Make No Bones. This Is A Maori Party Bill

Part 3, Committee in the House - Marine and Coastal Area Bill
Hone Harawira - Te Reo Motuhake o Te Tai Tokerau
Wed 16 Mar 2011

Mr Chairman, as I turn to Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, I cannot help but notice how much has been made of the Maori Party's statement yesterday that, and I quote the speaker from the Maori Party, "This bill is in the House on our initiative. Make no bones. This is a Maori Party Bill. We are pleased to stand here in support."

And as I turn to aspects outlined in Part 3 of this bill, I cannot help but focus Maori people's attention on clauses that will impact dramatically, and adversely, on Maori rights to the foreshore and seabed, and ask the question - why on earth is the Maori Party saying now that "This is a Maori Party Bill", when just a few days ago:
* when Te Ururoa Flavell was asked "Who is running the timetable" he said "National"
* and when he was asked "Who wrote the bill?" he said "National"
* and when he was asked "Whose bill is this?" he said "National's"

And why on earth is the Maori Party saying that "We are pleased to stand here in support" of this bill, when just a few days ago, Tariana Turia said about this very same bill, that "if we were negotiating on what is fair, just and moral, then we would have a very different outcome."

And as I highlight just some of the clauses in Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, and the Maori Party's support for those clauses, I want Maori people to be constantly asking themselves the question - why on earth would the Maori Party say ... "Make no bones. This is a Maori Party Bill" and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, does the Maori Party know that under Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, "a protected customary right is a right that has been exercised since 1840, and continues to be exercised in a particular part of the common marine and coastal area in accordance with tikanga, and is not already extinguished as a matter of law"?

And if the Maori Party does in fact know this, is it because this clause was either included at their request or perhaps even written by them, and is that why the Maori Party is saying "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, does the Maori Party know that under Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, the scope, effect and limitations of protected Maori customary rights are defined and overseen entirely by government, government statutes and the courts, and that whanau, hapu and iwi have no role in that process, and is that what the Maori Party means when they talk about rangatiratanga?

And if the Maori Party does in fact know this, is it because these clauses were included at their request or perhaps even written by them, and is that why the Maori Party is saying "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, does the Maori Party know that under Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, the Minister of Conservation has the right to "impose controls, including any terms, conditions, or restrictions that the Minister sees fit", on the exercise of protected Maori customary rights?

And if the Maori Party does in fact know this, is it because this clause has been included at their request or perhaps even written by them, and is that why the Maori Party is saying "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, does the Maori Party know that under Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, Maori must hold the specified area in accordance with tikanga; and have exclusively used and occupied the specified area from 1840 to the present day without substantial interruption?

And if the Maori Party does in fact know this, is it because this clause has been included at their request or perhaps even written by them, or did they simply transfer the clause from Labour's hated 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act, across to this hated 2011 Marine and Coastal Area Bill, and is that why the Maori Party is saying "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, does the Maori Party know that under Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, hapu means a hapu as listed in the constitutional documents of an iwi, and that an iwi means an iwi as listed in schedule 4 of the Maori Fisheries Act of 2004, and is granting authority to determine Maori entities to the Crown, what the Maori Party means when they talk about rangatiratanga?

And if the Maori Party does in fact know this, is it because this clause has been included at their request or perhaps even written by them, and is that why the Maori Party is saying "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, does the Maori Party know that under Part 3 of this Marine and Coastal Area Bill, a protected customary right does not affect the grant of a coastal permit under the Resource Management Act, which tells us that the RMA has greater mana than the so-called protected customary right offered to Maori?

And if the Maori Party does in fact know this, is it because this clause has been included at their request or perhaps even written by them, and is that why the Maori Party is saying "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support."

Mr Chairman, Part 3 of the Marine and Coastal Area Bill, is similar to all the other Parts of this bill in that it includes a whole host of clauses which will do huge damage to the Maori world, cause great pain to the Maori people, set down some truly appalling benchmarks in respect of Maori rights, and turn the clock backwards on Maori self-determination, such that Maori people for many generations to come, will wonder what on earth the Maori Party, who rode into power on the back of a wave of discontent over the confiscation of their rights to the foreshore and seabed, is claiming this bastard of a bill as their own, when the only other party in the house that supports it, is the house that gave us Don Brash, tax breaks for the rich, cuts in social spending, an increase in GST, and the 3 strikes legislation.

Mr Chairman, although I have the energy to fight this bill, given the shortness of time we have had to study it, it is difficult to find the time, or the space, or the capacity to properly detail all of the clauses in Part 3, and all other parts of this bill, and to provide the in-depth examination that is properly required to show just how much this bill will hurt Maori.

Mr Chairman, I stand against not only Part 3 of this bill, but every other part, clause, subsection, and word in this bill, and I do so because Maori people have declared their opposition to this bill through the submission process, through the iwi leadership walking away from this bill, through the hikoi on the road right now to oppose this bill, and through the hundreds of emails, texts, facebook messages, voicemails, and comments that I have received from Maori Party members telling me that they are gutted by what their caucus is doing, and they intend leaving the Maori Party over what they perceive to be the Maori Party caucus' betrayal of the very birthright of the party.

Mr Chairman, when the Maori Party caucus says "Make no bones - this is a Maori Party Bill," and "We are pleased to stand here in support." I remind the house that it is not true to say that the Maori Party is proud to support this bill. They don't. The caucus does, but the membership doesn't.

And I would urge all those Maori party members watching this debate on Part 3 of this heinous bill, on parliament TV and listening to it on radio, to contact the Maori Party MPs and beg them to wake up, smell the shellfish, and realise that supporting this bill is not what either the party or the people want.

tu te ao maori
tu te rangatiratanga
tu motuhake
tena tatou katoa

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