Turia Tariana: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — Second Reading 
Turia Tariana: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:670;Page:16976] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
 on behalf of the  
Attorney-General 
: I move  
That the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill be now read a second time 
. I am proud to lead the debate on this important bill—a bill that will remove for ever the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act from the statutes of our land. The call to repeal the 2004 Act has been heard many times in this House including on the forecourt outside which witnessed the largest Maori protest since the Maori Land March in 1975. Te Ope Mana a Tai articulated that call and I repeat their words for the record: “the Foreshore and Seabed Act will never be viewed by iwi/hapu as anything other than an instrument of confiscation”. 
The 2004 Act extinguished existing Maori customary title. It then went further and removed access to the courts for Maori to seek recognition of customary title in one swift turn of the pen denying one group of New Zealanders the opportunity for due process to occur. That Act conferred ownership of the foreshore and seabed on the Crown. In its totality the 2004 Act— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to the honourable Minister. I ask members please—members have indicated that this bill is of great concern and interest to them. This is the commencement of the second reading of perhaps one of the most important bills to be debated in this House this year. Members are standing around talking and it is not good enough. I ask them to extend some courtesy. If they wish to have conversations I ask them to please go to the lobbies. Thank you. 
Hon TARIANA TURIA 
: In its totality the 2004 Act became synonymous with a Government that was unacceptably interventionist acting with undue haste to override the judicial process. 
In one of the most damning reports ever written by the Waitangi Tribunal the tribunal concluded that the Crown had seriously breached the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. It did this by failing to respect tino rangatiratanga and the good-faith obligations of partnership denying active protection to Maori and expropriating Maori property through actively assuming ownership without either consent or compensation. 
This context has been well rehearsed over successive years at marae in university lectures across the kitchen table and in this debating chamber. There has been a lengthy and frequently painful debate since 2003 when the Court of Appeal first agreed that Ngati Apa could have customary title investigated by the courts. Yet through the rage and dismay there have been many milestones along the way. On 10 June 2004 we established the Maori Party with one of our key goals being to repeal the Act. On 12 October 2006 I introduced our very first Maori Party member’s bill the Foreshore and Seabed Act (Repeal) Bill. After the general election in November 2008 the Maori Party signed a relationship agreement with National with one of the most critical targets being to review the 2004 Act. And almost 2 years ago to the day—on 4 March 2009—the Government announced a ministerial review to be chaired by Justice Taihakurei Edward Durie with Hana O’Regan and Richard Boast. Many many thousands of New Zealanders have taken part over the last 8 years in an intensive and exhaustive consultation process that has led us to the pathway that we embark upon today. 
What are the hallmark features of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill? Inevitably the essential legacy of this bill will be in repealing the discriminatory Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. But in repealing that Act the new legislation also takes a step forward by creating what a former tribunal lawyer has called a real incentive for w’anau hapu or iwi who claim rights to seek those rights before the courts. Tom Bennion the editor of the  
Maori Law Review 
 has described the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill as “an ambitious reworking of the issue to provide some real rights to Maori” rather than the careful and cautious adjustment of interest that a cynic might have expected. There is no better description of the potential of this bill than that in the preamble: “This Act takes account of the intrinsic inherited rights of whanau hapu and iwi derived in accordance with tikanga and based on their connection with the foreshore and seabed. It translates those inherited rights into legal rights and interests that are inalienable enduring and able to be exercised so as to sustain all the people of New Zealand and the coastal marine environment for future generations:”. 
Tikanga Maori will play an essential role in determining such titles. The Maori Party has been very clear that we expect tikanga Maori to be observed and upheld at every stage of the process in the implementation of this legislation. A number of rights will come with the recognition of customary marine title such as the right to permit or veto applications under the Resource Management Act or applications relating to conservation activity; the ability to protect wahi tapu within a customary marine title area; rights in relation to marine mammal - watching permits and New Zealand coastal policy statements; the ownership of new-found taonga tuturu; and the ownership of non-Crown minerals—that is minerals except for gold silver uranium and petroleum. 
There is also a very interesting provision tucked away in clause 105 “Burden of proof” which states explicitly: “It is presumed in the absence of proof to the contrary that a customary interest has not been extinguished.” In other words it will be up to the Crown to prove that any interest has been extinguished rather than the onus for proof being placed on w’anau hapu and iwi. 
Is this legislation a panacea for all ills? I think not. We have vigorously fought the case against too high a threshold being applied to the tests for customary marine titles which was a concern that w’anau hapu and iwi have consistently raised with us. We appreciate also the concern of those Maori who seek a new Treaty-based “longer conversation” to safeguard the mana of hapu and iwi. That was a resounding theme of the 72 submissions received by the Maori Affairs Committee from marae hapu iwi Maori landowners organisations and collectives. It is a theme that we have certainly heard and that we will continue to give voice to in every sphere of political activity that we are engaged in. 
Some statements have been made in public about the overwhelming opposition to the bill demonstrated in the select committee process. I think that comment should be balanced by the fact that fewer than 2 percent of the 5700 submissions received were in fact from Maori. The great majority of submitters came from lobby groups such as the Coastal Coalition. There is no question that this issue has given life to some powerful advocates who have drawn on considerable resources to sell their message. 
Our challenge was always to ensure we looked forward while at the same time getting rid of the legislation that created such division between New Zealanders. So we have listened carefully to the guidance of kaumatua who have recommended a series of smaller discrete cases to be taken to the courts to establish comparative precedent. We have attended hui across the motu to supplement the information received by the select committee and we know that there has been a rigorous schedule of meetings throughout electorates. All this input has been vital. I particularly acknowledge the dedicated commitment and vision of the Iwi Leaders Forum in making every effort possible to carve out a better future for our mokopuna. 
Finally we mihi to Chris Finlayson the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations who has willingly taken on what at times has seemed to be an impossible exercise. The fact that he has persevered despite all will be forever acknowledged and known. This is our bill a bill that National has been prepared to back. We will not resile from the promise that we gave to our people to keep our word: to repeal the 2004 Act to restore access to the courts and in every step of the journey to have the courage and the commitment to ensure that this legislation recognises and provides for the enduring mana-based relationship of w’anau hapu and iwi to their takutai moana. Tena tatou katoa.