In June a committee comprising people from the Te Araroa community was established to provide a local perspective to the Te Whanau a Kahu barge facility project. Richard Brooking is a member of that board and like others on the board,  has whakapapa to Te Whanau a Kahu.  He provides some background to the project which he believes will not detrimentally affect the battle grounds or kapata kai in the region.