Sio William: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSio William: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 08 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17704. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Su’aWILLIAM SIO (Labour—Māngere): I take a call on this bill the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill and I just want to firstly acknowledge the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage who is advancing this bill and other colleagues who have been driving this from the beginning. I also want to acknowledge the fact that there seems to be a general acceptance around this Chamber supporting this bill which I think is a really really good thing. I think that for most of us usually the only time we start considering some of our historic areas in this country and in our history is when we are going overseas. When people ask you where you are from and you say you are from New Zealand then the questions begin to flow about what we know about New Zealand and its history.Only yesterday afternoon we had a celebration of the Top Scholar Awards next door to this Chamber. Before that was done thekaumātua of Parliament was there and he began by welcoming the 35 or so recipients of the Top Scholar Awards from throughout New Zealand. In Te Reo he chanted and that gave the recipients something that moved all those who were present by my estimation and observation. I do not understand Te Reo Māori. I do some but I do not understand the depth of Te Reo Māori. But yesterday during that chanting and the blessing that was given by ourkaumātua to those recipients there was a common feeling of oneness in that particular room even though many who were present would probably not understand the detail or the depth of meaning that was conveyed by ourkaumātua.That brings me to Part 4 of the bill. In this particular bill we are recognising historic places probably not only in a more formal or legal manner but I think in a more in-depth manner. Firstly for our historic places our historic areas the use of the words “wāhi tupuna” “wāhi tapu” and “wāhi tapu areas” is significant.In the electorate ofMāngere—which I represent and affectionately call the gateway to the nation the land of the young beautiful and gifted—we have such places that the localkaumātua and the iwi recognise. In fact not too long ago I was privileged to welcome some people intoMāngere at theMāngere mountain that historic place there. I am not a historian nor am I an archaeologist but I learnt quite a bit by being present and from observing and listening to the people who were presenting at that particular forum. I say to you that the majority of people who were present at the forum were not necessarily Māori not necessarily experts in this particular field but we all learnt of the depth of history that is in that place of the meaning ofMāngere. In fact it was the elders who then later on said that the true name forMāngere is notMāngere but Te Hau aMāngere which refers—from my understanding as it was explained to me—to the winds and how that mountain blocks off a significant part of the winds that cover that region.From my perspective as a Pacific person who is a New Zealander with a proud heritage in Samoan culture I think this bill is great news in terms of this Parliament uniting around the fact that we do need to recognise some of these historical and cultural heritages which are of significant value not only to Māori people themselves but I think to the rest of New Zealand. There is only one New Zealand. There is only one place where Māori reside and that is Aotearoa the land of the long white cloud.The second part I am going to refer to—and I am not sure whether the Minister will be able to respond to it either now or at a later stage—is that the bill makes reference to the role of local government. It refers to the fact that the local authorities must have particular regard to the recommendations made by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. I was not part of the Local Government and Environment Committee that deliberated on this particular bill but from a recent scanning of it I do not see anyreference at all to whether there is an avenue for the local council to be able to seek assistance from central government in terms of how it would protect and promote areas if Heritage New Zealand recommends that an area—for example in Manukau—is deemed to be recognised as category I or II and therefore imposes on the council a role to protect that area to build some advocacy and support for it and even to build it as an iconic tourism product.As I said for me from my scanning of the bill it is unclear as to whether that could be made a little bit more clearer. I know that the regular complaint to central government from many of the councils has been that central government has a tendency to impose legislation on local government or implement legislation without necessarily giving local government the support that it ought to receive. Without that support local government therefore tends to complain that it must then go back to its ratepayers and of course deal with that in one way or another whether it be through debt or whether it be through the increasing of rates.Other than that in terms of Part 4 of this bill I think it is absolutely delightful that we in this Committee seem united around the recognition that there are such things as taonga using the Māori word. The English word that I think is comparable to that is “treasures”. In fact in the Samoan world it would be “measina”—things that are unique things that are sacred things that have a value beyond what is seen by the eyes. Thank you.