A one-day conference to promote and enhance ways to build Maori capacity and capability to contribute to Bay of Plenty Regional Council decision-making will go ahead in April after being postponed late last year.

The event, called Te Toanga Mai o Te Ra, or ‘The Rising of the Sun', is hosted by Bay of Plenty Regional Council and will be held on Monday, April 23 at TECT Arena at Baypark.

Organiser, regional council Maori policy manager Kataraina Belshaw, says the conference is about bringing Maori together to hear some of New Zealand's top academics talk about environmental issues and local government.

The event was postponed in late October last year because the council's Maori policy staff and many local iwi were involved in the response to the Rena grounding.

The conference will target Maori who live in, or have an interest in the Bay of Plenty, including hapu and iwi practitioners as well as representatives and members of Maori land trusts and entities.

The Ministry of Maori Development, Te Puni Kokiri and eight associates are sponsoring the event.

Kataraina says the conference was an opportunity to build relationships and learn from each other.

'This event will provide an occasion where experts and practitioners can share knowledge, skills and experiences on topics of relevance that will help Maori build capability and capacity to contribute to council decision-making.

'It's an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and build new ones.”

Topics to be discussed at the conference include the use of Maori land, constitutional reform and local government, Maori perspectives on water, natural resource co-governance models and human rights.

Keynote speaker is Justice Joe Williams and guest speakers include Human Rights Commissioner Joris de Bres, Auckland University Maori Studies Professor Ann Sullivan, Professor Linda Te Aho and senior law lecturer Jacinta Ruru.

The conference will also feature presentations from Environment Canterbury chief executive Bill Bayfield, Bay of Plenty Regional Council chief executive Mary-Anne MacLeod and Chairman of Ngai Te Rangi Iwi Trust Charlie Tawhiao on the importance of relationships in a disaster.

The conference was requested through the regional council's Maori committee last year. Under the Local Government Act, councils must consider ways to foster the development of Maori capacity to contribute to council decision-making.