Horomia Parekura: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — Third Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:15950] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 I move  
That the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill be now read a third time 
. E te Kaiwhakahaere o nga korero o te Whare Paremata tena koe. Ka huri ahau ki nga iwi o Tauranga Moana e tau nei. Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga me koutou o Waitaha tena koutou nau mai hara mai ki te Whare Paremata. Haere mai ki te whakaturetanga o te mana pupuri o Mauao ki a koutou me ta matou harikoa kua tae a-tinana mai koutou ki tenei ra whakahirahira mo tatou katoa mo koutou katoa tena koutou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Mr Assistant Speaker of the House greetings to you. I turn now to acknowledge the people of Tauranga Harbour seated here. To you Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga and Waitaha welcome. Welcome to Parliament and to the process of legislating the vesting of Mauao to you and our joy at your presence here on this significant day for all of us and for you greetings 
.] 
I would like to acknowledge and welcome the kuia koroua and whanui of Tauranga Moana iwi and Waitaha who are present among us in Parliament today. They have made the journey from Tauranga Moana to witness the final passage of this bill which will transfer the ownership of the Mauao historic reserve to the three iwi of Tauranga Moana Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga. I would also like to extend a special mihi to the members of Te Runanganui o Tauranga Moana executive committee. They have patiently steered the proposal from its inception through the negotiations and ratification to its introduction into the House late last year. 
The bill is entitled Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill. The bill will make the iwi of Tauranga Moana the legal owners of Mauao. The title is significant because it reflects that the bill will vest the fee simple estate of the Mauao historic reserve in iwi. On registration iwi will become the registered proprietors of Mauao. I also welcome Waitaha to the House whose relationship with Mauao is recorded as a schedule of the bill. 
This bill implements the vesting agreement signed by the parties. It retains Mauao’s status as a historic reserve. This will ensure a high level of protection from alienation and commercialisation and continue to provide the public with access to this sacred taonga. These were some of the key principles that iwi requested when considering the scope of the proposal that underpins this bill to have Mauao returned. More obviously perhaps the title of the bill restores the original name of the mountain—Mauao—as it is known to the tangata whenua. Of course the bill’s title also reflects the historic importance of Mauao whose face is deeply etched with the marks of those who resided on the mountain for many hundreds of years. The trustees who are the kaumatua emphasised to the Maori Affairs Committee that iwi never ceded the mauri or the mana of Mauao. 
This bill achieves several things. It recognises the mana of Mauao and the great significance of the Mauao tapu to the tangata whenua of Tauranga Moana. It does so by vesting the fee simple estate of the Mauao historic reserve in the trustees of the Mauao Trust to hold on behalf of the people of Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga. The bill concerns the three parcels of land that comprise the historic reserve but the status of the recreation reserve at the base of Mauao will remain unchanged. The vesting preserves the current arrangements as far as public access to and third-party use of Mauao are concerned. This involves the arrangements for the management ownership and access to the encumbrances such as the water reservoir and the navigational beacon for the Port of Tauranga. 
Iwi asked for a provision in the bill prohibiting alienation of or dealing with Mauao by the representative body of Tauranga Moana iwi. This was due to the concern that the trustees may one day come under pressure to agree to develop Mauao commercially which they have consistently opposed. The vesting legislation also removes the offer-back rights in the public works legislation existing in relation to any of the three parcels of land that make up Mauao. This is evidenced in the memorandum of understanding between the Crown and Maori partnership and the relationship generally has been building between the tangata whenua and the Tauranga City Council during this process. I understand that it is a healthy relationship that they have generated and they should be congratulated. 
The bill also acknowledges the value accorded by the New Zealand public generally to this prominent landmark. Mauao stands at the mouth of the dynamic landscape and waterways that comprise Tauranga Moana’s unique geography and the iwi takiwa of Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga. In this respect Mauao provides a place of definition in Tauranga Moana. The Mauao park ranger estimated that 850000 visitors enjoyed Mauao’s walking tracks in 2007 and that will continue. It epitomises that Maori do know how to manage general and public access. 
This bill passed through its second reading on 17 April 2008 with overwhelming support and all who spoke were enthusiastic in favour of progressing the bill through its final stages. Some people have queried the nature of the bill and the implications of the wording of some of the clauses. I am convinced that the bill achieves the wishes of the kaumatua by transferring ownership of Mauao to iwi and leaving open the possibility of iwi managing Mauao in the future. 
Since 2005 we have collectively been progressing the proposal to vest the fee simple estate in the Mauao Historic Reserve in Tauranga Moana iwi under the terms and conditions agreed by the parties. The vesting preserves the Tauranga City Council’s legal responsibility as the administering body of the Mauao Historic Reserve and the Minister of Conservation has rights in relation to the Reserves Act 1977. The Tauranga City Council and iwi have also been involved in discussions to enhance the role of iwi in the management of Mauao. This has resulted in the Mauao Advisory Group Committee being upgraded to a Mauao Project Steering Group with iwi representation. It has also produced a memorandum of understanding between Tauranga Moana iwi and the council that records the aspirations of iwi to manage Mauao in the future. However the bill does not make any management arrangements a condition of the vesting title in Tauranga. 
I think back to 2005 when Te Runanganui formally accepted the Crown’s offer on behalf of Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga and Waitaha. The only concern expressed at the time was that the proposed legislation would lock ongoing management of Mauao under the Tauranga City Council in perpetuity. In accepting the offer Te Runanganui expressed confidence from their discussions with officials in the Tauranga City Council that the legislation would not preclude iwi from assuming total management of Mauao should they develop the financial and infrastructural ability. I can assure members that the bill does not lock Tauranga City Council’s management in perpetuity and the bill achieves everything negotiated by the parties in 2005. 
This lofty mountain is certainly perceived as a navigational beacon by Tauranga Airport not by Whangarei Airport. It has also been a navigational beacon for the culture and tikanga of these people who have lived on this land and managed it and understood it over generations—hundreds of years. Most certainly it is a navigational beacon for the history of these people. The iwi of Tauranga Moana have watched this over generations. If we are serious about nationhood and not into the gabble of hypocritical statements in relation to better race relations— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: —then let us serve to ensure that we bring cognisance to nationhood and make sure that Maori can manage it and can look after it. It should be understood that that mountain has been there before that member who has been interjecting it has been there before me it will be there after that member has gone—and it will not be long the way National is performing—and it certainly will be there after them to watch the mokopuna of the people who have brought this to fruition. Again I want to commend the members of Tauranga Moana iwi and Waitaha to the House. I salute them for remaining resolute in the desire of some people to upset the process. I welcome their attendance here today and I most certainly want to ensure that this is a great day for Maori.