Davis Kelvin: Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill — Second Reading 
Davis Kelvin: Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:657;Page:6724] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 Te mea tuatahi maku e mihi kau atu ki a koutou e nga whanaunga i takahia mai te huarahi mai i Te Arawa. Ka nui nga mihi atu ki a koutou i tae mai ki konei ki raro i te maru o tenei tuanui hei whakarongo ki te panuitanga tuarua o tenei pire. Na reira tena ra koutou. 
[ 
The first thing for me is to extend fond greetings to you the relatives who travelled here from Te Arawa. I appreciate your presence greatly beneath the haven of this roof as you listen to the second reading of this bill. Therefore greetings to you indeed 
.] 
Being a new member I found it an immensely humbling experience to be part of the Maori Affairs Committee which heard the submissions on the Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill. We flew up to Rotorua there was a packed house and we heard a number of emotional submissions regarding this bill. It is indeed an honour and as I say humbling. There was also a bit of sadness in realising the extent to which our iwi have been deprived of their lands over the last 200 or so years. Our whanaunga from Te Arawa Ngati Whakaue and Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao in the day would have owned all the land—[ 
Interruption 
]—much of the land that we could see as we were flying into Rotorua airport. But we saw that we were talking about a very small parcel of land. It is a story that has been repeated across Aotearoa in all iwi. It is very sad to see that this has happened over and over again but it is also a joy to be part of a select committee that is looking to return land to our iwi. 
When I go to Rotorua in my role as tourism spokesperson for Labour I see everything that is on offer around Whakarewarewa Village and its surrounds. It brings to mind the reason why tourists come to New Zealand. They come to experience our landscapes—and Rotorua has beautiful and unique landscapes—and they come to experience our culture. What binds our landscapes and our culture together is our people. The people of this area are not just telling their story; they are living the story. They are living their story and they are sharing it with the world. For that I thank them. 
A number of people have spoken about the technical side of this bill and I too will go over it. The Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill gives effect to the deed to introduce vesting legislation in relation to the Whakarewarewa land and the Roto-a-Tamaheke Reserve signed on 5 August 2008 by the Hon Dr Michael Cullen the Hon Parekura Horomia and the Hon Damien O’Connor on behalf of the Crown and representatives of Ngati Whakaue Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao and Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa. In simple language this bill enables the transfer of the Whakarewarewa Thermal Springs Reserve and the Arikikapakapa Reserve currently vested in the Crown to Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa Trust. This means the iwi partners of Ngati Whakaue and Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao collectively will become the landowners of this area. For clarity the area comprises the Whakarewarewa Thermal Springs Reserve the Southern Arikikapakapa Reserve and the Roto-a-Tamaheke Reserve. These lands surround Whakarewarewa Village. 
The village itself has always been in Maori ownership and is not affected by the bill. The lands include the Pohutu Geyser and other iconic tourist attractions. As agreed by the iwi parties the Whakarewarewa Thermal Springs Reserve and the Roto-a-Tamaheke Reserve will transfer from Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa trustees to the Whakarewarewa joint trust the day after the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu legislation passes. The bill recognises the cultural traditional historical and spiritual importance of this area to the iwi. The Whakarewarewa joint trust has been established for the purpose of administering these lands as well as providing for the more generalised interests of all New Zealanders. It is really important to note that all New Zealanders can enjoy the wonders of this small piece of land. 
The bill continues the positive progress made by iwi across the Bay of Plenty region in strengthening the Crown-Maori relationship through both Treaty settlements and contemporary initiatives like this one and I applaud everybody who has been part of making this happen. My genuine hope is that we can settle these land issues as quickly as possible so that iwi can have the land returned to them and we can set about being successful as Maori with our taonga intact—or as intact as they can be considering the amount of land that we have lost over the years. The lands will retain their recreation and reserved status under the Reserves Act 1977 the leases to the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute will continue and the protections of conservation values contained within the Reserves Act will remain. 
A large number of hapu and iwi entities were involved in this initiative representing a diverse range of interests. This meant that the negotiations for the transfer of these lands were always going to require the determination goodwill and generosity of those iwi and hapu representatives. The bill represents more than a simple land transfer from the Crown to Maori subject to the provisions of the Reserves Act 1977. The wider motivations for the Crown and iwi negotiators included an agreement to vest the fee simple estate in those reserve lands outside the Treaty settlement process. By doing so the mana of the land of the people of Ngati Whakaue and Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao will be recognised and a stronger relationship can continue to be built. 
As we have heard some submitters requested that Tuhourangi and Ngati Wahiao not be coupled together but that they instead be represented separately. They felt that their mana whenua and rangatiratanga status over the Whakarewarewa Valley land were quite separate. The reference to the Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao affiliate of Te Pumautanga is well established and has been accepted by the Crown throughout the various mandating processes managed since 2003 by the Kaihoutu Executive Council and Te Pumautanga. Although the bill could be amended to reflect a decoupling of Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao this would not properly address the concerns of submitters and it would affect the underlying relationships between the Crown and Te Pumautanga and between Te Pumautanga and its affiliates. An amendment to the trust deed to allow decoupling would require a unanimous resolution of the trustees a general meeting of the beneficiaries to approve the trustees’ resolution and an approval resolution passed by a majority each of Ngati Whakaue and Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao present at that meeting. The Maori Affairs Committee did not consider it appropriate to use legislation to provide for separate representation in relation to the bill because the decision of Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao to form a single affiliate of the joint trust Te Pumautanga was made by iwi members through a mandating process. 
I acknowledge again the people from Te Arawa who have come to listen to this debate on the second reading of this bill. I thank them for their patience over the time taken for this settlement to draw to its conclusion. I sincerely hope that the return of this land enables Te Arawa whanui Ngati Wahiao - Tuhourangi and Ngati Whakaue to forge ahead for the benefit of all members of the iwi so that they may continue to move ahead as an iwi for the benefit of nga whakatupuranga kei te haere mai. Na reira huri noa i te Whare tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa.