Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:642;Page:12454] 
Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Labour—Mana) 
: 
 I move  
That the Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill be now read a second time 
. Kia ora talofa lava and warm Pacific greetings. As the local member of Parliament for Mana and the member in charge of this local bill on behalf of the Porirua City Council it is with much pleasure that I rise for the second reading. 
At the time of the first reading in June this year I was called away suddenly to Samoa to attend the funeral of the Samoan head of State the late Malietoa Tanumafili II. I am therefore grateful to my colleague and the member for Otaki Mr Darren Hughes for carrying out the necessary duties in this House in my absence. I also wish again to acknowledge before this House the descendants of the Stace family and the supporters of this bill who are present and following the proceedings of Parliament today. This bill has now been reported back without amendment by the Local Government and Environment Committee and I thank very much the chair Stevie Chadwick and all the members of that committee for their careful and efficient consideration of the bill. 
This bill resolves management problems relating to one of the more historically significant Pakeha burial sites in New Zealand. The bill confirms the vesting in Porirua City Council of the Pauatahanui Burial Ground. It also provides for the status control and management of the burial ground into the future. Legislation is the most efficient way to confirm the council’s ownership of the burial ground to dissolve the associated trusts and to extinguish the interests protected by a caveat. 
The burial ground is an important part of early European history both of Pauatahanui and of the wider Porirua district. It was mentioned in the first reading debate that Pauatahanui is also an important and sacred place for tangata whenua. Again I wish to affirm acknowledge and recognise the important cultural heritage the burial ground and surrounding land has for local Maori. A pa of well-known Ngati Toa leader Te Rangihaeata once stood proudly on the site surrounding the burial ground. Te Rangihaeata was forced to abandon his pa under siege from British forces on 1 August 1846. He fled north to Battle Hill and British soldiers moved on to his pa. Thomas Hollis Stace and his family arrived from Tasmania 7 years later in 1853 and purchased the 113 acres of land at the head of the Pauatahanui inlet. The site of the burial ground was given by Thomas Stace by deed of trust dated 6 December 1856 with the first interment taking place in 1860. 
Today if members were to visit the burial grounds they would see many beautiful roses. For those members in this House who can see them samples are here with me. Many of them were planted by our pioneers and early settlers from cuttings brought here from Britain and other parts of Europe. They are beautiful they are colourful and they have fragrance and they continue to maintain that link from the settlers’ original homes and countries to their homes in New Zealand today. The roses have been nurtured for decades by small and dedicated groups of the Pauatahanui Burial Ground local volunteers. They have committed their time their energy and their love to this task. Many of these volunteers are present here today and I thank them for their dedication and their commitment and for penning histories and stories and working on this issue to keep the life journeys legacy and history alive not only for the peoples of Pauatahanui and our wider district of Porirua but for our country New Zealand. 
For the benefit of the House the Pauatahanui Burial Ground is located between Paekakariki Hill Road and St Alban’s Church. I want to mention that the great-grandfather of our Assistant Speaker Ross Robertson is buried in that cemetery in one of the unmarked graves. It is important to fully acknowledge both these Maori and Pakeha histories behind the burial ground. 
The Porirua City Council has conducted a comprehensive round of consultation on this bill including consultation with the Stace family and local iwi. Both have indicated that they are happy with the intent and objects of the bill. I note also that the select committee in its report commended the Porirua City Council for its thorough preparation of the bill and particularly for the establishment of good relationships with Ngati Toa. 
The select committee received 14 submissions all of which were in favour of the bill passing. I say thank you to all who wrote submissions and to all who appeared before our select committee. The committee considers it desirable that the council the Pauatahanui Residents Association Ngati Toa and other parties maintain their ongoing relationship and dialogue and I know that this will happen. 
To Maori the appropriate and respectful burial of those in our community who have passed on is of immense importance. It is important to both Maori and Pakeha that the mourning tangi and burial processes are recognised and that the mana of the person who has passed away is observed. These things are also important to me as a New Zealander of Pacific descent. Professor Albert Wendt once said: “Inside Us the Dead” and “Our Dead are the splendid robes our souls wear” which acknowledges our sacred genealogies and our ancestry we all share today. This is why I am pleased that this bill will protect the burial ground and the memory of those who lie at rest within it forever. 
I again say thank you to all the people—the volunteers the select committee and groups—who have assisted with getting the bill to this point. I just want to correct the reference to Ross Robertson’s great-grandfather. It is actually his great-great-grandfather Walter Robertson who is buried in Pauatahanui. I thank you.