Paraone Pita: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — Third Reading 
Paraone Pita: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:15956] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 A tena koe Madam Assistant Speaker. Engari te mea tuatahi koutou o Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga me Waitaha hoki koutou i tae mai i roto o te Whare nei koutou i are taringa mai koutou hoki e matakitaki mai tena koutou tena koutou a kia ora mai ano tatou. A ko tenei te mangai ki tenei kaupapa mai i te Ropu a Aotearoa Tuatahi kia hakatautoko te pire nei kia turengia. Na reira i roto i te ahuatanga o wena tu momo korero kei te tautoko nga korero i puta mai mai i nga kaikorero i tu ake i mua i a au. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Greetings indeed to you Madam Assistant Speaker. The first thing for me is to acknowledge you of Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui Ngati Pukenga and Waitaha also who have arrived in this House those of you listening in and those of you watching; greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to us once again. I represent the interests of New Zealand First and support the passing of this bill into law. Therefore I endorse what speakers who rose before me have expressed relating to that. 
] 
This bill is about the transfer of the fee simple estate of Mauao—or as it was commonly known Mount Maunganui situated on Tauranga Harbour’s eastern entrance—from the Crown to Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga. The bill also provides for a statement of recognition to the iwi of Waitaha which ensures its links to this historic site are recorded in this legislation. This bill is not a Treaty settlement as has been alluded to by previous speakers and nor should it be considered as such. 
Iwi history has it that Mauao was once a hill without a name. According to that history this hill was a pononga a slave to a mountain called Otanewainuku. The pononga was in love with a hill called Puwhenua but she had already fallen for his captor. In despair the nameless hill decided to drown himself and he called upon the patupaiarehe the fairy people to assist with that. The patupaiarehe began dragging the nameless hill towards the sea. However those nocturnal people lost track of time and as they neared the ocean the rising sun signalled their disappearance. The nameless one was left in the very place where he still stands and became known as Mauao which means “caught by the dawn”. 
It is important to make reference to that history in that with the passing of this legislation Mauao may no longer feel deserted by the people of the area—not that I am suggesting it has been but at least it returns to the care and protection of the people of Tauranga Moana. This bill signals a new dawn for both this well-known landmark and the local iwi. I should say that this new dawn has not been easily forthcoming as it has taken almost 7 years for it to reach the stage it has reached today. I say that as it was back in August 2001 when representatives acting on behalf of Te Runanganui o Tauranga Moana first approached the then constituent member for Waiariki with a proposal for consideration by the Crown for the return of Mauao to the ownership of the tangata whenua. 
Ongoing discussions between the Crown te runanganui and the Tauranga City Council were had over the years until finally on 20 July 2004 the Government agreed in principle to transfer ownership of the Mauao historic reserve to the tangata whenua. As part of that process the runanganui was given the mandate to negotiate the proposal for Te Hokinga Mai o Mauao—in other words the return of Mauao on behalf of the iwi of Tauranga Moana. That culminated in an agreement between the Crown and iwi being signed in August of last year. With the bill’s introduction on 21 November 2007 the first reading on 11 December last year the second reading on 17 April of this year and the Committee stage yesterday the journey for the iwi of Tauranga Moana has taken some time to reach this stage. 
As I have mentioned this bill vests the fee simple estate of the Mauao historic reserve in the trustees of the Mauao Trust to hold on behalf of Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga. The bill also provides that the Mauao historic reserve continues to be subject to the Reserves Act 1977. The significance of this is that it provides protection for Mauao from commercialisation or alienation. Just as significant is the fact that the bill preserves the existing management arrangements for Mauao. To this end I acknowledge the Tauranga City Council which has held some responsibility for the management of Mauao over the years for its agreement to the bill and its undertaking that it will continue to have some input into the management of Mauao. This continued involvement is given further regard by the bill in schedule 2 which I am sure the citizens of Tauranga will appreciate given that it assures some protection against fire hazards. 
As has already been alluded to the original bill contained a clause that gave rise to the assertion that the return of Mauao to the iwi of Tauranga Moana was in fact a Clayton’s deal—that is it is returned but it is not returned. With the collegiality of the members of the Maori Affairs Committee and the contribution from officials we are now able to have a bill that meets the requirements of all parties. I ought to say that even though I was a member of that select committee its members ought to be congratulated. This bill provides an example of a situation where if there is a willingness to find a way to satisfy the needs of all parties then satisfaction can be obtained irrespective of what one’s political philosophies might be. I think for that reason this particular bill will have its place in history as part of the process of this institution. 
Na reira e kui ma e kara ma koutou nga iwi o Tauranga Moana ahakoa kua tino roa rawa atu i tatari i a koutou mo tenei wa ko te mea nui kua tau ki wa koutou wawata. 
[ 
So to you the elderly women and menfolk of the people of Tauranga Harbour even though you have waited a very long time for this moment the most important thing is that it has been settled to your satisfaction 
.] 
I also thank Te Runanganui o Tauranga Moana first for their tenacity and second—and just as important—for their recognition of the wishes of their kuia and kaumatua beneficiaries who wanted this issue to be finalised without too much fuss. In spite of the thinking of some of the principals of te runanganui they carried out the wishes of their kaumatua. 
No reira koutou ma te iwi o Tauranga Moana haere mai haere haere i runga i te rangimaria haere hoki i raro i nga manaakitanga o tatou Kaihanga. Na reira tena koutou tena koutou huri noa i tenei o tatou whare kia ora mai ano tatou. 
[ 
So to you the people of Tauranga Harbour welcome and return. Return peacefully and under the protection of our Creator as well greetings greetings. Greetings also to us throughout this of our buildings. Thank you all once again 
.]