Street Maryan: Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill — In Committee 
Street Maryan: Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:662;Page:10477] 
Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) 
: 
 I am pleased to rise to speak in the Committee stage of the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill. I rise—having been conferred with a new status it would seem today by the Minister of Maori Affairs—to speak as a native of New Zealand. I am pondering on that and on what its various combinations permutations and interpretations might mean for me. However I will work my way through that in due course. I dare say there are a number of other people around the country who might have been watching question time who are reflecting on their status as a native of Aotearoa New Zealand. 
With that novel approach I want to discuss a number of things and because we are debating the Committee stage as one question as I understand it I am able to address Part 2 as much as any other part. First of all I welcome the comments of the speaker from the ACT Party—not because they were inherently worthwhile although some of them probably were—in part because it was a much better speech than I thought it would be. We were treated to some fairly despicable comments made by ACT Party members last week when this Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill came before the House. The reference to hocus-pocus and to that categorising of another world view I thought was disrespectful unfortunate at the very least and despicable at worst. At that time I said that although I do not have share or was born into the same ontological perspective or world view that Maori have that does not stop me from appreciating an ontology that is different from my own. 
However one of the things that I celebrate and appreciate in different ontologies and different world views is that this legislation sets down in black and white some very significant and unique language that would be found nowhere else in the world. I think that is significant and that it should be brought to the attention of this Committee. For example in Part 2 the “Statement of significance of Waikato River to Waikato-Tainui” states: “The Waikato River is our tupuna (ancestor) which has mana (spiritual authority and power) and in turn represents the mana and mauri (life force) of Waikato-Tainui. The Waikato River is a single indivisible being that flows from Te Taheke Hukahuka o Te Puuha o Waikato (the mouth) and includes its waters banks and beds (and all minerals under them) and its streams waterways tributaries lakes aquatic fisheries” and so on. It goes on to state: “as well as its metaphysical being. Our relationship with the Waikato River and our respect for it gives rise to our responsibilities to protect te mana o te Awa and to exercise our mana whakahaere in accordance with long established tikanga to ensure the wellbeing of the river. Our relationship with the river and our respect for it lies at the heart of our spiritual and physical wellbeing and our tribal identity and culture.” 
That is to be celebrated. It is to be celebrated that that kind of characterisation that kind of description of a relationship that is from an ontology that is not universally shared but may be appreciated is part of the foundation of this nation. I understand what it means to be a native of Aotearoa New Zealand as a partner in Te Tiriti. I understand that. I recognise that this is the way that indigenous people may achieve recognition status respect legal recognition accord and in this case authority over a natural resource. I welcome that. I think that it is part of where we have come in our journey in working through Treaty settlements. 
I said last week that I thought that the co-management model in Part 2 was unique. I have since read something that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations wrote a little while ago where he was quoted as saying that it is not unique and that in fact in the 1990s the previous National Government had a similar co-management model with Ngati Whatua o Orakei at the Michael Joseph Savage memorial at Bastion Point or Takaparawhau in Auckland. There was a co-management model between the Auckland City Council I think and Ngati Whatua. Even if this is not unique I still consider it to be an evolutionary development of the kinds of solutions that may be found for the modern day. As we proceed through Treaty settlements and as new issues emerge—because they will emerge and they are emerging—we can find novel ways of addressing them. 
The other point I will just make is in relation to clause 9. Again I think it is important to bring this to the attention of not only the Committee but also the New Zealand public. The subheading above clause 9 is “Te Ture Whaimana”. As I understand it that is the authority of this model. It states the scope and vision of the strategy. It recognises right at the outset: “(1) The Waikato River and its contribution to New Zealand’s cultural social environmental and economic wellbeing is of national importance.” That is something for everybody. That is something for Maori and Pakeha alike. The Waikato River and what it contributes to one of the most fertile and productive parts of Aotearoa New Zealand is of economic significance and importance to everybody but it is also important to New Zealand’s cultural social and environmental well-being. That is the stuff that underpins this legislation. 
I congratulate the Maori Affairs Committee. There has been a number of amendments and I also notice a Supplementary Order Paper dated today in the name of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations I presume. Some small technical details still require a little bit of amendment but I think that the work the select committee has done on this bill has been very significant. I congratulate the select committee members on that. In this bill we have a number of landmarks signals and signs in this co-management authority model that can be used for future settlements. They can be used as issues arise as our partnership under the Treaty of Waitangi matures develops and evolves over the next century. This has been and is a significant moment for the passage of this legislation.