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

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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. 4
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 5
Page 1 and 2: MĀORI AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE SUB
Page 3: As a youngster it was all fun throw
Page 7 and 8: the silt that emanates from the Kop
Page 9 and 10: 4. TRW’s Proposed Solution to Iss
Page 11 and 12: Conclusion coastal area if, in rela

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

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