Mahuta Nanaia: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — Third Reading 
Mahuta Nanaia: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:15962] 
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Customs) 
: 
 Nei ano te mihi maioha ki nga iwi o Tauranga Moana kua uru mai ki roto i tenei Whare. No reira Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga me Waitaha tenei te mihi atu ki a koutou tena koutou. 
[ 
A fond greeting to the people of Tauranga Harbour who have entered this House; so to you Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga and Waitaha my greetings to you 
.] 
They say that there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Time has certainly played its part in this particular issue. It gives me great pleasure to be able to speak to the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill. At times like this members of Parliament feel a level of trepidation. It is a time when people will bring their collective understanding of New Zealand’s history and will have to put themselves in a place to ask whether the pursuance and reaching of agreements such as this is in the best interests of this country. Madam Assistant Speaker as a teacher you would know—as many in this House would know—that we have a very imperfect history and that over time it has been a very difficult task to try to rectify the historical injustices that have occurred. But as I said previously time has played its part in this issue. 
I commend the people of Tauranga Moana who have long sought the resolution of a number of difficult issues in their region. I acknowledge those who are no longer with us and also those who are currently with us for their determination to ensure that the outstanding matters for Tauranga Moana can be resolved. This is a way of moving forward. However we should not pass over lightly the severity of the history that has been experienced by the people of Tauranga Moana. 
I do not want to tell the history of Tauranga Moana—I am not from that area—but what I do share is a sense of commonality with the people from that area at a tribal level. The confiscations in Tauranga Moana in the 1860s affected them just as they affected the people of Waikato Taranaki and Te Whakatohea. A number of outstanding matters must be resolved within this generation and we see in this bill a small step. 
The point was made by the Minister of Maori Affairs that this is not a Treaty settlement. One has to ask oneself why this is not a Treaty settlement. It is for this very simple reason: it is a step towards trying to resolve something bigger that must be done and will be done. 
I am proud to be a part of a Government that has unequivocally tried to resolve historical injustices from the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal and making claims able to be heard at the Waitangi Tribunal retrospectively to 1840 to pursuing with unequivocal vigour the continuance of the Treaty settlement programme. So I foreshadow that although this is one step towards that resolution for the people of Tauranga Moana they are also confronting broader outstanding issues that they must see resolved in this generation and soon we may hope that will be done with the absolute vigour determination and commitment of all the parties involved. That is what is required. 
People can make politics about this particular bill and what it does not achieve but every parliamentarian in this House knows and most certainly the Government knows that it is no use promising the world if one cannot deliver. The important thing to recognise here taking into account all the concerns that have been brought before of the Maori Affairs Committee is that this bill is a step towards seeing those broader issues resolved. I commend the members of the select committee because they put a lot of hard work and effort into ensuring that the intent of this agreement was reflected in the wording of the legislation and previous speakers have made that point. 
I would highlight the comment made by the Minister of Maori Affairs that the door is still open on the future management of Mauao as a historic reserve. He said that very clearly in this House so anyone who walks away thinking otherwise should not be confused because that statement was made by the Minister himself. That signals that there is every opportunity in the ongoing management of Mauao to ensure that those interest rights are protected absolutely not just for the iwi of Tauranga Moana but also for other people in that region. 
Bob Clarkson made a very interesting comment to his constituents of Tauranga Moana. I am sure that notwithstanding his views about what is not being achieved in this bill his children and their children will recognise that reclaiming the name of that historical maunga will itself fundamentally transform the way people see the history of Tauranga and how that city will be shaped into the future. 
This is a forward step. It might raise a bit of tension in a number of areas but the common thing that must be understood from this debate is that it is a necessary step to be able to resolve injustices and to say: “We need a lot of people at the table to be able to go forward albeit it is difficult.” Is it not an ideal situation to have the council and the iwi sitting at the table to determine what is happening in their rohe so that iwi are at the front end of the decision making and are not waiting for someone else to make the decision about what is happening on their maunga? Is that not a good step forward? Would we not want to try to support that kind of thing? Would we not want to try to support iwi being able to not only have a say but also make a decision about the fundamental landmarks within their rohe? 
My contribution is only short: he iti tenei naku ki te kaupapa; but the main thing I wanted to ensure really is that some of the rhetoric offered in this debate does not lose sight of the real intent which is that this bill is a step towards something that I believe will be much bigger that it will require effort and that it will not be easy for the Crown or the people of Tauranga Moana but it is a necessary larger step that we must take. It foreshadows that in the future development of Tauranga City people will have to work together. We cannot get away from that whether or not people like it. People will have to understand each other’s priorities whether they are in regard to the management of this maunga or to other things happening in that rohe. 
But more fundamentally there is a reclaiming of history in that region that will not deny to any young person in that rohe—Maori Pakeha or otherwise—the strong proud tradition of the people of that rohe. People will better understand it know it and talk about it in their classrooms as part of re-growing a sense of pride in not only their traditional heritage in that area but also their future opportunities for how things can go forward. 
As I said one always stands with great trepidation around issues like this but I am proud again to say that a Labour-led Government continues with a programme like this knowing that it will build a future that it is about taking people forward and that we all have our part to play to be able to reach that end. I am often disheartened by the fact that many parties in this House do not support for example a Treaty settlements programme in the same way that others do and that those parties have demonstrated it in this House many times when they have not voted for a number of critical bills like this bill that can take people forward. It is a bit disheartening but that is on their conscience not mine. 
I am very pleased to be able to support this small step forward. No reira tena koutou katoa. Kia ora.