Harawira Hone: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — In Committee 
Harawira Hone: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:671;Page:17509] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Independent—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Kia ora Mr Chairperson. Kia ora tatou katoa e te Whare. In talking about the title of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill I recommend that “Takutai Moana” be removed because its inclusion insults the notion that the marine and coastal area bill will do anything to help Maori restore their rights to the takutai moana when in fact all of Maoridom—apart from the four members of the Maori Party caucus of course—know that it will not do anything of the sort at all. 
I also recommend that “Takutai Moana” be removed from the bill because Maoridom has shown clearly that it does not support this bill. In fact of the 72 submissions that came before the Maori Affairs Committee from organisations such as whanau hapu iwi marae and other Maori organisations only one supported the bill which is a strike rate of about 1.5 percent support. I also suggest that “Takutai Moana” should be removed from the title because the iwi leadership which was widely touted to be supportive of this bill withdrew its support from this bill before it even got to this Parliament and has been notable by its absence in the gallery at every reading of this legislation because it does not want to be seen in any way shape or form to be supporting this bill. 
I also suggest that perhaps the bill might be renamed the “Taku Tahae Moana Bill”—“My Stolen Seabed Bill”—as in my seabed has been stolen by the Government. It has no doubt already mapped out all the seabed around our country and has no doubt already identified the kind of corporate entities it intends to do business with including corporate pirates such as BP and Exxon Mobil which have demonstrated a ruthless commitment to profit at the expense of the environmental destruction that their industry is noted for. 
I suggest that the bill be renamed the “Taku Tahae Moana Bill” to also reflect the fact that my seabed has stolen by this Government which plans to ram through the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement which will open up all our resources including our foreshore and seabed to the international rape and pillage brigade which will in turn repay the good turn that we are doing it by suing our Government in secret international courts should Maori and other environmentally conscious New Zealanders take positive and concrete steps to protect our seas from the destructive activities of the petroleum industry. Perhaps the bill might be renamed the “Taku Tahae Moana Bill” to reflect the fact that my seabed is being stolen by the Government which has already entered into dodgy relationships with petroleum companies that have a record of disaster and mayhem in the oceans of the world without any formal record of corporate accountability that most other countries would demand of such resource-exploiting agencies. 
Renaming the bill the “Taku Tahae Moana Bill” would also reflect the fact that my seabed has been stolen by this Government which sees the foreshore and seabed as a commodity from which it can maximise profits to repay overseas debt all the while ignoring the crippling debt that ordinary New Zealanders are facing up and down the country. Perhaps the bill should be renamed the “Taku Tahae Moana Bill” to reflect the fact that my seabed has been stolen by this Government which is committed to entering into contractual relationships with foreign companies that have demonstrated no interest in the needs of indigenous peoples anywhere in the world or for that matter in the needs and aspirations of Maori people or indeed of New Zealanders generally. 
This bill might rightfully be renamed the “Taku Tahae Moana Bill” to reflect the fact that my seabed is being stolen by this Government which has already decided that genuine consultation with Maori is no longer a requirement for the passage of legislation aimed at exploiting resources that are rightfully the domain of whanau hapu and iwi. Thank you.