Speech: Parana Park - Rahui Katene

te-pati-maori

Thu Feb 17 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Speech: Parana Park - Rahui Katene

Thursday, 17 February 2011, 9:56 am
Speech: The Maori Party

Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill - Second Reading Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga Wednesday 16 February 2011

I am pleased to speak to this Bill, as a member of the Local Government and Environment Committee, on behalf of the Maori Party.

When I stood to speak to this Bill at its first reading on 16 June, I ended with the statement that 'in the interests of the iwi and mana whenua we support this Bill to bring their stories to the fore".

And so it was with pleasure that I read the submission from Waikato-Tainui Te Kauhanganui Incorporated which made the connection explicit between Parana Park and the Waikato Tainui settlements.

I believe that some of the statements made in that submission form an important part of the record around this Bill, in that they place the understanding around Parana Park firmly in the context of its location abounding the Waikato River and the Gibbons Stream as riverbank.

And I want to bring us back to the vision that Waikato Tainui have for the Waikato River

"Tooku awa koiora me oona pikonga he kura tangihia o te maataamuri: the river of life, each curve more beautiful than the last".

I think about the more recent history associated with the land around Parana Park. The land was originally intended to be a children's convalescent home and playground but in 1958 legislation was passed to enable the Council to administer and manage Parana Park more effectively.

The Trusts of the last will and testament of George Park required that the House situated within Parana Park be used for a children's convalescent home for patients from Waikato Hospital and that the reminder of land be used for a children's playground.

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But the Hamilton City (Parana Park) Empowering Act 1958 changed all that.

Half a century later, and the House is again considering legislation; this time to vest Parana Park in the Council as a recreation reserve.

And I would presume that in this record, the Mayor and Councillors are in themselves fulfilling the vision for the Waikato River, of trying to make each curve more beautiful than the last.

As the submission from Waikato Tainui points out, the world is not static but continues to evolve over time, and they recognize the actions of Council being necessary to free them from the existing restrictions in their administration of the land.

But they point out also an interesting point - that there is a "moral obligation" on Council to shape their administration towards the original intentions of the gift bequeathed by Mr George Parr in 1929, and that is for Parana Park to be centred around children.

Waikato Tainui suggests that in doing so, the Council would also in turn be supporting the Waikato River Settlement purpose, to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River, and all it embraces, for generations to come.

The Maori Party strongly supports the recommendations from Waikato Tainui; and agree with them that there is a moral obligation on the Council to administer Parana Park for the benefit of children in line with the wishes and will of George Parr.

We noted also the submission from Laura Kellaway which supported the legislation being modernized, as long as it reflected George Parr's desire that it be focused on children.

She spoke with the authority of someone who was both a Hamilton resident, and a former user - as a child - of Parana Park; and her submission included a range of photographs showing children at play.

The focus on children was also referred to in the submission from Gerard Kelly, from the Waikato Tree Trust.

I remind the House that there were only five submissions received on this Bill. When the majority of them refer to children, then I would suggest that sends a very strong message to the Council about the preference of the community for how this Park is to be used.

The Maori Party believes that providing space for our tamariki and mokopuna to enjoy the great outdoors, to flourish in the beauty of Papatuanuku, to appreciate the awesome wonder of the Waikato awa, is indeed worthy of our support, and to this end, we support this, the second reading of the Hamilton City Council (Parana Park) Land Vesting Bill.

ends

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