Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill

on behalf of Anne Tolley (National—East Coast): I move, That the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill be now read a third time. I would like to extend the good wishes of Anne Tolley, who is unable to be with us at the moment. She deeply regrets that, because she has championed this bill to its third reading in the House today.

This bill validates the uses of Alfred Cox Park, which is a centrally located park in the city of Gisborne and which was gifted to the borough of Gisborne in 1944 under a deed of trust. The uses are currently contrary to the Reserves Act 1977. Every Saturday morning a flea market is held in the grounds, and an excellent i-site has been built, at considerable expense, as part of the Gisborne Visitor Information Centre, which is an important part of Gisborne’s tourism. Gisborne has thriving tourism, and is a wonderful place to visit and spend any amount of time in. I always value greatly my opportunity to visit Gisborne. It is in some of the accommodation it offers there that I have had some of my best nights’ sleep.

I would like to mention a few things that have happened during the process of this bill. The Māori Party raised the issue of the local iwi, Rongowhakaata, who had not been consulted. Despite many rounds of public consultation in Gisborne prior to the bill coming to Parliament and the select committee seeking public submissions from Gisborne residents, nothing was actually heard from the iwi. However, the council has had discussions with iwi and has reached agreement, which is an excellent outcome, as part of the process of consultation. So all due credit to both the council and the iwi for coming to that conclusion.

Alfred Cox Park was classified as a recreation reserve in 1985, but in 1966 the council had allowed the public relations office to be replaced by the visitor information centre, which I mentioned earlier. Prior to 1990 part of the land was also being used for the flea market, and both of these uses, according to legal opinions obtained by the council and scrutinised by Parliamentary Counsel, are contrary to the Reserves Act 1977. So the Gisborne District Council is promoting this local bill, which was accepted by the Clerk of the House in June 2005, after several false starts. The member Anne Tolley is absolutely delighted that it has come to fruition and that we are at this point today. Janet Mackey MP promoted the bill originally, and, as a newly elected electorate MP, Anne Tolley is delighted to continue its progress through the House on behalf of the Gisborne District Council.

Anne thanks the Local Government and Environment Committee for the time and effort put into the scrutiny of the bill, as well as the officials, who came up with some good solutions to some of the legal problems that were raised during the select committee process. So sincere thanks to all of those people who were involved.

The committee received several submissions on the bill. The submissions from the council outlined the history of the park and the activities that have taken place. It referred to the establishment of the public relations office, and its subsequent replacement with the visitor information centre. The council had consulted with the two current users of the reserve and also with members of the family of Alfred Cox. Two differing legal opinions were obtained, and the solicitors for Tourism Eastland, which operates the visitor information centre, felt that the centre actually met the description in the deed of trust, which refers to buildings for the entertainment, convenience, or amusement of the public, or other buildings of a civic nature. It is good to be able to support some of the future visions of the area, of the council, and of Tourism Eastland, and to have these legal matters settled so that they can move on into the future with some confidence.

The council outlined in its submission the considerable efforts it had made, quite unsuccessfully, to relocate the flea market and referred to the petition to the council from 72 signatories who supported the continued existence of the flea market. That was followed by a petition from the local people in the neighbourhood who were concerned about the undesirable effects of a flea market. However, anybody who attends the flea market knows that it is extremely well attended and that many, many Gisborne citizens go there on a regular basis to purchase fruit and vegetables.

There were a number of other submissions, including one from a Dr Helen Pāpuni, who supported the intent of the bill and supported the use of the land by the flea market as a tourist attraction. We all know that when one visits any area in New Zealand the flea markets are a particular highlight for many visitors and locals alike. They are a wonderful source of some great produce and showcase some of the excellent wares that the locals have to offer. I think the flea markets are a wonderful opportunity to have that experience, and I know that many visitors and locals do appreciate that opportunity.

The select committee made a couple of changes to the bill on advice from officials. The reasoning was that in order to validate the use of the park by the visitor information centre, as well as the flea market, the bill needed to apply to the Reserves Act in general and in whole, not just, as the council had suggested, to the specific part that related just to the flea market. In fact, the Department of Internal Affairs had suggested that it was unclear whether the bill, as drafted originally, would actually validate the presence of the visitor information centre. In addition, the officials suggested a change to clause 5 to allow validated users to flow through to the provisions dealing with leases and licences in the future. That is a really positive way of making sure that the council, Tourism Eastland, and the community can actually plan for the future in regard to this area. I think that is a very, very positive outcome for everybody involved.

The Gisborne District Council representatives did not agree with those suggestions of the parliamentary officials. They did say that in their opinion the fundamental objective of the amending legislation was to validate use, not to provide a designation, and they felt that the officials were focusing on the designation of the reserve and that they failed to appreciate the action in 1998 of redesignating a part of the reserve as a local purpose reserve. However, it did become very complicated. The important thing, though, is that the select committee has followed the advice of the officials. The Gisborne District Council did feel that, overall, it wanted the bill to proceed in order to put the validation process in place and to put an end to what has been a rather lengthy process through the House.

National is happy to support this bill and delighted to see that our member Anne Tolley has served her community so well. We applaud her for all the efforts that she has made to support her council, Tourism Eastland, and the community of Gisborne.

I am happy to speak on the third reading of this local bill in regard to Alfred Cox Park and the Gisborne District Council’s intentions to make legal the activities that occur there.

I have to say that I am a little bit disappointed with the speech from Sandra Goudie, because, up until this point, the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill has been a non-political bill. The bill was introduced by Janet Mackey. It was one of the first issues that was brought to her in 1993 when she was a newly elected member of Parliament for Gisborne. She worked with the council on the bill, and worked very hard on it. As we know, it was up to the district council to draft the bill and bring it to the House, but she worked with the council very, very carefully in order to get this bill ready. Unfortunately, when the bill finally did come to the House the rules had changed, and the Clerk’s Office had to send it back to be redrafted. But the fact is that she introduced the bill, she made the first reading speech, and she did all the work to bring the bill to the House. To have to sit here and hear this matter being politicised at the third reading, when all members who live in Gisborne and its surrounds have been working very well together on it, and to hear the National Party members now claiming that somehow it was all them, is really disappointing, because that is not the way we do it in Gisborne. If that is the way National wants to play it, that is fine, but I have to register to this House my disappointment at the manner in which Sandra Goudie gave that speech, trying to imply that the former member Janet Mackey did not really do much when it came to it. In fact, she did most of the work.

I thank Anne Tolley for bringing this bill to the House, and I am sorry that she was not able to come here and speak on it today as she has done on other stages of the bill, but such is life.

This is an important bill for Gisborne. Alfred Cox Park, for anyone who knows Gisborne, really is the hub of life in Gisborne. Anyone who knows the flea markets knows that that is where all the action happens every Saturday morning. I have been a regular attendee of flea markets over the course of my life, particularly with Labour Party stalls selling toffee apples and fruit and veges—one does one’s bit.

It is also where the intercity bus depot is. When I had to leave Gisborne to go to university, seven or eight times a year I would get on and off the bus at Alfred Cox Park, not realising, of course, that I was committing an offence by engaging in a commercial transaction whilst I was there. Also, I commented in one of my speeches that I was very pleased that Ron Mark’s bill to reduce the age of criminal liability was not in place at that time, because all the times as a child I had gone to play mini-putt at Alfred Cox Park I could have been considered a serious recidivist offender for continually breaking the law by engaging in a commercial transaction at the park.

On top of that, I have no regrets about it whatsoever. Most people in Gisborne would never have realised that many of the activities carried out in Alfred Cox Park were not able to be carried out under the Reserves Act 1977, and this bill clarifies that issue.

I want to address the issue of Rongowhakaata and the fact that they felt they had not been adequately consulted. It surprised me that they felt that the council had not consulted them, because I have to say that the Gisborne District Council is usually pretty good at consulting local iwi on these matters. I have met with Rongowhakaata and they have assured me that they do not oppose anything in the bill.

I would have liked the bill to go through the House a bit more speedily than it has, but it is fair enough that Rongowhakaata raised concerns and that those concerns were raised on their behalf in the Chamber. I wish they had come to me first. I wish they had come to me when the bill was going through a select committee, so that their concerns could have been addressed then. I felt that doing it after the fact was perhaps not quite as useful as it could have been if it had been done earlier.

I commend the bill to the House. It is nice to see that the bill is finally nearing completion, and that many of the activities of the people of Gisborne, Tourism Eastland, the information centre, the intercity bus depot, and, most important, minigolf will now be able to be carried out unfettered, without the people of Gisborne being in fear of breaching any laws.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley): Before I call Te Ururoa Flavell I advise members that the member will speak his whole speech in Māori, then the interpreter will interpret the whole speech.

Tēnā koe, Madam Assistant Speaker. ā, tēnā tātou katoa me koutou hoki i te kāinga e whakarongo mai nei. He taonga tuku iho, ko te manu tukutuku. Kua ngaro atu kē ki ngā hau e whā. Kua whakamīharo ō tātou nei ngākau. Kia patu ake ki te whai ao, ki te ao marama. Anei kē pea te whakamārama o tēnei kōrero. He taonga ka ngaro i te hau; kia kitea mai kātahi ka puta ko te harikoa. Ki te āta titirohia ngā whakapapa me ngā kōrero ō nehe o Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa, kātahi ka mārama tātou ki te tikanga o te manu tukutuku me tōna rere ki taua iwi. Waihoki, e ai ki tēnei pire, he rongonui a Rongowhakaata mo te whakarere manu tukutuku. Koia nei anō hoki ko te mahi o Te Tōrangapū Māori he whakaara ake i te take nei, arā, kia kōrerorero, kia wānanga ki te taha o te mana whenua o Rongowhakaata. Ko tā matou, ko te whakarere i te take nei o te tika me te pono me te wāhanga o te tangata whenua i roto i ngā whiriwhiringa.

E te Kaikōrero, e tino tika ana kia tae mai te pire nei ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare i tēnei rangi tonu nei i a tātou e āta titiro ana ki te wāhanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi hei korowai mō ngā ture o te motu. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki te take i kōkirihia e te Kaunihera Māori o Aotearoa ki te Kooti Pīra. Ko tā rātou, ko te noho ā-Tiriti he rite ki te noho rangapū, arā; he wāhanga ki a koe, he wāhanga ki a au. Ko te noho rangapū i waenganui i a Pākehā me Māori e akiaki nei i a rāua tahi kia tika te noho, kia pono te noho ōrite.

He aha tēnei tū momo rangapū ki te noho wahangū tētahi taha? Nā Rongowhakaata te papa o Alfred Cox i tuku i runga i te tikanga o Te Ture Whenua Rāhui 1977 “hei painga mō te katoa”. Kāti. He aha tōna hokinga mai? He whakahāwea, he whakaiti. Ko te whenua kei te pūtake o te pire nei he whenua muru i a Rongowhakaata i raro i Te Pire Mahi Tūmatanui.

Kei roto i te pire nei, ko ngā mātāpono whakahirahira o Te Tiriti o Waitangi nā te Pāti Māori tonu i whakairi hei mea wānanga mā tēnei Pāremata. I te pānuitanga tuatahi me te mea tuarua o tēnei pire, i whakatakoto mātou i ngā whāinga matua nā te Tiriti i whakatau ki runga i tēnā, i tēnā. Kua kōrerohia e tātou tēnei mea te Kāwanatanga me kī, ko te wāhanga ki te Karauna, ko te hanga ture, me te tango whenua hei painga mō te katoa o te hapori, me tōna whanaungatanga ki te rangatiratanga o te ao Māori ki runga i ōna whenua.

Ko tā te Karauna oati ki te tangata whenua ka pūmau tōna tino rangatiratanga ki runga i ōna whenua. Engari tēnei, i noho pōhēhē te Karauna he whenua noho kau tēnei, ā, kāore he raruraru ki te tuku hei whenua parapara mā te tāone.

Kei te kōkiri anōtia e mātou tēnei take kia noho tapu ngā kōrero a te Kāwanatanga. Tino kore mātou e rata ki ngā tīwaha a ngā mema pērā i a Moana Mackey, me Anne Tolley. He kōrero ēnei kua puta, ano nei, kāore he whakaaro mō ngā tāngata e pāngia ana e tēnei pire.

Ehara mō te Tōrangapū Māori tēnei pire. I tū mātou i runga i te tika ki te whakaatu i ngā whakaaro o tō mātou hapori. Kei te pūmau mātou ki te whakaaro me whawhai mō ngā tika a Māori, me kōkiri hoki i ngā take Māori hei painga mō te whenua katoa. Mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi tēnei, kia whai oranga ai ia hei kawenata, hei kaupapa mō tō tātou kirimana hapori. He kirimana e taea ai e ngā iwi katoa te noho tahi, te whakaatu i ō rātou whakaaro hei whakaputa hoki i ō rātou āwangawanga.

Tae noa ki te pānuitanga tuarua, kāore i tutuki taua kirimana hapori. Kāore he hiahia ki te hui ki ngā māngai o Rongowhakaata me ngā iwi o Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa kōrero ai mō ngā āhuatanga o te pire. Koirā tā mātou i hiahia ai, ko te kōrero.

I hara mai mātou ki tēnei Whare ki te pātai i te pātai; he ōrite te mana o ngā hoa Tiriti? Āe rānei, kāore rānei? Mehemea i pērā i te wā i pānuitia ngā tono ā-hapori i te Hōngongoi ki te Hakihea o tērā tau, kua kitea i whai wāhi te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Tūranga ki te kōrero tahi me Rongowhakaata. Ko te noho tahi, ko te kōrero tahi, koia tērā? Ko tōna tikanga, ka kaha nei ngā kaunihera ā-rohe, ā-motu hoki, ki te noho tahi ahakoa whānau, hapū, iwi rānei.

E ai ki tā te Taraipiunara titiro ko te noho tahi i runga i te tika me te pono, me whakanui tētahi hoa Tiriti i tētahi. I takahia, i tukinohia, te rangatiratanga o te iwi e ngā whakatau a te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Tūranga me ngā mema Pāremata nā runga i tō rātou kore kōrero ki ngā tāngata whenua, tō rātou kore aro mai ki te tino rangatiratanga Māori nā runga hoki i te kore hiahia ki te kōrero ki te tangata whenua. He huri tuarā kē.

Kei te mārama tonu tātou me hāpaitia ngā tikanga o tēnei Whare. He aha te take kāore i pērāhia ngā tikanga mō tēnei pire? Ko ngā mātāpono o te noho rangapū, arā, ko te noho tahi, kōrero tahi i runga i te whakaaro ngātahi, ko te tikanga ka kōrerohia te pire nei ki te taha o ngā iwi o Te Tai Rāwhiti. Ko tā te Tōrangapū Māori i roto i ngā kōrero nei he tono i a Anne Tolley ki te hoki ki te pūtake o tēnei take, arā, ki te kōrero ki a Rongowhakaata me Tūranga Tangata. E ai ki tā mātou e rongo nei, kua pērā kē te kaunihera o Tūranga, kua aro pai ia ki te tikanga o ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti o Waitangi i raro i tēnei pire.

E tika ana tā mātou pakanga mō ngā kōrero hītori o Te Tai Rāwhiti me tō rātou kaha hiahia ki te tiaki i ngā ingoa rangatira i roto i ō rātou whakapapa, ka mutu, ki te whakanui i wō rātou tūpuna. I tōna mutunga, ko tā mātou noa iho me wānanga tēnei take. He kaha nei tō mātou nei whakapono mā te iwi Māori anō āna huarahi e whakarite. Kua tīmata tērā āhuatanga mā tēnei pire, arā, ko te Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill. Kei te harikoa hoki te Pāti Māori kia kite mai ai ko te haki tino rangatiratanga e iri ana kei runga ake hei whakanui i te wairua o te Tiriti. Kia ora tātou.

[An interpretation in English was given to the House.]

[Greetings to you, Madam Assistant Speaker, and to us all, as well as to those at home listening in. There is a saying: “A treasured kite, lost to the winds, brings much joy when found again.” The importance and significance of kite-making and kite-flying to the iwi of Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa are obvious when the genealogies and history are looked at. In particular, as relevant to the purposes of this bill, Rongowhakaata was a kite flyer of some repute. In many ways, this was what the Māori Party was attempting to do, when we raised the importance of consultation and involvement of mana whenua, Rongowhakaata. We were flying the kite of justice for the importance of an appropriate and mandated consultation process with tangata whenua.

It is highly appropriate that this bill comes before the House on a day when we are debating the constitutional significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We recall the Court of Appeal in the New Zealand Māori Council case, which declared that the Treaty relationship is akin to, or in the nature of, a partnership—a partnership between Pākehā and Māori that requires each of them to act reasonably towards the other, and with the utmost good faith.

What sort of partnership willingly sets up a scenario to create a silent partner? Rongowhakaata originally gifted the Alfred Cox Park, within the constraints of the Reserves Act 1977 and a deed of trust that represented the “utmost good faith”. Yet how were they treated? With the utmost contempt! The land from which this bill derives its source was wrongfully taken from Rongowhakaata under the Public Works Act.

The issues raised by the bill involve important principles of the Treaty of Waitangi that the Māori Party wanted to flag for the consideration of this Parliament. At both first and second readings of this bill, we raised the issue of the underlying mutual obligations and responsibilities that the Treaty places on each party. We have talked about Kāwanatanga, the Crown’s right to make laws and take land in the public interest, balanced with rangatiratanga, the guarantees of protection of Māori ownership of lands.

The Crown guaranteed tino rangatiratanga to tangata whenua: full authority over their lands. Yet in this case, the Crown assumed that Rongowhakaata land was idle land, and that there would be no great shame in using it as a dumping ground for the town’s rubbish.

We take the time to raise these issues again, because they must be considered part of the public record. We have not been impressed at the outburst of members such as Moana Mackey and National Party MP Anne Tolley—outbursts that have occurred, seemingly, without a heart for all of the people who stand to be affected by this bill.

This bill was never about the Māori Party. We stood to make our points, simply to do what was required of us in representing the views of our constituency. Our adamant belief is that we must defend Māori rights, and advance Māori interests for the benefit of the nation. This is about the Treaty as a living instrument, an ongoing partnership that provides our foundation as a developing social contract—a contract in which all parties come to the table, able to put forward their views and have their positions heard and their concerns reflected.

Even up until the second reading, that social contract was not in place. There had not been a willingness to meet with the appropriate representatives of Rongowhakaata and Tūranga iwi to discuss the implications of this bill. That is all we were asking for—the moral obligation to talk.

We came to this House to ask the question: did the Treaty partners have equal status? Yes or no? If that was so at the time when public submissions were called in July 2005 and closed in December 2005, the record would have shown that the Gisborne District Council made time to discuss the matter with representatives of Rongowhakaata. Active participation, as a partnership principle, is exactly that. It means that local and central government make the effort to engage with whānau, hapū, and iwi.

The tribunal has found that acting reasonably, honourably, and in good faith, requires both Treaty partners to acknowledge each other’s respective interests and authority over natural resources. Tribal tino rangatiratanga was compromised, nay sacrificed, by the decision of both the Gisborne District Council and the local MPs to fail to consult—to fail to respect Māori authority, to fail to initiate dialogue, to ignore tangata whenua.

This House is very clear about the significance of protocol as a means of respecting parliamentary business. It would have been helpful if, for this bill, such respect for protocol had also been taken up. The principles of partnership, of active protection—the duty to act reasonably, honourably and in good faith—should have meant the bill was discussed with local iwi in Te Tai Rāwhiti. Members of the Māori Party, in our speeches throughout this debate, have offered Anne Tolley an opportunity to revisit the issue and seek an audience with Rongowhakaata and Tūranga iwi. We have been informed that the Gisborne District Council has taken up this opportunity, and that there has been an increasing responsibility for proper regard to be had for the impact of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as it applies in this bill.

The tribal histories of Te Tai Rāwhiti, their determination to protect the place names of significance within their whakapapa—and, in doing so, to honour their tūpuna—were worth fighting for. At the end of the day, all that we sought was that the discussion take place. We believe, passionately, in the right of a vibrant Māori society to be actively involved in securing its future cultural survival. That discussion has begun in the case of the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill—and the Māori Party is pleased to see that tino rangatiratanga flag flying, as it should, to honour the spirit of the Treaty. Greetings to us.]

I want to acknowledge members on both sides of the House for their cooperation in the last half an hour to ensure that the timing is right for the next speech. I think that is a real measure of the respect that Jim Sutton is held in. I pay tribute to the members of Labour, National, the Māori Party, the Greens, and New Zealand First for their endeavours.

I have fond memories of Gisborne, because in the early 1980s I spent 2 years as deputy principal of a school called Te Waha-o-Rerekohu Area School in a place called Te Araroa, which is halfway between Gisborne and Ōpōtoki. In fact, Gisborne happened to be the closest place from Te Araroa to get a haircut, for example—it was 100 kilometres away from where we were—so we very often had to go down to Gisborne for that and to get our shopping.

Gisborne is very much like Whangarei, where I currently reside. One of the features of those cities—and it is an abiding memory for me of Gisborne, for example—is Saturday mornings and the amount of kids’ sport there was, and the way parents came out and supported their kids on the sidelines. That is very similar to Whangarei and many other provincial cities the size of Gisborne and Whangarei. What that tells me about these cities—and particularly cities like Gisborne—is that there is a strong sense of community. They are still small enough to have that sense of community there. As a result of that sense of community, they do community things. In many respects, the Gisborne District Council (Alfred Cox Park) Validation Bill enables community activities that have already been taking place at Alfred Cox Park to continue, but to do so without the awkwardness of it possibly not being legal to carry out those activities.

New Zealand First is therefore very pleased to see that the bill is going to go through the House tonight. We pass on our commendations to the sponsors of the bill—first Janet Mackey and then Anne Tolley—who have pushed it through and made sure that the current awkwardness is resolved and that the people and councillors of Gisborne can get on with the activities that have been going on at Alfred Cox Park.

Having read through the select committee report—New Zealand First obviously did not have a member on the select committee—I want to congratulate all the members of the Local Government and Environment Committee. When the Gisborne City Council came along with some of its propositions, I believe that all the select committee members acted in a very responsible and sensible manner in progressing the bill in the way they did. So we believe that the passage of this bill—it is pretty obviously going through tonight—will be good for Gisborne.

The only disappointment we have is that if we had had our way, we would have put the bill through its second reading, Committee, and third reading stages all at once so that the people of Gisborne could get on with their business and activities and get on with something that is very special to rural and provincial areas, and that is showing hospitality to people from outside that city and centre. Obviously, the visitors centre will be able to continue completely free from any concerns that it may be acting illegally under the legislative framework.

Without further ado, therefore, New Zealand First is very pleased to be able to say we will be supporting the bill, and very pleased to see that it will be going through this evening.

Debate interrupted.