Fox Marama: Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFox Marama: Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 04 November 2014. Volume:694;Page:599. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Ā tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Tuatahi kei te hiahia au ki te whakatakoto ki te whakapuaki i tētahi o ngā karakia o te kāinga o Ngāti Porou o Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairarapa. “Mai i rara rā mai i rara rā mai i rara rā te rangi runga nei mai i rara rā te papa i raro nei mai i rara rā Te Kāhui Ariki Te Kahui Tipua Te Kāhui Tauira. Tuku ana tuku ana tuku ana Te Reo kia rere. Tuku ana te kupu kia taka tuku ana te take kia mau ū e hā ū e hā! Ū e hā nuku ū e hā rangi ū e hā Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi Tāne Whakapiripiri nāna te rangi i runga nei i toko kia tū hāhā kia tū kē ana nuku kia tū kē āna rangi. Ka tangi te hau ka matao ka ao ka awatea tihei mauri ora!” E tika ana kia mihi ki a koutou ōku pou ōku rahi ngā hākui ngā hākoro o te kāinga me kī te kāinga. He hononga tā mātau o Te Wairarapa ko koutou tēnā i tiaki i manaaki i a mātau i rere atu ki Te Māhia ki Nukutaurua i a mātau i rere atu. Nā reira tēnā te hononga o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairarapa. Koi nei au e tuku mihi atu ki a koutou e haere ā-tinana mai ki te whakarongo ā-taringa kia kite ā-karu kia rongo ā-wairua hoki nā reira tēnei te mihi mahana te mihi matakuikui ki a koutou katoa.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. In the first instance I want to commence by reciting one of the incantations from back home from Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Kahungunu to the Wairarapa. “From beyond the heavenly realm above and the earth below from the cluster of aristocracy supernatural and the pre-ordained allow the language unfettered license to flow. Allow the word to roam at large and the matter to be comprehended and fixed firmly. Breathe it repeatedly and extensively Tāne-nui-a-Rangi and Tāne Whakapiripiri the one who propped up the heavenly realm above so that its numberless heavens above it stood resolutely. The wind screams extreme cold takes hold day dawns day light comes and behold the breath of life!” It is fitting that I acknowledge you my support pillars my many my elderly women and menfolk from back home let’s say the real home. We of the Wairarapa have connections with you who looked after and helped us when we left home and travelled that way to Te Māhia then on to Nukutaurua. So the connection of Ngāti Kahungunu to Te Wairarapa was forged that way. This then is the reason why I am extending this welcome to you collectively who came here personally to hear see and experience the spirituality of the occasion. And so I acknowledge you all with a warming and joyful thank you.]I am pleased to be able to stand in support of the first reading of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill. It makes me proud to come from Ikaroa-Rāwhiti when we are in this House today debating the fact that the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and local iwi are leading the way in the management of natural resources.Actually “debate” is the wrong word. In reality the relationship between the regional council and the iwi represents a joint approach to planning in Hawke’s Bay—a weaving-together. Indeed as my colleague the Minister for Māori Development noted so well in his melodic rendition of “Tūtira mai ngā iwi”—because that is how we do it in the Māori Party and I want to mihi to him—it expresses the unity needed and the unity that this bill outlines. I want to mihi to the whānau hapū and iwi of Ngāti Pāhauwera Maungaharuru-Tangitū Inc. Mana Ahuriri Inc. Ngāti Hineuru Iwi Inc. Ngāti Ruapani Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāi Tūhoe. He Toa Takitini also have the option to join in.The planning committee is a benchmark model of tangata whenua and local government working together—a wonderfully vibrant concept of all parties coming together to focus on what they can do together to create a prosperous economy and a clean and healthy environment now and for future generations.The irony of the timeliness around this bill of course is that while we in the Māori Party are struggling and trying to delay the process of the Resource Management Act because we have been concerned that developments were compromising the integrity of kaitiakitanga here our people are just getting out and boldly taking on those challenges to show us that when we recognise Māori as value added as the local authorities have done here—that is as an asset and not a deficit—then we can boldly work together to realise true ambi-cultural nationhood and protect our taonga together.The Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee Bill provides tangible living proof that tangata whenua are kaitiaki or guardians of the region’s natural resources and have a key role in the way that resources are managed both now and in the future. It shows on paper and in practice that new partnerships are possible between tangata whenua and regional councils. Through the committee iwi will be able to contribute towards planning for the use of natural resources and environmental outcomes through regional plans and regional policy statements.Why is this important? Essentially it shows us that Treaty partnerships can be actioned and honoured through engagement and consultation. But it is also about practical ways of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of planning in the regions.I want to share a comment that came from the report from Toro Waaka co-chair of the regional planning committee. It says: “The integration of tāngata whenua perspectives into the region’s planning and policy has provided tāngata whenua with a vehicle to fulfil their role as Kaitiaki of the region’s resources. The committee is committed to develop plans and policies to provide for current needs as well as promote sustainable environmental outcomes for future generations.”I have to contrast what we have seen in the Hawke’s Bay with some of the public outrage associated with the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan provisions concerning mana whenua. The Māori Party believes that we must always balance any changes associated with lifting economic gains with the responsibilities that come from kaitiakitanga. “Balance” is the operative word. When we know that only 0.33 percent of all resource consents submitted to the Auckland Council triggered the provision to consult mana whenua it provides a sense of perspective about the costs of cultural assessment. We are talking about just 200 out of 6000 resource consents that were required to undertake that consultation and of those 200 only 20 were declined.It is all a matter of perspective. In the Hawke’s Bay the balance is far more genuine in my humble Ikaroa-Rāwhiti opinion. With an equal number of regional councillors and tangata whenua group representatives the planning committee is the co-governance group for the management of natural and physical resources in the Hawke’s Bay. The focus is consistently driven by the need to ensure better planning processes and ultimately better outcomes for Hawke’s Bay.The committee is chaired under a dual chairmanship agreement with the chairman of the regional council and a nominated tangata whenua representative Mr Toro Waaka. The other novel feature of the committee is that decisions are made with at least 80 percent consensus rather than a 50 percent majority with the chair’s casting vote. Members of the committee particularly tangata whenua can therefore undertake long-term planning that spans multiple years.When the Māori Party took its manifesto to the people this year a big focus of our environmental policy was on kaitiakitanga reviving the role of kaitiaki for whanau hapū and iwi. As Māori we have a kaitiaki or guardianship role of our natural resources based on the spiritual and cultural relationship we have always had with the environment. In that respect Māori are the true Greens. Māori therefore have a crucial role in the management of these resources including our rivers mountains and national parks. It is our responsibility and right to protect restore and enhance the environment.What we see here today is in fact a true ambi-cultural nation and a true partnership in action. It shows that we as Māori can be true Treaty partners and work in collaboration with our local governments. When that is recognised across this nation then we will truly go forward. I have no hesitation in supporting this bill for our people and for our country. Tēnā koe.