Upston Louise: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — First Reading 
Upston Louise: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:665;Page:12817] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 Tena koe e te Mana Whakawa. Tena koutou nga iwi rangatira o te awa o Waikato tena koutou i nga ahuatanga o te wa. No reira e Te Ariki Ta Tumu te Heuheu tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. E te Minita tino rawe to tiaki i nga take pire mo Te Tiriti o Waitangi. No reira kia ora mo tena. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings also to the chiefly people of the Waikato River in respect of the circumstances of the day. Salutations indeed to you paramount chief Sir Tumu te Heuheu and greetings to you all. To you the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations what a wonderful job you are doing. So thank you for that 
.] 
As the member of Parliament for Taupo I am thrilled to stand here in the presence of representatives of Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River iwi who are here today. The settlement of the upper Waikato is significant for the communities that I am proud to represent. The National Government is delivering on its promise to complete final durable settlement of all remaining historical Treaty of Waitangi grievances by 2014. 
Settlements recognise the wrongs of the past help iwi unlock economic potential and provide a welcome economic boost particularly in regional and provincial areas. This is vital in an electorate like Taupo. It is the Waikato River that connects my constituents from Taupo through Tokoroa Putaruru Karapiro and Cambridge and that is why I am thrilled to speak on this bill. 
The purpose of the settlement is Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River iwi participation in both the restoration and protection of the Waikato River. These iwi identify with the upper Waikato River. As has been said before this bill is a companion to the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill which was introduced to Parliament in April this year. The negotiations with the iwi gathered here today have been separate to negotiations with Waikato-Tainui hence the need for separate legislation. It is also important to recognise the mana of these iwi in relation to the upper Waikato River. 
This bill gives effect to co-governance and co-management agreements with each iwi. It also importantly sets up the Waikato River Authority and the funding that is so vital for the Waikato River Clean-Up Trust of $210 million which will be distributed over a period of 30 years. This fund is contestable for iwi local authorities and the community and will be administered by the 50:50 Crown-Maori membership of the Waikato River Authority. 
I will speak about a few things in particular regarding this bill and regarding the river. It is a significant resource. At 425 kilometres long the Waikato River is not only the region’s but the country’s longest and most significant river. As Minister Chris Finlayson has said the river is important to our region’s economic social and cultural well-being. There are more than 470 resource consents accounting for nearly 250.6 million cubic metres of surface water per day. Just to give the House an idea that is the equivalent of filling about 100000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The river is used for domestic industrial and community water supplies and irrigation. It is used for recreation: swimming duck shooting boating fishing or simply enjoying being beside the water’s edge. The Waikato River also supplies about 13 percent of New Zealand’s electricity generation with eight hydro dams dotted along its middle section. The Waikato River contributes though nearly 50 percent of our total electricity generation if we include the geothermal fields and the cooling of Huntly in the mix. 
As we have heard today the Waikato River is degraded and polluted. Approximately 90 percent of the wetlands are gone. We have already started work with the Lake Taupo Protection Trust to improve the health of Lake Taupo but we now must place our attention on the clean-up of the Waikato River. We recognise the deep significance of the Waikato River to Ngati Tuwharetoa to Raukawa and to Te Arawa River iwi. We also recognise the strategic importance of the Waikato River to the social cultural environmental and economic well-being of all New Zealanders. I rowed on the Waikato River as a schoolgirl I now live by the Waikato River I am proud to say that my children play in the river and our family camps on its edge during summertime. The Waikato River is significant to many—to those who live in the region and to those who visit. 
Last year the Prime Minister chose to launch the very first cycleway on the edge of the Waikato River and I think this is significant in terms of the message of how important the Waikato River is to tourism. When the Waikato River Trail is completed there will be a magnificent walk and ride along 100 kilometres of our river. Later this year the world rowing championships will be held on the river—the biggest sporting event since the 1990 Commonwealth Games—so I know that the iwi present will join me in hoping that the Waikato River brings our team extra-special luck and brings it some gold. 
This bill produces the framework for a new era in the relationship between the Crown and Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River iwi and for restoring and protecting the health and well-being of the Waikato River for future generations. We have seen real success in Taupo with the Taupo District Council’s relationship with Tuwharetoa winning the prestigious Institute of Public Administration New Zealand award for Crown-Maori relationships at the recent public sector excellence awards. That was a night to remember. 
This Government is giving clear direction and certainty about the co-governance and co-management of the Waikato River. It is providing more than words to the concept of partnership that is inherent in the Treaty of Waitangi. This is one of seven deeds of settlement that the Government has signed since November 2008 which compares with an average of 1.6 deeds per year under the previous Government. This is a result I am proud of; this is a bill I am proud of. Kia ora mutu.