Tainui and the Crown have signed a 100 million dollar treaty settlement, which will see the tribe play an important role in cleaning up the Waikato River.
But the 100 million is just a start. Much more money will go into a "contestable fund" for the clean-up, over 30 years.
The Waikato is New Zealand’s longest river.
When the singing started it was enough to send shivers through the thousands on hand.
Lady Raiha Mahuta’s song was a dedication to her late husband Sir Robert Mahuta and the Maori queen, who began their fight to get the river back in 1987.
Mahuta says today’s settlement ensures their ancestor will survive.
“It's a long time, 30 odd years, but I reckon its like good wine. It matures with age,” says Lady Mahuta.
Once law, Tainui will become co-managers of the river, that stems from Port Waikato, north of Hamilton, to the Huka Falls near Taupo.
The "clean up" deal is worth 210 million dollars, made up of seven million per year for 30 years. That will go into a contestable fund for iwi and local authorities.
The hundred million to Tainui will be spilt - 50 towards setting up the Guardian Committee to oversee the clean up, 20 million towards the Tainui College, and 30 million as funding for co-management.
"Its both a breakthrough in terms of co-management but it's also the biggest single clean up fund that has been established in New Zealand. I'd emphasis that is for the river that fund," says Treaty Minister Michael Cullen.
Tainui wanted co-ownership, but now say that's no longer an issue. The Crown will though have to consult with Tainui before creating or selling any property interest on the river, like the Huntly Power Station.
"This agreement is the embodiment of a real treaty partnership, equity and equality is a huge deal for Maori and so this deal is about equal footing now with the crown partner"
The emotion of a two decade fight touched all involved. Even the man referred too as Matua Mikaire - Michael Cullen.
“Pretty emotional day and particularly with the presentation at the end there was very emotional for me,” says Cullen.
Cullen gifted a greenstone mere and korowai. Tainui says a sign of a chief, a friend, and now a partner.
The agreement includes funding for 30 years to clean up the Waikato River. Which is more than 400kilometres long.
So why is it so polluted?
Near Taupo the visibility of the Waikato River is over 10 metres. By the time it winds its way to Hamilton it is around one metre, and at Mercer you can not see your feet in the water.
Waikato's water clarity has long been blamed on the farms that surround the river and the nutrients that flow from them.
Farmer Andrew Hayes is leading by example - he now uses only a fifth of the nitrogen he used on his farm four years ago.
“All the lakes died. The fish were all dead, no birdlife or nothing so we decided there's got to be something happening here so we decided we better do something about it,” says Hayes.
Hayes says the lakes on his farm have started to regenerate and he thinks the same could occur in the river.
But it is the eight hydro power stations that have the greatest effect on the Waikato River before the dams were built it took six days for a single drop of water to reach the sea from Lake Taupo - now it takes a month.
This causes the growth of aquatic plants and algae because the water is stagnant.
But Environment Waikato’s chairman says the dams are a necessary evil...
“We need those containment dams and the water that comes through the system because it generates something like 50 percent of the power for the country so there is a social need out there so we have to weigh up the two costs of the pollution and the social cost,” says Peter Buckley.
Buckley looks forward to a day when wildlife returns to the Waikato River. But even if farmers stopped using nitrogen now it would be years before it drained out of paddocks and through the river.
“We're not going to see an immediate clean up but in twenty years we'd expect to see something better,” says Buckley.
That is a view shared by many at today's signing. This is a long term project which hopefully will benefit generations to come.
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