Flavell Te Ururoa: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Third Reading 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14742] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora tatou katoa. Koutou kua haramai i te kainga nau mai ki te Whare Paremata i te ahiahi nei. Ko te taha ki a au ki a Te Arawa haramai ki tenei o nga Whare. Ki toku taha ki a Ngati Raukawa he pera ano te mihi. Ki taku taha ki a Ngati Tuwharetoa koinei ano hoki te mihi ki a koutou kua haramai i tenei ahiahi nau mai hara mai nau mai hara mai. Nau mai hara mai me te ahuatanga o nga mate o te kainga. Ara ano atu ratou e takoto mai ra i runga i o tatou marae. Ko etahi i tohe nei mo te take nei ara ko te whaea o tera e noho mai ra ki reira a Raiha. Ko ia tera kua riro. Ara ano atu ara ano atu te hunga i pakanga me ki kia taka mai te mana whakahaere i roto i nga ringaringa o te iwi ma te iwi ano ra e korero mo nga rawa e pa ana ki a ia. No reira kati waiho ratou kia moe kia okioki ko ta tatou ko te whakanui i te ahuatanga o te ra nei. Kei aku rangatira o te kainga tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
Katahi te pire whakaharahara ko tenei ki a matou o te Pati Maori. Ko te mea nui ko te mea whakaharahara nei me ki kua whai wahi nga iwi e korerohia ake nei a Ngati Raukawa a Ngati Tuwharetoa me te taha ki a au ki a Te Arawa i roto i nga whakahaere i nga nekeneke o te awa o Waikato. Penei i taku e korero nei kua roa tenei take e tohengia ana e etahi a kua riro engari anei te hunga e noho atu nei ki runga ake nei te hunga i kawe nei i tenei kaupapa ki tona whakatinanatanga ki tona puawaitanga. I te ahiahi nei kei te tapiri atu aku mihi a etahi atu kua tu i mua i a au ki a ratou kua haere mai i tenei ahiahi. 
He tirohanga whakamua tenei na runga i te whakaaro kotahi tonu te ropu te kaunihera ranei ka whakarite i tetahi mahere hei tiaki i te awa o Waikato. Koira te mea whakanui whakaharahara. Ko te nohotahi a te hunga whai panga a-Maori nei me te Karauna he mea hou tera ki te nuinga me ki o tatou. Ko te nohotahi o te Karauna me te iwi na runga i te whakaaro kotahi otira te kaupapa kotahi. Ko taku e ki nei he tauira pai tenei mo nga tau kei mua i te aroaro mena ka taea e tatou te whaiwhai haere i tera tauira. Te Karauna e pohehe kei a ia te kupu korero whakamutunga ko ia te mea mohio ko ia i tona kotahi te mea mohio. 
He aha kei te putake o tenei pire? Ko te whakatinanatanga o tenei mea o te kaitiakitanga e korerohia ana i runga i o tatou marae. Mo te Maori mo te Ao Maori ko te noho kaitiaki nei he noho me te ao he noho ki nga tipu he noho i te taha o te whenua o te wai maori o to tatou taiao. Ka tiaki te taiao i te tangata te tangata ki te taiao. Koina tona tikanga. Mo tenei pire kua whai wahi nga iwi ki te whakatau ki te tohe ki te arahi ki te tiaki tonu i te awa a nga ra kei mua i te aroaro. Ko te whakatinanatanga ano hoki tenei o te kaupapa nei o tenei kupu o te kotahitanga. E toru nga iwi e mahitahi ana. Ae ara ano etahi e noho tahanga ana me ki a e korerohia ana e te Honore Nanaia Mahuta. Engari ko te mea pai o tenei ko te tono o te iwi ki te nohotahi ki te korero ki te wananga i nga take nei i te taha o te hunga whakahe. 
Kai te korero au mo te taha ki a Ngati Maniapoto ki te taha ki a Ngati Koroki-Kahukura. Tera ano hoki tera e whakahe ana i etahi wahanga o te pire nei. Ki taku e rongo nei he take ta Ngati Koroki-Kahukura. Ko ta ratou kia orite to ratou mana ki tera o nga iwi e toru e korerohia ana. Ko ta te komiti whaiti he inoi tonu kia noho watea tonu tetahi turu ki tera hunga. Ko ta ratou ko ta Ngati Koroki-Kahukura kia riro to ratou rohe to ratou mana ki raro i a Ngati Raukawa Te Arawa me Ngati Tuwharetoa. I roto i te tono a Ngati Koroki-Kahukura ma te Poari o Taumata Wiwi ka whai wahi ratou i te rohe nei mai i Arapuni ki Waipapa. Ki taku mohio kei te tautoko mai etahi o nga iwi nei ki tera whakaaro. Anei ta Taumata Wiwi Trust i te reo Pakeha: 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker and to all of us. To those who have travelled from home welcome to Parliament House this afternoon. To those on my Te Arawa side welcome to this building of the Parliament Buildings. A similar welcome to my Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Tuwharetoa sides as well who have arrived here this afternoon— welcome welcome welcome. Welcome in respect of the deaths back home welcome. The number who have lain in state on our marae have been so numerous. Some were involved in the debates around this issue. One such person was Lady Raiha Mahuta mother of that member seated over there. She has passed away. Others too fought to have the people involved in the governance of the river and to have a say in how their resources are to be used and managed. So enough. Allow them to sleep and rest there. Our part today is to celebrate this event. So greetings to you my leaders from home greetings salutations and acknowledgments to you all.  
What a wonderful bill this is to us the Maori Party. The most important and outstanding feature about it is that Ngati Raukawa Ngati Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa are participants in a co-governance framework as well as establishing a co-management and related arrangements for the Waikato River. As I have alluded to previously this issue has been a debating point for a long time for some who have since passed away but the ones seated above in the gallery have brought this matter to its completion and realisation. This afternoon I add my congratulatory statements to the tribes who have come here alongside those who stood before me.  
This bill is visionary as it establishes a single co-governance entity that sets out the plan for protecting the Waikato River. That is the most important and crucial thing about it. Crown and Maori interests working together as a single entity is something new to many in respect of co-management between Maori and the Crown on a common cause particularly for us. I advocate this as a good model and if we can follow it much will come from it in the future. The Crown assumed that it had the final say it knew what was best without any further consultation.  
What is the essence of this bill? It is the expression of guardianship that we allude to on our marae. It is for Maori and the Maori World to retain guardianship status to live in balance with plants land freshwater and our environment. The environment protects people and people protect the environment. That is how it is supposed to be. In respect of this bill Maori will now have a say over how the river is to be monitored in the future. Implementation of this is also the essence of guardianship. Three tribes are working alongside each other. Yes there are others who oppose the bill as the Hon Nanaia Mahuta has pointed out. But the good thing about this is that the three tribes are required to work together; dialogue is forced between each tribal group who oppose it.  
I will comment on the part that concerns Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Koroki-Kahukura who oppose some provisions of this bill. I have heard that to Ngati Koroki-Kahukura it is the recognition of their authority and being treated equally with other river iwi. The select committee will continue to push for them to have a seat on the Waikato River Authority but according to Ngati Koroki-Kahukura this bill puts their domain and authority under Ngati Raukawa Te Arawa and Ngati Tuwharetoa. In their submission Ngati Koroki-Kahukura through Taumata Wiwi Trust described the fact that they have a shared interest in the area from Lake Arapuni to Waipapa. I understand that other iwi back this assertion. Here is what Taumata Wiwi Trust had to say in English: 
] 
“The Waikato River settlement is intended to be holistic and to promote co-management … The exclusion of Ngati Koroki Kahukura as a river iwi is a fundamental flaw.” 
Ko ta te poari ra he whakanui ake i te kaute me whakanui ake i te kaute o te hunga e noho nei i te Waikato River Authority ki te tekau ma tahi ara kia kotahi turu ano mo te taumata nei kotahi tonu ki te Karauna. I whakaaetia mai e te komiti whaiti ki te take nei engari tekau noa iho te whakatau a ko ta ratou me kimi tetahi rongoa penei i ta Nanaia e korero nei me noho ki te tepu ki reira korero ai. Ko te take ki a Ngati Maniapoto he inoi kia whai wahi a Ngati Raukawa i te awa o Waipa a kia whai wahi ano hoki a Ngati Maniapoto i te taha o Ngati Raukawa me te kaunihera a-rohe. Ko ta Ngati Maniapoto kei raro te awa o Waipa i te mana o Ngati Maniapoto i te mea ko tetahi wahanga o te awa kei roto i te whakataunga o Ngati Raukawa me whai wahi ano hoki ratou i nga korero katoa. Ki taku mohio ko ta te komiti whaiti he take a-iwi tenei. Koinei te korero a te Honore Mita Ririnui ma nga iwi tonu e whiriwhiri te huarahi hei whainga mo ratou. Ehara tera i te take ma te Karauna. Kei te ahua whakaae atu ki tana e korero nei. No reira enei korero katoa he paku whakamarama ake ko te ahuatanga o tenei pire. 
Hei korero whakamutunga maku e hia ke nei nga painga o te pire nei. Tuatahi he putea kua whakaritea ki te whakaora ano ra i te awa. Tuarua ka riro ma nga mana whenua e whakarite nga rautaki nga mahere mo te awa a ka tapirihia atu ki roto i nga mahere o te  
Waikato Regional Policy Statement 
. Tuatoru ma te Waikato River Authority e whakaingoa i te hunga korero i nga hui a-poari. Ka whai wahi ano nga iwi ki te ata tiaki i nga awa. Me whakaae nga iwi me nga kaunihera a-rohe ki nga momo mahere ki te tiaki i te awa. Ka whai wahi nga iwi ki te whakaae mai ki te whakahe ranei i nga tono e pa ana ki te awa. 
No reira koinei nga painga penei i taku e korero nei i te tuatahi he tauira pai tenei. Ko te nohotahi a nga iwi me te Karauna ki reira korero ai mo nga take e pa ana ki te tiakitanga o te awa nei. Kei wareware ko te taha ki a Ngati Koroki-Kahukura raua ko Ngati Maniapoto waiho tera take ki reira ma nga iwi e korero. Engari penei i taku e korero nei a he tauira pai tenei mo te mahitahi ki te tiaki i wa tatou taonga. He mihi ra ki te aronganui te arongatahi o te hunga i kaha nei ki te kawe mai i tenei kaupapa ki tona whakatinanatanga i te ahiahi nei ara ko te tiaki i te waituku kiri o nga matua o nga tupuna. 
Hei kupu whakamutunga kei te aroha atu ki te hunga i whakahe nei i tenei take i nga marama kua hipa ake. Engari kei te pai kua puta tera reo korero a hoi ano ko te reo korero i te ahiahi nei he harikoa he mihi he whakatau. E te iwi tena koutou tena koutou kia ora tatou. 
[ 
That board wanted to increase the membership of the Waikato River Authority to 12 with one member appointed by the Taumata Wiwi Trust the other by the Crown. The select committee acknowledged that there is an issue here but that the optimum membership count remain at 10. They were to seek a solution such as the one suggested by Nanaia whereby they sit at the table and discuss it there. The issue for Ngati Maniapoto was to request that Ngati Raukawa have an interest in the Waipa River that Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Raukawa have a place as well on the regional council. To Ngati Maniapoto the Waipa River is under the mandate of Ngati Maniapoto because one part of the river is in the Ngati Raukawa settlement so they should have access to all the information as well. I understand that according to the select committee this is a tribal matter. The Hon Mita Ririnui stated that the tribe should decide it; the Crown should have no part in it. I kind of agree with that somehow. So all these comments are bits of explanation about the nature of this bill.  
To end this address I want to say that this bill has many benefits. Firstly a fund has been set aside to clean up the river. Secondly it allows the people of the land to develop their own strategies and plans for the river and to incorporate them into the Waikato Regional Policy Statement. And thirdly it is left to the Waikato River Authority to appoint representatives at board meetings. Tribes will also have a part to play in the resource consents process relating to the river.  
So these are the benefits. As I said at the beginning of my speech this is a good model where tribes and the Crown come together to talk jointly about matters relating to protecting the river. Let us not forget that the issues relating to Ngati Koroki-Kahukura and Ngati Maniapoto will be addressed by the tribes. As I have said previously this is a good example of how to work collaboratively to protect our resources. I acknowledge the foresight and perseverance of those who worked hard to bring this bill to its conclusion this afternoon which is all about protecting the river of the ancestors and forefathers.  
In conclusion I sympathise with those who opposed this bill in the past months. But that is fine; it is out now. This afternoon it is all about being joyful congratulatory and agreeing. Congratulations to you the people and to us 
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