Flavell Te Ururoa: Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 13 June 2012. Volume:680;Page:2960. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. Kia ora ano tatou katoa. Firstly can I thank all members for their contributions and for adding to the story. I very much appreciated that we have all of that discussion on the record.  
I have to say I feel a little bit embarrassed about the accolades being given to me for leading this bill the Mount Maunganui Borough Reclamation and Empowering Act Repeal Bill into the House because all I did was sponsor it. The big accolades really should go to the Tauranga City Council and Nga Potiki who came together on this project to present it into my hands fortunately this time but it could have been Mr Bridges or it could have been Mr Ryall. So I do want to acknowledge very much the council and Nga Potiki whom I met just 1 week ago in Tauranga where we sat in the room and went over the final details to make sure that everything was signed off before we came to the House. I can say with pretty much hand on heart and also with a list of people that this was fairly much put out there amongst the Tauranga community and wider to ensure that everybody was in the know about this bill and that we generally had a good sign-off on it.  
I just want to take a minute to pick up on a couple of points. I think everybody acknowledges that what we are talking about here is righting a wrong and under those circumstances I am pleased that we have got cross-party support for this bill and I am hoping that we can move it pretty rapidly through the whole process.  
I was a little bit disappointed about some of Mr Williams’ comments. To say that some people go on to land and are told the hell to get off implies that Maori for one reason or another are the only ones who tell people to get off land. That is I think a little bit out of place. In fact in Rotorua there are a number of people who tell me when I go fishing to get off their land as well so let us just put that in perspective. For Mr Williams to say that no one should claim the foreshore and seabed he should check with some of those private owners of the foreshore and seabed throughout the country and ask them how they feel about the same issue. I think that those points need to be challenged so as not to denigrate this particular bill in the way it has been.  
I wanted to pick up on Mr Jones’ point in respect of his saying: “Well some land over history has been taken for the betterment of the country.” Yeah sure but you add it all up and in this particular scenario it is right smack through the middle of a urupa. As Mr Twyford has talked about there are other examples of this. I think in this case people have got something to jump up and down about. In fact if you add it all to things like battles like Te Ranga add it to confiscation in places like Taranaki and Tauranga Moana and add it to raupatu and the loss of land over time which has been well documented in Waitangi Tribunal hearings I think you would understand why people should be pretty angry and upset about these sorts of things. But in a positive way and staying with the positive at least at this point in time the two parties have come together in a way forward.  
I just wanted to say one last point and it is that in about a couple of weeks’ time there will be a commemoration or at least the signing of a move forward on the part of a number of the Tauranga iwi. Te Ranga was an important part of Tauranga history—not that I know it all—but there will be a time when people will go up there to commemorate in a sense the battle of Te Ranga at Gate Pa which is documented in history. Again all of that is about healing healing our time as a nation just as much as this bill albeit small is a positive move if you put it in the context of the many other things that are happening. It bodes well for the future and I hope that may continue.  
In the last part I will say on the back of all this discussion about being together just to think about the  
Rena 
 disaster last year when again iwi were involved in decision making at the highest level with the authorities through Maritime New Zealand and so on and the outcome was absolutely wonderful to see. It was Tauranga people coming together to address that.  
So with those few words I thank the House for all your contributions and look forward to ongoing support as the bill goes through on its journey. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou ki a tatau i tenei po tae ra no ki a koutou e whakarongo mai na i te wa kainga Tauranga Moana Tauranga tangata ka mutu ki te Kaunihera o Tauranga ka nui te mihi. Tena koutou tena koutou kia ora tatau. 
[ 
I greatly appreciate you and us collectively here tonight as well as those of you listening in from back home in Tauranga the people and of course the Tauranga City Council. I am overwhelmed by the huge acknowledgment. Greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to us collectively. 
] 
Bill read a first time.  
Bill referred to the Local Government and Environment Committee.