Ririnui Mita: General Debates 
Ririnui Mita: General Debates 
[Volume:616;Page:12456] 
MITA RIRINUI (Labour—Waiariki) 
: 
 This is my second term in Parliament and during that period I would never have guessed I would see the day when I and Doug Woolerton would be heckling in unison at a speech made by a National Party member. Thumbs up! There are a number of surprises in the House today. I think there is also an element of shock on the Opposition benches particularly amongst the National Party members. One thing they did not want to see happen today was a policy on the seabed and foreshore that was fair to all New Zealanders. This is a nation-building policy. Whilst we as Maori members are subject to some criticism for our stand on this issue in the forefront of our minds is the notion of nation building. 
There are a lot of positive things happening in our communities today. I am surprised at what Mr Gerry Brownlee said and I think he has been a bit untrue to this House. He said he did not support Maori Television and he would not support the future funding of it. But I listened to his pronunciation of the word “kaitiakitanga” in the House today and I ask whether he has been watching Maori Television’s  
Korero Mai  
because he did a very good job of it. I think the man is actually moved by the new sensation called Maori Television. It is very positive for all New Zealanders. 
I welcome the support of the New Zealand First Party in the promotion of this bill which is fair and just for all New Zealanders. I do have a difficulty however with the speech made by the ACT party member Mr Stephen Franks. He asserts that a generation from today young Maori children will be beating up other Maori children on the beaches. What a load of rubbish that is! If that is his view of Maori children then I am afraid the man needs some advice and maybe members of the New Zealand First Party will help him in respect of that. 
This is an important day for New Zealand. It is important that we debate this issue in this House because there are elements of this legislation that we need to be comfortable with as New Zealanders. The foreshore and seabed bill is about bonding the nation together not dividing it. The foreshore and seabed bill delivers four-square on Labour’s promise to protect public access and guarantee public ownership. The four principles—access regulation protection and certainty—remain and have been finely tuned. The result is a much clearer more familiar more transparent and less bureaucratic framework that is well balanced and will simultaneously guarantee access and recognise Maori customary interests while protecting the environment and safeguarding against inappropriate profit making. The issue of profit making is important amongst some communities as we have seen on television in recent weeks and months. There is a lot of pillage and plunder going on at some of our rural beaches and we have to congratulate the officers of the Ministry of Fisheries on their fine work in monitoring our fisheries. 
I am also very surprised at the comments by the National Party member Dr Wayne Mapp. Given his association with Maori communities in the far north which his wife belongs to I certainly would have thought he would appreciate the concept of Maori customary property rights which are non-tradable rights. He is wrong when he says those rights may be traded away. They are an inheritance and they are also a legacy to future generations. He should know that given the background of his wife’s family. A number of the assertions that Dr Mapp makes are quite incorrect. 
But I will get back to the advantage of the policy. There has been a significant shift from where we were in December of last year in terms of the authority of the Maori Land Court and in terms of the authority of the High Court in recognising and acknowledging aboriginal title. Maori can also make application to the Court of Appeal if they so desire and the Supreme Court right here in Aotearoa is another facility available to them. 
 I want to give an example of how my parliamentary colleague Dave Hereora and I practise our customary rights in our area of the Bay of Plenty—in particular Tauranga Moana. We share those customary rights with all comers there and we do not restrict their access. But at times there has been a lot of infringement of our rights and we are satisfied that this legislation will give us the opportunity to have those rights not only formalised but also enhanced.