Waitaha does not believe Ngai Tahu can protect its cultural and spiritual values in the Waiareka Valley which would be lost if a cement plant and its associated quarries were built, the Environment Court has been told.
The Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd proposal would forever damage Waitaha's cultural and spiritual association with the area, Waitaha Taiwhenua O Waitaki Trust Board legal counsel Joan Forret said.
Waitaha opposes Holcim's plan, but Ngai Tahu has supported it.
"They [Waitaha] see this as yet another example of Waitaha heritage, through their connection with their ancestral land, as being lost to development with the support, or at best, ambivalence of Ngai Tahu," Dr Forret said on Thursday.
Holcim has consulted with Ngai Tahu and the Moeraki runanga over the development. Ngai Tahu told the court earlier in the hearing it considered itself and the Moeraki runanga as the Maori authority which should be consulted.
However, that is challenged by Waitaha, who populated the area before Maori arrived.
Dr Forret said the right of Waitaha to speak rested with its ancestral connection to the land, pre-dating both Ngai Tahu and the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngai Tahu did not have the level of knowledge of the area held by Waitaha.
"The lore and sites of significance pre-date Ngai Tahu and are essentially the treasures of ancient victims. Waitaha has no confidence in any protection afforded by the victors."
Holcim's proposal would adversely affect the relationship Waitaha had with the Whitstone limestone escarpment next to the cement plant site and the Waiareka Valley. It saw the proposal as compromising their spiritual connection with the valley, Dr Forret said.
Judge Gordon Whiting questioned the role the court had in determining who had authority over the issues. He said the court's role was to determine matters of fact, not to resolve conflict within Maori.
It was not in the province of the court to interfere in conflict within Maori over authority. That was a matter which should be decided by the Maori people. There was no doubt Waitaha had standing before the court - the issue was how to resolve the differences between it and Ngai Tahu, he said.
However, Dr Forret said the Resource Management Act specifically provided for the court to protect Maori relationship to ancestral lands. In this case, Waitaha was saying the Waiareka Valley was its ancestral land.
