Local Government Act 2002
te-pati-maori
Thu May 06 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Local Government Act 2002
Thursday, 6 May 2010, 5:11 pm
Speech: The Maori Party
Local Government Act 2002
Rahui Katene, Maori Party Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga
Tuesday 4 May 20107.30pm
Mr Speaker, This Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill has only just been introduced, but we got a heads up on it from Mr Hide in his intemperate opposition to the Waikato River Settlement Bill last month, when he condemned the notion that the Waikato River could be considered a tupuna, with the mana, the spiritual authority and power; and the mauri, the life force of the Waikato Tainui.
What he said was, “I do not happen to believe it. I think it is hocus-pocus But what we are doing is legislating this hocus-pocus”. And then he stated … “I oppose it as the Minister of Local Government, I oppose it as the leader of the ACT Party, and I oppose it as a New Zealander”.
Well I have to say to Mr Hide that as a member of Parliament for a Maori electorate, as a member of the Maori Party, and as a Maori New Zealander, I say that the statements that he is making have to jeopardise the credibility of a Government that is working with Waikato-Tainui to settle this matter. They suggest that either Mr Hide is skating on thin ice, or the Government is being dragged around by the nose by a party that is struggling to make the margin of error_._
The fact is that the relationship between iwi and the Crown requires decision makers to think about Maori values, practices and interests in both the Local Government Act 2002 and the Resource Management Act, including the need to:
• recognise and provide for the relationship of Maori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands, water, sites, wahi tapu, and other taonga have particular regard to kaitiakitanga, and
• take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
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I wanted to establish the status of the Treaty relationship right upfront here, because the Bill we are debating here today will be of huge importance to Maori.
Although the Bill aims to amend the Local Government Act 2002, to improve transparency, accountability, and financial management, in reality it is all about the control and provision of water services and water infrastructure – which brings me back to the Waikato River Settlement Bill in which we are told that the Waikato River is a single, indivisible, living thing: “that flows from Te Taheke Hukahuka to Te Puuaha o Waikato and includes its waters, banks and beds (and all minerals under them) and its streams, waterways, tributaries, lakes, aquatic fisheries, vegetation, flood plains, wetlands, islands, springs, water column, airspace, and substratum as well as its metaphysical being.”
This is specific, concrete terminology spelling out in black and white the relationship that Waikato-Tainui have with their river. It is hardly hocus pocus.
So when the Minister of Local Government comes to the question of water services and water infrastructure in the Waikato rohe, he is going to find himself already offside with at least half the authority charged with caring for the river and the water that flows its length and breadth.
This amendment bill aims to remove unnecessary barriers to water infrastructure development by reducing restrictions on private sector involvement in the delivery of water services. It is also the first step in privatising water in Aotearoa
This bill also aims to remove unnecessary consultation on matters of interest which means that local bodies will no longer have to consider the views of affected people, Maori or otherwise. Consultation will go out the window as well, even though the Local Government Act 2002 requires Councils to ensure Maori are involved in local body decision-making processes.
We know that there are some good councils out there, engaging with Māori in positive ways, but we also know of Councils who are deliberately lagging behind. Although the Act emphasises participation and involvement of Māori, it does not direct councils to any particular groups representing Māori interests so what we sometimes find is that Councils deal with their obligations to consult, by talking to a Maori staff member rather than to tangata whenua, thus effectively sidestepping their commitment to mana whenua. This is in direct opposition to Maori Party policy which says that issues around water must include mana whenua, including water rights and privatisation.
This Bill also takes away the process of consultation between local bodies and the community on water issues, reducing those who pay for and use the water, to having no say whatsoever over the way in which their most precious resource is going to be managed.
In fact, this bill will put private contractors in charge of water services without any accountability for the supply of those services, which reminded me of a comment I saw in a a recent article called Waiting in the wings: Privatisation of your water” by Warwick Taylor of the Wellington Resident’s Coalition, in which he said: “Water is protected under law, but they are seeking to change that. Why not do away with democracy altogether if it’s cheaper” - and given the thrust of this bill, I shudder to think what this government’s answer might be to that question.
Mr Speaker, this bill is another step down the slippery slope where the memory of democracy is being used as a waterslide to ease the way for privatisation of critical resources.
• We oppose the loss of democracy to the wider community and to the Maori community that we saw in the E-Can legislation last month,
• we oppose the unaccountability of private contractors,
• we challenge the right of this or any government to deny Maori their Treaty rights to Water,
• and we will do whatever is necessary to establish a process which is truly Treaty based,
• that recognises the value of local community input,
• and that restores the mana of water all round the country to that status expressed in the Waikato-Tainui River Settlement Bill
This bill threatens at a very fundamental level many of the principles the Maori Party believes in Mr Speaker, and we oppose it on those very grounds.
ENDS
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