Sharples Pita: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — Second Reading 
Sharples Pita: Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:642;Page:12033] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. People north of the Bombay Hills will be hoping like mad that in terms of consultation with Maori the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill might strike it lucky this time—and they will not all be brown folk either. 
The Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill has particular meaning for the peoples from the ancestral lands of Ngati Whatua Nga Rima o Kaipara Ngati Whatua o Orakei and Te Kawerau-a-Maki and from Te Taou. They come to this bill focused on their precious responsibilities as kaitiaki seeking to protect their ngahere awa and puna from further degradation. They seek to have a voice. 
The stage has now been set for how mana whenua are likely to be recognised by the Waitakere City Council Rodney District Council and Auckland Regional Council in working with iwi to promote the long-term protection and enhancement of this area and its heritage features. We too the Maori Party came to this bill looking to see how the interests of mana whenua are to be respected in caring for the Waitakere Ranges and foothills. 
The importance of the Waitakere Ranges foothills and coastal areas is of special significance to two takiwa hapu and marae trusts of Ngati Whatua and they are Ngati Whatua o Orakei and the five south Kaipara marae represented by Ngati Whatua Nga Rima o Kaipara. For all these groups the affected whenua wai maori and natural resources of taonga tuku iho identified in this bill are invested with much ongoing value in Te Rohe o Ngati Whatua. So it has been extremely positive to read and hear that the runanga and individual whanau marae and hapu within these two takiwa support the bill although they recognise that to tangata whenua cultural heritage is much more significant than is currently being portrayed in the bill. 
The runanga’s submission outlines specific and pragmatic recommendations to enhance the bill suggesting that the intent of clause 9 to adopt a precautionary approach be strengthened that tangata whenua participation in the governance of Watercare Services Ltd needs to be included in the criteria and that wai maori as a basis of its historic cultural and spiritual relationships with Waitakere be included in the deed of acknowledgement between mana whenua and the three councils provided for in the bill. So far so good. 
In fact one of the outstanding features of the separate submission from Ngati Whatua Nga Rima o Kaipara Charitable Trust was its generosity in pointing out that the wai maori allocation and monitoring rights afforded to Watercare Services Ltd not only excluded Ngati Whatua but also deprived Kawerau-a-Maki of these assumed rights. 
That made me reflect again on the words of the Waitangi Tribunal which concluded that the process of settling claims was damaging more relationships than it was improving. The tribunal has stated particularly in the case of Tamaki-makau-rau that the process is creating divisions within Maori society that are very damaging—and I quote: “Damage to whanaungatanga to te taura Tangata is a great wrong: it affects Maori society at its very core.” 
In light of such division and damage it is important to point out in relation to this bill the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill how mana whenua groups are prepared to maintain our time-honoured traditions of valuing the whakapapa connections and preserving whanaungatanga through their commitment to working together. But it appears that that process has not been perfect from the start. 
We learnt that Te Runanga o te Taou initially opposed this bill and supported landowners in the Muriwai district. They spoke of “token consultation” taking place at “an extremely late stage”. Indeed their submission revealed the concern of Te Taou that not only had they not been brought into the frame of consultation until the first reading of the bill but also they had not been cited as having an interest as part of the tangata whenua relationship within the Waitakere Ranges region. Disappointingly they are still not named in the bill’s preamble alongside Ngati Whatua and Te Kawerau-a-Maki despite evidence from the Waitangi Tribunal’s Kaipara report being presented to the select committee. 
This bill has many issues that give cause for debate—cultural heritage environmental protection local government relationships wai maori allocation and monitoring and resource sustainability. The Maori Party comes to this bill—as with all others—thinking how best to support the interests of mana whenua in upholding their rights defending their responsibilities and promoting their ongoing status in the best interests of the nation. 
We have heard the view from Te Taou that consultation has been unsatisfactory from their point of view and the concerns from Ngati Whatua that there are varying governance relationships with the three councils that in some cases exclude the two takiwa tribal constructs and traditional marae and hapu. We remind the House that local decision-making needs to involve mana whenua. We know that the mana whenua ropu is currently being established and it would be great to see that structure specified in the bill to ensure their inclusion by the councils. Of course I will be writing to all of those three councils sending them my speech and suggesting that they inform me of their relationships in terms of consultation with those iwi groups. 
Structures are already in place. Section 81 “Contributions to decision-making processes by Maori” of the Local Government Act 2002 is a pretty good place to start and should be highlighted. One of the issues that comes through loud and clear is that of kaitiakitanga and the huge strain created by the damaging impact on the environment of large-scale development. The view from mana whenua is their absolute commitment towards protecting their ancestral lands—commitment that they expressed in various recommendations to lock down and extend the regulatory protections. That is from them. 
The key impact of this bill will be in restricting further private-land subdivision so that environmental protection and sustainability objectives are given priority. In that respect mana whenua have viewed the bill as being helpful in protecting the area from the pressure of property developers. Cultural heritage should be protected by resource consents considered in a holistic strategic framework that includes all factors not just commercial investments but also as part of our response to climatic change. 
Mana whenua therefore welcome the opportunity that a strategic overarching framework would bring to this area mitigating against the effects of urban growth and going further than the Resource Management Act by providing for more long-term consistent planning monitoring and reporting by the three councils involved. 
 The Maori Party welcomes the advice and feedback of mana whenua and respects their wishes in seeing this bill as a means to continue to support their vital roles within the context of kaitiakitanga. 
When my colleague Hone Harawira spoke at the first reading of this bill he asked how the voices of Ngati Whatu Nga Rima o Kaipara Te Uri o Hau Ngati Rongo Te Kawerau-a-Maki Ngati Whatua ki Orakei and all those who share common whakapapa ties to this land will be sustained in an ongoing and meaningful way. Clauses 24 to 28 which provide for a deed of acknowledgment with all tangata whenua groups who have a historical cultural traditional or spiritual relationship with the land are a step forward in the right direction. We are pleased to follow that lead and to support the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Bill at this second reading before the House.