Delahunty CatherineCATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green): Tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare nui. I have found this New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill to be one of the most interesting experiences of my political time here and I want to acknowledge that after the first reading the Green Party agreed for it to go to select committee because we thought there were some really important issues that needed to be looked at. I sat here one night with my colleague Metiria Turei and I said to her: Metiria I think this needs to go to the Māori Affairs Committee." It was Metiria Turei who made sure that it did and who negotiated that across this House. That is one of the reasons why I honour her—because it really needed to go to that committee and the committee did a great job.I think it is because whatever we call this bill—it does not really matter—this bill is about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Pekapeka Block. At the heart of it is the issue of what happened historically which is so alive to the people today in Waitara—to the two hapū Ōtaraua and Manukōrihi. I just wanted to mihi to them tonight—to those two hapū and to Te Atiawa—and to just acknowledge that whatever work we do is nothing compared with the work that they have done. Whatever we struggle with is nothing compared with the struggle that they have been through. I acknowledge that the leaseholders and all the people who have lived in those houses as individuals have been through a lot but it is not the same as what has happened to those people who from the 1860s experienced total land loss and devastation of their culture. When we went up to te Ōwae Marae we heard very strong voices saying to us that this was not just about a district council making an arrangement; this was about the Pekapeka. I think what was really good about the work the select committee did was that we all heard that and the select committee and the officials tried to work with the spirit of that wero that was laid down to us that day at the marae.The Green Party is very clear—and although I will not be here when the bill comes back to the House after the election one of us will be—that it is not about the individual; it is about the kaupapa. For us the kaupapa is that when the consultation is done and when the hapū of Waitara are satisfied then we will vote for this bill. So we are not voting for the second reading. We are going to look forward to the possibility of voting for the third reading but we are not prepared to do that until the hapū have had their process. The reason that we say that is because they begged for more time—they begged for time—and they said to us: "Please do not take this bill back to the House unless we can have proper time for consultation." This situation as has been described for others does allow for that—it allows for that time—and hopefully for the resources for that to happen. They had a very very short period of time to talk to their people and they were not ready to make a decision. Until they are ready in the fullness of their consultation with all their people in Waitara—those hapū—the Greens will not be making a decision either.So we will not be supporting the bill tonight but we will be reserving our judgment and committed to trying to see. If those hapū come back satisfied that this is sufficient for them then we consider supporting it and that to us is the principled position for us to take. I appreciate that others see it differently but that is our principled position because this is Pekapeka and because the endowment land whatever percentage of it is not the whole block that was lost. We are very cognisant of what was told to us by the people up there at te Ōwae about the whole block and what it means to them. What they simply kept asking us is: "Why can't we have it back?".I recognise that this bill and the Office of Treaty Settlements particularly Nashwa Boys did a fantastic job in getting people to the table—they did. They did a great job and they got people to the table—people who should have been at the table a long time before like the Taranaki Regional Council. The New Plymouth District Council transformed its approach and I hope that is forever not just for the satisfaction of this bill. To me if it is now ready to have a proper relationship with those hapū in that rohe around these issues of land and awa that does not depend on this bill. That should be what the councils do forever so let us hope that this is not just about: "Let's get rid of this nasty little problem of the Waitara leasehold lands." Let us hope this is the beginning of a permanent Te Tiriti - based honourable relationship from those councils to those hapū because it has been missing. I think the New Plymouth District Council has moved widely but the Taranaki Regional Council had to be dragged screaming and that is not really the spirit that we need.That is why time must be given for this process to be worked through and that is why we will be giving it serious consideration and more time before we decide whether we can support the third reading. It is with all due respect to everything that has gone on and all the efforts but the faces of the people are before me and all I can hear is their voice. I know that the hapū fund and the river fund are great initiatives but there is a bigger picture that they need to have time to talk through. It is their mamae and they have to be satisfied that this is the best that they can hope to negotiate.I am very aware that the leaseholders have been through a number of processes and have been waiting for a resolution as well. What I like about one aspect of the bill is where it talks about spending some of the money if it goes through on educating the people about the history. That is where Parihaka has been such an inspiration and is still such an inspiration. I do acknowledge that the whole process that we went through—those of us who went to Parihaka to see the Crown there to see the people together—is inspirational and the Waitara people deserve no less. They deserve no less—those mana whenua hapū deserve no less.Yes I think it is great about the river. It is interesting because I have been working on that river for some time with some other mana whenua and have been viciously attacked in the local media which has said that there is nothing wrong with the river. But there is only so much denial—you know Waitara is not a river in Egypt; it is time to get out of denial about that river. I would welcome that funding to happen under the control of those guys—under the control of the subcommittee that is being suggested to be appointed through a committee of all of the tangata whenua groups associated with the awa.It is the same with the hapū land fund. An opportunity to build an economic base is crucial for the well-being of those hapū. But if those guys have their consultation process and decide that now is not the time for them to accept that some of those houses will be sold that they will lose forever what has always been their long-term passionate heart's desire we will stand with them. It is up to us in this Parliament to exercise absolute creativity as this bill tries to do and absolute patience as well for what has not been dealt with. If these people say they want the Pekapeka and we need to keep working on it the Green Party is prepared to keep working on it. We will not be saying: "Take it or leave it." Yes there is momentum here and we recognise that but that momentum has to be based on justice and justice for all does not include marginalising people who said to us at te Ōwae: "Kia tūpato this is Pekapeka." We are reserving our judgment. We are hopeful but we are also respectful that the people of the Taranaki have continually said to us: "Be careful. Be aware of what has been taken from us. Be aware of how we are sick of giving and waiting for trust to be built." We recognise their position very very strongly in this House tonight.It has been a positive process to see the first bill—which was you know quite honestly unacceptable—transformed by the work of a select committee where people were all dedicated to trying to do what was best. We remain pleased by that but it is in the hands of those people—the hapū te Manukōrihi me Ōtaraua. Their rangatiratanga is what is at stake here. They are not required to sort out the mess that colonisation imposed upon them but if they can come to a party that meets their needs we are there as well. We are still going to be listening and we are still hopeful but justice under Te Tiriti comes first. I look forward to hearing what the hapū have to say back to us. Whakarongo ki te Pāremata—listen. We need to whakarongo and then we can hold our heads up. Kia ora."