Katene Rahui: Third Readings — 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Katene Rahui: Third Readings — 
[Sitting date: 11 May 2011. Volume:672;Page:18585. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 It is with great pleasure unlike Labour ACT and the Green Party that I stand in support of the third and final reading of this legislation. Less than a week ago I successfully negotiated the inclusion of the Treaty of Waitangi clause into the Environmental Protection Authority Bill and the emails of jubilation are still coming in. Unfortunately there were no congratulations from ACT the Greens and Labour on that. I had to wonder whether the lack of congratulations from Labour was because Mr Chauvel’s amendment to give effect to the Treaty was turned down. It is really sad that Labour voted against having a Treaty clause. The Maori Party has a deep commitment to assisting whanau hapu and iwi as tangata tiaki to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the well-being and future good health of the environment. Kaitiakitanga the act of protection of our resources our flora and fauna is essential to Maori well-being. It is also fundamental to Treaty jurisprudence. For what the promise of the Treaty gave us was to ensure that the Crown would take an active role in protecting the things regarded by Maori as taonga. As articulated in article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi the Crown has an obligation to protect Maori land for use by Maori for as long as Maori wish.  
The wording of the suite of legislation covered under the Environmental Protection Authority Bill now includes the statement: “recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the Treaty of Waitangi”. I want to break this down in terms of the significance of this amendment. The Environmental Protection Authority monitors and enforces environmental protection processes under the Resource Management Act. With this amendment anyone acting on its behalf must recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Environmental Protection Authority is designed to provide stronger central government leadership on environmental issues. With this Treaty clause now in place that leadership is about recognising and respecting the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. That will mean a direct commitment towards maintaining and improving opportunities for Maori to contribute to decision-making processes within the environmental protection sector.  
As a result of Maori Party advocacy over many months we have been able to ensure that at least one of the six members on the Environmental Protection Authority board must have knowledge and skills relating to the Treaty and to tikanga Maori. This does not preclude more than one Maori candidate from being appointed of course and we will be keen to support that possibility. There will also be a Maori advisory committee established as part of the Environmental Protection Authority to provide assistance and advice to the board on matters that come up from a Maori perspective. This is similar to Nga Kaihautu Tikanga Taiao which currently operates within the Environmental Risk Management Authority.  
I want to make it quite clear of course that the establishment of the Environmental Protection Authority will not prevent iwi from having a direct relationship with the Crown on policy and other strategic matters related to natural resources. What our Treaty clause does is highlight and promote the significance of Treaty provisions throughout the various component parts of related legislation. I will take three examples as a case in point. Section 8 of the Resource Management Act requires that “all persons exercising functions and powers under it in relation to managing the use development and protection of natural and physical resources shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi). In the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 there is a similar section 8 requiring again that “all persons exercising powers and functions under this Act shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” while in the Climate Change Response Act 2002 there is a specific provision for the Minister to consult representatives of iwi and Maori or to be satisfied that the chief executive will have consulted on his or her behalf. The acceptance into law of our Treaty clause is a triumph for environmental protection and for the Maori Party.  
Another unique aspect of this achievement is that the Environmental Protection Authority is a regulation authority. It does not generate policy as such. As the Minister has outlined the authority is an independent body concerned with enforcement of regulation. The Treaty clause therefore requires the authority to enforce regulations that in some cases are already subject to Treaty clauses—for example the Climate Change Response Act 2002 the Conservation Act 1987 the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 the Resource Management Act 1991 the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and the Fisheries Act 1996 all have Treaty clauses and are effectively carried over into these new regulations.  
What we have envisaged is that both the process and the substantive decision-making of bodies in the legislation give due and reasonable weight to the special relationship Maori have as tangata tiaki of the environment pursuant to article 2 of the Treaty. Iwi had the distinct preference that the Environmental Protection Authority be established as a stand-alone Crown entity. The Government has agreed to proceed with the Environmental Protection Authority as a stand-alone Crown agency and to appoint a statutory Maori advisory committee alongside.  
I have taken the time to travel through the impact of the Maori Party influence upon this legislation and in particular the provision it accords to giving effect to the principles of the Treaty. But what we cannot fathom is the fact that Mr Harawira and the Greens have forged an unlikely alliance with the ACT Party in voting against the Treaty clause. This morning we learnt that the sole reason that the ACT Party is voting against this legislation is my amendment to include recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi in this legislation. I guess one could say that the true colours of that party are revealed when the very foundations of our nationhood the basis on which tangata whenua and other New Zealanders live together in this land is the reason why that party opposes this bill.  
But the opposition of other parties in particular the Greens Labour and Mr Harawira is surprising and disappointing. It was a complete shock that the Greens reneged on earlier commitments by opposing my amendment and it is very hard to fathom why the member from Te Tai Tokerau who I understand has just resigned would vote against the sacred covenant signed at Waitangi some 171 years ago.  
At the end of the day each of these parties will be accountable to their membership so we leave it in their hands to ask the inevitable questions as to why. But for the Maori Party we say loud and proud that we stand by our work to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the Treaty of Waitangi.  
I want to finish by congratulating Dr Smith and acknowledging his consistent efforts to work alongside the Maori Party on developing the model for the Environmental Protection Authority. Dr Smith and his advisers have spent many months producing A3 charts policy papers proposals to respond to the many questions we have put forward about how to ensure effective Maori representation a commitment to iwi engagement and respect for the knowledge and experience of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. He has taken the time to listen to our concerns regarding the importance of Maori environmental committees advisory boards and governance groups currently operating. He has also agreed with our advocacy to safeguard a credible and respectful process for Crown-Maori engagement on natural resources and environmental management. Ultimately caring for our environment is one of the greatest opportunities we have to uphold our responsibilities for the spiritual and cultural guardianship of Te Ao Marama. We are pleased to support this legislation.