Te Urewera is Not co-governance

Protests led by Tūhoe elders have brought the media spotlight back to Te Urewera as the governing body removes 48 huts. Some consider this to be co-governance, truth be told, it is far from it.

Photo by Peter Hammer on Unsplash

Te Urewera is back in the headlines and it is important to consider why that is the case. Increasingly it is held up by the government and its supporters as an example of co-governance in action. A governance model put in place by the Key government in 2014, and a working example of why co-governance is not new nor par…