Tirikatene RinoRINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker. Well I'm very disappointed that the House has—well in the National Party and their decision today.Hon Dr Nick Smith: What about New Zealand First?RINO TIRIKATENE: And New Zealand First as well. I'm disappointed. This is a disappointing day for our country I believe because this wasn't a political bill.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Blame your coalition mate.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Order! Order! Do not bring me into this debate Dr Smith. Carry on.RINO TIRIKATENE: This wasn't a political bill. This was a local bill and the National Party has decided to play politics with this bill. That's very disappointing. The irony is that they're railing now against Ngāi Tahu appointments and voting down this bill and yet they were the ones that installed Ngāi Tahu councillors in the first place. Talk about confusion. They are absolutely confused. They appointed Ngāi Tahu commissioners and now they've tried to come up with every excuse under the sun to cancel their own decision. What Opposition party rails against what they did in Government? It's absolutely bizarre but it just goes to show how confused the National Party is under this current leadership. It's really staggering and it's very sad.Environment Canterbury has laid out their case with the support of Ngāi Tahu on this. Yes it arose out of very controversial circumstances but it is an arrangement that has worked—it's worked it's been very successful and it's widely supported by the people of Canterbury and from all of the territorial authorities as I've mentioned right throughout papatipu rūnanga that are so intimately involved. This has been a wonderful relationship. The bonds that have been formed have now just been absolutely dashed by politics being played—politics being played.Hon Gerry Brownlee: That's right—by Labour.RINO TIRIKATENE: We aren't playing the politics.Hon Dr Nick Smith: You bet you are. Why did you not support commissioners from Ngāi Tahu when they were appointed?RINO TIRIKATENE: Mr Smith if you check the Hansard we never opposed Ngāi Tahu representation. We supported Ngāi Tahu representation and I proudly—[Interruption]—you can look at the Hansard for me. I looked ahead to this very moment—I looked ahead to this very moment and said we need to continue. It's great that we have Ngāi Tahu commissioners and I look forward to the point in time where we come at the expiry of the legislation where we can—Hon Dr Nick Smith: That's not what the Hansard says.RINO TIRIKATENE: It does. Check my speech out. Please do that.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Table it.RINO TIRIKATENE: I will table that speech.But this is just very disappointing. It's a disappointing day for our country. We talk about tātou tātou e. We talk about the beautiful inclusiveness and all those lovely power Māori words of aroha kotahitanga but really when it comes down to it—when it comes down to mana whenua trying to assert themselves—they won't let us go there. They won't let us go there.Our country is founded on binary roots of the Treaty mana whenua iwi and the Crown and—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Why is there no Government bill?RINO TIRIKATENE: —the National Party can't help but try and hack away at our roots. But I tell you our roots run deep Mr Brownlee—our roots run deep. So we may not succeed this time around but I can tell you: Ngāi Tahu aren't going away—Ngāi Tahu isn't going away.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Bring it back as a Government billRINO TIRIKATENE: Who knows what will happen in the future Mr Brownlee but we want to work this to its conclusion and it's very disappointing as I've said.Just to conclude I want to acknowledge the manuhiri that have travelled all this way: Environment Canterbury Steve Lowndes and all the wonderful team there and all the work that they've put into this bill. My whanaungas from Ngāi Tahu all our papatipu rūnanga: Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua Te Rūnanga o Kaikōura Te Rūnanga o Koukourārata Te Rūnanga o Moeraki Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tūāhuriri Te Rūnanga o Ōnuku Te Rūnanga o Waihao Te Rūnanga o Wairewa and Te Taumutu Rūnanga. They were here. They've witnessed what has taken place this afternoon. We won't forget—we won't forget. But as we say in Māori me pēnei te kōrero ko Aoraki te maunga ehara i te maunga nekeneke engari ko Aoraki te maunga tū te ao tū te pō. [As we say in Māori Aoraki is the ancestral mountain; it is not a mountain that moves. Aoraki is the ancestral mountain; it stands through light and dark.]Aoraki is the mountain that does not move. Aoraki stands night and day and we will be here and we will continue the fight for mana whenua representation. I am very disappointed but I am proud to have stood up for my people to support this bill. Kia ora tātou.