Ririnui Mita: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — In Committee 
Ririnui Mita: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:647;Page:15867] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Minister of State) 
: 
 I thank the Hon Georgina te Heuheu for a very positive contribution to the Committee stage debate on the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill. I think the point that she made is one that needs to be acknowledged much more strongly throughout this entire legislative process and that is that the Crown set out to establish positive relationships with the iwi of Tauranga. Although the relationship at the time could be considered to have been reasonably positive this initiative builds on a lot of the initiatives undertaken by the Crown in decades gone by. 
As the member said Mauao te maunga has a very very strong history in terms of its association with the iwi of Tauranga Moana they being Ngati Ranginui Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Pukenga. There also is the historic relationship which is acknowledged in this legislation with Waitaha who are of Te Arawa descent. It is also important for this Parliament to know that Mauao te maunga or Mauao the mountain has seen many many iwi from all of the tribal confederations land on his shores including Takitimu Tainui Te Arawa and many others who passed through the region at the time of the great migration. 
Pita Paraone 
: What about Ngapuhi? 
Hon MITA RIRINUI 
: Mataatua is of course one of those peoples. For the satisfaction of the member who wants Ngapuhi to be mentioned I can say that Ngapuhi did visit Tauranga but not for very long. They were moved on and they headed north. They came from Whakatane. The first recorded hijacking in the history of Aotearoa was when they hijacked the Mataatua canoe and took it up to the Hokianga. They did not know how to sail into the harbour and the canoe sunk. It has been there ever since. One member in this Chamber can confirm that that waka is there and that member is sitting behind me. The Hon Dover Samuels went down and had a look and it certainly is there. 
So I say that there is a connection between all these tribes and this maunga called Mauao which has this great history. At one time it sat at the back of the Taumata hills which is a place where a lot of great mountains stand today. There is a history around that but I will get on to it tomorrow at the third reading. It is actually quite a good story and it is a positive story. 
It is important to acknowledge the significance of this legislation and the relationship of the Tauranga Moana iwi to this icon on the landscape of the Tauranga Harbour. After a very long journey and many attempts by the iwi to have the maunga reinstated with them it finally looks like that will happen—unless someone in this House has the courage to try to stop it and I would advise against that. 
I also acknowledge the contribution made by the local authorities. They are concerned about the ongoing maintenance of the Mauao reserve and they have very strong management plans in place in collaboration with local iwi through the advisory committees to ensure that the work on Mauao is ongoing and that whatever cost implications come to hand are dealt with through the council’s annual appropriations. I understand that those figures are quite high. They are beyond the means of the local iwi but that is something that the iwi and the Tauranga local authorities have come to a decision on. 
As I say the history is very well documented and very strong. It is interesting that annually on Waitangi Day 6 February Tauranga people—not just iwi—climb to the top of this mountain at dawn to celebrate Waitangi Day. In the last 2 years I have seen Bob Clarkson there. I have to give him lessons on how to make an appropriate speech on Waitangi Day because twice he has got it wrong. Never mind I am told that he is leaving Parliament—but I do not think it is because of that. However like everybody else who comes up the maunga of whatever ethnicity we are always glad to see him always glad to have him there. Next time he should come and have breakfast with us and we will rejoice in the founding of our country. Thank you. 
Preamble agreed to.