Turia Tariana: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — Third Reading 
Turia Tariana: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:671;Page:17626] 
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 third time 
. 
Tena koutou katoa nga iwi o te motu kua tae mai nei ki te w’akanui i tenei kaupapa o te ra. Ki a koe te matua ka nui te mihi aroha ki a koe hoki. Ki a tatou katoa tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
To all of you the tribes of the nation who came here to celebrate this matter of the day greetings. A huge and respectful tribute to you as well sir to us to you collectively and everyone 
.] 
From the opening sections of this bill an agenda for change is set. The connection between Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principle that customary rights attach to w’anau hapu and iwi with traditional interests in the coastal marine area is at the heart of this legislation. There was more at stake in this bill than simply repealing the 2004 Act notwithstanding how fundamental that is. It is about honouring the Treaty in principle and in practice. 
Earlier this week as the people gathered with their banners flying their tears flowing and their flags held high I reflected on our journey to achieve meaningful representation as representing the Treaty partner. I want to say that there is very little difference between what we say as members of the Maori Party and what those on the hikoi say when it comes to the crucial issue of the foreshore and seabed Treaty relationships and Treaty issues. The difference is not about the “what”; the difference is about the “how”. 
There are those who are unable to accept the legitimacy of Parliament and it is their right to do so. But the path for the Maori Party is a different one. We have chosen the vehicle of Parliament to advance our aspirations in a modern context. We have chosen to participate in kawanatanga and to uphold the mana of our tupuna. We can do both. We came here to tackle issues head on to fight on every front and to prepare a place for others to come forward and to continue the work knowing full well that if we do not put forward the best case we can—who will? 
Although other political parties claim to represent Maori they do so in the belief that tangata w’enua can be treated as a homogenous group even though there are so many tribal differences and demographic variations that must be appreciated. What is worse is that one party seeks to wilfully denigrate tangata w’enua and their values and we deplore that behaviour. That party is the same party that deliberately lodged 700 questions today in an attempt to roadblock the passage of this bill while cheerfully abusing the expectation of citizens that all parties will be frugal with the taxpayer dollar. New Zealanders do not expect the critical business of the State to be delayed for questions that amount to little more than wasting Parliament’s time and taxpayers’ money. The people deserve better. 
The Maori Party came to Parliament because we want the very best for our people. We want their aspirations heard. We want tangata w’enua to be a strong voice and to be leading the future of Aotearoa. It is a mission that I know others have carried before us. Nevertheless it is the most critical reason for our existence as a political movement. It is after all about our struggle for survival; the reconciliation of kawanatanga with rangatiratanga; and the long-term plan 100 years from now and onwards. I have only to walk the corridors alongside Matangireia to glance into the faces of our tupuna and to recall the political actions that each took to advance the calling of their w’anau hapu and iwi. Their spirits are around us all in this Chamber and in this debate and we are all the richer for their legacy. 
One of the saddest aspects of this time has been the way in which some have chosen to use this legislation as a tool to create division both within Parliament and indeed within our own party. To act in such a way is anathema to me and it operates against all of our kaupapa. I have always been someone who has sought to foster unity and to celebrate diversity rather than to promote divisiveness. As members of w’anau hapu and iwi we are already divided along so many lines: by religion politics income and education. Those who have are separated from those who have not. What I genuinely hoped was that we could look as a nation at this issue with new eyes understand the differences and work together to make change as small as they may be. 
I want to share with us all a message from my son that epitomises the journey we in the Maori Party have taken up. He shared with me the words of the late Dr Martin Luther King: “Cowardice asks the question ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question ‘Is it politic?’ And Vanity comes along and asks the question ‘Is it popular?’ But Conscience asks the question ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular; but he must do it because Conscience tells him that it is right.” The Maori Party supports this bill knowing that it is right to want a better future for our mokopuna; that it is right to repeal law that is unjust and discriminatory; and that it is right to restore the access that tangata w’enua were always entitled to—to have their day in court. 
Our greatest task ahead of us as a political movement is to make the advances for our people based on our kaupapa. We must move forward and to do so we must have meaningful recognition of tangata w’enua political representation. We have come to Parliament to make change happen and to work with the Government whomever the Government is. We have chosen not to participate in the politics of attack but to invest in the politics of possibilities. 
When we were offered the opportunity of being in Government we returned to our people and we were given the mandate right across the motu to take up the wero and do all we could to make progress. A very clear call came from our membership to repeal the 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act and to restore access to the courts. We have done that. We have honoured our word—we have removed the Foreshore and Seabed Act from the statue book of this House. 
The challenge now is to test this new law. The message we have been getting from some iwi leaders is that now that the right of access to the courts has been restored case law and customary rights may be politically achievable. W’anau hapu and iwi must grasp the opportunity on a case by case basis to go to the courts and begin to establish customary rights and title in our legal system on a progressive basis. But we are fooling no one if we think we have solved everything by restoring access to the courts and repealing the 2004 Act no matter how significant this is. Our journey is a lifelong one as it has been for our tupuna before us and will be for our mokopuna ahead of us. 
This bill is another step in our collective pursuit of Treaty justice. We have absolutely no doubt that there will come a day when this bill like every single piece of legislation debated in this House is reviewed and improvements are made and we will move on together. This bill was never just about the Maori Party; it started with the leadership of the eight iwi who took an application to the Maori Land Court at the top of the South Island. It has been shaped by innovative jurisprudence created by some of our finest legal minds. It has been critiqued by many many thousands of New Zealanders who have joined the hikoi; written petitions submissions and emails; and composed haka and waiata. They have walked the talk. 
The Maori Party has directly benefited from the expertise and wisdom of many people including all of our devoted supporters who are with us today as they have been ever since the very first hui of the Maori Party on 23 May 2004. We mihi to them all. We are indebted to the generosity of spirit the selfless commitment and the bold and courageous vision of iwi leaders who have walked with us on this journey to a brighter future. 
Finally we pay our utmost respect to the champion of the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill the Attorney-General Chris Finlayson. From the onset he has demonstrated remarkable resilience insight and personal integrity to do what is right. I will never forget the depths to which he has gone in order to treat this take with the respect it deserves. Na reira tena koutou katoa. I commend this bill to the House.