The Southland District Council (Stewart Island Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Act 2010
Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga
Wednesday 16 June 2010, 5.40pm

In the words of the people on the island, this Bill has been a long time coming. Indeed, it would be rare to find anyone on the island who has voiced any opposition to this Bill – which in itself makes a pretty good argument to support.

One of local residents, Ngati Kahungunu woman Gwen Neave, remembers debates around the proposal to initiate a levy for visitors to Rakiura when she was a member of the Southland District Council in 1978, a debate which reared up again in the mid eighties.

I think one of the dilemmas that confronts a community is how to express manaakitanga without exploiting or damaging the quality of their home around them.

We are aware of the increasing numbers of visitors that are making their way to the Island. When I was talking to my stepmother just a few minutes ago, she said that it was at Rakiura where she first tasted blue cod. She talked about putting the line over the side and getting three blue cod at the same time. It is just as well she learnt to like it, because it was staple diet once she got married to dad.

She also spoke about being able to bring back kina from Rakiura that was the biggest my father had every seen, which must be a record because he had seen a few. She said they only had to walk out knee deep to get it. She just loves Rakiura. She says it is the island of the gleaming sun and that it is pristine and beautiful there. So we hope that it remains that way and we hope that this levy will be one way that it can remain that way.

On one hand we have the busloads of manuhiri exploring Rakiura which is great for the local economy and in particular the tourist industry.

But the damage the daytrippers can cause must also be taken into account. The toll that fluctuating populations make on the local infrastructure – the roading, sewerage, health services, volunteer services, the footpaths has to be taken into account.

If we take just the area of roading, the unique island life brings with it a host of other implications

Local roading is a lot more difficult to maintain when all of the heavy machinery that is required needs to be transported across from the mainland by barge. And we are talking about a village which is hit by power prices that are four times higher than across the Strait.

But I have to say – again – that it is disappointing to read the Bill and to see no reference at all to mana whenua – and their views on the levy.

Under section 313 of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu articulates a special cultural, spiritual, historic and traditional association to Rakiura and Te Ara a Kiwa – otherwise known as the pathway of Kiwa, Foveaux Strait.

In fact Rakiura has an association to all tangata whenua in the relationship to the succession of explorers and iwi who travelled around the coastline at various times.

It is said of Maui, that in order to keep his waka from drifting away, he reached into the sea and pulled up a stone to be used as an anchor – which he named Te Puka o te Waka o Maui – which was the original name for Rakiura or Stewart Island.

For Ngai Tahu, traditions and histories such as these reinforce tribal identity and solidarity, and continuity between generations.

And so, we would be very interested to know what any of the local families still on the island, or indeed the views of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu on the significance of this levy.

Another key source of knowledge about the value of this levy would come from Te Ao Marama.

Te Ao Marama is authorised to represent Te Runaka o Awarua, Hokonui Runanga, Oraka/Aparima Runaka, Waihopai Runaka who hold mana whenua over all ancestral lands in Murihiku.

Te Ao Marama has a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Environment Southland, Invercargill City Council, Gore and Southland District Councils – and so one would assume they would have particular interest in how this levy will be administered – how the funds gathered from the levy will be distributed, and for what purposes.

Mr Speaker, we know that mana whenua on Rakiura are consulted about matters to do with conservation, with fishing and Maori land and we hope that this consultation continues with the levy.

We cannot forget this history that the history of Ngati Tahu as laid out by the Waitangi Tribunal was very drastic – but we can create a better future – and a Treaty based partnership would be a good step forward.

ENDS

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