Street Maryan: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
Street Maryan: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14386] 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to rise to speak on the Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill in its second reading. Labour supports this bill. It was clear from our position on the Maori Affairs Committee and in the first reading of the bill that we were going to support it partly because negotiations had originally been led by Dr Michael Cullen. The agreement was signed by Labour on 4 September 2008 and the deed of settlement was signed by the National Government on 17 December 2009 so we have an interest in supporting this bill. 
I will traverse some of the material that emerged from the select committee’s report in respect of the bill and perhaps highlight a couple of issues in particular that will be taken up in more detail when we get to the Committee stage. The select committee recommended that the bill be passed with a number of amendments. These amendments deal with joint management agreements the Te Arawa lakes the upper Waipa River the Waikato River Authority membership regulations and by-laws and the relationship to the raupatu claims and the legislation surrounding them. 
I would like to mention a couple of things in particular but first of all I say that the amendments that the Maori Affairs Committee has put forward enhance the bill. As I said in my first reading speech I think the place the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations took the essential agreement signed by the previous Labour Government in 2008 is a good place. I commend him for that. The particular bit that I wish to address myself to is the nature of the Waikato River Authority and its membership. When Labour was in Government the original deed established a number of statutory boards but the Hon Chris Finlayson has since renegotiated the deed to replace the statutory boards with one single co-governance entity—namely the Waikato River Authority. I think that is a good change. It is a good change in that it appears that all of the iwi are in agreement with that structure and it seems that it might be more workable than the previous design. 
The fact that the legislation says that the membership can be examined during the review process at a later date is also helpful. As we are dealing in this bill with a co-management agreement—which is as the Minister Tariana Turia said in her speech a moment ago a precedent for other such arrangements—it is suitable that a review be built into this structure at this stage so that any changes or anything that needs to be adjusted because of the movement of relationships the addition of people or the re-examination of issues and contributions can be built into the structure of the Waikato River Authority as it proceeds with its work. 
Submissions actually recommended that the membership of the Waikato River Authority be increased from 10 to 12 members so that Ngati Koroki Kahukura could be represented in the authority membership. The Maori Affairs Committee believed that a way should be found for Ngati Koroki Kahukura to achieve their aspirations but it maintained that the authority should remain at 10 which would be a workable number. Therefore in the end it recommended no amendment to the membership of the authority. For the reasons that I have just given—namely that a review process is built into this structure—that is an acceptable place for the Maori Affairs Committee to land; clearly everybody was in agreement with that in the end. 
I would like to make a couple of points about joint management agreements. We refer to it as a co-management approach which to me is very significant. Minister Turia said a moment ago that this legislation conveys some respect for the autonomy of each of the three iwi. In this sense this bill is not simply about cleaning up an ailing river; it is much more than that. One could see it as that if one wanted to be minimalist about it; indeed the Waikato River is ailing for a number of reasons that I do not have time to traverse tonight. The restoration of this great river to health which will be important right across the regions that it passes through will be the responsibility of the Waikato River Authority. 
However the bill is not simply about cleaning up a river; it gives life to the Treaty of Waitangi. It begins to address some issues—not only in substance but in structure—that I think are important for the future of this country. It outlines the vision and strategy for the river as it says. To have a vision and a strategy for a river may sound odd to the uninitiated but it has very practical implications. As well as the practical implications of restoring the river to health it has significant relationship implications as well. It is the relationship implications of this bill that I think make it very significant legislation. It goes some way to experimenting with a new structure and a new process which may well as Minister Turia said set a precedent. That is a good thing. If we are to enact in real time and in a real way the Treaty of Waitangi in the 21st century then I suggest that this bill is one very good way of going about that. Having a built-in review also allows for correction if the process seems not to work if additional members are required or if something else needs to be assessed through a review of the Waikato River Authority and its membership. 
It gives me great heart that this legislation addresses not only the physical environment that is so important to all of us but also relationships as they might be played out in the 21st century under the Treaty of Waitangi. Thank you.