Harawira Hone: Resource Management (Restricted Coastal  Activities) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Harawira Hone: Resource Management (Restricted Coastal  Activities) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:635;Page:6756] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Kia ora tatou i te Whare. The Resource Management (Restricted Coastal Activities) Amendment Bill is just a little bit mischievous. It is an attempt to remove the powers of the Minister of Conservation. It is not specifically about Whangamata although it does assume that the Minister’s decision to halt development of the Whangamata marina brings the resource consent process into disrepute. So it is appropriate that we consider the background to that decision in order to ensure that the House is properly informed on the setting for the bill. 
I ask the House to recall that the Hauraki Maori Trust Board Te Kupenga o Ngati Hako Ngati Whanaunga Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngati Tamatera and the Whangamata Maori Committee have been fighting for years to preserve the environment in and around Whangamata and indeed the cultural heritage of that whole area. As part of that fight they also oppose the marina development for a number of reasons. 
Firstly the marina would destroy traditional fishing grounds due to significant and ongoing dredging of the channel where the kai moana grounds are. The harbours and estuaries are essential breeding nursery and feeding grounds—a natural ecosystem for kai moana such as patiki matamata and kuaka. Secondly the proposed car-park would destroy one of the few remaining wetlands in the area a saltmarsh that is home to important birdlife. Thirdly destruction of the coastal environment would seriously impact on the very identity of the local people both Maori and Pakeha for whom the local kai moana beds have provided sustenance for many generations. Finally keeping the foreshore and seabed in its current state would guarantee access to the public of New Zealand—access that a marina would destroy—and that is a commitment that the Maori Party is proud to uphold in its bill to repeal the Foreshore and Seabed Act that so divided our nation. 
I do not like saying that it was surprising that the Minister came down on the side of the tangata whenua but we are surprised—and grateful I might add—because a Minister of the Crown backing Maori on a foreshore and seabed deal is about as rare as some of the wildlife that is likely to be saved by his decision. Be that as it may the Minister’s decision dovetailed nicely with the call from the Hauraki people that their rights to kaitiakitanga and their rights to their kai moana beds were being threatened by the development plans. Then guess what happens? To nobody’s surprise at all the pro-development brigade sends somebody rushing into Parliament to repeal section 119 of the Resource Management Act which gives the Minister of Conservation the final word on coastal permits. The Resource Management Act is a flawed document that could do with improvement but its intentions are good and its focus on protecting and managing the nation’s resources is clear. The problem of the Act lies in how it is interpreted and how it is used. On the other hand this bill is simply an amendment to aid development. 
The Resource Management Act has clear responsibilities for the consultation of iwi on resource applications discharge consents and wahi tapu in ways that will enhance our coastline and respect traditional beliefs. The Act also has the capacity to protect the environment ensure Maori involvement in decision making and guarantee the public voice. Enhancing those roles for the benefit of all New Zealanders is what this House should be addressing rather than focusing on one bit that upsets developers. 
If this bill were to go through—if indeed the Minister’s decision is not upheld—Labour would effectively be in a situation of denying public access to the foreshore and seabed destroying the environment and privatising resources. These are all the things Labour said it would not do with its “Stealing the Foreshore and Seabed Act”. Funnily enough National which opposed privatising public lands during the foreshore and seabed debate will be similarly compromised. I would laugh if this were not so tragic. 
The 1991 Resource Management Act requires that the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi be taken into account in managing the natural and physical resources of Aotearoa. This bill will simply add to the alienation of Maori from those resources over which they still have a say. The Maori Party is not opposed to development but we will oppose this bill because it is simply a reaction to a battle lost. In its place we propose to ensure the protection of Treaty rights property rights and genuine access for all New Zealanders to the foreshore and seabed through our own Foreshore and Seabed Act (Repeal) Bill. Kia ora tatou.