

Discussions have been held with the communities of interest, including tangata whenua, on the purpose to form and function of projects. There has been no conclusion to discussions about the purpose form and function of projects as there are differing views on whether the wreck should remain or be removed from the reef.

If consent is granted for the remains of the Rena to be left on the reef, the report says the applicant will provide funding to be held in trust for community projects that benefit the community taking into account the identified cultural impacts.

At the last meeting with the owners and insurers, iwi were told the mitigation was contingent on their withdrawing opposition to the application, says Buddy. Another issue over mitigation is where on Motiti the proposed projects are sited.

The island is split in two - with the southern half being sold the Pakeha interests and the two hapu living on the northern end. The benefits, including a possible wharf or jetty, are all proposed for the southern end of the island, says Buddy.

'How is that mitigation? Clearly what most Maori people want is to have the thing removed,” says Buddy.

'I can't point to any evidence to say this, but there's a pecuniary advantage to somebody somewhere in the mix, whether it's the consultants producing the reports or some other arrangement we don't know about.

'This whole Rena thing is surrounded by confidential agreements and sneaky side deals. Hopefully this will come out when we have our Tribunal hearing here in Tauranga on July1st and 2nd.”

The hearing presents another issue. The Crown wants to consult over the hapu's position in relation to the resource consent application.

'The Crown will have all their hired guns on board and we should have the same privilege. But our little hapu hasn't got the resources to bring our lawyer up to Tauranga. So why don't they organise with us to travel down to Wellington?

'It's clearly a resourcing issue and we are just saying this is not consultation on a level playing field when one side is clearly fully resourced and one isn't.”