Peters Winston: Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 08 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6406. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First): There is a fundamental principle that you cannot fix a wrong by creating another one. At the second reading of this legislation New Zealand First pointed out in respect of the negotiations that certain claimants claimed rights and that was dismissed by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. The fact is that the airport at Kaitāia is closed today. That is the northernmost airport in this country and my colleague Kelvin Davis has spelt out how important it is. Yet this bill is before Parliament today and the Minister himself probably out of a sense of guilt decided to raise voluntarily a critical part in it. That is in respect of NgāiTakoto’s claim of half of the airport. The question is whether the protest is based on a possible valid legitimate claim and whether it has a basis in law. The law is very clear on this matter in this sense: that land taken under the Public Works Act if no longer to be used for that purpose should be first offered to the original owners. The real question here then is it is still being used as an airport and the Government has decided to change ownership but is that change back to the original owners? That is the question for which the answer is in dispute and that is why we have a protest now.It is all very well for the Minister to say “when the miscreants will get lost” “no place for this kind of oafishness” and “politicians”—to quote him—“don’t get involved in police matters”. Well with respect this is day two of the airport being obstructed and the people of the far north be they Māori or European are entitled to have a better answer than that. If this is a baseless claim then let the lawful authorities do their duty. But we are not going to stand by up north while a critical facility in a neglected region is itself closed. We already have lost on 1 April the services of Air New Zealand. We have an interim service from Barrier Air and now it cannot operate. So I am asking the Minister what the Government intends to do. He can recite the 2013 statement in respect of the claim of authority that he just gave except of course last month the Wellington High Court instructed the tribunal to reconsider Ngāti Kahu’s request. So let us have the latest law not the one that is being superseded in terms of a decision at the Wellington High Court.What does the Government propose to do—shove the legislation through all its readings today and if it is erroneous as to the claimants’ rights with respect to the airport then that will be imposed by law? Or does the Government intend in this case to send that bill back to the select committee to sort out the rightful answer to the question that is being asked? I think that everybody up north Māori and European is entitled to hear more than that from the Minister today. He comes from a Cabinet that after all has a Minister of Police. I would like to know what is going to happen because all people regardless of their background are going to be damaged. What we will not do is stand by and do nothing.We want the Minister to tell us today what he intends to do. If he is going to say: “Oh well Ngāti Kahu can wait all the way until September 2018.” what about the airport? When is it going to be operative? Will it be operative this afternoon? Will the Government make a decision? Will the Minister of Police ensure that this airport is reopened? Because what cannot go on is this matter being timed to stop this important facility which if it is allowed to continue will damage the health and economic interests of everybody in the far north and they cannot afford that. So could we please have an answer to the question being put?I am not siding with any claimant on this matter but if you have got two claimants there is a ring about that and it concerns me. It is not the first time. Remember Paraparaumu Airport? Remember it being given back to the original owners? No the last National Government did not do that. His colleagues did a closet deal with a private interest. And then you have got Hood Aerodome in Masterton. Was it offered back to the original claimants? No. It was sold to the Masterton District Council for $1.We are not going to have these compounding mistakes made by this Minister who sits beside everybody else as though they are not aware of the facts. With respect Minister some of us have lived in the north a darned sight longer than you have.