Sharples Pita: Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park)  Validation Bill — Second Reading 
Sharples Pita: Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park)  Validation Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:631;Page:3574] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Quite clearly the Maori Party seems to be the problem in terms of the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill. 
Anyone in the know will tell members what is happening at Alfred Cox Park. At the top of the list is the international half-pipe vertical ramp which will leave any young skateboarder breathless. If one goes down there any day one is likely to run into young Luka Peta who is entered in the  
Guinness Book of Records 
 as the world’s youngest skateboarder and who can reputedly drop in—skate down—off anything in the park. Early Saturday morning the place is abuzz. The flea market is swarming with all types of produce and people. The vibrant diversity is evident in gourmet delicacies cosmopolitan cultures and the very best of organic vegetables. Inside the park is a majestic Canadian totem pole which was gifted to the people of New Zealand in 1969 by the Canadian Government on the occasion of the bicentenary of the landing of Captain James Cook at the Kaiti Beach in 1769. If it is autumn in the park it is—as described in promotional material—likely to be resplendent with bountiful olive trees. It is a great place to sit and remember how it was that Alfred Cox—a member of the mysteriously named 30000 Club—came to donate this land to the Gisborne Borough Council in 1944. The 30000 Club is apparently the same club that commissioned and gifted the iconic bronze statue Pania of the Reef—my ancestor—which hit the news for all the wrong reasons late last year. 
I enjoyed reading the  
Hansard 
 transcripts of this bill’s first reading. The Hon Maurice Williamson summed it all up with the innocent question: “What would Alfred Cox actually think about this park and the fact that we now are validating the illegal activities that go on there?”. That is a question I want to explore further for the illegal activities that are being validated here today extend far beyond the constraints of the Reserves Act 1977 and the deed of trust under which the park was originally gifted. 
How could it be that this Parliament would let this bill go as far as this without consultation with and involvement by the mana whenua Rongowhakaata? How could it be that when Labour MP Janet Mackey spoke at the first reading of this bill she fudged its significance and dared to label it as non-controversial? Is it non-controversial to take tupuna land from the people under the Public Works Act? Is it non-controversial to presume that Rongowhakaata land was idle land and there would be no great shame in using it as a dumping-ground for the town’s rubbish? Is it non-controversial if council records show that the dumping of rubbish began one morning at 8.30 90 minutes before the matter was taken to a council meeting to receive the token rubber stamp? Aue te mamae te pouri. Kei te heke tonu nga roimata. 
[ 
Alas the pain and stress. Tears continue to be shed. 
] 
There are many other histories other stories other tears yet to be shed about what is happening at Alfred Cox Park. There are memories to be shared of the uses of the Waikanae Stream prior to the creation of the Alfred Cox Park evidence about the fish life the bird life the impact of tidal changes. In the debate at the first reading Labour member Georgina Beyer congratulated Janet Mackey saying: “This is the kind of thing whereby politicians should listen to what local people desire aspire and wish to have in their communities”. Those were beautiful words; it is a pity they were not taken seriously. Where are the views of Rongowhakaata and the submissions from the Rongowhakaata Trust? It is Manfeild Park revisited which I also spoke about here. I really have to ask why no other party in this House has been seeking the truth about how mana whenua fare in this new bill. Why has it failed to register with the Maori caucus of Labour? 
Who has the Minister of Maori Affairs consulted in his own electorate in order to hear the views of the electorate? It may well be that Rongowhakaata can accept the designation of their tupuna land being in the name of Mr Alfred Cox. Indeed some korero that we have heard relays the mamae the pain of whanau who do want the pride of their memory to be scarred by association with dumped rubbish while other members of the whanau want their tribal histories acclaimed to assert place names of significance within their whakapapa. It is the birthright of Rongowhakaata to hold these debates to discuss the merits of redesignating place names that hold meaning. As the original landowners Rongowhakaata have a history and an understanding of this area that predates 1944—prior to the 30000 Club and before a minigolf course or a visitor information centre was erected on the site. No doubt it is a history which the borough of Gisborne is not fully familiar with. It is probably also a history which does not feature in the promotional paraphernalia of Tourism Eastland. 
The Maori Party would love to be able to know more about this history and to have our hearts and minds stretched by tales shared with the nation by mana whenua. It is not the concept of visitor information or flea markets that have caused us such consternation. As my colleague Hone Harawira said flea markets are a fabulous site to hold constituency clinics. Indeed one of my favourite weekend visits is to drop into the Manurewa flea market. We in the Maori Party want to be with the people and walk with the people in order to ever represent the people in this place and time. If the local politicians had listened to what the local mana whenua desired aspired and wished to have in their communities then the bills put forward by Janet Mackey and Anne Tolley would have looked vastly different. Until last night the Rongowhakaata Trust—according to our sources—had not received a written briefing a paper a report describing this validation bill. It beggars belief. If I was to trawl further through the  
Hansard  
records no doubt I would be able to locate the Native Land (Validation of Titles) Act of 1893 which Moana Jackson has described as validating the acquisition of all unlawfully acquired Maori land. One hundred and thirteen years later this bill is another attempt to valid the acquisition of land acquired from Rongowhakaata for purposes other than that which the bill describes. 
It is interesting that this week seems to be the week when we are being asked to validate illegal Acts whether it be the breaching of the Broadcasting Act or the validation of the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill. The bill is controversial it is offensive and it is culturally arrogant. While the totem pole of Canada stands proudly as a feature of Alfred Cox Park we in the Maori Party are looking for the carved pou of Rongowhakaata the taonga that distinguishes the mana whenua the unique treasures that are landmarks of their rohe. 
The Maori Party will not support this bill. We ask the House to return to the question originally posed by Mr Williamson but to consider anew what Rongowhakaata would actually think about this bill and the fact that we now are validating the illegal activities that go on in Alfred Cox Park. We will never know until we ask and having asked can we live with the response? The Maori Party would love to support this bill in its third reading satisfactory discussions having been held and having been seen to be held with Rongowhakaata.