Henare Tau: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
Henare Tau: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14394] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 Just when we thought it was the season for apologies and just when we thought it was going to be a night of back-slapping and congratulations for each other we had the Hon Rodney Hide stand up and bring us back to reality. The reality for some people is that they cannot really get the idea of partnership and they cannot really get their heads around what is good for everyone. He went on about the undemocratic situation in respect of the unelected people this bill refers to but on the other hand he stands in the House as Minister of Local Government and supports council-controlled organisations in the super-city which are unelected— 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: Oh no—no! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: I do not mind their being unelected because they do a pretty good job and we know that they will do a pretty good job. They are in charge of billions of dollars of assets. But when it comes to Maori—and this is not just Maori on their own; this is Maori in a partnership—such people say no they are not going to have a bar of that; they will have the other fullas. It interests me that Rodney Hide as the Minister of Local Government can get up and say what he says but it is the local government people around the motu and around the Waikato River in particular who have got up and said that they have their heads around it and that they are working with iwi. They can work with iwi they were re-elected on the weekend—at least some of them were; poor old Bob Simcock was not but never mind—and they can get their heads around the new framework that the original bill and this bill puts into place. 
I say first and foremost to that dynamic Minister we have the Hon Christopher Finlayson what a good job he has done not only in this respect but in the other Treaty bills he has brought to the House which our Maori Affairs Committee has been lucky enough to be part of. 
Hon Christopher Finlayson 
: You’re a great chair. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: I thank the member very much. I am sure we all know how significant the Waikato River is and not only to Waikato and the other iwi—Raukawa Te Arawa and Tuwharetoa—who live along the river. In fact I think that the Waikato River—and I am trying to be diplomatic here—the Whanganui River as well the Waiapu and those great rivers in the north although I cannot name any at the moment are akin to the Mississippi and akin to other rivers around the world. I agree 100 percent with the Hon Maryan Street when she says that it is not just about a dirty river and it is not just about the degradation of the river; it is about trying to establish a new framework and a new way of dealing with a very very old problem. The framework we have in front of us is about partnership; it is about getting local government local communities local iwi and Government working together. 
I will read just a couple of paragraphs out of the Maori Affairs Committee’s report on the bill in regard to the Waikato River Authority membership: “We heard submissions that the membership of the Waikato River Authority should be increased from 10 to 12 to give Ngati Koroki Kahukura representation. It was proposed that an additional Crown member could be nominated by the Federated Farmers of New Zealand. As we did when considering the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act we gave serious thought to Ngati Koroki Kahukura’s need for recognition as a river iwi and to be heard in respect of their Tupuna Awa. We believe that a way should be found for them to achieve their aspirations. 
We remain convinced that to be most effective the maximum size of the Waikato River Authority should remain at 10. We note that the membership can be re-examined during the review process for the authority at a later date. In the meantime we understand that the iwi is currently negotiating with the Crown for the settlement of its non-raupatu historical Treaty claims and we encourage both parties to use this process to address the iwi’s concerns. 
We recommend no amendment.” 
One of the hardest things we had to think about and deliberate on was the make-up of the Waikato River Authority—whether we had too many from one group and not enough from another group. It was always going to be a very very hard decision but in the end I think that what we did and what we came up with was in fact the scenario that would achieve what we as a Government and local iwi wanted to achieve. I cannot wait until the third reading and we can get on to do what this bill sets out to do.