Ririnui Mita: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — First Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:644;Page:13939] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Minister of State) 
: 
 Kia ora tatou. I rise naturally to support the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill. But before I do that I want to acknowledge something very important that I almost overlooked. A tremendous event took place this morning in Parliament: the signing of the Te Atiawa (Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara) agreement in principle in relation to their historic claim. That is a huge achievement not only for the Government but in particular for Te Atiawa. The korero here in the meeting room echoed how we must appreciate our arrival at this point. So I congratulate the Minister and all the Ministers—including me—who were involved in bringing the claim to this point.  
I want to make it clear in this House that our ancestral association with our maunga Mauao has never never never been severed—not by anyone. I recite these words which we call our popular pepeha: “Papaki tu ana nga tai ki Mauao i whakanukunukuhia i whakanekenekehia. I whiua reretia e Hotu rawa he mea rua ki te wai ki tai wiwi ki tai wawa te whai ao te ao marama tihei mauri ora.” 
[ 
The tides rendered and crashed upon Mauao casting the waters about in turbulent movements. Hotu cast two things upon the tides here and yonder. Upon the physical world and the world of enlightenment as well and behold there was life 
.] 
Essentially that pepeha is attributed to the arrival of the Tainui waka into the Tauranga Harbour. On its arrival there was not much of a welcoming committee. The seas were high the winds were strong and the weather was bad. The ariki of the Tainui canoe Huturoa said that there was a bad spirit here and that we had to make a sacrifice. So an old woman from the canoe said “I will be the sacrifice.” and threw herself into the tide. From that moment on the seas settled the clouds cleared the wind went away and settlement began. So we called Mauao Mount Maunganui our maunga iringa korero. All our history all our poetry all our culture surrounds this particular maunga at the mouth of the Tauranga Harbour. When people go on and on about transferral fee simple title and Clayton’s arrangements I wonder to myself what those people are talking about. This is our ancestral maunga. Its mana has always been with us.  
The purpose of this legislation is basically to bring authorities at a local level into line so that we can manage this very important taonga resource in an appropriate manner. That is what this is about. But there are roles and responsibilities for all those involved. Clause 3 of this transfer bill highlights what some of those are including the obligations of the Crown. In other words it removes the obligation of the trustees of the Mauao Trust from any public liability and that is an honourable thing. That is an acknowledgment of the status of local tangata whenua and we applaud that regardless of what has been said in this House.  
When people use the word “Clayton’s” the only Clayton’s phrase that comes to mind for me is “Clayton’s consultation”. What the Hon Georgina te Heuheu the Hon Tau Henare the local member Bob Clarkson and the member for Waiariki Te Ururoa Flavell had with a small organisation in Tauranga is Clayton’s consultation. If they had gone right through the moana and talked to everyone they would have come back with a better appreciation—and certainly with a better line. So when I use this tone of voice it is because I realise that although some people who have spoken in this House live very close to the vicinity of the maunga they have no understanding of its people and iwi dynamics.  
When I stand to support this Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill I have to make it clear that our relationship with our ancestral maunga comes in many different forms. We describe it in the first sense as spiritual. In the second sense it is historic. In the third sense it is cultural. In the fourth and very important sense it is economic because it did form part of the base of the economic development in the times before colonisation.  
I want to respond to the member for Tauranga’s comments around his desire to be buried up on that maunga. I say to Bob that I am sorry but it cannot be done. There was a point some time this year where he made that statement clear and I offered to do it for him straight away but that was not to be.  
I need to acknowledge the wisdom of many of the kaumatua of Tauranga who have been involved in this project right from its inception but to do that I need to go right back to our old kaumatua rangatira who have always asked the question of why our maunga has been alienated from its people. As I come forward into more contemporary times up to the 1960s and 1970s and I think about the decisions that were made by local authorities to alienate the Mauao even further from the people including the public I am reminded of people like my kaumatua Turirangi Te Kani; Charlie Kuka; Bill Ohia; and my uncle and predecessor the member for Eastern Maori Paraone Rewiti who lobbied Parliament for justice in terms of the return of this ancestral maunga to the people of Tauranga.  
But as you will recall Madam Speaker—and I must acknowledge your role in bringing this legislation into the House—even in the year 2000 a delegation of Tauranga moana kaumatua met with you for the very purpose of discussing ways and means of returning their maunga to them although they did make it clear at that time that kei te pupuri tonu matou i te mana o to matou maunga. 
[ 
We will continue to retain ownership of our mountain 
.] 
Even though we still hold the mana of our maunga we want it recognised in law for its protection and everybody else’s protection. So that is very important and it needs to be acknowledged.  
I acknowledge those who have passed on since that first meeting—Wi Parera Te Kani a very very instrumental person in bringing about very difficult decisions; the late Mike O’Brien; and Kiri Toha Tangitu as mentioned by the Minister of Maori Affairs. I also acknowledge other kaumatua including my uncle Kihi Ngatai and his wife; the representative from Waitaha Tame McCausland and his wife; the Ngati Pukenga kaumatua Monty Ohia and his wife; and also Ngati Ranginui kaumatua Morehu Ngatoko and his whanau. Very important wise and level-headed people in Tauranga have been involved throughout these negotiations. They decided following that first meeting with you and myself that they wanted the return of the maunga in fee simple form although they understood that public access was important. They had no intention whatsoever of preventing that from continuing.  
So when I hear people in this House say that the people of Tauranga were forced to sign the agreement that transfers the maunga back to the people I wonder where they get those stories from because I have not been at any meetings where anybody has been forced to do anything and I say that in all sincerity. The kaumatua of Tauranga made a decision. They wanted the maunga back understanding that public access issues were involved. They can never be forced to do anything and you yourself Madam Speaker are aware of that. They are very clear-minded people. I suppose some people when it came close to signing the deed of transfer regardless of the positions they took thought it important to have their names on the document. They were given the opportunity to do that. But to turn around in the next breath and say that they were forced to do it is a load of rubbish and that needs to be said in this House.  
Once again there are a lot of stories I could tell about this incredible maunga—this maunga iringa korero—in this House but I believe I have only 10 minutes and one of the bells has already gone. So in closing I thank yourself Madam Speaker; my colleague the Minister of Maori Affairs; the Hon Nanaia Mahuta who spoke in this House earlier on and who does have an ancient association with the maunga with the arrival of the Tainui waka; and also the member Dave Hereora who was very humble and modest when he spoke in the House and who also has the same connections to the maunga as I have.  
I appreciate in particular all those members on the other side of House—the Greens the Maori Party and others including the member for Tauranga—because throughout this whole process an incredible level of patience has been shown by all parties. In conclusion I thank the Mayor of Tauranga Stuart Crosby his councillors his chief executive and all the officers of the Tauranga City Council who did all the groundwork all the legwork to make sure this day happened. On that note I thank everybody who contributed to the positive outcome of the return of the maunga Mauao to the people of Tauranga moana. Kia ora. 
Bill read a first time.