Katene Rahui: Environmental Protection Authority Bill — In Committee 
Katene Rahui: Environmental Protection Authority Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:672;Page:18444] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 As I prepared for this debate today by sudden good fortune an e-panui newsletter appeared in my in-box. It was a newsletter from the Commission on Environmental Economic and Social Policy chaired by New Zealand’s own environmental expert and indigenous leading academic Aroha Te Paraeke Mead. The newsletter was headed with a statement of vision which said: “A world where equity is at the root of a dynamic harmony between peoples and nature as well as among peoples.” There would not be a better model out there to demonstrate the meaning of these words than the global conference held by this commission earlier this year. The Sharing Power conference was a unique partnership between Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and participants came from right across the globe. 
We come to the Environmental Protection Authority Bill absolutely committed to an ideal of a world where “equity is at the root of a dynamic harmony”. There is absolutely no question that we need to uphold a commitment to this ideal when considering the matters of national significance in this bill. The authority has to deal with such matters as those called in under the Resource Management Act the functions inherent in the Environmental Risk Management Authority under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 or some other functions such as the emissions trading scheme under the Climate Change Response Act 2002.  
From the point of view of tangata whenua there is a lot at stake. All of the consultation with tangata whenua has promoted the need for Maori representation on decision-making boards to be increased to at least two representatives and the establishment of a statutory Maori advisory committee. The committee should not be seen as a substitute for local iwi engagement and iwi had a clear preference for the Environmental Protection Authority to be established as a stand-alone Crown agent. 
I am not going to dwell further on the detail of implementation other than to say that we in the Maori Party were concerned to ensure the balance the equilibrium of so many competing priorities. We believe we have achieved this balance with two simple amendments to clause 3 which Mr Chauvel has referred to. They are in the amendment I have tabled which inserts new clause 3A. It begins: “In order to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” and seeks to maintain opportunities for Maori to contribute to decision making under an environmental Act. Part 2 of this Act establishes the Maori advisory committee. Clause 3A(b) states that all persons exercising powers or functions of the Environmental Protection Authority under an environmental Act shall apply any Treaty of Waitangi provision in that environmental Act. We believe that these two new provisions give effect to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a way that will recognise and respect the responsibilities of the Crown to do the right thing. These provisions do not interfere with any of the specific Treaty provisions in the environmental Acts such as the Resource Management Act 1991 the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 and the Climate Change Response Act 2002. They should not create interpretation difficulties or increase the risk of a judicial review.  
We appreciate the support of the Minister for the Environment and his officials in helping us come to a meeting point where we could agree on a mechanism to actively protect Maori interests and give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. We are really pleased to have received the approval of many other parties in this Chamber for our amendment and we thank them for that.