Flavell Te Ururoa: Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill — Second Reading 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:16731] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
 Tena koe Madam Assistant Speaker kia ora tatou katoa i tenei po. Last night my colleague Dr Pita Sharples shared with the House his knowledge about the essential importance of whakapapa to tangata whenua to te iwi Maori. In my case Ngati Rangiwewehi that whakapapa includes our taniwha Pekehaua central in our understanding about who we are and where we come from: ko Pekehaua te taniwha ko Ngati Rangiwewehi te iwi. 
[ 
Pekehua is the deity and Ngati Rangiwewehi is the people 
.] 
The Taniwha Springs the Awahou River—kia ora—are a significant part of our history and we regard these springs as our taonga over which we exercise rangatiratanga ownership and control. As Ngahihi Bidois told the Waitangi Tribunal recently they are intertwined in our hearts and minds and culture as inseparable taonga of Ngati Rangiwewehi. 
Reference to pepeha or proverbial statements or sayings signals if you like a respect for people for the resource and for the environment. As Ngati Rangiwewehi we take our role as tangata whenua as kaitiaki very seriously indeed as do all whanau hapu and iwi across Aotearoa. Tangata whenua te iwi Maori believe that we have a vital role as kaitiaki as guardians over Papatuanuku—Mother Earth. Across the generations we have been linked as indigenous peoples of the land. Our oral traditions our pakiwaitara our patere our ngeri connect us to the land water and air. Our environments are integrated. 
Because of our customary guardianship of our environmental and cultural heritage we feel very strongly the responsibility to ensure that traditional ecological values are upheld. We are always mindful that although legislative actions have impacted negatively on the legal ownership of our traditional lands we continue to maintain mana whenua over them including all resources as guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. But the good news is that the protection management and development of natural and physical resources is not an exclusive responsibility. In the spirit of meaningful partnership articulated in Te Tiriti o Waitangi the Maori Party welcomes the advances made by our brother here Nandor in bringing this Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill to this House. 
The bottom line for us all is that we know that if waste disposal reduces or destroys the life-supporting capacity of soils it damages the mauri the life essence of the whenua. The disposal of solid waste must be done in such as way as to keep the waste and leaching from waste out of water whether it be surface ground or coastal. Can I also say that our view is that refuse disposal facilities must not be sited on areas of cultural or historical value such as wahi tapu—that is a no-no and discussion with tangata whenua is in fact a yes-yes. 
The Maori Party was very happy to support the first reading of the bill. We saw the intention of the bill as being about protecting the environment and the principle of the reduction of waste at its source is a benchmark position that could influence households businesses and public organisations. With the increasing strain across our environments it is imperative that sound waste-management strategies are adopted across all levels. The Maori Party believes in the value of principles such as whakaiti iho whakamahia ano whakahou and araitanga: reduce reuse recycle and prevent. 
These are objectives we can all live by and unlike the emissions trading scheme the original framework for this bill fairly and squarely encourages producer responsibility for waste minimisation. It urges that organisations adopt waste minimisation plans over the next 10 years and that a central agency the Waste Minimisation Authority would facilitate the move to a minimal waste society. The roles of local and regional authorities regarding waste minimisation and management would be clearly specified and enforced through lawmaking and licensing provisions. All organisations including Ngati Rangiwewehi would be challenged to establish objectives that are measurable and achievable and to accord priority to purchasing decisions that decrease waste or enable recycling. 
Just to get some idea about the scale of what we are talking about I thought the submission from Rachael Goddard environmental manager and environmental lecturer put it all in perspective. She said New Zealand is one of the highest producers of rubbish in the world next to the USA: 189 000 tonnes of plastic is dumped in landfills each year. We discard 22 million plastic bags each week. Roughly every child man and woman in Aotearoa chucks away five plastic bags a week every week. Put simply our waste problem is huge and growing. We need to set manageable targets for waste minimisation hazardous wastes and waste disposal including paying particular attention to contaminated sites construction and demolition waste and indeed trade wastes. 
Although recycling is good it requires significant energy to maintain. A stronger proposition is to design better products for minimal waste. By that we mean to design products that last and products with minimal packaging and to learn how to use resources more efficiently so as to produce more with less. It could be as simple as doing what they do in Ireland South Africa and Bangladesh I understand which is to ban plastic bags or it could be more of a need to educate people to purchase better and to consume less. 
The key to change is in understanding how we got to the point we have in silently melding into practices that damage Papatuanuku and the mauri or life force around us. Environmental degradation is born from a lack of understanding so the solutions lie in having an education campaign alongside targets and measures to encourage waste minimisation and to reduce waste disposal. 
A critical component of such a campaign might be active engagement with tangata whenua iwi and hapu or marae ohu groups. Iwi must be consulted and their views taken into account before targets and guidelines are set. Tangata whenua could be invited to form monitoring groups. Tangata whenua could nominate cultural advisers to assist local government in scheme formulation and resource consent projects. The thing is that if we really do care about our environment then we must demonstrate the care and the respect it requires. Ki te pai te manaaki ka manaakitia. 
[ 
If it is looked after well it will serve one well in return 
.] 
But here is the interesting thing: although whanau hapu and iwi are themselves looking at natural treatment systems and investigating future technologies—at waste reduction at source at Papatuanuku passages; that is using stones and rock channels in beds as a mediating force—the changes that have ended up changing the Local Government and Environment Committee report have reduced the ownership and the accountability of the problem. In fact just like the changes made to the emissions trading scheme the parts that sought to encourage behavioural change have been removed from the bill. Supplementary Order Paper 150 has changed the bill substantially removing the waste minimisation plans of organisations abolishing the waste minimisation authority before it even got going and deleting the target dates for waste reduction goals. 
Despite significant support for the bill from the bulk of the 316 submissions the proposed legislation is now diluted and simplified to such an extent that there is little to object to but equally there is little in it to make very much of a difference. The sad thing is that there is actually a lot of public support for this bill which was not noted by the select committee. The Government has listened to the cost concerns of councils and it has gone with a watered-down approach that will reduce the costs and the compliance. This Government has been consistent in that it will water down any legislation that takes seriously the protection of the environment. The waste disposal levy has been reduced from $25 per tonne to $10 per tonne targets and dates have been taken out the implementation and monitoring of plans have been removed and producer responsibility has now been weakened to include a measure of voluntary participation. 
We believe that Maori traditions such as kaitiakitanga have much to offer in relation to waste minimisation and care for the environment. Tangata whenua live by a relationship that is a symbiotic one—a relationship of mutual benefit. Pouwhenua the prestige of the land depends on human activity and the environment for sustenance. We all have a duty to protect the mauri to treasure the land the water the air and the flora and fauna as nga taonga tuku iho—treasures handed down. The Maori Party will support this bill at its second reading because in essence it is better than doing nothing but we are greatly disappointed that the goal envisioned by Nandor Tanczos of having a waste-free Aotearoa by 2020 will not be greatly advanced by this bill at this point in time.