Resource Management Amendment Bill

Resource Management (Enhancement of Iwi Management Plans) Amendment Bill

First Reading, Wednesday 21st of July 2010
Te Ururoa Flavell, MP for Wairiki

Kia ora anō tātau katoa. E te tuahine, ka mihi rā ki a koe mō te āhuatanga o tō pire e wānangatia nei e te Whare i tēnei pō. Kia mōhio mai koe, ka tautoko te Pāti Māori i tōu nā hiahia ahakoa, tērā pea ko te āhua nei ka kore e eke. Hoi anō, me mihi rā ki a koe ka tika. E tika ana kia kōrerohia tēnei pire i tēnei wā tonu nei i te taenga mai o te tangata, me kī, te kaituhi mō ngā take iwi taketake o te Rūnanga Whakakotahi i te Ao, arā, the United Nations special rapporteur on indigenous peoples’ rights, a Professor James Anaya, kua tae mai ki Aotearoa nei ki te āta titiro i te āhuatanga o te noho o te Ao Māori, ngā iwi taketake, ki konei. E tiakina ana, āe rānei, kāore rānei, ka mutu, ki te kimi rongoā.

[Greetings once again to us all. I acknowledge you, sister parliamentarian, in respect of your bill being debated by the House tonight. I want you to know that the Māori Party endorses your desire, even though it seems likely that it will not succeed. But we must congratulate you, all the same. That is the least we can do. How timely it is that this bill is being debated at this very moment, with the arrival of the special rapporteur of the United Nations, Professor James Anaya, who has arrived in New Zealand to take a close look at how Māoridom, the indigenous people, exist here— whether they are they protected, yes or no, and further to that, to seek remedies]

Kua hara mai nā runga i te āhuatanga o te whakaputanga o te Rūnanga Whakakotahi i ngā Iwi o te Ao mō ngā Tika o ngā Iwi Taketake. Ko tāku e pīrangi nei, ko te whakatakoto i tētahi wāhanga o tērā Whakataunga, arā, ko te article 25.

Article 25 of that document states: “Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.”

Nō reira, kei reira tonu te tuarā o tāku kōrero, he tautoko, he mihi tonu ki te Hōnore Nanaia Mahuta mō tana hiahia ki te whakatakoto i tēnei pire ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata.

We congratulate the Hon Nanaia Mahuta on taking the initiative to put the Resource Management (Enhancement of Iwi Management Plans) Amendment Bill into the ballot—an initiative that we believe serves the intent of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to keep our natural resources and environment healthy, safe, and intact for future generations.

The Māori Party will certainly support the initiative taken by this bill to elevate the status of iwi management plans as they relate to the setting of regional policy statements and district plans. It is a bill that has been a long time coming. It responds to the poor integration of iwi management plans into local authority plans and policies by strengthening the provisions that enable iwi management plans to influence planning and policy. In doing so, it fits with the key policy position of the Māori Party, which is to promote whānau, hapū, and iwi as kaitiaki, and support moves to restore this role to them.

So we are even more determined to acknowledge the initiative of this bill in putting into legislation aspirations and commitments that will ensure that the intent of the Resource Management Act is honoured. We would go so far as to make a suggestion to the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, if by chance the bill was lucky enough to go through. It would be that she strengthen the provision in clause 6 that allows councils to state issues of significance to the iwi. There is no specific or compulsory requirement to include issues of significance to iwi, but merely a provision for councils to act only if they want to. We know how the notion of “voluntary” works in relation to compliance, especially compliance with the Treaty. The opportunity for mana whenua to be involved is a key ingredient that we would say needed to be put into the bill.

We also would speak about the new models of negotiation, and I would recommend that we consider the recent Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Toa, and Ngāti Raukawa initiative to form a regional rōpū to collectively liaise with all of the councils in their rohe. That is the sort of stuff that I am sure the Hon Nanaia Mahuta would be putting up, and it should be supported by the rest of the House.

Another well overdue amendment that might go a long way to assist in addressing some of the issues that she is after would be to elevate the Treaty of Waitangi section to a preamble in the Act, similar to that in Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, or perhaps to move it to Part 2 of the Act and make it a matter of national importance. This is another suggestion that might be helpful. We are close to the vote now, so we will know shortly whether the bill will progress.

The idea of the changes I have just suggested is to give the Treaty greater status in the Act, so that decision makers would be compelled to recognise and provide for hapū as the Treaty envisaged. All in all we support the initiative from the honourable member. I am happy to say that the Māori Party is pleased to support this bill and hopes that in the short space of time left the bill is voted on and supported. Kia ora tātou.

ENDS