Harawira Hone: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — In Committee 
Harawira Hone: Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:670;Page:17397] 
HONE HARAWIRA (Independent—Te Tai Tokerau) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Chairperson. Tena tatou katoa e te Whare. 
Members of both National and the Maori Party have deliberately tried to disrupt the flow of my korero particularly during Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill. As we turn to Part 4 I look to their being perhaps a little more understanding and accepting of the fact that the issues that I raise during this debate I do not raise because of any personal animosity towards them but because of a genuine and widely held belief that this bill is not in the best interests of the Maori people the Maori Party or indeed Parliament itself. 
As I turn to discuss Part 4 I pledge not to raise internal Maori Party caucus issues nor to personalise the relationship between members of the Maori Party caucus and Ministers of the National Government because this debate should not be about what one person may or may not have said to another in the privacy of a caucus meeting nor should it be about the relationship between MPs in this House even though such unsubstantiated trivialities were levelled against me during the debate on Part 3 of this bill last night. This debate should be about the principles underpinning the legislation the Committee is discussing. 
As I turn to Part 4 I will try to focus as I have done in all previous speaking opportunities during the debate on the issues highlighted by the bill and on the public statements of relevant players in the development of the legislation because Maori people deserve to know exactly how they will be affected by the decisions of the parties and persons who are promoting the bill. Because I am a member of Parliament elected to represent the specific interests of Maori it is that particular area that I intend to focus my comments on.  
I will begin my contribution to the debate by asking whether the Maori Party knows that the legally prescribed detail found in clauses 94 to 97 of this bill and other legislation like it in the field of Treaty settlements and in the oversight the field of governance and management of natural resources is a dangerous turn for Maori by forcing us into the legal environment whereby the value of traditional Maori principles or kaupapa Maori will be determined and legal precedents and benchmarks will be established that will impact on those principles for ever more. Does the Maori Party realise that allowing the courtrooms to become the battleground for determining the rightness or otherwise of kaupapa Maori as noted in various clauses found in Part 4 of this bill is detrimental to the principles themselves and to the world view they represent? Will that make the Maori Party reconsider the position it announced the other day that “This bill is in the House on our initiative. Make no bones … this is a Maori Party bill … We are pleased to stand here in support of this bill.”? 
Does the Maori Party realise that by so doing it is sanctioning the legal capture of kaupapa Maori as found in this bill thereby limiting the effectiveness of those principles by tying them to legal concepts that are derived from a society that over time has developed into the resource-exploiting consumer-dominated society we see today—a society that in many ways is in conflict with the Maori world view that kaupapa Maori is based on? Will the Maori Party when it realises what it has done think about withdrawing its view that “This bill is in the House on our initiative … this is a Maori Party bill.”? 
Does the Maori Party realise that by giving its support to clauses 97 to 103 of Part 4 of this bill it is endorsing the Government’s attempts to codify the principles I have already mentioned in a way that our tupuna would not agree with and our people will not accept and that by supporting this bill the Maori Party is setting the stage for decades of litigation as Maori seek to reclaim ground that has been lost through the passage of the bill? If the Maori Party does realise the mistake it has made will that help it to think about dumping the decision it announced the other day that this bill is a Maori Party bill? 
Does the Maori Party realise that by giving its support to the many clauses noted under Part 4 of this bill it is setting the stage for the spectacular loss of Maori connection to the foreshore and seabed by forcing Maori into the High Court where $100000 is the price of an opening address half a million dollars is the cost of progress and unfortunate rulings are the order of the day? When the Maori Party realises that the bill forces Maori into the “Court of Great Cost and No Return” might it not actually disown the position it announced the other day that “this is a Maori Party bill … We are pleased to stand here in support of this bill.”? 
Does the Maori Party know that by its support of aspects of the law as outlined in specific clauses under Part 4 of this bill it may be signalling the end of all Treaty claims to the foreshore and seabed because once the bill is passed the foreshore and seabed will no longer be in Crown hands and will become common space owned by no one and therefore unable to be claimed by Maori? When the Maori Party realises that the bill will put an end to all Treaty claims to the foreshore and seabed might not that finally make the Maori Party wake up and say that perhaps it made the wrong decision when it announced the other day that this is a Maori Party bill and that it is pleased to stand here in support of it? 
Does the Maori Party know that its support for clause 105 of the bill whereby Maori are required to prove customary title is inconsistent with the position that is widely held by Maori throughout the country that Maori should not have to go to court to prove what the whole world already knows anyway: that Maori were here first? Why do we have to prove it? Will the Maori Party finally accept that the position that “this is a Maori Party bill … We are pleased to stand here in support of this bill.” is simply untenable to Maori and unacceptable to all those who support the principles of justice? 
I began my speech by saying I hope that those in the Maori Party and National who have been heckling while I was speaking—but not today—understand and accept that the issues I raise during the debate on the bill I do not raise because of any personal animosity but because of a genuine and widely held belief that the bill is not in the best interests of the Maori people the Maori Party or indeed Parliament itself. 
The arrogance of the Government in refusing to participate in this debate is widely noted by all New Zealanders. The decision by the Maori Party to adopt the same attitude is duly noted by all Maori as well. 
Tu te Ao Maori tu te rangatiratanga tu Motuhake. Tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
Long live Maoridom sovereignty and independence. Greetings to us all 
.]