Last week, a Green Party-sponsored forum provided diverse perspectives on water issues from the Chamber of Commerce, the Regional Council, the Green Party, and from Morry Black, representing Maori views.
Morry, director of the Maori Protection Agency and a Maori representative to both the Regional and Hastings Councils, began his remarks with an inspiring insight into the spiritual significance of water, which in turn compels an ethical approach to how we should treat this resource.
“WATER has its own whakapapa. From the ranges down, where the rains are channeled through the land, then feed into the aquifers. The waters gain a combined spiritual power. Ranginui and Papatuanuku, the rebirth of a physical characteristic from a spiritual origin …
The spiritual realm gives our relationships and interactions with water and the natural world a code of ethics. Positive direction, strength of purpose, depth, a guide towards the right way of doing things. For water management we learn to respect what is right and what we should and should not do.”
You can read Morry’s comments in this week’s Guest Buzzmaker column.
Tom
P.S. Maybe you’ll be inspired to send this message to Chairman Rex McIntyre of the Regional Council.