(TAKUTAI MOANA) BILL E kau I te wai e, e kau I te wa

MĀORI AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE
SUBMISSION ON THE MARINE AND COASTAL AREA (TAKUTAI MOANA) BILL
E kau I te wai e, e kau I te wai e
Wahiatu te ngaru hukahuka o Te Awanui
Pikitia te aurere kura o taotaorangi
Tapatapa ruru ana te kakau o te hoe
E auheke ana e tara tutū ana I te puhi whatukura, I te puhi māreikura
o taku waka o Takitimu
TIHEI MAURI ORA!
Ko Mauao ko Pūwhenua ōku maunga
Ko Kopurererua Ko Waikareao ōku awa
Ko Te Awanui tōku moana
Ko Takitimu tōku waka
Ko Rapana I te Ata a nuku Ata a rangi te hoe
Ko Te Āwhiorangi te toki
Ko Ngati Ranginui tōku iwi
Ko Ngāi Tamarāwaho tōku hapū
Ko Huria tōku marae
Ko Tamateapōkaiwhenua te tupuna whakairo
Ko Ihuparapara me Iwipupu te puna kai
Koirā te kōkōrāhō mai I ngā maunga ki Te Awanui e…
This submission is made by Morehu Ngatoko Rahipere of
I wish to appear before the Māori Affairs Select Committee to
speak to this submission.
1. Relationship to the Takutai Moana
He aha te kōrero māku? How do I express my feelings? Feelings of those
days long ago? Our long and spiritual association with Te Awanui
harbour?
Perhaps I will begin by stating that Maori culture is based on whakapapa
(genealogical connection between all things). Just as humans are a part
of nature, so too are the forests, waterways, the seas, the takutai moana
and everything contained within them. 1
1 Environmental Risk Management Authority, “Incorporating Maori Perspectives in Part V
Decision Making” (ERMA New Zealand Policy Series: Protocol 1. November 2004), p. 15.
Retrieved from http://www.erma.govt.nz)
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And like other cultures, we as Maori have values, traditions and
experiences that shape our views of the world, as well as laws which
govern our respective communities, this is summarised within this quote;
Matauranga Maori is essentially a system of knowledge and understanding
about Maori beliefs relating to creation and the relationship between atua
(supernatural guardians) and tangata (mankind). This relationship or
whakapapa (genealogy) determines the way people behave in the context of
their environmental ethical practices. Understanding Maori beliefs, values and
the relationship of those to the natural world requires an understanding of
traditional expressions including those portrayed in waiata (song) and pepeha
(proverbs). 2
The whakatauki and pepeha which I have used on page 1 of this
submission are expressions of my beliefs, values, and relationship to the
natural world. In order to come to grips with this you must recognise
that Maori concepts rarely correspond exactly with those Western
concepts which they appear to resemble. Deviations are usually present
and even if it appears that the reference is to a large extent the same,
there will be significant differences in the connotations.
Before arguing why I oppose the Takutai Moana Bill in its current status, I
will give an account of my memories, associations, and relationship with
the takutai moana by referring primarily to Te Awanui and the connecting
waterways which feed this large expanse of foreshore and seabed.
Let me first of all say that, in growing up at a very early age, I became
very, very, familiar with our moana – Te Awanui. I can still recall the days
that were spent in gathering kaimoana. I would be asked to hitch up the
horses to the gig, and we would head out to Te Awanui for the purpose of
gathering kaimoana.
In those days Te Awanui was a huge basket for the needs of our people.
There was so much to offer; shellfish of all descriptions such as the
tūangi, pipi, kukuroroa, pupu, titiko, kūtai, kina, paua, and not to
mention, throwing a line into the channel to catch fish. Particularly, the
kahawai, trevally, pioke, herring and the flounders – yes a huge food
basket.
2 Environmental Risk Management Authority, “Incorporating Maori Perspectives in Part V
Decision Making” (ERMA New Zealand Policy Series: Protocol 1. November 2004). Retrieved from
http://www.erma.govt.nz)
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As a youngster it was all fun throwing the fishing lines out, sitting and
waiting in expectancy for the bite of the fish, and sometimes, jumping
into the channels to swim in the clear waters of Te Awanui. Enacting the
rituals of encounters or spiritual practices specific for the purposes of
gathering food were all inclusive in these experiences. All of these things
I remember well while growing up.
Te Awanui
Te Awanui represents the huge expanse of water, foreshore and seabed
that flows from within the harbour of Tauranga between Matakana and
Ōtūmoetai. As the waters filled and then receded, you could gaze along
the foreshores of both Matakana and Ōtūmoetai, and see the expanse of
water and how far Te Awanui ebbed and flowed.
From Mauao across to Panepane, the eastern tip of Matakana Island
forms the gateway to the large expanse of water aptly named Te Awanui.
Along inland Matakana from east to west and looking directly across to
Ōtūmoetai flows Te Awanui which gradually veers left at a point called
Matuaiwi past Ōreanui, a former battle site. From there it flows into the
Peterehema estuary, spreading across to Tahataharoa where it clashes
with the waters of the Wairoa river.
Te Awanui continues along the length and breadth of Matakana Island,
past Motuhoa Island veering inland slightly behind Raropua then out to
Omokoroa Point. From the western end of Matakana Island and
Bowentown is a narrow outlet where Te Awanui flows out to sea.
From the inlet Te Awanui spreads into what is today known as the
Tauranga Harbour where on the eastern side lies Whareroa and it
continues south past Matapihi, direct to Hairini and spreads into an area
now known as Fraser Cove from whence the Waimapu stream flows in to.
From here, it travels past Maungatapu and along the flats of Ngā Pāpaka
o Rangataua and continues inwards along the flats of the Rangataua Bay
(Welcome Bay), thus is the journey and vast expansive waterways of Te
Awanui.
I turn back to Te Awanui (commonly known as Tauranga Harbour) itself
and what has happened here in my lifetime to date. I want to highlight
the very thoughts in my mind about what has and continues to happen to
a once beautiful harbour.
With the advent of the port which was in itself inevitable, and with the
continuous deepening of the harbour to accommodate larger ships, my
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question is, how much more dredging will happen to accommodate their
needs, and at what expense to our cultural and spiritual associations with
our maunga Mauao and our moana Te Awanui?
In the process of accommodating the whims of the rich, we have also
witnessed the building of two marinas – a continued cluttering of the
harbour itself. Certainly the congestion of the harbour as we now see it
today, shows a complete disregard for the lived experiences and
interactions, needs and thoughts of others who care about the harbour
and its once pristine condition.
These significant factors have impacted severly and changed the whole
face of the harbour itself. Seafood is no longer available in the
abundance I experienced as a child, and if it is, it comes with algae bloom
as a result of the pollution. We only need ask those who were affected
by shellfish poisoning, they gathered from within the harbour as recent as
2-3 months ago. Our Kaupapa Māori Health services within Ranginui iwi
receive updates from Toi Te Ora: Public Health, that tell us where rāhui
have been placed in and around the harbour as a result of contaminated
shell food.
I often ask myself ‘what does it mean, that in today’s society, what is
happening? A lot of seafood and shellfish that we relied on is no more,
particularly within the inner harbour itself.
To answer my own question I must turn to the beliefs and values which I
have been raised with and compare these with those of the decisionmakers
of today who have continually allowed these violations to take
place, and in doing so show total disregard for me, my whanau, hapu, iwi
and culture.
I reflect on the following excerpt from a famous speech made by Taiaho
Hori Ngatai of Tauranga Moana in 1885 which is set out here because in
the words of the Waitangi Tribunal it ‘precisely captures the character
and significance of Maori traditional rights to the foreshore and its
fisheries, and the nature of rangatiratanga protected by the Treaty’: 3
Now, with regard to the land below high-water mark immediately in front of
where I live, I consider that that is part and parcel of my own land...part of my
own garden. From time immemorial I have had this land, and had authority over
all the food in the sea... My mana over these places has never been taken away. I
have always held authority over these fishing places and preserved them; and no
tribe is allowed to come here and fish without my consent being given. But now,
3 Tauranga Moana Report, 1886-2006, Chapter 7, 498.
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in consequence of the word of the European that all the land below high-water
mark belongs to the Queen, people have trampled upon our ancient Maori
customs and are constantly coming here whenever they like to fish. I ask that
Maori custom shall not be set aside in this manner, and that our authority over
these fishing-grounds may be upheld.
I have to say that things were very different in that time compared
with today. Where Hori Ngatai had the mana to speak the way that he
spoke, we of today have a far more difficult job of trying to convey to
authorities and the wider public the association and relationship we feel
to this once beautiful harbour. We dare not stop. We will always find the
strength to ensure that we and future generations have and maintain
rights to the foreshore and seabed.
From Ōtūmoetai, I look to the sparkling waters of the Waikareao
estuary, and from the Waikareao estuary flows the Kopurererua river of
which, water flows freely from the ngahere, the upper reaches of Te
Paikarangaranga Valley where the waters of the Tautau and the Ohane
meet to form the Kopurererua, the merging of two streams. In the
following mōteatea, we confirm our linkage to those areas identified
within this particular kōrero:
Te Mōteatea a Taurikura
Taurikura, Taurikura e
Kei te mate wai au, haere ki te puna wai e
Ruru tō pane haere kē te tipuna ki te puna o Taumata e
I te hokitanga mai unuhia e Taurikura
Riri ana te tupuna e…
Taurikura, Taurikura e
I te matewai koe kore koe e haere e
Tūpere ō ngutu haere tonu atu i te pō
Oho mai te tupuna awangawanga ana
haere ana ki te kimi e…
Kimihia e ia i te puna o Taumata
Ka rongo i te wai e rure mai ana
Tiro atu ki te wai rere ana ngā roimata e
Taurikura, Taurikura e
Ngaro koe ki te tangata kua tuatara koe e…
Rere atu i ngā puke o Te Taumata
Heke atu ki Ōhane
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Tiro atu ki Kotoremuia
peka atu ki tō ana i Te Parikarangaranga
kau atu i te Kopurererua
Tae atu ki Nanako-ki-maiwiiwi
Patu mai ki Tūkarere, aue e wahine e…
Whai atu koe i Huria, i roto i a Tataramoa
Ki te aropuke me te whakapae waka
Arā te whāngai a Tamarāwaho me te Motuapae
A puta ki Wairau
Haere Taurikura e
Taurikura, Taurikura e
Kei te matuanui tō whakamutunga e
Taurikura, Taurikura e…
Let me talk about Te Kopurererua…
The cool, clear fresh waters of the ngahere, from the mountains of
Pūwhenua & Ōtanewainuku, flows down the valley we call Te
Parikarangaranga (the echoing hills), to form what is today, Te
Kopurererua. A stream where we often went to as young people, the
banks of which were clustered with native trees plus large bushes of flax
from whence my mother and others went to fetch their harakeke for
making kite and whāriki. Along the foreshore of the Waikareao estuary,
is where my mother would take kite and whāriki for dying purposes. This
place was called Parekaia, and currently, that is where the Tauranga
Archers Club now stands. In between waiting for them to gather enough
flax, we would do our own thing as kids; jumping into the cold waters for
a swim sometimes catching eels, a beautiful playground nearby called the
Te Auetū Valley, named after one of our ancestors, Te Auetū.
My thoughts now turn closer to home.
From the Ōtūmoetai Railway bridge which spans the entry and receding
waters of Te Awanui, lies the once aptly name Waikareao estuary
(sparkling waters), and a particular area within which we called, Te Kete
Kai a Tamarāwaho. Ngā momo ika katoa – tūangi, pipi, pupu, titiko,
tuna, pātiki, kōheriheri. And into the Waikareao flows the pollutants of
the industrial area that sits on the banks of the Kopurererua river/stream.
The aftermath of which the stream flows into has impacted on the
Waikareao and when you see the mangroves growing there today and
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the silt that emanates from the Kopurererua into the once clean
Waikareao estuary, people will understand how we feel about what is
happening.
If one could land an airplane on the Tauranga side of the Waikareao
estuary, then you can imagine how firm, hard and sandy the beach was in
those days, where today it’s totally incomparable. The plane that landed
there was that of Kingsford-Smith, back in the 1930s, and I was privy to
that; running across the channel when the tide was out and watching as
Kingsford-Smith landed his plane on our estuary. Oh, how time has
changed things.
At the high water mark, as the tides flow in the erosion that has been
created, for one various reason or another, I think we can judge the
reason why these things are happening and it becomes difficult to
imagine how this could happen. Not only to the Kopurererua nor just the
Waikareao, but to our main harbour known as Te Awanui. This land is
the Waikareao, the Kopurererua and Te Awanui.
Progress may be inevitable, but I also know that these waterways have
been and still are very much an integral part of our culture, our lives.
Te Awanui and some its many tributaries which I have named above, has
been more than just a place for gathering seafood and providing
sustenance to whanau, hapu and iwi. It has been pivotal to sustaining a
way of life, maintaining well-being, upholding cultural and spiritual
practices, which are all integral and a part of me as Ngai Tamarawaho,
and as Ngati Ranginui.
2. General Position of TRW on the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai
Moana) Bill.
I oppose the Bill. The Bill fails to recognise and provide for the mana and
authority that our hapu and iwi have exercised in relation to our takutai
Moana from time immemorial, and that were protected by Te Tiriti o
Waitangi. There are particular aspects of the Bill that are discriminatory
and reinforce earlier injustices to Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui caused by
raupatu and therefore amount to continuing breaches of Te Tiriti o
Waitangi. The Bill does not meaningfully understand Maori values,
concepts or ideals, it seeks to limit the practice of tikanga Maori by
Maori.
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Detailed TRW Comments on the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai
Moana) Bill.
3.1 Discriminatory Form of Title
3.1. The new form of customary title proposed by the Bill fails to recognise
and provide for the mana and authority that our hapū and iwi have
exercised in relation to our takutai Moana from time immemorial, and
that was protected by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
3.2 The Waitangi Tribunal has reported that the harbour and its foreshores
were and remain crucial aspects of Tauranga Moana iwi and hapū
economic, cultural and spiritual well-being and identity. Tauranga Moana
was and is, clearly and indisputably, a taonga of all of the hapū of
Tauranga Moana, including Ngā hapū o Ngāti Ranginui. The Tribunal
went further to find that in usurping ownership over Tauranga Moana the
Crown committed a number of Treaty breaches. 4
TRW submits that this
usurpation is continued by the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana)
Bill.
3.3 The Bill constructs a space termed the common marine and coastal area
of which no one is capable of owning (clause 11). The Bill then specifically
excludes freehold title located within the foreshore and seabed from
forming part of that common marine and coastal area (clause 7). The Bill
therefore retains privilege to an exclusive group of existing private
owners that have freehold in their land contiguous to the foreshore and
seabed and creates a new form of title for iwi and hapū that is specifically
defined as being less than freehold title (clause 63). The Bill is selective
about what parts of the foreshore are seabed are available under the
new customary marine title and then heavily limits the rights available to
hapū and iwi in clause 64. This new form of title is therefore a
discriminatory form of title that disadvantages TRW in that it is a
subordinate title predicated on a notion of essentially subordinate Māori
rights. TRW therefore urges the select committee to rectify this aspect of
the Bill.
4 Page 608.
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4. TRW’s Proposed Solution to Issues of Title
4.1 TRW refers to the Ngāti Whatua o Orakei for an exemplary model of
ownership and control of foreshore on the Auckland waterfront. TRW is
supportive of Ngāti Whatua o Orakei’s model on the basis that it retains
the mana of hapū over the foreshore and offers a solution that embraces
the principle of partnership between Māori and the Crown.
4.2 Ngāti Whatua o Orakei acquired fee simple title to the foreshore at
Okahu Bay in 1991. The foreshore forms part of an area classed as
‘whenua rangatira’ which has been set aside for the common use and
benefit of members of the hapu and citizens of the City of Auckland. The
management is undertaken by the Orakei Reserves Board which
comprises 50/50 representation from Ngāti Whatua o Orakei and the
Auckland City Council.
4.3 Twelve years after its inception (and during the first consultation process
regarding the Crown’s foreshore and seabed and policy) Sir Hugh
Kawharu offered the model as one that could be adopted as a solution for
foreshore and seabed issues:
It is a benign but efficient regime; and here at least the mana of Ngati Whatua
stands tall, intact and protected. In light of the current debate, I can confirm
that public access to the foreshore of Okahu Bay has been unrestricted from
the day title returned to Ngati Whatua. 5
TRW urges the select committee to consider this model as a solution to
the ownership and control of the foreshore and seabed in Tauranga
Moana.
5. Prejudicial Impacts of the Bill on iwi and hapu who have suffered
Raupatu
5.1 The Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Bill must be repealed or
amended in order to remove discriminatory and unjust aspects and that
reinforce earlier injustices to Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui caused by
raupatu and that amount to continuing breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
5.2 Clause 60(1) provides that title to areas within the takutai moana/
common marine and coastal area can be granted if the applicant can
show that they:
5 Document A35 (Kawharu), para 58-65.
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(a) hold the area in accordance with tikanga; and
(b) have exclusively used and occupied the area from 1840 to
the present day without substantial interruption.
5.3 Ngāti Ranginui’s use and occupation of the takutai moana was
substantially interrupted by acts and consequences of raupatu
perpetrated by the Crown from 1865 onwards under the authority of
oppressive legislation including the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863.
As a result of the Crown’s actions, Ngāti Ranginui along with the other iwi
of Tauranga Moana; Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pukenga, are precluded
from demonstrating continued exclusive use and occupation of certain
areas of takutai moana even though their mana whenua and kaitiaki
status is recognised and acknowledged by neighbouring hapū and iwi.
5.4 TRW asserts that despite the raupatu, and through their own determined
efforts, TRW hapū have maintained a strong and continuous relationship
with their traditional hapū areas of takutai moana and that the test set
out in the bill requiring exclusive use and occupation without substantial
interruption is an unjust test on the basis that it:
(a) denies hapū rights to claim title in relation to the takutai moana on
the basis of circumstances that were forcefully imposed upon them;
and
(b) reinforces earlier injustices to Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Ranginui caused by
raupatu and therefore amounts to continuing breaches of Te Tiriti o
Waitangi.
5.5 TRW asserts that the Bill must be repealed or amended to ensure that
raupatu hapū and iwi can acquire rights to title.
6. Recommended Amendment
6.1 TRW submits that the Bill be amended to ensure that hapū and iwi
affected by raupatu not be denied the opportunity to acquire title
because of oppressive actions that were not of their own making and by
which they (temporarily) lost access to and control of important
resources. The following is a proposed solution to TRW’s concerns in
relation to the test for exclusive use and occupation:
For the purpose of subsection (1)(b), there is no substantial interruption to the
exclusive use and occupation of a particular part of the common marine and
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Conclusion
coastal area if, in relation to that part, interruption was caused by acts of
raupatu carried out by the Crown under the NZ Settlement Act 1863.
In conclusion I end with these final words as an expression and assertion of my
view of the world and the interconnectedness/relationship between all things.
Interpreting what I have said and capturing and retaining the concepts and
values in ways that retain their integrity will be the challenge, which requires an
appreciation and understanding of my world view;
Mai i ngā aorangi e rere ana
ki nga maunga o Pūwhenua me Ōtanewainuku,
ki te whenua, ki ngā au o ngā waimāori,
ki ngā au o ngā waitai,
ki a Tangaroa rāua ko Hinemoana,
ki tā rāua tamahine a Hinetūākirikiri,
ki te moana o Te Awanui,
ki ōna taura waka, taura iwi, taura hapū, taura whānau, taura
tangata,
koirā hoki te kōkōrāhō ōrangi, ōnuku, ō Tane, ō Tangaroa hoki.
From the airwaves that exist,
to the mountains of Pūwhenua and Ōtanewainuku,
to the land and currents of freshwater and seawater areas,
to the deity of water Tangaroa and his wife Hinemoana,
to their daughter the maiden of the foreshore – Hinetūākirikiri
are our connections as descendants of our waka that traversed
the seas,
from whence comes my intrinsic tribal, sub-tribal and family
relationships,
I hereby claim that this is, on behalf of my people of Ngāti
Ranginui our total interests in regards to
the Takutai Moana Bill. 6
7. Appearance before the Select committee
I wish to appear before the Māori Affairs Select Committee to speak to
my submission:
6 Togo, T (2010, unpublished material).
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Contact Person: Sylvia Willison
Contact Details: s
______________________________
Signed by Morehu Ngatoko Rahipere, a kaumatua of Ngai Tamaraawaho, Ngati
Ranginui
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