Katene Rahui: Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Katene Rahui: Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 24 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:8063. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 When I was speaking in the second reading of this Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill I remarked that it was a joy to work with a party like the National Party. I want to expand on those remarks now. The Maori Party has been very impressed throughout the negotiations over this bill by the clear vision of the Minister for Climate Change Issues and by the good faith shown by both him and the Government in general. It has been a blueprint for a mana-enhancing relationship and I thank the Minister and the Government. 
The Maori Party came to this bill with a clear and comprehensive focus on outcomes for our whanau our whenua the Treaty and the Maori economy. It has been a focus that has sustained our strength despite the bitter opposition of others in this House who prefer to rely on the worn-out rhetoric of tired campaigners. The nation has observed a vitriolic attack against tangata whenua from the surprise new bedfellows the Labour Party and the ACT Party. We have heard Labour leader Phil Goff describe the scheme as benefiting only a handful of iwi. David Cunliffe added insult to injury by describing the arrangements as being about beads and blankets. We have heard Shane Jones talking of deceit and treachery and describing the emissions trading scheme as having sold out low-income Maori families “to protect a narrow privileged southern elite”. As member for Te Tai Tonga I have to tell the House that the latter comment has been interpreted by our iwi throughout Te Wai Pounamu as being particularly offensive. 
I refer any members who have the view that iwi are somehow removed from their people to the vision of Ngai Tahu which is most simply: mo tatou a mo ka uri a muri ake nei for us and our children after us. Ngai Tahu has a proud history of creative endeavour to ensure that our whanui are culturally enriched live long and live well and that Ngai Tahu Whanui lead the future. To suggest that our iwi are a privileged elite when the very definition of iwi is a collective of whanau and hapu is both ridiculous and insulting. 
ACT leader Rodney Hide referred to the emissions trading scheme negotiations as a backroom deal. He said that full and final settlement should not be relitigated and made a huge issue about the final wording of the Treaty clause being in his assessment concluded only 18 minutes before its announcement. Maori have had enough of being told that their capacity to negotiate arrangements is about special privileges or race-based politics that their numbers are too small or too narrow or that they did not follow the time frame that others had set for them. 
In case this House has forgotten the Maori asset base contributes $16.5 billion to our economy. This money stays in New Zealand and will continue to grow over generations to come. Maori are stakeholders. They are taxpayers. They are business people. They are entrepreneurs. The Maori Party has been proud to support their initiative. The Maori economy has unique characteristics. It is rapidly growing in response to being locked into underdevelopment over history. We want to support the growing billions of dollars of contributions per annum to the New Zealand economy and that was one part of the package we successfully negotiated in this bill. 
Under the previous scheme the Maori economy took a hammering from being concentrated in all the areas most affected by the scheme—forestry fishing and farming. What we have achieved in this emissions trading scheme is the commitment that the Government will work with all iwi on indigenous tree planting in addition to the specific agreement with Waikato Tainui Ngai Tahu Te Uri o Hau Ngati Awa and Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau that has resulted from the Crown’s breach of contract with those iwi. I remind those who have overlooked the record that this is a breach dating back to 1998 when a Government failed to disclose in its negotiations with iwi the fact that a domestic emissions trading scheme was inevitable and the effects it would have on forested land. The ability of iwi to make an informed choice about its purchase of Crown forest lands with settlement monies was therefore impaired. The bill today finally rectifies that wrong. 
It is important that we have indigenous forests grown by New Zealanders and that iwi are part of the carbon market. The Maori Party will never stand in the way of iwi initiative. I note too that the intention of the climate change Iwi Leadership Group was always to lock down a solution for the iwi interests that are represented in this bill and then to work for and advocate a solution for all pre-1990 exotic forests. Those negotiations have already begun with other pre-1990 exotic forest landowners and the New Zealand Forest Owners Association. The fisheries sector does better under this scheme by its ensuring that New Zealand owners of quota instead of vessel owners receive allocation. The agricultural sector will also be supported by a number of research and uptake-work programmes to support the sector to transition into more environmentally sustainable practices. 
But this emissions trading scheme was never about economic drivers on their own. Maori Party policy has always made it clear that our whenua is the most important inheritance that we will leave to our mokopuna. Our commitment to kaitiakitanga is all-enduring and reflects the importance that our people place on the whenua. This emissions trading scheme is only a small part of the environmental efforts we need and we should never expect that any one bill will address the major mind shift we need. We have always said that climate change is our collective responsibility. A trading scheme will never be a complete answer to climate change but we have done what we could to make the difference. 
Our environment has needs and New Zealanders expect our environment to be protected because it is part of our national identity. We have advocated on behalf of the environment for trees to be planted and for biodiversity to be valued. The truth is that as a country we pride ourselves on the pristine state of our whenua but in reality our practices do not meet our reputation. The Maori Party negotiated to get indigenous trees planted and our environment valued as part of our common inheritance as New Zealanders. Native trees will mean more native species in New Zealand owned by Kiwis as well as a reduction in our Kyoto bill. Five iwi will now have the right to plant indigenous trees. The benefit and the ownership will stay in New Zealand and all our mokopuna will be able to enjoy more native forest. It has been disappointing that so little attention has been allocated to the national policy statement on biodiversity which we have known is long overdue. The national policy statement is one way of recognising nationally important ecology and helping district councils to protect it more efficiently and effectively. We are also pleased that the review of the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative will increase the incentives for all landowners to plant trees. 
One of the overarching priorities for us however has always been he tangata he tangata he tangata. We brought to the table the fact that lower-income households would be exposed by the emissions trading scheme and we negotiated a package to protect their interests. We want to see that all whanau in need get home insulation and so we are delighted that there will be $24 million in new money to insulate homes. Home insulation is important because it brings power prices down and improves health outcomes. This fund and the significant reductions in power and petrol prices will achieve immediate and long-term contributions to the health and well-being of vulnerable households and we are proud of that. We have also managed to reinstate the Enviroschools programme. 
Finally we recognise that the Treaty of Waitangi is about doing what is right. It will also deliver greater certainty and stability to the emissions trading scheme. We have negotiated a Treaty clause to give effect to the Treaty so that iwi will continue to be involved in this scheme. Many of the details of the scheme will come through regulations and it is important that our people are part of working through those details. There are many challenges ahead of us all. All of us as members of the public can encourage emitters to decrease emissions. Public pressure can be a formidable force. All of us can commit to collective action against climate change and all of us can make the commitment for an open constructive and respectful relationship with tangata whenua. We are proud to vote in support of this bill.