The evolution of kaitiakitanga in the 1980s: From the Manukau Harbour claim to the Resource Management Act 1991

The term kaitiakitanga, describing Māori customs of care for the natural world and other taonga (treasured entities), has become a cornerstone of environmental discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its prominence in public policy can be traced to the 1980s, particularly through the leadership of Nganeko Minhinnick and Te Puuaha ki Manuka, a collective of Tainui hapū (kinship communities) connected to the Waikato River and Manukau Harbour. During this period, Nganeko Minhinnick advanced the Manukau Harbour claim before the Waitangi Tribunal, invoking kaitiakitanga as a central principle. At its core, the claim sought the restoration of Māori authority to exercise their traditional rights and responsibilities over the harbour. Claimants drew strategic parallels between kaitiakitanga and the existing institution of Lake Guardians, environmental advisory bodies tasked with protecting several of Aotearoa’s lakes. The Waitangi Tribunal subsequently recommended the establishment of a similar institution, the Kaitiaki o Manuka, to serve as Māori Guardians. While bureaucrats immediately embraced the idea, archival evidence shows that claimants quickly distanced themselves from it. They recognised that the transplantation of a Western advisory model into a Māori context undermined their broader aspirations for the substantive return of authority. This article examines the evolution of kaitiakitanga, from its emergence in the tireless leadership and work of Nganeko Minhinnick to its entry into resource management legislation in the 1980s, highlighting the challenges Māori have faced—and continue to face—in ensuring their concepts of environmental use and care are returned to prominence in Aotearoa.