Horomia Parekura: Foreshore and Seabed Bill — In Committee Procedure 
Horomia Parekura: Foreshore and Seabed Bill — In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:621;Page:17150] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 I sat here last night in amazement. I totally reiterate and support what my tuakana from Ngati Wai said about the differences amongst us that pervade this land and that this humbug of trying to ensure there is generic understanding and practice in the sense of tikanga is put asunder by people on the other side there who were talking about white people forgetting that there were other people and talking about brown people. This is about all New Zealanders and the conflict in my mind is the extremes of the rednecked racists and the crazies in here who are helped along by the press which is not doing its homework and is chastising us for doing something that is the best thing for Maoridom in a long long time and this bill points that out. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I am sorry to interrupt the member’s speech but he needs to think a little bit carefully about what he is saying. He referred to rednecked racists who are here. I am not a racist and I am certainly not a redneck. I take deep offence at any suggestion that that might be the case. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Clem Simich) 
: I thank the member for raising that. I was just pondering that turn of phrase. Would the member withdraw and apologise. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I apologise. Certainly I am humble enough to withdraw and apologise when I say outrageous things. But I will not stand here and listen to this nonsense of people preaching about tuku-ed whenua things that we have inherited from our ancestors that are tinged through the history of time in this great country by raupatu people setting to on us stealing it and most of all our own people selling it. 
We have these extremes going on and on about let us preserve the land. It is at risk out there at the moment. Let me tell members this: the land that is retained the most is within the regulated framework. It has stood the test of time in the sense of local authority interference at times. Certainly it is about making decisions in contemporary times for our people and that is right. Being from NgatiPorou I support this stance. I am proud of being from there and not ashamed—as I am proud of being from NgaiTahu. My NgaiTahu side were here in the depth of the night in 1992 with the Government then in power and they signed an agreement about fishing in the customary sense. People appear and make believe that this is brand new. Woe betide those who want to keep us in the dungeons of doom and gloom! 
We have to make decisions for all New Zealanders. We have to protect that strip of land that is from the high-water mark to the low-water mark. Let us get it right about confiscation. Let us get it right about the black market that our people are involved with at the moment. They are tahae-ing the kai—stealing it. They are selling it up in Auckland and for what reason? The cupboard is bare and I want to defend it. What is important to me? It is that we make sure that our young people can hold on to that journey that we made as young persons. I sit here and listen to all this prattle at the extremes by those who are saying: “We want to leave you there.” Not too long ago when crayfishing licences were let in this country our old people told us not to touch them because they were about moni and kai is tapu. Pakeha have all the crayfishing licences and they live well off them as a lot have lived well off the fishing quota and doing everything except helping our people. Who has imbued and encouraged the gravy train? Those people in that party and those Maori who have done very very well out of it and have not cared about pulling it down—those people. 
I listen and wonder when all I can hear in the mainstream media and parts of the Maori media is all this nonsense about taking a position and not caring about the demographic of young Maori in this country. I want young Maori to grow up and understand that they can go to the beach and it is there; that when they wake up tomorrow it will still be there. I know right now of properties with the koiwi of our tupuna—the bones of our tupuna—that have been sold because that whenua is alienated. Let us go back to what the court said and let us get it into context and understand what was said. If people want to let that happen kei te pai but they should not come and tell me as a NgatiPorou person and try to invent this generic niceness all around this country—either other iwi or Pakeha. Because I am very sure of what needs to happen in our rohe. I am very sure as the Minister of Maori Affairs of what I believe is the best position at this time. 
We run all these hui and we run all these wananga courses and half of them in my mind—those in the universities—are a lot of nonsense. We get puha; we get diplomas that are not relevant and mean nothing. I say to Mr Brownlee that we should take our kids who are not going to the rocks and teach them about that.