Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill

I move, That the Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill be now read a third time. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in getting the bill to this point. I wish to acknowledge and thank the Stace family for their support of this bill as a way of dealing with management issues relating to the Pauatahanui Burial Ground, and of ensuring it is looked after in perpetuity.

I wish also to acknowledge Ngāti Toa rangatira and to thank them sincerely for their support of this bill, for their assistance to the Porirua City Council, and for supplying some of the early history of the site. I wish to acknowledge the strong history that Māori share in the burial ground and in the wider Pāuatahanui area. I hope this bill, and the debate on it in this House, have adequately reflected that history and recognised the many local Māori who fought, and died, in skirmishes in the area to protect their land, their whānau, and their livelihood.

I wish to thank the Porirua City Council, and particularly Mr Chris Linnell, who should be commended for his work over the years to get the bill to this point. I note that the report of the Local Government and Environment Committee made special mention of the Porirua City Council and commended it for its thorough preparation of the bill and its wonderful relationship with the Pauatahanui Residents Association and Ngāti Toa.

I want also to acknowledge especially the hard-working volunteers—the wonderful women and men of the Pauatahanui Residents Association, and other volunteers who tend the beautiful roses, as well—for their support of this bill, for their positive submissions, and for their strong commitment to ensure the burial ground is properly looked after, just as they have done for many decades. Similarly, I especially thank the local Pāuatahanui rose group, which has cared for the beautiful roses in the grounds, which date back over 150 years to the time when the first cuttings were brought there by early settlers.

I also acknowledge my colleague Chris Finlayson of the National Party, who has also worked with me on this bill.

Finally, I thank all my parliamentary colleagues for their support of this bill, their thoughtful contributions to the debate, and their support for the remaining stages to proceed today. This bill is the first piece of legislation for which I have been responsible, and it has been an honour and a humbling experience to acknowledge the wonderful history of New Zealand for the sake of past, present, and future generations of Pāuatahanui, and to support this legislation. It has been a pleasure not only to have this bill proceed in such a timely manner but also to have all my parliamentary colleagues and members of Parliament vote in support of the bill. And also, I thank the submitters for all the submissions that went to the select committee in favour of the bill.

May I begin by offering my congratulations to the member on her careful stewardship of the bill, and, if I can say so, on the courteous and pleasant way in which she has kept me briefed on the bill. I think one of the reasons this bill has sailed through the House, effortlessly, is that the Minister took the time, and trouble, to keep everyone informed and adopt a very pleasant approach to the conduct of the legislation. I really do commend that approach to her colleagues when dealing with other business of the House, because there are quite a few pieces of legislation that are not party political but are in trouble, and if they adopted the approach of Winnie Laban, I think they would find that the Opposition would be so much easier to work with.

I also join with her in congratulating the Porirua City Council, which has assumed the responsibilities for the Pauatahanui Burial Ground. The council has worked hard to produce this legislation, which is exemplary drafting, and I particularly refer to its lawyer, Duncan Laing—who happens to be a former partner of mine, a very competent lawyer—who has done a good job in drafting the legislation.

I too, in closing, want to refer to the very fine people who work on the ongoing beautification of the site. It seems a bit of a contradiction in terms, I suppose in some ways, but this is a beautiful burial ground. It looks out to the edge of the Pāuatahanui inlet, up to the new houses being built on the edge of the Whitby area. It is, as the Minister said, a very historic piece of land, and to wander through it is to see the history not only of Pāuatahanui but also of the Greater Wellington area. I know that Mr Robertson has referred to some of his ancestors who are buried in this site. So it is extremely important that it be kept to the highest of standards, and the good people of the Pauatahanui Residents Association and the friends of the burial ground are doing a tremendous job in maintaining a high standard.

I think in my first reading speech I referred to the heritage roses project. After that speech, someone asked what would I know about roses. It is funny, but sometimes male politicians like flowers. It was said that Sir Robert Muldoon liked lilies. Well, I happen to prefer roses. That cemetery is full of them; some of the old English roses—red and white being, of course, the colours of York and Lancaster, but I never know what is the right combination.

💬 Shane Jones: What did Shakespeare say?

I do not think Shakespeare would have a lot to say about the Pauatahanui Burial Ground, but he certainly would approve of the efforts of the people who have done a great job in ensuring the site will be preserved for future generations, situated, as it is, next door to that beautiful Anglican church in Pāuatahanui. As a humble list MP, who is happy to do some work in the Mana area and to be working with Winnie Laban, who, as I said, has always been so pleasant and inclusive, I happily join with her in indicating that the National Party will be supporting the third reading of this legislation.

First of all, I just want to bow to the greater recollection of history—particularly about the relationship between Te Rangihaeata and Te Rauparaha—that Tariana Turia has than myself. She was correct; Te Rangihaeata was, of course, the nephew of Te Rauparaha.

When I mentioned a hope that the council would hear the voices in the House in terms of the maintenance of both the heritages of the area, there was no hint in that statement that the council does not, and will not, adhere to that. Rather, I was trying to say that what we have here is, in fact, a model that should be picked up on around the rest of our country in terms of the way things should be done.

Chris Finlayson has said that even politicians may be interested in flowers. Actually, some former rugby league players in the House are interested in flowers too, and I am quite happy to invite the Pāuatahanui rose group to come up to Ngunguru and look after my ones, because in Northland they take a fair bit of looking after. The Pauatahanui Burial Ground must be a wonderful site—and certainly I have heard of it—and a lot of that has come about because of the work the rose group has put in over many, many decades.

I want also to congratulate the Pauatahanui Residents Association on its celebration of history. It recognises the importance that history has to us as human beings, and that it is there for us to be able to see, feel, touch, and smell rather than just something within dry textbooks. I think that is incredibly important, and, as I say and as Tariana Turia has said, the same applies to the history of Ngāti Toa. It is of great importance to them that the site is maintained in such a way that people can actually get a sense of history happening.

I congratulate Luamanuvao Winnie Laban. Obviously, she has put in an enormous amount of work to get this bill through, but also the fact that it has gone through with the full support of the House is due to the manner in which she goes about things. As Chris Finlayson said, often that non-adversarial, inclusive way has better outcomes, and enables goals to be achieved somewhat better, than the adversarial culture that is, in fact, the Westminster culture and is still very, very much a part of this House. I think we should move away from that as much as we possibly can, particularly given we are now in a world where what we do in this House is projected into the households of our families and our young people, etc. Again, I congratulate Winnie Laban; she has obviously done a marvellous job.

Without further ado, I say New Zealand First is very, very pleased to be able to support this legislation in its third reading.

I stand on behalf of United Future to take just a very brief call in support of the Porirua City Council (Pauatahanui Burial Ground) Bill. We are very thrilled to see the bill progressed so speedily. I congratulate the Minister Winnie Laban on the work she has done on this.

I have to say that when I was flicking through the commentary on this bill it took me back to a circumstance that I myself was involved in. I lived all my childhood on a farm just out of Raglan, and directly over the road from our farm was a hill that had once housed a country church, which I have some very, very early memories of attending. The church was demolished, with a memorial left in place. My paternal grandparents are buried in the cemetery there, and my father, as a local farmer, was the sexton, appointed by the local district council years and years ago. The only plans for this cemetery were ones that we found in the mess of my father’s office after he himself died and had requested to be buried there. We scrambled up to the top of this hill with this map. We had to try to figure out which way around the map went, because, typical of country gravesites, there were lots of unmarked graves, and because dad did not think to leave us any suggestion as to where there might be a spare plot for him.

When one visits these places, one finds that the rich sense of history is just amazing. My parents had been active members of that community. My grandparents had been farming in the area and beyond, and there were family names that dated back all around the district. It was just absolutely amazing, in the middle of our own personal sadness, to wander through this cemetery and remember names that I had heard my parents speak of for years and years, and see the family connections.

I understand the value of cemeteries like the one we are dealing with today. They are rich in history, and I am thrilled to see the way that the families involved—such as the Stace family—and those in the authority who have sought to find some resolution to this situation have gone about this. We are very happy to support the third reading.

Bill read a third time.