Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River)
te-pati-maori
Thu May 06 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River)
Thursday, 6 May 2010, 3:46 pm
Press Release: The Maori Party
Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill; Third reading
Hon Tariana Turia, Co-leader of the Maori Party
Thursday 6 May 2010; 3.10pm
On behalf of the Minister of Treaty Negotiations, I move that the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill be now read a third time.
Hauraki, Ngati Maniapoto, Raukawa and Waikato; tena koutou; tena koutou; tena koutou katoa.
E rere kau mai te Awa nui, mai te Kahui Maunga ki Tangaroa; Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au.
Na tënei kaupapa, na tënei wänanga ka puta mai te korero, ko nga wai honohono i te po ki Parikino, tena tatau.
No reira, kei te Kaihautu me nga mema Paremata, tena koutou, tatau katoa.
My river, Whanganui, connects me to the famous proverb: I am the river and the river is me. Her origin, Te Kahui Maunga, the family of mountains, is also the origin of the Waikato River.
That connection is a matapihi, the component that links the third reading of this Bill to something pre-ordained and succinctly outlined in the phrase uttered by my kuia: “Ko nga wai honohono i te po” tena.
Mr Speaker, this is a most auspicious day in this Parliament.
We are honoured with the presence of Te Arikinui Kingi Tuheitia and Te Whare o te Kahui Ariki and the tribal peoples of Waikato-Tainui.
And in their presence we are connected to a noble line of leaders who have strived for the river to be restored to its former health and wellbeing.
We pay tribute to the leadership and vision of Kingi Potatau Te Wherowhero, Kingi Tawhiao; Kingi Mahuta; Kingi Te Rata; Kingi Koroki and the beloved Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
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The ancestors have laid a pathway for the people to follow – a pathway that is honoured in this settlement.
I am reminded of the words of the late Sir Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta when talking about the river;
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"It is a gift left to us by our ancestors and we believe we have a duty to protect that gift for future generations."_
We pay our respects to those of Te Whare o te Kahui Ariki, and we think today particularly of the legacy of the late Lady Raiha Mahuta who along with co-negotiator Tukuroirangi Morgan have played such a distinctive role in their efforts to restore and protect the Waikato River environment.
The Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill fulfils the aspirations of the people, to protect the gift of their awa for future generations.
A special feature of the settlement is that in seeking to protect the Waikato River, Waikato-Tainui have established an impressive precedent in the form of a co-governance entity and subsequent arrangements.
I have every confidence that the co-management approach which has been reviewed and refined over the last two years will provide a vital context for other river settlements.
The co-governance approach will usher in a new era of resource management in which accredited commissioners appointed by Waikato-Tainui; Raukawa; Ngati Tuwharetoa; Maniapoto and Te Arawa river iwi will be appointed to Waikato Regional Council hearing committees and boards of inquiry for applications for resource consent.
The enhanced model represents a significant shift from six statutory boards to a single co-governance entity, the Waikato River Authority.
It is an inherently positive approach – the Authority comprising equal numbers of Crown and iwi appointed members, with care taken to include other iwi with interests along the river.
Iwi and the Crown will sit together at the table, overseeing the management of the health and wellbeing of the river. It is as it should be – and it is a sign of things to come.
The Authority will have a pivotal role in monitoring the implementation of Te Ture Whaimana, a direction towards the development of the Vision and the Strategy.
Another key aspect of the settlement is the 210 million dollar clean up fund which we know to be vital for the economic, environmental and recreational progress of the area.
We know that a narrow, reductionist approach in activities on the river has led to the degradation of the waterways.
And it is so pleasing that this Bill provides the investment to support the iwi in meeting their kaitiakitanga obligations, in caring for their puna wai, roto and awa.
The Authority will administer a contestable fund which will be available to iwi, to local authorities, to landowners and others for initiatives that clean the river.
The challenge for iwi throughout Aotearoa is how to ensure that whanau, hapu and iwi are empowered to implement their aspirations to be fully involved in the management of the awa.
A distinctive aspect of the settlement is the importance placed on two fundamental principles which represent the essence of the awa and the essence of the people.
The settlement promotes the concepts of Te Mana o te awa – the respect for the tupuna awa; and Mana Whakahaere – the exercise of control, access to and management of the river and its resources, in accordance with tikanga.
These concepts are extended in provisions which recognise and provide for the exercise of customary activities by members of Waikato-Tainui. Iwi members are also authorised to harvest flora material for cultural purposes; in accordance with a plan to be agreed to with the Director-General of Conservation.
Mr Speaker, the span of the claims for raupatu in the rohe of Waikato-Tainui stretch out beyond 120 years of New Zealand history.
That story is punctuated at one end by Kingi Tawhiao leading a delegation to visit Queen Victoria in 1884; and at the other end by the Deed of Settlement signed in 1995.
The search for justice, and for redress is rewarded today with a settlement which rightly returns iwi to a governance role in respect of their rivers.
And again I return to the vision of Sir Robert:
"The river belongs to us just as we belong to the river. The Waikato tribe and the river are inseparable.
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Today is a tribute to Te Kauhanganui; to Te Arataura and representatives of many marae who have so much invested in the success of this settlement._
I want to also acknowledge the commitment and the support of the members of the Maori Affairs Select Committee for their work on this Bill.
This Bill is, of course, a means of settling a longstanding Treaty grievance. But it is also, fundamentally, about establishing a robust basis for a productive and dynamic ongoing Treaty relationship with Waikato-Tainui.
At the very heart of the relationship is a focus on the health and wellbeing of the awa and its tributaries. This is a vision of the iwi – but also a vision shared with Environment Waikato.
It is the ambition of all key stakeholders that there will be an integrated, holistic and co-ordinated approach to the natural, physical, cultural and historic resources of the Waikato River.
I am immensely proud to be part of a Parliament which is providing an opportunity for everyone to unite, for the single purpose of restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of this river.
Kotahi te kohao o te ngira e kuhuna ai te miro ma, te miro pango, te miro whero.
Waikato-Tainui is to be commended for their leadership in protecting the unique life-force of their river, in the interests of the generations to come.
Mr Speaker, my other river, Whangaehu, starts at Te Wai-a-moe on Ruapehu and cascades down to Nukuhau, the beginning of the Waikato-iti.
Today, my relatives of Ruapehu have gone to the Waikato-iti to pray and to acknowledge the third reading of this Bill so that the Waikato at the püwaha will one day be as clean as it is at the foot of Ruapehu.
I join with them all, in spirit and in deed, in extending our deepest blessings to all of Waikato-Tainui descent at this turning point in your tribal history.
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
_ENDS
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