The Puhinui Stream flows from Totara Park near Auckland’s Botanic Gardens in Manurewa. It continues through Manukau and Wiri, out to the Manukau Harbour.
It is an area that bears many of the ecological, social and economic scars of colonisation and extractive development.
The urban, heavily polluted cityscape has engulfed once thriving landscapes. Urban tree cover and access to green spaces are the lowest in the Auckland region. The Puhinui Stream has been degraded over many decades. Rubbish and pollution accumulate in the stream. Many stretches of the stream are piped or channelised with concrete, without natural banks and green margins.
Local job prospects are limited. Most take the form of low-paid labour with limited career prospects. Unemployment is high. The local community scores poorly on key measures of health and well-being. The global Covid-19 pandemic has hit these already struggling communities hardest.
But through many years of collective community work, a bold vision has emerged. The multi-award winning Te Whakaoranga o Te Puhinui: Te Rautaki, Te Puhinui Regeneration Strategy. This was developed by the local iwi collective, Te Waiohua (with representation from Te Ākitai, Ngāti Tamaoho and Ngāti Te Ata) with Eke Panuku. It is a navigational tool to guide transformational investment in this rohe for years to come. It is also a living kaupapa. It is designed to evolve with the landscape, the people and their inter-relationships.
Organisations investing in this are at the beginning of some magnificent mahi. Eke Panuku’s Transform Manukau programme will be working with a wealth of experts and project partners on this. Together, the partners will co-ordinate the restoration of this precious place. At the same time it we will create new jobs, homes, infrastructure, playgrounds, wetlands and more.
A total of more than $30 million of investment is already planned over the next five years. More is set to follow. This includes investments in Waiohua Maramataka and Te Reo. It includes work on empowering communities. There's work on pollution prevention, signage, placed-based education and food sovereignty. The strategy is supported and signed by the wider Auckland Council and government agencies. This includes The Southern Initiative, Manurewa and Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Boards and Kāinga Ora.
The challenge now is to bring this vision fully to life through action. That’s where your vital investment comes in. With the strategy as our guide, the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) has established the Puhinui Regeneration Project. The key aspiration is to employ local youth in regenerative work, focusing on ecological restoration of the Puhinui. This will also enable them to step into the skills gap opened up by the investment flowing into the area. It will integrate traditional indigenous approaches with Western science. This will create unique, locally driven solutions.
SBN’s Puhinui Regeneration Project is underway. We're already creating and financing jobs for local rangatahi to develop nature-based careers. Their work is regenerating the stream and its catchment. This is beginning to address the ecological, economic and social issues. It is helping to bring the community together around this inspiring idea.
We're focused on creating the conditions for a radical improvement in the mauri of the stream, its life-giving essence and vitality. Our partners are incorporating indigenous knowledge alongside the latest science and technology.
With help from investors like you, and our partners, SBN can deepen and expand this work.
Together, we’ll develop a vibrant local low carbon circular economy around the stream. We'll also be looking to support, for example, community-led initiatives on waste reduction and resource recovery in the area.
An initial grant of $1 million from the Department of Conservation's Mahi mo te Taiao (Jobs for Nature) Fund has provided initial momentum. The Milford Foundation has stepped up, investing $1.2 million over five years to provide a secure future to grow this work. Z Energy has invested in this project, with key funding for its operations.
With further investment we aim to pump in $16 million over the next five years. This will train and employ more than 50 local people in new careers that address these issues. It will help make this the thriving community and landscape we all know is possible.
Together we will completely transform this important part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest city. Thank you for being part of it.