Katene Rahui: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Katene Rahui: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:670;Page:17191] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I am very proud to stand today as a daughter of Ngati Apa Ngati Kuia Ngati Koata Ngati Toa Ngati Tama Te Atiawa Rangitane and— 
Hon Mita Ririnui 
:Ngapuhi. 
RAHUI KATENE 
: —no not Ngapuhi thank you—and Ngati Rarua all eight iwi of Te Tau Ihu. I am very proud to stand to speak on the preamble of this very significant legislation the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill. I cannot help but to be taken back to 1997 and to think of the courage and vision of all eight iwi from the top of the South Island from Te Tau Ihu who went before the Maori Land Court to seek clarification that the foreshore and seabed within the Marlborough Sounds is Maori customary land as defined in legislation. I remember the historic ruling by Judge Heta Hingston that the Maori Land Court does have jurisdiction to consider whether the foreshore and seabed is Maori customary land. 
Today we are proud to have come full circle. It is a history that has taken many dramatic turns. Following Judge Hingston’s ruling the decision was appealed to the Maori Appellate Court by the Crown and certain other parties and as the preamble makes clear in June 2003 another twist appeared when the Court of Appeal held that the Maori Land Court did indeed have jurisdiction to determine claims of customary ownership. Enter from stage left the previous Labour Government which led by Margaret Wilson and Helen Clark moved in rapid fashion to thrust the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 on the nation. We totally endorse the opening comments in this bill’s preamble which establish the history we all know of the 2004 Act: the condemnation of the Waitangi Tribunal; the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and the special visit of the United Nations special rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen. The 2004 Act removed the long-held common law right of Maori to seek customary title in the High Court. 
The 2004 Act extinguished customary title; no whanau hapu or iwi could seek customary title. The 2004 Act did not make provision for traditional practices or recognise the evolving nature of customary rights. The finding from the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that the legislation contained “discriminatory aspects against the Maori in particular in its extinguishment of the possibility of establishing Maori customary title over the foreshore and seabed” was an indictment on the previous Labour Government and has provided a key source of concern for tangata whenua for 7 long years. 
Today we welcome a new approach: an approach that takes account of the intrinsic inherited rights of iwi hapu and whanau derived in accordance with tikanga and based on their connections with the foreshore and seabed and on the principle of manaakitanga. This key statement in recital (4) of the preamble says so much and it bears some further explanation. The 2004 Act did not incorporate tikanga in its tests. This bill incorporates tikanga as a key element in the test for customary title and allows for differences in tikanga from group to group. The 2004 Act extinguished customary title; no whanau hapu or iwi could seek customary title. The bill restores the ability for customary title to be recognised and it does so in a way that honours the intrinsic inherited rights of iwi hapu and whanau. 
I want to also draw attention to the concept of manaakitanga which the Maori Party is very proud of introducing in this bill. The inclusion of manaakitanga as an example of tikanga which this bill is most concerned with extending protection to is a very significant achievement of this bill. The only other legislation in which the concept of manaakitanga features is the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Act 2008 and the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010. So we are pleased with the important progress that has been achieved with this legislation and in particular with this preamble which recognises and provides for the interests of whanau hapu and iwi and which gives credence to the principles of manaakitanga. But it does more than that: it recognises the mana tuku iho of whanau in relation to the takutai moana it recognises the right to participate in conservation processes and it provides greater certainty for iwi hapu and whanau. The bill restores the ability of Maori to seek customary property rights in the High Court. Most important of all it honours the agreement we have made with our people to repeal the 2004 Act. 
This bill is in the House on our initiative. Make no bones about it this is a Maori Party bill. We have delivered on our word to our members and we are pleased to stand here in support of the bill.