Flavell Te Ururoa: Freedom Camping Bill — In Committee 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Freedom Camping Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:675;Page:20660] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Chairperson Robertson. Kia ora tatou katoa e hoa ma. I am taking a call on the Freedom Camping Bill. Earlier this evening I was listening to my colleague Rahui Katene in the debate on the Biosecurity Law Reform Bill. She referred to the wisdom of the Waitangi Tribunal’s report  
Ko Aotearoa Tenei: A Report into Claims Concerning New Zealand Law and Policy Affecting Maori Culture and Identity 
. For all intents and purposes it is known as the Wai 262 report. 
In that report there are a number of recommendations that suggest that the Resource Management Act should be reformed so that the Crown and all local authorities are more strongly compelled to engage meaningfully with the kaitiaki. The report outlines exactly how that can be achieved. It could be achieved by developing an enhanced iwi management plan with polices and proposals developed by agreed to and adopted by both the iwi and local authority representatives. Another approach could be to create an improved plan to make joint management with and a transfer of power to iwi much more easily implemented. A third approach might be to recommend that core national policy statements are developed on Maori influence and active participation in the Resource Management Act processes. Those are great ideas I reckon but given the impending importance of the event on 26 November I suggest that it does not appear likely that any progress will be made in responding to the recommendations made in that report certainly not in the immediate future. 
In the meantime the Maori Party has come up with the challenge of seeing how we can draw upon such an excellent reference point for other legislation where it applies. The Freedom Camping Bill is a very clear example of legislation where we can encourage a far more effective relationship between local authorities and mana whenua. The Maori Party through my colleague Rahui Katene has taken the step of introducing Supplementary Order Paper 266 to amend this bill to require local authorities to recognise respect and act in accordance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi when exercising powers or functions under the legislation. This amendment will introduce a clause that suggests that in order to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of Te Tiriti o Waitangi local authorities and any person acting on behalf of local authorities must act in a way that is consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi when exercising powers or functions under the Act. 
We say we need to have a more proactive approach to encourage local authorities to communicate meaningfully with the relevant iwi hapu and whanau. My colleague Rahui Katene recently advised me—and it comes with some experience I think—of what has happened down in Kaikoura where I used to teach at the start of my teaching career. In Kaikoura there is a place called Nga Niho Pa which is just in behind Takahanga Marae if one has ever been to Kaikoura. It is a traditional pa site of Kaikoura and of course Ngai Tahu—rightly so—became pretty agitated when some so-called freedom campers were using the traditional pa site to empty their toilet waste. In case people think that that is an isolated approach I say I am aware that there have been concerns in my electorate of Waiariki from one end of the electorate to the other from places such as the Tongariro National Park through to Te Urewera National Park and the eastern Bay of Plenty and up and down the East Coast where freedom campers tend to move. Quite rightly this issue is something that we have to address. 
We think this bill is pretty useful because it sets up an offence of freedom camping which is described as taking place when the flora or fauna is interfered with or damaged or waste is deposited on to the area other than into the waste receptacles that have been set aside for that. But the Maori Party has a philosophical opposition to any bits of legislation that are introduced for the sake of creating a new list of fines and punishments without due consideration being given to proactive and responsible behaviour to avoid the same mistakes reoccurring. We believe that the amendment in the name of Rahui Katene on behalf of the Maori Party is such an approach. It encourages local authorities to take as I said earlier appropriate account of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to act in ways that recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility as a Treaty partner. Acting in a Treaty-complaint manner will ensure that there is consultation with iwi.