Henare Tau: Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Henare Tau: Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:650;Page:19162] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker—again. I will begin by saying good afternoon to the brother-in-law. It is a real pleasure for me to have the brother-in-law sitting up there on this momentous occasion—for more than one reason—so I suppose I had better state that there might be a conflict of interest. There might also be a conflict of interest with my—I had better be careful here—auntie first cousin once removed Denese Henare. 
I will concentrate on three issues. One of them is co-management the second is the significance and recognition of the Waikato River and the third is the legislative recognition of that vision and strategy. In relation to the first I say that we must not let New Zealand and the world be scared of co-management. It means nothing more and nothing less than two people being able to get on with each other for a common purpose. Co-management to me means moving forward and not being tied to the old philosophy that Governments and local authorities are the only ones that can do things for local people. Co-management means a unique step for New Zealand; it is a unique step in this country’s history that we have been able to realise that two people can sit alongside each other and do things together rather than in just the old outdated colonial way. It is unique in the world because we can show the world how two peoples who have had their differences can actually move forward together without throwing bombs at each other and without the carnage we see around the world. I say that co-management can work that we have an opportunity to see it work with the introduction of this bill and that I for one congratulate both sides—iwi and the Government—on getting this bill to where it is now. 
In terms of the Waikato River the significance is twofold. It is significant in terms of iwi; the river is their lifeblood. Without the river they are nothing and without them the river is nothing. The river also has significance for people outside the rohe of Waikato—that is for people like me who live in the city because when we turn on our taps we may or may not get some of that water. So it is incumbent on this House and also on iwi that they are in a position to make sure that that water is clean. I am glad that the essence of this bill is about the management and clean-up of the river—and that is not a day too late. The recognition of the significance of the Waikato River is about to be written into legislation and I want to give an example of how the spirituality the recognition and the significance of what is in the river is being recognised around the world. 
Not so long ago along State Highway 1 there was an issue with a taniwha. A lot of people thought “Well let’s not be silly and let’s not recognise the issue for what it is.” But I am of the opinion and of the thought that it would have been better to build a platform and say to people: “This is who lives in this river—this is the significance of this river.” If members think that that is silly then why do Scots people at Loch Ness have such reverence for the Loch Ness monster? Why do they dine out on the fact that that is theirs? It is a part of tourism it is a part of the area’s significance and it is a part of recognising the people’s spirituality. So if they can do it then why the hell cannot we? I think it is all about growing up and recognising that for what it is. 
I turn to the issue of legislative recognition and of the recognition of a vision and a strategy. Some may think that it has never been done before but I am proud of the fact that it has been done before when my brother-in-law and I were part of a Government that recognised Te Aho Matua and put that into legislation so it is not a new step. But I congratulate this Government on taking a bold step in recognising a vision and a strategy that is really a philosophy. Sometimes lawyers and people from the Office of Treaty Settlements may not think we can do those sorts of things but we can. 
This morning we have come from the Te Arawa region in the legislation. We have traversed the boundaries inside Tuhoe and Tuwharetoa we have moved up north to Te Roroa we have come back to Wellington and now we are in the area of Tainui. Later on we will go back to where we started with the Whakarewarewa bill in Arawa. It has been a very very busy day. It will be a long day and I think it is wrong to have so many Treaty bills one after the other. I know that time has conspired against us and conspired against the Government but I think we should take the lesson that that should never be done again; it should never be done again where there are five bills one after the other. I do not think it gives the House time and I do not think it gives the people who come to listen time to take it all in and be part of the proud occasion. 
I can see that the Minister of Maori Affairs will certainly use the fact that five Treaty bills in one day is good for the Government. That is his prerogative and I congratulate the Government on the three that we have passed and the two that have completed their first readings. The National Party will support and has no problem supporting the passage of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatau Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill.