Katene Rahui: Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — Second Reading 
Katene Rahui: Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6816] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 There was a 50 percent chance that Ngati Kauwhata would be heard heeded and respected in respect of the Palmerston North Showgrounds Act Repeal Bill. After all only two submissions were received by the Local Government and Environment Committee: one supported and one opposed the legislation. So the probability was high that the sun would shine on Ngati Kauwhata. Such high stakes were inevitably helped by the compelling evidence provided in their submission. I will take a rather unusual step of repeating a key statement from their submission for the benefit of the House. Ngati Kauwhata said that they “must continue in our responsibilities as tangata whenua to protect the land and natural resources of our district. To do this we must object to and make others aware of the stealth that the Crown and their Agents Local Government will use to keep Ngati Kauwhata marginalised from their lands and in poor health to forever keep them dependent on the Crown as beneficiaries and therefore to be slandered by those who seek power within the Crown’s structures.” 
Those are strong words that underline the passion and the responsibility Ngati Kauwhata uphold in protecting their history and preserving their heritage. Ngati Kauwhata stand by the contention that they did not sell interests in the Te Ahu-turanga Block. Ngati Kauwhata instead believe that the land was taken by stealth and by devious purchasing practices by the Crown and its agents. Ngati Kauwhata claim that the land is part of the Te Ahu-turanga Block taken from them by proclamation and is subject to two Waitangi Tribunal claims: Wai 784 and Wai 972. There is another new claim Wai 1461 regarding the Rangitikei-Manawatu Block. It is a conjoint claim between Ngati Kauwhata Ngati Raukawa and all of Nga Iwi o Te Reureu. 
This history of Treaty injustices and contemporary breaches was heard by the select committee but it chose a different history. It opted to favour the history presented by the Palmerston North City Council. The council supports the bill on the grounds that the relevant land and most of the other assets are already owned by it and that effectively it has managed the showgrounds over the last 2 years. The committee was privy to the expert advice of public health champion Ngati Kauwhata member and Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Maori and Pasifika) of Massey University Professor Mason Durie. His analysis included the conclusion that a lack of access to tribal land must be woven into explanations of the chronic poor health status of Maori. 
Ngati Kauwhata were not asking for the world. They just wanted to be part of the overall governance and part of the process of managing the land that was taken from them. They humbly requested that the bill be delayed until they were able to determine the status of the land in respect of ownership and the implications of the Treaty claims over it. In considering the views of Ngati Kauwhata the select committee determined that any Waitangi Tribunal investigation can have no effect on the land in question given its status as private land. 
With all due respect I suggest that the select committee is not the appropriate body to make such pronouncements. If Ngati Kauwhata believe they have the right to at least have the land in question considered as part of their claim then that is something for the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate consider and determine not the select committee. When the Government purchased the Te Ahu-turanga Block from Rangitane in 1864 it noted that there was some dispute at the time about ownership between Rangitane and neighbouring iwi. Now 145 years later this bill could have been an excellent opportunity to face a dispute in the light of day once and for all. Instead the select committee chose to ignore the dispute to ignore the strongly held views of Ngati Kauwhata and to affect the transfer of the management and control of the land of the showgrounds from the board to the Palmerston North City Council. 
The showgrounds will now be fully managed and controlled by the council as a recreation site. The council’s submission to the select committee did not discuss any consultation that it may or may not have had with local iwi including Ngati Kauwhata. Although it appears that this legislation is not a problematic change for Rangitane it is utterly evident that there are longstanding and outstanding issues for Ngati Kauwhata. The Maori Party believes that we cannot make any progress on the bill while the dispute is still manifest. We oppose this bill.