Ferris TākutaTĀKUTA FERRIS (Te Pāti Māori—Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe e te Pīka. E ara ake nei au ki te waha i ngā kōrero me ngā whakaaro o te iwi Māori e hāngai ana ki tēnei o ngā panonitanga ture e hāngai pū nei ki te wai Māori.Kua roa nei Te Pāti Māori e tū ana i runga i te ōhākī o te Tiriti o Waitangi me te kī ake nō te Māori te wai. I roto i tēnei rā tonu e tohe tonu ana te Māori kia kake tōna tūranga i roto i ngā mana whakahaere ngā mana whakarite i te wai. Hei aha? Hei painga mō te katoa.Nō reira anei rā ko ētahi whakaaro e hāngai nei ki tēnei o ngā pire ahu atu i a mātou o Te Pāti Māori. So e te Speaker tēnā koe.[Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to convey the statements and thoughts of the Māori people with respect to this one of the amendment bills that directly concerns fresh water.For a long time the Māori Party has stood on the final instruction of the Treaty of Waitangi that states that water belongs to Māori. On this very day Māori continue to fight to elevate themselves to positions within management authorities organising authorities over water. For what purpose? For the benefit of all.So here are some thoughts about this particular bill coming from us of the Māori Party. So Mr Speaker thank you.]Te Mana o te Wai—it's a concept. It's a concept and it basically translates to the importance of water". Te Ao Māori is extremely invested in the importance of water. We're completely aware of all of the debate around the delivery of water around the nature of ownership of water as quoted by our friend over here—not quite on the money but quoted nonetheless. I heard today that three waters was quoted as being a "hugely divisive" policy. I think that might be a little bit of an exaggeration. It became a hugely divisive policy after a great big race war centred around Te Tiriti o Waitangi Māori rights and co-governance was propagated around the country. But if you refer back to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and understand that all of the rights that Māori had pre-existing European arrival were guaranteed to continue and be protected in article 2 your view might change somewhat.But nevertheless Te Mana o te Wai as a standpoint continues to be strong for te Iwi Māori and it will be the basis for Te Pāti Māori's arguing for Te Mana o te Wai and te mana o te Māori i roto i te whakahaere i te wai [the importance of water and the authority of Māori in the management of water].I might just also add that at this point in time te Iwi Māori are not contesting the ownership of water although there are many precedents set around this country already that would lead our friends on this side of the House to consider what they say about who owns water.So Te Mana o te Wai—te taiao and the importance of te taiao. As the māngai of the New Zealand Māori Council for the last three years I had the responsibility of presenting the New Zealand Māori Council's views on Te Mana o te Wai on three waters and the nature and the place of Māori—Māori thinking Māori rights Māori solutions in the improving of Te Mana o te Wai the importance of fresh water to New Zealand. I can unequivocally say that Te Ao Māori has the solutions that our country needs. They are of course unfortunately not rooted in making money. They are rooted in delivering clean fresh water that will sustain this land's people and sustain this land's environments. This is a phrase captured in this piece of legislation as "te mauri o te taiao" [the vitality of the environment]. I guess my friends on this side of the House wouldn't understand a concept like te mauri o te taiao but I can give you a quick little example. Te mauri o te taiao just requires that you place yourself on a lower rung on the ladder than everything else you rely on to live nē? So money comes second. Maybe the health of your children comes first. Maybe clean water for everyone to swim in comes first and delivering water for big business comes second. These are all concepts that this House will struggle to deal with will struggle to articulate and will struggle to frame policies that deliver it. But we will be here to ensure that these messages are held high in this House that they are delivered clearly in this House and that this House does not get to continue on and disregard Māori rights in te wai māori.Well I might just conclude by directing my friends over here to a simple short clip that's on social media. It's Gareth Morgan one of the leading economic minds of this country describing Māori rights to water. And I'll just summarise it by saying he concludes by saying this: "Māori own the water". Now as I said Māori are not contesting the right to ownership of water—kia kaha. We are not contesting right to ownership of water; we are contesting the right to delivering Te Mana o te Wai the importance of fresh water for every New Zealander and the rights of te Iwi Māori in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Kia ora tātou."