Kedgley Sue: Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Kedgley Sue: Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5512] 
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
: 
 Tena koe. Every settlement that has come to Parliament has been difficult and controversial. The Green Party has supported all the settlement legislation to date because it has a huge respect for those who have worked to achieve those settlements. But our view of the Government process remains a highly critical one. We have long advocated for the development of a diversity of models for restitution and nationally sustainable compensation over time. We are entirely opposed to a unilaterally imposed final date for the lodging of claims as this only perpetuates the inequalities of the settlement process and fails to give the wronged party opportunities to have their wrongs properly rectified. 
This settlement took nearly 10 years to complete. It has cost the iwi thousands of dollars and the process for devising the settlement has caused serious internal issues that will take some time to resolve. We think that the costs are too high and are borne entirely by the iwi and that this clearly demonstrates how unfair the settlement process is. That said we have enormous respect for Te Arawa and its persistence in finding a way through. 
We fully support the return of the lakes to Te Arawa and we expect that the rightful owners will be able to provide the necessary will that should see the eventual cleaning-up and restoration of these lakes. The lakes are incredibly precious beautiful and of extraordinary ecological and spiritual importance to New Zealand. But they are dying and they are dying as a result of the pollution caused by human activity over the last 80 years when they have been out of the hands of the hapu. Leakage from septic tanks remains a serious problem. The deforestation of the surrounding areas which are pumice soils has also impacted on the lakes and there remains the very serious issue of pollution from farm runoff which is causing nutrient loading in the lakes. Much of the soil water contributes to nutrient loading and it can take as we know up to 30 years for the nutrients on the land to make their way down into the water itself which means that it will take many many more years before the damage from 30 years ago comes to fruition. It also means that there is an absolutely desperate need for urgent action now to clean up these lakes. 
We are very pleased about the iwi plans to restore the wetlands around the lakes. Wetlands are magnificent ecosystems. Many of course have been lost to New Zealand because they were drained for farmland and that has gone on to produce nutrient problems. Wetlands are highly sensitive. They are key indicators of the health of an area as well as key indicators of climate change. They can operate as a critical mechanism for lakes and other waterways so the restoration of wetlands will go a long way towards the cleaning-up of the lakes themselves. 
We recognise that the return of the lakes to Te Arawa does not include the provision of resources to enable their clean-up and we recognise that Te Arawa will be working jointly with local authorities and central government to clean up these lakes. It is now incumbent on these predominantly Pakeha institutions to take urgent and well-resourced action—to do anything less would undermine the point of the settlement. 
We are pleased that the settlement has proceeded and is almost complete. We are pleased that Te Arawa in terms of the return of the lakes will no longer be dependent on Government largesse. We hope that Te Arawa will no longer be used as a weapon in National’s attacks on Maori as was evident in Don Brash’s comment that the return of the lakes would “open the way to all kinds of blackmail and extortion.” That sort of ignorance and prejudice flies in the face of the commitment of Te Arawa to the preservation and protection of the lakes as a national treasure to be respected and enjoyed by all New Zealanders. The Green Party thanks Te Arawa for this commitment and wishes it the best for the future. We support the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Bill. Tena koe.