Davis Kelvin: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
Davis Kelvin: Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14400] 
KELVIN DAVIS (Labour) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Tuatahi maku hei tapirihia oku mihi ki wera o nga rangatira mai i Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa Te Arawa i tatu mai ki raro i te tuanui o tenei Whare hei whakarongo ki wenei whaikorero e pa ana ki tenei pire. Na reira tena ra koutou. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker. First I add my acknowledgments to those leaders from Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa who have arrived here beneath the roof of this House to listen to these speeches about this bill. So greetings to you 
.]  
It is a pleasure to contribute to the Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and Te Arawa River Iwi Waikato River Bill. The Waikato River begins at Te Waiheke o Huka or Huka Falls where there is a point that Ngati Tuwharetoa know as Te Toka a Tia. The river flows north through the Waikato to Te Puaha o Waikato or the mouth of the Waikato River. This bill relates to the upper reaches of the Waikato from Karapiro. The iwi that this bill relates to are Ngati Tuwharetoa who are represented by the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board; Raukawa meaning those individuals who descend from Raukawa Marae in the Waikato area; and Te Arawa River Iwi in particular Ngati Tahu - Ngati Whaoa Ngati Kearoa Ngati Tuara and Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao. 
It is appropriate to acknowledge that this bill is the sister legislation to the previous Act the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 especially because that Act established the co-governance arrangements of the river and has the overriding purpose of restoring the health and well-being of the Waikato River. It established the Waikato River Authority which has membership comprised of one member each from the Waikato Raupatu River Trust Te Arawa River Iwi Trust the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board the Raukawa Settlement Trust and the Maniapoto Maori Trust Board as well as members appointed by the Minister for the Environment in consultation with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Local Government: one on the recommendation of the council another recommended by the territorial authorities and three members appointed by the Minister for the Environment in consultation with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Maori Affairs. Altogether there are 10 members on that board: five iwi representatives and five appointed by the Minister. 
The Waikato River Authority is the organisation charged with fulfilling the purpose of this bill as well as that of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act. That purpose is described succinctly in Part 1 of the bill. It is “to restore and protect the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for present and future generations.” That is an admirable overarching purpose and it will ensure that future generations of Maori alongside their non-Maori neighbours will be able to play swim gather food and enjoy a healthy river that is free as far as is possible from the devastating effects of 150 years or so of the dumping of domestic commercial and agricultural wastes such as herbicides pesticides and fertiliser. 
Because of the similarities of this bill to the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act I will raise a few points that were made in the third reading of that legislation by the ACT Party. I have to acknowledge that the Hon Rodney Hide apologised for the comments he made in the third reading of that legislation. He has taken a bit of wind out of my sails but I will still say what I have to say. In that bill he said that this House was legislating hocus-pocus based on Maori beliefs. I found that offensive. I wondered whether I should let it go tonight as he has apologised but the reality is that other members of the community in New Zealand will share his views and will not believe that his apology is justified. I raise it also because for ever and a day in  
Hansard 
 it will be recorded that Rodney Hide of the ACT Party believes that this type of legislation is hocus-pocus and that we are legislating hocus-pocus. I found it offensive at the time and I am glad for the opportunity to rebut it now. 
At the time David Garrett quoted the deed of settlement which said— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Who? 
KELVIN DAVIS 
: Yes David who? He quoted the legislation as saying: “The river is a metaphysical being with its own mauri.” He then said: “The concept of mauri—life-force—will in our view have little significance to most Maori who according to census figures are mostly Christian.” I am pretty tolerant of most opinions but there is one thing that gets under my skin and that is when somebody of another ethnicity tries to tell Maori what we must be thinking or feeling based on his or her own narrow perspective of the world. 
One of the great things about being a New Zealander who is able to straddle both the Maori world and the Pakeha world is that I can see that two opposing world views can exist quite happily. It is not confusing for me. Just as an example in English we might say: “I am travelling up north.” The literal translation of that sentence in Maori would be: “I am travelling down north.” The fact is that it does not have to be explained. To me that is just the way it is. The opposing perspectives can quite happily be accommodated by somebody with an open mind who is grounded in what it means to walk along two paths in 21st century New Zealand. If someone is unable to walk comfortably along those dual or multicultural paths that is fine and I accept their position just as long as they do not fall back on their own ignorance to belittle another cultural perspective. 
The ACT Party also lamented that the Crown is giving half of the control of the Waikato River and its surrounding land to five iwi. My question is: so what? ACT’s attitude smacks of the colonial view that the natives are getting uppity. Maori are simply having a say in the management and governance of a resource that was unjustifiably taken out of their control and it is about time we have the sort of legislation that enables Maori to have a say in the way their resources are used. 
Those five iwi along with the other members of the Waikato River Authority are committed to restoring the well-being and health of the Waikato River for this and future generations. That cannot be a bad thing except if one belongs to a particular group that has for 150 years or so become accustomed to the unbridled power that 100 per cent control gave it. Now we are suffering from the effects and the mess that that unbridled power has produced. 
I welcome the fact that this bill transfers governance of the Waikato River away from a system that favoured the interests of a few to a system that shares the power and benefits the river for future generations of Maori Pakeha and all the other ethnicities that have made Aotearoa their home. The Hon Rodney Hide told us when we debated the last Waikato River Settlement Bill: “Well I have to say that it is a very very sad day for the people of Waikato and the people of New Zealand … What we will now have is the Waikato River Authority and it will be made up of people who are not elected from that community.” Again I say that ACT members fall back on their own cultural norms to justify their angst at their ilk losing their grip on power. The iwi representatives may not be elected in a way that satisfies Mr Hide and company but those iwi members will be selected in a manner appropriate to the iwi they represent and that is what is important. It is important that the Waikato River Authority is there to ensure the well-being and the health of the Waikato River so that all New Zealanders may enjoy the benefits that that river can give to us.  
Other members have spoken about some of the issues that the Maori Affairs Committee came across such as the fact that Ngati Koroki Kahukura wanted to have representation on the Waikato River Authority and they submitted that Federated Farmers also have a member so as to take the total membership up to 12. As a committee we believe that the most effective membership of that river authority will be 10 members.