te Heuheu Georgina: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — In Committee 
te Heuheu Georgina: Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:647;Page:15866] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National) 
: 
 I am pleased to stand and take a brief call on the preamble to the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Bill which provides for the transfer of the fee simple estate of Mauao historic reserve better known as Mount Maunganui from the Crown to Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga representing the Tauranga Moana iwi. The fee simple estate is to be held on trust by the trustees of the Mauao Trust on behalf of those iwi. The bill gives effect to an agreement to introduce vesting legislation in relation to Mauao signed by the Crown and iwi in August 2007. The bill is reasonably straightforward as would be expected. 
Mount Maunganui or Mauao is of significant cultural traditional historical and spiritual importance to Ngai Te Rangi Ngati Ranginui and Ngati Pukenga. As I say that is not surprising. The maunga is right there placed in the middle of their tribal territory—their rohe—and clearly all of their historical and spiritual associations are tied up with that maunga as no doubt Mita Ririnui would be able to confirm for us if he were to take a call. 
I want to comment on just a couple of matters. It is very clear in the preamble that the bill does not form part of any Treaty settlement and that is interesting in itself. I have seen a note I think from the Minister’s briefing notes stating that Mauao was acquired by the Crown in the 1880s and has been administered as a historic reserve since 1981. Of course we have not been taken into the usual historical elements associated with a Treaty claim and the information relating to the Crown acquiring Mauao in the 1880s has not been a part of the scrutiny of this bill. But I had a sense from some of the submitters when we were in Tauranga to hear submissions that that particular element that this maunga had not been made part of their Treaty claims was the cause of some slight concern—or maybe it was not slight even. So obviously there is a story behind the acquisition of this maunga back in the 1880s but that does not form part of the narrative of this bill because there has been an agreement that it is not to form any part of a Treaty settlement. As I say I think that is a matter of some interest. It may be that when the Tauranga Moana iwi come to finally settle their Treaty claims we will hear more of the details of the way in which the Crown came into possession of this reserve. 
Instead implicit in the preamble is the notion that the transfer is to enable the building of healthy relationships between the Tauranga Moana iwi and the Crown. That is an interesting concept as well. We would hope that there is already a relationship between the iwi of that area and the Crown. As all iwi are these iwi are important in their rohe. One would have hoped there was already a strong enough relationship with the Crown but this vesting obviously has as its root the notion that the Crown wants to build healthy relationships with the iwi. That is a very fine notion—absolutely—and I hope that it will also be the basis for more energetic activity around the settlement of the iwi’s Treaty claims. To date even with all the activity that Dr Cullen seems to be energised with there does not seem to be much progress yet on the Tauranga Moana iwi’s Treaty claim.