Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill — Third Reading 
Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill — Third Reading 
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Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill 
Third Reading 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
 on behalf of  
Anne Tolley (National—East Coast) 
: I move  
That the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill be now read a third time 
. I would like to extend the good wishes of Anne Tolley who is unable to be with us at the moment. She deeply regrets that because she has championed this bill to its third reading in the House today. 
This bill validates the uses of Alfred Cox Park which is a centrally located park in the city of Gisborne and which was gifted to the borough of Gisborne in 1944 under a deed of trust. The uses are currently contrary to the Reserves Act 1977. Every Saturday morning a flea market is held in the grounds and an excellent i-site has been built at considerable expense as part of the Gisborne Visitor Information Centre which is an important part of Gisborne’s tourism. Gisborne has thriving tourism and is a wonderful place to visit and spend any amount of time in. I always value greatly my opportunity to visit Gisborne. It is in some of the accommodation it offers there that I have had some of my best nights’ sleep. 
I would like to mention a few things that have happened during the process of this bill. The Maori Party raised the issue of the local iwi Rongowhakaata who had not been consulted. Despite many rounds of public consultation in Gisborne prior to the bill coming to Parliament and the select committee seeking public submissions from Gisborne residents nothing was actually heard from the iwi. However the council has had discussions with iwi and has reached agreement which is an excellent outcome as part of the process of consultation. So all due credit to both the council and the iwi for coming to that conclusion. 
 Alfred Cox Park was classified as a recreation reserve in 1985 but in 1966 the council had allowed the public relations office to be replaced by the visitor information centre which I mentioned earlier. Prior to 1990 part of the land was also being used for the flea market and both of these uses according to legal opinions obtained by the council and scrutinised by Parliamentary Counsel are contrary to the Reserves Act 1977. So the Gisborne District Council is promoting this local bill which was accepted by the Clerk of the House in June 2005 after several false starts. The member Anne Tolley is absolutely delighted that it has come to fruition and that we are at this point today. Janet Mackey MP promoted the bill originally and as a newly elected electorate MP Anne Tolley is delighted to continue its progress through the House on behalf of the Gisborne District Council. 
Anne thanks the Local Government and Environment Committee for the time and effort put into the scrutiny of the bill as well as the officials who came up with some good solutions to some of the legal problems that were raised during the select committee process. So sincere thanks to all of those people who were involved. 
The committee received several submissions on the bill. The submissions from the council outlined the history of the park and the activities that have taken place. It referred to the establishment of the public relations office and its subsequent replacement with the visitor information centre. The council had consulted with the two current users of the reserve and also with members of the family of Alfred Cox. Two differing legal opinions were obtained and the solicitors for Tourism Eastland which operates the visitor information centre felt that the centre actually met the description in the deed of trust which refers to buildings for the entertainment convenience or amusement of the public or other buildings of a civic nature. It is good to be able to support some of the future visions of the area of the council and of Tourism Eastland and to have these legal matters settled so that they can move on into the future with some confidence. 
The council outlined in its submission the considerable efforts it had made quite unsuccessfully to relocate the flea market and referred to the petition to the council from 72 signatories who supported the continued existence of the flea market. That was followed by a petition from the local people in the neighbourhood who were concerned about the undesirable effects of a flea market. However anybody who attends the flea market knows that it is extremely well attended and that many many Gisborne citizens go there on a regular basis to purchase fruit and vegetables. 
There were a number of other submissions including one from a Dr Helen Papuni who supported the intent of the bill and supported the use of the land by the flea market as a tourist attraction. We all know that when one visits any area in New Zealand the flea markets are a particular highlight for many visitors and locals alike. They are a wonderful source of some great produce and showcase some of the excellent wares that the locals have to offer. I think the flea markets are a wonderful opportunity to have that experience and I know that many visitors and locals do appreciate that opportunity. 
The select committee made a couple of changes to the bill on advice from officials. The reasoning was that in order to validate the use of the park by the visitor information centre as well as the flea market the bill needed to apply to the Reserves Act in general and in whole not just as the council had suggested to the specific part that related just to the flea market. In fact the Department of Internal Affairs had suggested that it was unclear whether the bill as drafted originally would actually validate the presence of the visitor information centre. In addition the officials suggested a change to clause 5 to allow validated users to flow through to the provisions dealing with leases and licences in the future. That is a really positive way of making sure that the council Tourism Eastland and the community can actually plan for the future in regard to this area. I think that is a very very positive outcome for everybody involved. 
The Gisborne District Council representatives did not agree with those suggestions of the parliamentary officials. They did say that in their opinion the fundamental objective of the amending legislation was to validate use not to provide a designation and they felt that the officials were focusing on the designation of the reserve and that they failed to appreciate the action in 1998 of redesignating a part of the reserve as a local purpose reserve. However it did become very complicated. The important thing though is that the select committee has followed the advice of the officials. The Gisborne District Council did feel that overall it wanted the bill to proceed in order to put the validation process in place and to put an end to what has been a rather lengthy process through the House. 
National is happy to support this bill and delighted to see that our member Anne Tolley has served her community so well. We applaud her for all the efforts that she has made to support her council Tourism Eastland and the community of Gisborne. 
MOANA MACKEY (Labour) 
: 
 I am happy to speak on the third reading of this local bill in regard to Alfred Cox Park and the Gisborne District Council’s intentions to make legal the activities that occur there. 
I have to say that I am a little bit disappointed with the speech from Sandra Goudie because up until this point the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill has been a non-political bill. The bill was introduced by Janet Mackey. It was one of the first issues that was brought to her in 1993 when she was a newly elected member of Parliament for Gisborne. She worked with the council on the bill and worked very hard on it. As we know it was up to the district council to draft the bill and bring it to the House but she worked with the council very very carefully in order to get this bill ready. Unfortunately when the bill finally did come to the House the rules had changed and the Clerk’s Office had to send it back to be redrafted. But the fact is that she introduced the bill she made the first reading speech and she did all the work to bring the bill to the House. To have to sit here and hear this matter being politicised at the third reading when all members who live in Gisborne and its surrounds have been working very well together on it and to hear the National Party members now claiming that somehow it was all them is really disappointing because that is not the way we do it in Gisborne. If that is the way National wants to play it that is fine but I have to register to this House my disappointment at the manner in which Sandra Goudie gave that speech trying to imply that the former member Janet Mackey did not really do much when it came to it. In fact she did most of the work. 
I thank Anne Tolley for bringing this bill to the House and I am sorry that she was not able to come here and speak on it today as she has done on other stages of the bill but such is life. 
This is an important bill for Gisborne. Alfred Cox Park for anyone who knows Gisborne really is the hub of life in Gisborne. Anyone who knows the flea markets knows that that is where all the action happens every Saturday morning. I have been a regular attendee of flea markets over the course of my life particularly with Labour Party stalls selling toffee apples and fruit and veges—one does one’s bit. 
It is also where the intercity bus depot is. When I had to leave Gisborne to go to university seven or eight times a year I would get on and off the bus at Alfred Cox Park not realising of course that I was committing an offence by engaging in a commercial transaction whilst I was there. Also I commented in one of my speeches that I was very pleased that Ron Mark’s bill to reduce the age of criminal liability was not in place at that time because all the times as a child I had gone to play mini-putt at Alfred Cox Park I could have been considered a serious recidivist offender for continually breaking the law by engaging in a commercial transaction at the park. 
On top of that I have no regrets about it whatsoever. Most people in Gisborne would never have realised that many of the activities carried out in Alfred Cox Park were not able to be carried out under the Reserves Act 1977 and this bill clarifies that issue. 
I want to address the issue of Rongowhakaata and the fact that they felt they had not been adequately consulted. It surprised me that they felt that the council had not consulted them because I have to say that the Gisborne District Council is usually pretty good at consulting local iwi on these matters. I have met with Rongowhakaata and they have assured me that they do not oppose anything in the bill. 
I would have liked the bill to go through the House a bit more speedily than it has but it is fair enough that Rongowhakaata raised concerns and that those concerns were raised on their behalf in the Chamber. I wish they had come to me first. I wish they had come to me when the bill was going through a select committee so that their concerns could have been addressed then. I felt that doing it after the fact was perhaps not quite as useful as it could have been if it had been done earlier. 
I commend the bill to the House. It is nice to see that the bill is finally nearing completion and that many of the activities of the people of Gisborne Tourism Eastland the information centre the intercity bus depot and most important minigolf will now be able to be carried out unfettered without the people of Gisborne being in fear of breaching any laws. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Before I call Te Ururoa Flavell I advise members that the member will speak his whole speech in Maori then the interpreter will interpret the whole speech. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Madam Assistant Speaker. a tena tatou katoa me koutou hoki i te kainga e whakarongo mai nei. He taonga tuku iho ko te manu tukutuku. Kua ngaro atu ke ki nga hau e wha. Kua whakamiharo o tatou nei ngakau. Kia patu ake ki te whai ao ki te ao marama. Anei ke pea te whakamarama o tenei korero. He taonga ka ngaro i te hau; kia kitea mai katahi ka puta ko te harikoa. Ki te ata titirohia nga whakapapa me nga korero o nehe o Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa katahi ka marama tatou ki te tikanga o te manu tukutuku me tona rere ki taua iwi. Waihoki e ai ki tenei pire he rongonui a Rongowhakaata mo te whakarere manu tukutuku. Koia nei ano hoki ko te mahi o Te Torangapu Maori he whakaara ake i te take nei ara kia korerorero kia wananga ki te taha o te mana whenua o Rongowhakaata. Ko ta matou ko te whakarere i te take nei o te tika me te pono me te wahanga o te tangata whenua i roto i nga whiriwhiringa. 
E te Kaikorero e tino tika ana kia tae mai te pire nei ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare i tenei rangi tonu nei i a tatou e ata titiro ana ki te wahanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi hei korowai mo nga ture o te motu. Ka hoki nga mahara ki te take i kokirihia e te Kaunihera Maori o Aotearoa ki te Kooti Pira. Ko ta ratou ko te noho a-Tiriti he rite ki te noho rangapu ara; he wahanga ki a koe he wahanga ki a au. Ko te noho rangapu i waenganui i a Pakeha me Maori e akiaki nei i a raua tahi kia tika te noho kia pono te noho orite.  
He aha tenei tu momo rangapu ki te noho wahangu tetahi taha? Na Rongowhakaata te papa o Alfred Cox i tuku i runga i te tikanga o Te Ture Whenua Rahui 1977 “hei painga mo te katoa”. Kati. He aha tona hokinga mai? He whakahawea he whakaiti. Ko te whenua kei te putake o te pire nei he whenua muru i a Rongowhakaata i raro i Te Pire Mahi Tumatanui. 
Kei roto i te pire nei ko nga matapono whakahirahira o Te Tiriti o Waitangi na te Pati Maori tonu i whakairi hei mea wananga ma tenei Paremata. I te panuitanga tuatahi me te mea tuarua o tenei pire i whakatakoto matou i nga whainga matua na te Tiriti i whakatau ki runga i tena i tena. Kua korerohia e tatou tenei mea te Kawanatanga me ki ko te wahanga ki te Karauna ko te hanga ture me te tango whenua hei painga mo te katoa o te hapori me tona whanaungatanga ki te rangatiratanga o te ao Maori ki runga i ona whenua. 
Ko ta te Karauna oati ki te tangata whenua ka pumau tona tino rangatiratanga ki runga i ona whenua. Engari tenei i noho pohehe te Karauna he whenua noho kau tenei a kaore he raruraru ki te tuku hei whenua parapara ma te taone.  
Kei te kokiri anotia e matou tenei take kia noho tapu nga korero a te Kawanatanga. Tino kore matou e rata ki nga tiwaha a nga mema pera i a Moana Mackey me Anne Tolley. He korero enei kua puta ano nei kaore he whakaaro mo nga tangata e pangia ana e tenei pire. 
Ehara mo te Torangapu Maori tenei pire. I tu matou i runga i te tika ki te whakaatu i nga whakaaro o to matou hapori. Kei te pumau matou ki te whakaaro me whawhai mo nga tika a Maori me kokiri hoki i nga take Maori hei painga mo te whenua katoa. Mo Te Tiriti o Waitangi tenei kia whai oranga ai ia hei kawenata hei kaupapa mo to tatou kirimana hapori. He kirimana e taea ai e nga iwi katoa te noho tahi te whakaatu i o ratou whakaaro hei whakaputa hoki i o ratou awangawanga. 
Tae noa ki te panuitanga tuarua kaore i tutuki taua kirimana hapori. Kaore he hiahia ki te hui ki nga mangai o Rongowhakaata me nga iwi o Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa korero ai mo nga ahuatanga o te pire. Koira ta matou i hiahia ai ko te korero.  
I hara mai matou ki tenei Whare ki te patai i te patai; he orite te mana o nga hoa Tiriti? Ae ranei kaore ranei? Mehemea i pera i te wa i panuitia nga tono a-hapori i te Hongongoi ki te Hakihea o tera tau kua kitea i whai wahi te Kaunihera a-Rohe o Turanga ki te korero tahi me Rongowhakaata. Ko te noho tahi ko te korero tahi koia tera? Ko tona tikanga ka kaha nei nga kaunihera a-rohe a-motu hoki ki te noho tahi ahakoa whanau hapu iwi ranei. 
E ai ki ta te Taraipiunara titiro ko te noho tahi i runga i te tika me te pono me whakanui tetahi hoa Tiriti i tetahi. I takahia i tukinohia te rangatiratanga o te iwi e nga whakatau a te Kaunihera a-Rohe o Turanga me nga mema Paremata na runga i to ratou kore korero ki nga tangata whenua to ratou kore aro mai ki te tino rangatiratanga Maori na runga hoki i te kore hiahia ki te korero ki te tangata whenua. He huri tuara ke. 
Kei te marama tonu tatou me hapaitia nga tikanga o tenei Whare. He aha te take kaore i perahia nga tikanga mo tenei pire? Ko nga matapono o te noho rangapu ara ko te noho tahi korero tahi i runga i te whakaaro ngatahi ko te tikanga ka korerohia te pire nei ki te taha o nga iwi o Te Tai Rawhiti. Ko ta te Torangapu Maori i roto i nga korero nei he tono i a Anne Tolley ki te hoki ki te putake o tenei take ara ki te korero ki a Rongowhakaata me Turanga Tangata. E ai ki ta matou e rongo nei kua pera ke te kaunihera o Turanga kua aro pai ia ki te tikanga o nga matapono o te Tiriti o Waitangi i raro i tenei pire.  
E tika ana ta matou pakanga mo nga korero hitori o Te Tai Rawhiti me to ratou kaha hiahia ki te tiaki i nga ingoa rangatira i roto i o ratou whakapapa ka mutu ki te whakanui i wo ratou tupuna. I tona mutunga ko ta matou noa iho me wananga tenei take. He kaha nei to matou nei whakapono ma te iwi Maori ano ana huarahi e whakarite. Kua timata tera ahuatanga ma tenei pire ara ko te Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill. Kei te harikoa hoki te Pati Maori kia kite mai ai ko te haki tino rangatiratanga e iri ana kei runga ake hei whakanui i te wairua o te Tiriti. Kia ora tatou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Greetings to you Madam Assistant Speaker and to us all as well as to those at home listening in.  
There is a saying: “A treasured kite lost to the winds brings much joy when found again.” The importance and significance of kite-making and kite-flying to the iwi of Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa are obvious when the genealogies and history are looked at. In particular as relevant to the purposes of this bill Rongowhakaata was a kite flyer of some repute. In many ways this was what the Maori Party was attempting to do when we raised the  
importance of consultation and involvement of mana whenua Rongowhakaata. We were flying the kite of justice for the importance of an appropriate and mandated consultation process with tangata whenua. 
It is highly appropriate that this bill comes before the House on a day when we are debating the constitutional significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We recall the Court of Appeal in the New Zealand Maori Council case which declared that the Treaty relationship is akin to or in the nature of a partnership—a partnership between Pakeha and Maori that requires each of them to act reasonably towards the other and with the utmost good faith. 
What sort of partnership willingly sets up a scenario to create a silent partner? Rongowhakaata originally gifted the Alfred Cox Park within the  
constraints of the Reserves Act 1977 and a deed of trust that represented the “utmost good faith”. Yet how were they treated? With the utmost contempt! The land from which this bill derives its source was wrongfully taken from Rongowhakaata under the Public Works Act. 
The issues raised by the bill involve important principles of the Treaty of Waitangi that the Maori Party wanted to flag for the consideration of this Parliament. At both first and second readings of this bill we raised the issue of the underlying mutual obligations and responsibilities that the Treaty places on each party. We have talked about Kawanatanga the Crown’s right to make laws and take land in the public interest balanced with rangatiratanga the guarantees of protection of Maori ownership of lands.  
The Crown guaranteed tino rangatiratanga to tangata whenua: full authority over their lands. Y 
et in this case the Crown assumed that Rongowhakaata land was idle land and that there would be no great shame in using it as a dumping ground for the town’s rubbish.  
We take the time to raise these issues again because they must be considered part of the public record. We have not been impressed at the outburst of members such as Moana Mackey and National Party MP Anne Tolley—outbursts that have occurred seemingly without a heart for all of the people who stand to be affected by this bill. 
This bill was never about the Maori Party. We stood to make our points simply to do what was required of us in representing the views of our constituency. Our adamant belief is that we must d 
efend Maori rights and advance Maori interests for the benefit of the nation. This is about the Treaty as a living instrument an ongoing partnership that provides our foundation as a developing social contract—a contract in which all parties come to the table able to put forward their views and have their positions heard and their concerns reflected. 
Even up until the second reading that social contract was not in place. There had not been a willingness to meet with the appropriate representatives of Rongowhakaata and Turanga iwi to discuss the implications of this bill. That is all we were asking for—the moral obligation to talk. 
We came to this House to ask the question: did the Treaty partners have equal status? Yes or no? If that was so at the time when public submissions were called in July 2005 and closed in December 2005 the record would have shown that the Gisborne District Council made time to discuss the matter with representatives of Rongowhakaata. Active participation as a partnership principle is exactly that. It means that local and central government make the effort to engage with whanau hapu and iwi. 
The tribunal has found that acting reasonably honourably and in good faith requires both Treaty partners to acknowledge each other’s respective interests and authority over natural resources. Tribal tino rangatiratanga was compromised nay sacrificed by the decision of both the Gisborne District Council and the local MPs to fail to consult—to fail to respect Maori authority to fail to initiate dialogue to ignore tangata whenua. 
This House is very clear about the significance of protocol as a means of respecting parliamentary business. It would have been helpful if for this bill such respect for protocol had also been taken up. The principles of partnership of active protection—the duty to act reasonably honourably and in good faith—should have meant the bill was discussed with local iwi in Te Tai Rawhiti. Members of the Maori Party in our speeches throughout this debate have offered Anne Tolley an opportunity to revisit the issue and seek an audience with Rongowhakaata and Turanga iwi. We have been informed that the Gisborne District Council has taken up this opportunity and that there has been an increasing responsibility for proper regard to be had for the impact of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as it applies in this bill. 
The tribal histories of Te Tai Rawhiti their determination to protect the place names of significance within their whakapapa—and in doing so to honour their tupuna—were worth fighting for.  
At the end of the day all that we sought was that the discussion take place. We believe passionately in the right of a vibrant Maori society to be actively involved in securing its future cultural survival. That discussion has begun in the case of the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill—and the Maori Party is pleased to see that tino rangatiratanga flag flying as it should to honour the spirit of the Treaty.  
Greetings to us. 
] 
Hon BRIAN DONNELLY (NZ First) 
: 
 I want to acknowledge members on both sides of the House for their cooperation in the last half an hour to ensure that the timing is right for the next speech. I think that is a real measure of the respect that Jim Sutton is held in. I pay tribute to the members of Labour National the Maori Party the Greens and New Zealand First for their endeavours. 
I have fond memories of Gisborne because in the early 1980s I spent 2 years as deputy principal of a school called Te Waha-o-Rerekohu Area School in a place called Te Araroa which is halfway between Gisborne and Opotoki. In fact Gisborne happened to be the closest place from Te Araroa to get a haircut for example—it was 100 kilometres away from where we were—so we very often had to go down to Gisborne for that and to get our shopping. 
Gisborne is very much like Whangarei where I currently reside. One of the features of those cities—and it is an abiding memory for me of Gisborne for example—is Saturday mornings and the amount of kids’ sport there was and the way parents came out and supported their kids on the sidelines. That is very similar to Whangarei and many other provincial cities the size of Gisborne and Whangarei. What that tells me about these cities—and particularly cities like Gisborne—is that there is a strong sense of community. They are still small enough to have that sense of community there. As a result of that sense of community they do community things. In many respects the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill enables community activities that have already been taking place at Alfred Cox Park to continue but to do so without the awkwardness of it possibly not being legal to carry out those activities. 
New Zealand First is therefore very pleased to see that the bill is going to go through the House tonight. We pass on our commendations to the sponsors of the bill—first Janet Mackey and then Anne Tolley—who have pushed it through and made sure that the current awkwardness is resolved and that the people and councillors of Gisborne can get on with the activities that have been going on at Alfred Cox Park. 
Having read through the select committee report—New Zealand First obviously did not have a member on the select committee—I want to congratulate all the members of the Local Government and Environment Committee. When the Gisborne City Council came along with some of its propositions I believe that all the select committee members acted in a very responsible and sensible manner in progressing the bill in the way they did. So we believe that the passage of this bill—it is pretty obviously going through tonight—will be good for Gisborne. 
The only disappointment we have is that if we had had our way we would have put the bill through its second reading Committee and third reading stages all at once so that the people of Gisborne could get on with their business and activities and get on with something that is very special to rural and provincial areas and that is showing hospitality to people from outside that city and centre. Obviously the visitors centre will be able to continue completely free from any concerns that it may be acting illegally under the legislative framework. 
Without further ado therefore New Zealand First is very pleased to be able to say we will be supporting the bill and very pleased to see that it will be going through this evening. 
Debate interrupted.