Mahuta Nanaia: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
Mahuta Nanaia: Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:663;Page:11504] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato) 
: 
 In 4½ months when Aucklanders get the opportunity to vote on the vibrant city they are going to have because of the Government it will be without Maori representation. That is the simple truth of it. Vibrancy requires a matrix of a whole lot of people who make up Auckland being represented—Pacific people Maori people ethnic people—but instead they have been relegated to an advisory board status. A wave of popularity of the Maori seats was encouraging and it could be easy to ride that wave. Labour firmly believes that it is right to have Maori representation and have dedicated seats. The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance in fact said that if we were going to do anything different for the future of this city in terms of representation we should do it now do it differently do it for Auckland and have dedicated Maori seats. 
I confirm and endorse the precise contribution of my colleague Kelvin Davis regarding the issues around Maori representation. He outlined a number of key points that a number of people would be very interested in listening to. The royal commission proposed that Maori seats be dedicated. Iwi who are currently involved in their councils said that two seats was not enough but it would be a very good start as they would be at the top of the decision-making table. It would be very difficult otherwise for us to be represented because one needs a bit of money the way this Government is promoting things. It would probably be quite difficult to get any candidate up from communities like ours to be represented so dedicated Maori representation is the way to go. 
I have met with mana whenua in Auckland around this very issue and they were really concerned about the shape and form of the new governance structure and that the interests of tangata whenua would continue to be protected and advocated for on the real decisions affecting Aucklanders. They want to be part of a vibrant city they want to contribute to decision-making and they want to contribute to the way the city can evolve going into the future. 
Maori will be key economic players going forward in Auckland. Treaty settlements denote that Maori and iwi are willing to be partners with local government with central government and with the community to ensure that the interests of Auckland can benefit everybody. But the politics of exclusion promoted by the Minister of Local Government totally denied any sense of representative participatory democracy not just of Maori but of a number of groups. We are concerned about that. 
The cost barrier is a very real concern; certainly Maori will be affected by it. It is simply not enough to say that if all Maori voted then they would get someone on the council. It is not good enough to say that. A cost barrier will play out and will have an effect on the type of representation coming through on the super-city. It may not be the case for local boards but it will be the case at the council level I am sure. 
The other point I want to highlight is one that my colleague Kelvin Davis raised. On the one hand the Government signs the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples promoting that it is an aspirational document that holds promise for Maori yet it has no intention of implementing any of its articles to the benefit of an outcome that could promote and accelerate opportunities for tangata whenua. The Maori Party knows that. Its members have been told that the declaration is a good thing but the Government will give on the one hand and take on the other. It will give them a flag but it will take away Maori representation. I know for a fact that if tangata whenua were asked what they would prefer it would be not shallow symbolism but substance. They would have preferred seats on the council. They know that by sitting around the decision-making table by participating in a democratic decision-making process they could put on the table the key issues that affect Maori communities but also with a broad enough vision of what is in the best interests of our citizens here in Auckland. 
I think that in many ways the politics of exclusion underestimated the real intent of tangata whenua to be willing contributors to a positive look for Auckland City and more important for New Zealand as a whole—tangata whenua groups like Ngati Whatua ki Orakei Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Te Kawarau-a-Maki Te Waiohua Ngati Te Ata Te Akitai Ngati Tamaoho Ngati Paoa Waikato and Hauriki to name a few.