Harawira Hone: Local Government (Rating Cap) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Harawira Hone: Local Government (Rating Cap) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:4478] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Maori Party—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
E tautoko ana te Pati Maori i era kaupapa ka taea e te iwi kia kitea i nga mahi e mahi ana e whakapono ano hoki te tangata nana nei nga mahi. Ko ta te pire nei he whakarereke i Te Ture a-Rohe 2002. Ko tana hei whakapotae kia kore e rahi ake nga reiti kua tohungia e nga kaunihera a-rohe ki runga i te hunga e noho ana ki reira. Ko te tahuhu korero mo nga taake whenua ki a ngai Maori kei a ia ona piki me ona heke kia penei kia pera. I tera atu rau tau i kitea i nga mahi nanakia a te tari taake kia whakarahi ake te wariu o te whenua Maori ki te whenua Pakeha a i te kore utu i nga reiti ka tahae te kawana i aua whenua. Anei ano. i tera rau tau i whakaitihia te wariu o nga whenua Maori i te rohe potae o Tainui kia taea a tauiwi te hoko i aua whenua. E mea ana a tauiwi ko te take o tenei tino iti o te wariu te kore wariu ano hoki i te mea he tini rawa nga tangata na ratou te whenua. Ko enei nga mahi tukino a nga ture wariu whenua ka nui te whakama. 
He rahi tonu nga whenua Maori horekau he tangata e noho ana ki reira a kahore te whenua i mahia. Hanga pakeke ana te utu reiti mo nga tangata na ratou enei whenua. Ko etahi he rawakore ko etahi ano e kore hiahia kia whakamahia te whenua kia riro rawa ratou. Ko nga take e penei ana ara ko te ahua o nga tangata na ratou te whenua; ko te ahua o te whenua ehara i te whenua pai kia whakamahia kia noho ranei te tangata me te mea ano ko te whenua he whenua taratahi. 
Kei Te Ture Kawanatanga a-Rohe 2002 he wahanga hei tautoko i te Maori kia mahi i wa ratou mahi tawhito i aua whenua. Kia taea hoki e nga tangata whenua te whakahaere i etahi mahi rawa i raro i te mohioranga kei reira ano he wahi tapu. 
Ko tetahi wahanga o Te Ture Reiti i whakaritea kia orite te ahua o te whenua Maori ki wera atu o nga whenua whanui. Engari kua kite tatou i nga tau kua pahure ake nei kua piki haere nga reiti o nga whenua Maori tata atu ki te wha rau te rere ki tera o nga whenua whanui a wetahi o nga kaunihera. Ko te tikanga 
ma te reiti ka ngaro ano hoki te tangata i ona whenua. Koia nei te take kahore te Pati Maori i tautoko i te “putea kotahi te utu” mo nga mahi nunui i raro i Te Pire Whakarereke i te Ture Kawanatanga a-Rohe i te mea he momo ano tera kia whakarahi ake atu nga reiti. 
E tika ana kia wanangahia i tenei kaupapa i tenei ra i te mea e wanangahia ano hoki e matou nga korero mo Te Tiriti O Waitangi i tenei ra. Ko ta Pita Rikys: “Ko te tino whakaaro kia riro e te Maori i tona mana i raro i te mana o te Tiriti a kia totika tonu nga tikanga me nga kaupapa ka hangaia kia pono te mahi i muri mai o tera 
. 
” Ko te whakapono a te Pati Maori kia orite te mana o te mana whenua ki te mana o nga kaunihera a-rohe i nga wa e wanangahia ana kia reiti kahore ranei te whenua Maori. E whakapono ana matou ma te Maori ma te iwi whanui hoki e whakaritea: ko te mahi whakapotae reiti te ara totika; me whakatu tikanga hou; me u ranei ki nga tikanga utu reiti o enei ra. Ko enei nga tino kaupapa kia whakaarohia e te Maori: ko tona whakapapa ki te whenua; me te whakaaro kia u kia mahitahi hoki i te whenua ra. 
Ko ta matou wawata mo te pire nei kia puta mai te maramatanga kia marama te kite i nga mahi e mahingia ana kia kaua te tangata e ki ehara nana na tetahi atu a kia hangaia he ahuatanga hei ki ko te whenua ko tatou. Me kaua tatou e wareware i te tuturutanga o te whenua ki te ao Maori. I te Kooti i te tau 1987 e mea ana  
Te Kaunihera Maori o Niu Tireni  
i tona tautohe ki te  
Roia Nui o te Kawanatanga me Wetahi Atu 
: 
“Na te whenua ka mohio matou ko wai matou i ahu mai matou i hea e haere ana matou ki hea. He whakaaturanga kia mohio ai te ao he iwi matou mai rano he tangata whenua o tenei whenua a he tohu ano i nga kaupapa a-iwi whanaungatanga hoki. Ko te whenua te turangawaewae. Tera te tohu o te wakapapa te honohono ki nga tupuna kua ngaro atu nga reanga kei te haere mai. He tohu tuturu mo ake tonu atu mena he whenua he Maori ano hoki.” 
Anei nga kaupapa e kawe nei e matou i tenei ra a i nga pire katoa kei roto i tenei Whare. E tautoko ana matou i te pire nei i runga i te whakapono kia whai mana enei ture kia whakaritea he kaupapa kia taea e matou te noho ki o matou whenua hei tiaki i te whenua ka taea te korero ae marika ko matou te tangata whenua. Kia ora tatou katoa. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
The Maori Party supports initiatives where accountability and transparency are important.  
The b 
ill amends the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 by capping the level of rates increases that local authorities may impose on residents. It stops local authorities from setting excessive increases. For tangata whenua the history of rating in Aotearoa has been variable and inconsistent. In the last century the property tax department was found to be valuing Maori land well above the market rate and those Maori who could not pay their rates promptly lost their lands. In another incident in the last century we learn that lands in the King Country were being valued low in order to make it easier for Europeans to buy them. The argument was that the land was worth less indeed worthless because it was in multiple ownership. So manipulation of valuation legislation is a shameful part of our history.  
L 
arge tracts of Maori freehold land are unoccupied and unimproved. This land creates a significant rating burden on the Maori owners who often do not have the means or in some cases the desire to make economic use of the land. Often this is due to the nature of the ownership or because the land has some special significance that will make it undesirable to develop or reside on or is isolated and marginal in quality. 
The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 supported the use of Maori land by the owners for traditional purposes. It was introduced also to make it easy for owners to develop the land for economic use. It took into account the presence of wahi tapu that may affect the use of the land for other purposes.  
One section of the Local Government (Rating) Act requires that Maori freehold land be liable for rates in the same manner as if it were general land.  
But what has happened in the last few years is that  
tangata whenua have experienced excessive rate increases of three to four times the inflation rate imposed by some councils. In essence Maori are being rated off our own lands.  
That was why the Maori Party voted against lump-sum payments for capital projects in the Local Government Law Reform Bill which was just another form of rating increase. 
It is also timely to be considering this bill on this day when the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is being debated. According to Pita Rikys it was critical for Maori to get the power relationship right via a clear Treaty statement and provision of effective mechanisms and structures. Mechanisms must provide real accountability and the structures must allow for effective rangatiratanga. The Maori Party believes that mana whenua should have an equal say with local/regional authorities on all matters concerned with the rating or non-rating of Maori land. We also believe that both Maori and the wider public should have a say as to whether a rating cap is the best way to regulate and monitor rate increases and whether the current method of assessing rates is the best one. There are real issues for Maori people’s relationship to the land and the practical circumstances of Maori land in joint ownership. 
We look forward to this bill providing clarity transparency and accountability in establishing the critical foundation that our land provides in our view of the world. We cannot underestimate the crucial importance of land in our world view. In the 1987 court case  
New Zealand Maori Council 
 and  
Latimer v Attorney-General and Others 
 the New Zealand Maori Council stated: “[Maori land] provides us with a sense of identity belonging and continuity. It is proof of our continued existence not only as a people but as the tangata whenua of this country. It is proof of our tribal and kin group ties. Maori land represents turangawaewae. It is proof of our link with the ancestors of our past and with the generations yet to come. It is an assurance that we shall forever exist as a people for as long as the land shall last.” 
These are the values we take into this bill as we do with every other bill coming before the House. We will vote to support this bill based on our belief that controls and consistency need to be in place so that we can stay on our land care for our land and be tangata whenua in the truest form.  
Thank you all. 
] 
Debate interrupted.