Flavell Te Ururoa: Urgent Debates — State-owned Energy Companies Sales—Delay of Mighty River Power Sale 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Urgent Debates — State-owned Energy Companies Sales—Delay of Mighty River Power Sale 
[Sitting date: 11 September 2012. Volume:683;Page:5064. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Speaker. Kia oratatou katoa e koreroneimotenei take nui whakaharahara e paana ki tenei kaupapa o te wai. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker and greetings to us all addressing this matter of huge importance and significance which relates to this topic about water 
.] 
On 24 August the Waitangi Tribunal issued  
The Interim Report on the National Freshwater and Geothermal Resources Claim 
 noting: “the matters in this claim are of national importance and at the core of the Maori-Crown partnership sealed in 1840.” We believe that the Government’s announcement last Monday to delay the public offerings of up to 49 percent of Mighty River Power has actually been quite important and pretty crucial in the sense of trying to move towards some sort of way of bringing the parties together. This gives us time to address Maori rights and interests in the water which was the substantive issue and which was confirmed and guaranteed through the Treaty of Waitangi. 
But I wanted to come to the House to specifically address some of the rubbish that came out of the mouth of the first speaker in this debate Clayton Cosgrove who was speculating that the Maori Party would be boycotting the national hui on Thursday. For Mr Cosgrove I want to set the record straight. Firstly where was he when all this discussion was going on? Secondly the Maori Party has actually been playing an integral role in trying to keep the doors of discussion open even as I speak—even as I speak. We played a unique role in creating the opportunity for debate around the mixed-ownership model. Contrary to Mr Cosgrove’s rantings the Maori Party will be at the hui on Thursday represented by our co-leader Dr Pita Sharples. This is something that Mr Cosgrove should know about and failed to explain because it has been well reported in the media over the last week. 
Can I say that our view has always been that issues around water are definitely in the hands of iwi and hapu. There will come a time when we do need to have a national picture. A national framework has been discussed in the past but that sort of discussion is something that needs to take place for iwi. They should have their own time and their own place to have their korero. The hui on Thursday is a natural follow-on from the hui called on 18 July which was called by whom? It was called by the Maori Party and the Minister of Maori Affairs with iwi leaders the Maori Council and claimants. We brought them together in I suppose a unique spirit of collaboration and of fighting for what is right. Naturally the hui as I say in conjunction with iwi leaders and the Maori Council is something that the Waitangi Tribunal in fact recommended should happen. That was a key priority for us—to try to get all the key players into the same room. It is just as important that all Maori interests have their space in the discussion away from politicians. That is the hui that is going to take place at Ngaruawahia towards the end of the week.  
I want to point out that a statement came out from the 18 July hui when we met with the Government and indeed the Prime Minister. The statement read something like this: “The Maori Party and the Government continue to support a process of negotiation between hapu and iwi and the Government on their rights and interests in water and the Government has undertaken not to legislate over those rights and interests.” That is a crucial statement because it set the scene for ensuring that we never ever have another foreshore and seabed debacle.  
I want to be clear that the Maori Party has been against the sale of the assets from the get-go and we continue to maintain that position. However we want to make sure that iwi the claimants and hapu have an opportunity to have their day and discussion with the Crown. Why? Because they have their interests at heart and they need to put their issues on the table. It is really disappointing that Mr Cosgrove chose to go down that line simply because we should set aside that sort of politics and really talk about the substantive issues: water ownership for the benefit of future generations issues of governance issues of management issues of allocation and issues of proprietary interest all guided by kaupapa of rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga. Those are things that we talk about all of the time. This is an opportunity for us to engage in work streams such as the development of the national framework out of the Waitangi Tribunal; the settlement with iwi leaders the Maori Council and other claimants; and a timetable for ongoing discussions. The recommendation of the Land and Water Forum for a national land and water commission means there is heaps and heaps to do.  
So we believe that the Crown needs to demonstrate active commitment to exploring the nature of Maori proprietary rights and interests in water and the announcement of a commitment to developing a national framework would certainly help prepare the groundwork for the second stage of that inquiry. There is a lot to do. We see a commitment to continue direct localised negotiations as critical in maintaining good faith with hapu. The hui that is coming up at Ngaruawahia is a good way to go. However at the first instance let us allow the people to have their say. Let us take a bit of time about it to get it right. Kia ora tatou.