Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement (Regional Agreements) Amendment Bill
Second Reading; Te Ururoa Flavell, Tuesday 8th December 2009
Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker, kia ora tātou katoa. E hoa mā, tātou o te Ao Māori ka pai te rongo ake i te āhuatanga o
tō tātou reo e kōrerohia ana i roto i te Whare i te pō nei. Te tikanga, ā te tau hōu, kua puta tō tātou reo i runga i
ngā irirangi e rua, nō reira, he pai tonu kia whakamātautau tātou i a tātou anō i roto i ngā kōrero i tēnei pō ā ngā
wiki e rua kai mua i te aroaro.
Kei te āhua whakahīhī tonu a te Pāti Māori ki te tū ake ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata i tēnei pō ki te tautoko
i tēnei pire, te Pire Whakatikatika Whakataunga Kerēme Ahumoana Arumoni Māori (mō ngā Whakaaetanga ā-Rohe). Ka mutu, ko
tētahi ingoa e tika ana mō tēnei pire, ko te “Pire Kua Eke ki Tōna Wā”. He pai tonu kia eke ki tēnei wā i te mea, kua
roa te Ao Māori e tatari ana kia whakahōnore te Kāwanatanga i tōna kirimana i wānangahia i te tau 2004. Kua eke tēnei
pire ki te wā kua whakatakotohia e te Kāwanatanga ki runga i te tēpu tētahi utu, mō te wā kotahi nei, ki a ngāi Māori mō
te wāhanga ā-pāmu moana nei kāore i tukuna i ngā tau kua hipa ake. Ka mutu, ko te mahi a te pire he whakatikatika i te
Ture Whakatikatika Whakataunga Kerēme Ahumoana Arumoni Māori o te tau 2004. Nō reira, he pai tonu ki a mātou te tautoko
i tēnei. Kua roa mātou e akiaki ana, e panapana haere ana i tēnei pire kia eke ki tēnei taumata kia taea ai te pāhi i
tēnei pire ki tōna taumata i te pō nei.
Arā anō ētahi paku kōrero o roto i te pire nei, me kōrero au mō ēnei take, tuatahi, ko te whakaaetanga o ngā iwi ki ngā
kirimana ā-rohe nā runga i te mea, karekau he whenua hōu hei mea wānanga mā te motu. Ko te mānukanuka nui ko tērā e pā
ana, āe, he pai tonu kia tukuna mai ai te moni hei whakatau i te kerēme engari, ko te take tino nui, kāre anō kia oti
noa tērā hiahia o te iwi Māori kia whai wāhi anō tātou i roto i ngā mahi pākihi pāmu moana nei. I tukuna te pūtea kotahi
nei mai i te Kāwanatanga ki te whakatau i tērā kirimana i ngā tau kua hipa o te tau 2004. I raro i tērā kirimana, i
whakaaetia e te Kāwanatanga kia tukuna mai tata ki te 20 pai hēneti o tērā pānga whenua i mua noa atu o te wā, ka mutu,
he wāhanga noa ā muri ake, ko tērā 20 pai hēneti anō. Nā, e pēnei i tā Tau Henare i kōrero nei, ko tēnei tētahi pire hei
whakatinana, ko ngā kirimana ā-rohe. Ko tāna he whakatau i ngā kerēme o nāia tonu nei i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi mō
ngā take e pā ana ki ngā pākihi pāmu moana. Nā reira, ko tā te Kāwanatanga, he whakawhanake i te ture i nāia tonu nei
kia pakari tonu te ture mō ngā mea pēnei i te pāmu moana nei.
Nō reira, hei whakakōpani i ngā kōrero, e rua pea ngā take hai whakatakoto ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata.
Tuatahi, āhua rite ki te Ture Takutai Moana o te tau 2004, ko te tiaki i te āhuatanga o te moana ka mutu, ko te āta
titiro anō ki te pānga o te iwi Māori, ngā kaipāmu Māori, ngā mea hī ika i roto i ngā mea takutai moana nei. Nō reira,
me mutu āku pea i konei kia taea ai te kī kua eke ki te taumata i te pō nei, ā, ka tukuna atu ki tangata kē. Ko te
tikanga ia, anā ka pōtingia ā te pō nei. Kia ora tātau.
[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and greetings to us all. Colleagues, and indeed those of us of Māoridom, it is good
to hear our language being spoken in the House tonight. The situation next year is that our language will be heard
simultaneously. So it is good that we test each other tonight and in the 2 weeks ahead.
The Māori Party is proud to stand before the House tonight in support of the Māori Commercial Aquaculture Claims
Settlement (Regional Agreements) Amendment Bill. And the “It’s About Time Bill” is a more suitable name for it, because
Māoridom have waited a long time, since 2004, for the Government to honour it. It is about time for the Government to
have come to the table with a one-off payment to Māoridom for aquaculture space for which compensation was never granted
in the past. The bill amends the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Act 2004. So we are quite comfortable
supporting it. We have advocated for a long time that this bill progress to where it is tonight, and be passed.
There are minor aspects of this bill that I must comment on—namely, on the tribes being seemingly in favour of regional
agreements because there is no new space for the nation to debate. The great concern is that the use of cash payments as
settlement does not resolve the desire by Māori tribes to participate in the aquaculture industry. This one-off payment
from the Government settles the agreement reached in 2004 whereby the Government agreed to nearly 20 percent of
pre-existing space and 20 percent of future space. As Tau Henare stated, this bill develops regional agreements and
settles current claims relating to commercial aquaculture under the Treaty of Waitangi. So the Government is immediately
committed to developing a robust regulatory regime for things like aquaculture.
To end this address, there are just two matters to put before the House. Firstly, this bill is quite like the Foreshore
and Seabed Act 2004 in that it protects matters relating to the sea and examines Māori tribal interests, Māori
commercial aquaculture, and Māori deep-sea fishing interests. So my contribution ends here. It has achieved what it set
out to do tonight. Someone else has the call now. It will be put to the vote tonight, that is for sure. Thank you all.]
ends