Katene Rahui: General Debate 
Katene Rahui: General Debate 
[Volume:672;Page:18786] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. Twenty years ago a song was released by David Grace that has become known as the anthem of Tuhoe. It gives focus to the refrain “Rua Kenana Tuhoe prophet of the Urewera”. In doing so it encapsulates the pride of the people in the leadership of someone who believed that Tuhoe could and should be self-determining. 
At the turn of the century Rua established a thriving community in Maungapohatu where land was owned and farmed collectively and all proceeds shared according to need. A community bank was established and the people gathered around. In 1916 Maungapohatu was invaded by a troop of some 70 police in what the Supreme Court later ruled as an illegal assault. Rua was charged with sedition. His trial in the Auckland High Court lasted 47 days and was the longest trial in New Zealand’s history until 1977. Of the eight charges laid against him the jury found him guilty of only one morally resisting arrest yet he was sentenced to a year’s hard labour and another 19 months’ imprisonment. At his sentencing Chief Justice Frederick Chapman told Rua: “The arm of the law was long … That is the lesson your people should learn from this trial.” 
A century later one wonders whether history is repeating itself. On Monday 15 October 2007 more than 300 police carried out dawn raids on homes and premises throughout Aotearoa. The focus of the raids was in response to what was allegedly “concrete terrorist threats”. People had supposedly attended training camps in the Urewera ranges. 
The latest twist in the trial of these defendants is that it now appears unlikely to go ahead as scheduled on 30 May. Some are speculating that with the Rugby World Cup and an election in sight the timeliness of such a controversial trial has come under scrutiny. But the question we in the Maori Party ask is if there is such a focus on one law for all as some parties in this House would have it how is it that the Tuhoe people continue to suffer the long arm of the law without so much as a murmur in this House? Why has it taken between 4 and 5 years to gather evidence on what is now nothing more than an arms charge? 
Three weeks ago 150 prominent Maori social justice activists and academics came together in support of a submission to the Solicitor-General sponsored by lawyers Moana Jackson and Professor Jane Kelsey. In that letter Moana Jackson spelt out the impacts of this sorry episode stating: “The accused their whanau and the whole of Tuhoe have had this hanging over them for almost four years unable to live a normal life. They already carry the label of ‘terrorists’ forever”. Waiariki electorate MP Te Ururoa Flavell has spoken frequently about the lifelong consequences of the original raids on Ruatoki and the never-ending saga of a prosecution that has been delayed for nearly 4 years. 
Of course although there are dire and traumatic impacts on human lives there are also some very real financial costs of a 12-week trial in Auckland. I cannot ignore the echoes back to 1916 when Tuhoe had to bear the substantial legal costs of the trial against Rua Kenana as well as the indignity of being billed for the costs of the police expedition—which remember was illegal—amounting to over £900. To address these huge financial burdens Tuhoe was forced to sell land. 
We are at a time in our nation’s constitutional history when we are attempting to build bridges and learn from our past. Iwi across Aotearoa in a substantial gift of generosity to this nation have settled claims amounting to an equivalent of 1 or 2 percent of the true worth of what they are entitled to. Our concern with the tragic case against the defendants in the Urewera is that any progress we make in nation-building is hindered by justice delayed. The lives of the people charged as a result of the police’s Operation Eight have been on hold for too long. Due process of law surely requires the right to a jury trial in an expeditious time frame. The human impact has been enormous. Further delay is unjustifiable. It is unfair. It is unacceptable.