Turia - General Debate March 21 2007
te-pati-maori
Wed Mar 21 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Turia - General Debate March 21 2007
Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 4:00 pm
Speech: The Maori Party
General Debate: Tariana Turia; Co-leader Maori Party
Wednesday 21 March 2007
Tena koe Mr Speaker, Tena tatou katoa Just one month ago, the world’s largest private mining corporation, Rio Tinto, purchased a 60% interest in the Iron Ore prospecting licence to explore seabed mining possibilities offshore from Taranaki.
This is a company which won the Dirty Diggers prize for their continued use of Tailings Disposal in the Asia-Pacific; pouring millions of tonnes of toxic mine wastes into the ocean, smothering vital organisms on the seabed.
At about the same time, Seafield Resources have been granted a mining licence covering about 10,000 square kilometres off the South Island;s West Coast between Karamea and Jackson's Head in water depths up to 125 metres.
Mr Speaker, the pigeons are coming home to roost.
Since the enactment of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, the Government, by way of the Crown Minerals Agency, has auctioned areas of the seabed for mineral and petroleum exploration – or more accurately exploitation.
The Act has given the Crown a clear mandate – or so they think – to sell off all coastal resources, including the sand, to foreign interests.
It is a question of justice; of law; of equality; of public access; property rights all tied up in one.
This House may recall, the months in which thousands upon thousands of New Zealanders, asserted their mana rangatira over the coast and surrounding areas, by marching on Parliament, to protect their customary ownership of the foreshore and seabed.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
The Government reaction to the Ngati Apa case had been swift and violent – extinguishing Maori ownership through the Foreshore and Seabed Act.
And yet here we have another appropriation secretly, silently being conducted under the ignorant gaze of all New Zealanders – unaware that the so-called public access, public resources, are being transferred to overseas interests.
The pervasive policy talk of the Foreshore and Seabed Act was that taonga tuku iho of tangata whenua would instead be vested in public ownership.
The bitter irony for New Zealand is to now see that what had happened to Maori with the foreshore and seabed, is now happening to all the peoples of this nation. Remember the principle of access – that the foreshore and seabed should be public domain with open access and use for all New Zealanders? It’s another Tui truism from this Government - Yeah Right! For the Government is denying due process; exploiting our natural resources; selling off-shore; and yet packaging the deal as ‘in the best interests of the nation’.
In Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” we are told that societies fail, when the most prosaic elements of the earth’s ecosystem—soil, trees, and water—are mis-managed.
The Government may pump up the profit of a short-term economic gain, while being blind to the fact that participating in the world economy brings with it significant costs to those environmental factors identified in Collapse.
We think of the Maui dolphin; and how they will fare – or not – from the iron sand prospecting off the North Island and gold prospecting off the South Island.
Exploiting the seabed for iron sand; remote surveying; sampling and analysis can and has disastrous impact on the endangered Maui dolphin; other marine mammals and marine eco-systems.
And yet, Crown Minerals continues to grant permits to mining corporations to prospect and potentially mine the seabed off the west coast of Aotearoa.
Those small coastal communities are now gearing up to fight, yet again, as they oppose the third application in two years gaining prospecting licences from Crown Minerals.
Rather than protecting the public interest, the Foreshore and Seabed Act has instead empowered the Government to flog off the seabed for economic gain, weakening the ability of any New Zealander to protect the marine environment.
And as for section 4 of the Crown Minerals Act – wherein the Government is obliged to consult with mana whenua – well as with Landcorp’s decisions to sell up Whenuakite and Rangiputa Stations; or the Ministry of Education’s decision to sell off schools which were theoretically land-banked – so too, Crown Minerals is content to just relax and let the land go – overseas that is.
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from The Maori Party on InfoPages.