Hide Rodney: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
Hide Rodney: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14389] 
Hon RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 I begin by saying something publicly that I have said privately to the Hon Tariana Turia and that is to apologise to her and to the Maori Party—and indeed to iwi—for the way I presented ACT’s opposition to the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill. This the Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa Iwi Waikato River Bill is its sister bill. We were opposed to the former bill and had concerns about the legal interpretation of spiritual concepts in that bill. I am afraid that I put our opposition in a way that I agree was derogatory towards people with spiritual values and for which I sincerely apologise. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: The season for apologies. 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: There is certainly no excuse for that offence but I was trying to make a legal point I say to Mr Henare and I am afraid it was too easy to misinterpret it. I apologise for that. 
It will not come as any surprise to the House that the ACT Party opposes this bill. We have had some experience of major reforms in local government in Auckland but—I say this to the House and to the people of New Zealand—I believe that what this bill proposes is actually a deeper and more fundamental change to local government in New Zealand than what we are doing in Auckland. This bill establishes a co-governance model for the river and the catchment which is a very valuable resource stretching across a large area of New Zealand including private property. 
At present regional and local councils have enormous power over private property rights. They can make decisions that mean life or death to a business a farm or an operation in economic and social terms. We allow that in a democracy because in order to have that power one has to stand and be elected by the community and if one’s decisions prove disagreeable to that community then one can be voted out. I think that is not a bad principle. We accept that it means minorities miss out. Mr Clayton Cosgrove is fond of pointing out that ACT is a minority party. We know what it is to be a minority. I think that the Labour Party with its current support also knows what it feels like to be in the minority. So we understand that the majority can override the wishes of a minority and that is why it is always important to exercise that judgment with some considerable understanding. It is something that we do not always get right and again it is something that I have quite often got wrong but we try to do better. But I do not believe that is a reason to overturn the governance structure. 
Let me explain what this bill does because it is dramatic. It sets up what we call the Waikato River Authority which overrides the regional council and all the district councils. It is made up of people appointed by the Government and people appointed by the local iwi. There is no mechanism if you will for the general population of the Waikato to have a say about who those representatives will be. That group is charged with coming up with what will be called the vision and strategy for the Waikato River and therefore for its catchment. That strategy trumps everything. It trumps anything that central government does. For example if members look at clause 12(1) they will see that it overrides a national policy statement. So central government decides something and the strategy overrides it. Mrs te Heuheu shakes her head. I ask her to look at clause 12(1) which states: “The vision and strategy prevails over any inconsistent provision in—(a) a national policy statement issued under section 52 of the Resource Management Act …”. So I am sorry but unless English is no longer English that is exactly what the vision and strategy do. 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: Oh cut it out Rodney. 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: Well it is not cutting it out; it is explaining what this does I say to Mr Horomia. The vision and strategy which are decided by unelected people override a national policy statement. Clause 12(1)(b) provides that they override a New Zealand coastal policy statement. Clause 13(3) states: “The Council must—(a) review the Waikato Regional Policy Statement to see whether it is consistent with the vision and strategy; and (b) if the policy statement is inconsistent with the vision and strategy initiate an amendment to it to make it consistent …”. There we have it. The Waikato Regional Authority can have its policy statement the Waikato River Authority can come up with its own—which is decided by the iwi and Government bureaucrats or appointees—and then suddenly that drives what is in the Waikato Regional Authority’s policy statement for the catchment of the river. Therefore the elected members of the regional authority are overridden. 
Hon Tariana Turia 
: What about the mess they made of the river? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: I tell Mrs Turia that this Government took a lot of heat—and the Maori Party did not support it—when we overrode democracy in Environment Canterbury. We overrode it temporarily because of the mess that was being made. Tariana Turia is asking about the mess that is being made in the Waikato so let us override democracy not for 4 years but for ever. Tariana Turia says yes and I agree with her; that is what it does. It overrides democracy for the management of the catchment of the Waikato River and the river itself for ever. 
Kelvin Davis 
: What’s the overriding purpose of the bill? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: That is interesting. The bill states that its purpose is to improve the river. We agree with that I say to Mr Davis. But does he agree with overriding democracy to improve a river? I understood that the Labour Party was complaining about democracy. 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: What about in Canterbury? 
Hon RODNEY HIDE 
: I agree with the member that this Parliament overrode the democratic principles in Canterbury. It did it for 4 years. What the Labour Party is voting for is to do it for ever. That is what the National Government is doing. I do not know how Mr David Bennett will get on in Hamilton. I do not know how the National Party will get on in the Waikato when—[ 
Interruption 
] I tell Mr Horomia to sit down; there is a bit more to go. I know it is a long way up for him. 
Clause 13(4) states: “Every local authority must—(a) review its regional or district plan to see whether it gives effect to the vision and strategy; and (b) if the regional or district plan does not give effect to the vision and strategy initiate an amendment to it to ensure that it does so …”. So what is happening is that the iwi and the Government-appointed bureaucrats are driving the regional council and the district councils according to their plans. That means no democracy and no say by the locals. This Parliament is handing it across. This Parliament is making a mistake. Only the ACT Party—and I say this in a loving way to the Maori Party—stands against this. This Parliament and the people of New Zealand will rue the day. Thank you.