Editing Taniwha (section)

==Modern usage==
"In more recent years, taniwha have featured prominently in New Zealand news broadcasts—due to taniwha spirits being referenced in both court cases and in various legal negotiations."<ref name="The Road and the Taniwha"/> Beliefs in the existence of taniwha have a potential for controversy but there has been a change in the way they are viewed; rather than being derided for holding up development and infrastructure projects they are becoming recognised as indicators of natural hazards.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kingsbury |first=J |date=2022 |title=Taking taniwha seriously |doi=10.1007/s44204-022-00052-0 |journal=Asian Journal of Philosophy |volume=1|issue=2 |hdl=10289/16445 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In 2002, Ngāti Naho, a Māori tribe from the [[Meremere]] district, successfully ensured that part of the country's major highway, [[State Highway 1 (New Zealand)|State Highway 1]], be rerouted in order to protect the abode of their legendary protector. This taniwha was said to have the appearance of large white eel, and Ngāti Naho argued that it must not be removed but rather move on of its own accord; to remove the taniwha would be to invite trouble. Television New Zealand reported in November 2002 that [[Transit New Zealand]] had negotiated a deal with Ngāti Naho under which "concessions have been put in place to ensure that the taniwha are respected".<ref name="TVNZ_147106">{{cite news |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/423466/147106 |title=Taniwha roading concerns eased |date=12 November 2002 |work=[[Television New Zealand]] |access-date=17 November 2011}}</ref> Some like the journalist [[Brian Rudman]] have criticised such deals in respect of 'secretive taniwha which rise up from swamps and river beds every now and again, demanding a [[tithe]] from Transit New Zealand'.<ref name="NZ_Herald_10443860">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/brian-rudman/news/article.cfm?a_id=1&objectid=10443860 |title=Brian Rudman: Suffer, little children - and watch out for the spaceship |author=Rudman, Brian |author-link=Brian Rudman |date=6 June 2007 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=17 November 2011}}</ref>

In 2001 "another notable instance of taniwha featuring heavily within the public eye was that of a proposed [[Northland prison]] site at [[Ngawha Springs|Ngawha]] which was eventually granted approval through the courts."<ref>A. Asbjørn Jøn, '[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283318670_The_Road_and_the_Taniwha The Road and the Taniwha The Road and the Taniwha]' in ''Australian Folklore: A Yearly Journal of Folklore Studies'' 22 (2007), pp.85-94 (p.86). {{ISBN|1-86389-831-X}}</ref>

Māori academic [[Ranginui Walker]] said that in the modern age a taniwha was the  manifestation of a coping mechanism for some Māori. It did not mean there actually was a creature lurking in the water, it was just their way of indicating they were troubled by some incident or event.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/|title=Transit and the taniwha|last=CORBETT|first=JAN|date=2002-11-09|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=2018-02-12|language=en-NZ|issn=1170-0777}}</ref>

In 2010 there was an episode of ''[[Destination Truth]]'' where [[Josh Gates]] and his team went looking for the taniwha, but turned up no good evidence.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q114531267|id=tt1603572|title="Destination Truth" Haunted Mining Town/The Taniwha (TV Episode)}}</ref>

In 2021, the 28th Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand [[Nanaia Mahuta]] characterised [[China–New Zealand relations]] as the relationship between a taniwha and a dragon.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/%E2%80%9Che-taniwha-he-tipua-he-tipua-he-taniwha-dragon-and-taniwha%E2%80%9D|title="He Taniwha He Tipua, He Tipua He Taniwha - The Dragon and the Taniwha"|last=Mahuta|first=Nanaia|date=2021-04-19|work=Beehive.govt.nz |access-date=2022-08-20|language=en-NZ}}</ref>