Chadwick Steve: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — First Reading 
Chadwick Steve: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:665;Page:12819] 
Hon STEVE CHADWICK (Labour) 
: 
 Kia ora ki te Whare. I rise to take a quick call in real good-faith support for trying to get the Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill through its first reading tonight so that those who have travelled so far can enjoy the fact that we have got through this momentous stage tonight in the House. 
I pay tribute to those who have come from Te Arawa. They are sitting in the gallery smiling away. They know who they are and I know that Minister Turia Shane Jones and Hone Harawira have welcomed them appropriately and with dignity to the House tonight. I also pay tribute to Timi te Heuheu who is here from Tuwharetoa. 
I say to Mr Garrett before I begin that we are a democracy and we respect his view though we differ markedly from it. By exposure to debate in this House and by association through marriage through our children and through our ancestors some of us have acquired a deep and abiding love and a spiritual relationship with the lands our families come from. In my family we share that love with Tariana Turia and the Whanganui—I am sure she wishes they had a such clean-up fund as this bill will set up tonight—with the Tongariro and the Waikato through my Tuwharetoa lines and I have to mention with the Tukituki through my Ngati Kahungunu lines. 
We all learn by association and by talking to each other about the value of being bicultural in this land. We are two people walking one pathway and we need to remember that and show tolerance in this House. So we listened to that member Mr Garrett and I felt a bit sorry for his view but it is the view of only 5 percent of the country. We have a long way to go and we are getting there. If we keep engaging in the democratic debate with those represented in this House we will get there. I congratulate the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Chris Finlayson on carrying on and improving the Treaty settlement process. My colleague the Hon Maryan Street gave acknowledgment to that. I think that the Hon Michael Cullen went out on a limb in relation to Treaty settlements. It was considered quite a risk at the time. It was edgy territory to go into in Treaty settlements but we were delighted about the Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act and for our 14 lakes to start to move towards a co-management model. 
I am sure that if Mr Garrett went and saw these Treaty partners working together he would see that this is not just tokenism. Local government the regional council and the people who are stakeholders in our lakes are beginning the long journey—and it will be a long journey of over 20 years—to clean up our lakes. But it takes a leap of faith and a leap of trust and then underpinning legislation that must be enabling. We cannot tell people what to do and hope it will work. We have to keep talking to each other and this is a wonderful example. 
I can remember in a little way Lady Raiha Mahuta coming into my office when I was the Minister of Conservation and saying what they wanted in terms of the conservation management plans in the legislation we have here in the House tonight. I thought: “Gosh this is new but this is the right thing to do.” I remember going off to Michael Cullen to say: “I don’t know how we do it but we do have to work with conservation coming to the party here alongside iwi and the Crown.” He said: “OK. We will try to find the right instruments.” I think we are learning in Treaty settlements from each process that has gone before. 
I thank those who have gone on this settlement journey and who have taught us that there are new ways and that there are some risks with those new ways but that when we work together in that position of partnership and trust we can get there. It is not hard and this bill underpins that approach. 
I thought we were all going to agree in the House tonight so it was with some sadness that I heard the ACT view. But kei te pai; they are a little group and they need to be awhi-ed to understand the new way of working together and we will work with them to try to show them that there are other ways. That is as nice as I can be there. 
I want to talk about the clean-up fund. I am sure that those at Te Arawa Anaru Rangiheuea Rawiri Te Whare and all of our kaumatua in the gallery know that this is something that we longed for with our Te Arawa Lakes Settlement Act. One gets the settlement amount and it is meant to be enough to clean up but it is never enough. It is really a nominal amount and we all know that. But here is a genuine attempt. Over 30 years it is a bit of a stretch and I am sure that in the future the partners will be coming back to the Crown to say they might need more. 
I want to mention here the Greens’ perspective about catchment. I believe they are right but I think that as this co-management model goes—I was going to say down the river—on this journey the Greens will see that it is logical to put catchment plans in there and they will come to say that that is how they want to manage this. But it is their right to put that on the table too because we never get it all right. 
I am pleased that there is a conservation management plan in this legislation. I think this approach is something that will be watched from all around New Zealand. In Canterbury we are looking at the Hurunui and the Mackenzie Country and the pressures of dairying there. They will be looking at managing those wonderful South Island rivers. I am sure that Tainui will be looking at this model and saying that they need to look at how they manage their precious resources in the future. 
I acknowledge all those who have gone before and thank I them for the lessons they have taught us as we have gone on this journey. I acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations with his wonderful lofty goal of getting all Treaty claims settled by 2014. We hope that the settlements are just and durable. The Labour Party will work in cooperation with the Minister to achieve that goal. This is a wonderful evening; thanks for coming.