Te Pire Tiaki i Nga Kararehe o Te Moana
Hone Harawira, Mema Paremata mo Te Tai Tokerau
Wenerei : Rua Tekau ma Iwa o Hurae : te tau Rua Mano ma Iwa
I nga tau e rua ki muri – i te wa i haere a Taitokerau ki Orakei ki te korero mo te kaupapa o WAI 262 – ara te kaupapa mo nga uri a Täne, kei to mätou taha a whäea Saana Murray. Engari, ehara ko ia anake – e tautau mai ana i tana kaki, ko töna taonga tüturu, te anga o te pupuharakeke.
Two years ago, when Tai Tokerau turned up to Orakei Marae, to speak to the hearings for the WAI 262 claim – the indigenous flora and fauna claim – we were flanked by a little old lady in a long red dress, our aunty Saana Murray. She never travels alone – around her neck she carries the large coiled white shell of the pupuharakeke – a flax snail.
Mo nga tau tekau ma waru, mai i te timatanga o tenei kaupapa i mua i te aroaro o te Taraipiunara – i mau mai ia i töna pupuharakeke. Ko tenei te taura e here ana ia ia ki töna tupuna.
For the eighteen years since the historic claim begun, Aunty Saana has worn the shell, which links her directly to her tupuna.
Tata ngaro ana te pupuharakeke i te mata o te whenua. A he kaupapa tino pöuri tenei mo Ngäti Kuri, i te mea, mo te mano tau ki muri, ko rätou te kaitiaki o te taonga nei.
The pupuharakeke is now a threatened native species – a fact of life which causes great sadness to Ngati Kuri, who have been the guardians of this taonga for 1000 years.
I raro i tenei kaupapa te kaitiakitanga – ko te tikanga, kia tiaki i nga uri o Täne. Engari kei te whakapörearea tenei tikanga, i te mea, kei te tukinohia te taiao.
Our responsibilities for kaitiakitanga – the capacity to protect and care for our native plants and animals – have been severly compromised by the destruction of ecosystems.
Na kona, ka hari au ki te tü ki te tautoko i täku tuahine a Metiria, me tana Pire hei tiaki i nga kararehe o te moana; kia pai te noho o nga uri o Tane – kia maha, kia noho ora mai rätou.
From this context then, I am pleased to come to support the sister, Metiria, in her Bill, the Marine Animals Protection Law Reform Bill, to ensure that marine animals are a functioning element of their ecosystem. We support the objectives to maintain populations at healthy levels.
Kei te whakaae hoki mätou kia tuku putea te käwanatanga, hei äwhina i a rätou kei te tokoiti haere, kia maranga mai anö…
And we also believe that Government should make the investment, to enable depleted or threatened populations to recover.
E tautoko ana te Paati Maori i tenei Pire – mo nga tutumairekurai, papakanua, tüpoupou, hopuhopu, tukuperu me nga upokohue – ngä aihe a Maui.
The Maori Party supports this Bill, in particular, on behalf of our tutumairekurai, papakanua, tupoupou, hopuhopu, tukuperu and upokohue – Maui’s dolphins.
Ko ënei nga aihe tino tokoiti o te ao – he tino taonga rätou kia mätou. E ai ki nga korero, kotahi rau tekau ma tahi noa iho, rätou e toe ana.
These are the rarest marine dolphin in the world – revered by tangata whenua as taonga, and it is estimated that there are only 111 of these creatures left.
Ko te wahanga o te Pire nei kei te tino tautoko e mätou, ko te tikanga kia rähui i nga mahi a te tangata, i o rätou wähi noho.
The part of the Bill which we are most keen to support is the introduction of objectives to manage the human impacts in the marine environment.
E whakaaro ana ahau ki nga paru ka tukuna ki te moana, nga raapihi paratutai. He tino raruraru anö ëtahi o nga momo hii ika, me nga mahi kari i te moana.
I am thinking of things like pollution from discharges, plastic debri, the introduction of marine pests. Harvesting and fishing continue to cause damage to the marine environment – particularly methods such as bottom trawling and dredging.
Mai räno mätou i whakahë i nga tono raihana ki te kari i te moana, ki te rapu hinu, me era atu mea, i te mea, ko ënä mahi, kei te tukituki i te wähi noho o nga uri a Täne.
We have always spoken out against the granting of mining and oil exploration licenses, and related activities that cause adverse effects to the ocean environment, and therefore, marine animals.
Ko te nako a tenei Pire, kia tohu ki te Papa Atawhai, kia whakamatautauhia nga mahi a ngai taua ki te taiao, te kainga noho o nga kararehe nei.
So what this Bill will do is to require the Department of Conservation to regularly monitor human impacts on marine mammals to ensure that the protection objectives are being met.
He whakaaro anö taaku mo te Komiti Whaiti – hakoa e tohu ana te Pire nei kia wänangahia tenei kaupapa e te Tumuaki o Te Papa Atawhai me te Maori – kïhai i tohia kia korero hängai ki nga iwi, kei a rätou te mana whenua mo ënei rohe.
I want to plant an idea for further debate that we hope will come up during the select committee stage of this Bill, because while the Bill creates an obligation on the Director-General of Conservation to consult with representatives of Maori – it does not create an obligation to specifically consult with mana whenua.
Engari i raro i tenei Pire ko te iwi Maori he roopu kotahi, i roto i te maha noa atu, o nga roopu katoa.
Instead, what we see in this Bill, is that Maori are being positioned as one interest group amongst many.
Ko to matau wawata, kia whakamanahia te tangata whenua, hei kaitiaki ki te haere whakamua i tenei Pire.
We hope that the unique status of tangata whenua, as tangata tiaki, will come forward in later renditions of the Bill.
Kei te tautoko mätou i tënei, te pänui tuatahi o tenei Pire, i te mea ko to matau hiahia kia noho ora, noho pai te taiao, mo tätou katoa, me nga uri whakaheke.
We are happy to offer our support at this First Reading, in our commitment to keep our natural resources and environment healthy, safe and intact for everyone and for the generations to come.