New Zealand Parliamentary Debate

Local Government (Rating Cap) Amendment Bill [4478]

44 sections worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each. The local hapu held an occupation of the adjoining reserve to try to raise consciousness about the impacts of councils doing this with community-owned land in order to help drive up the rate base. This increases the rates for all the houses around the area that are not worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and are owned by people who have been living there for generations.

These are significant issues for those people. I understand that ACT is trying to find a solution to these issues, but the fact is that unless we curb unsustainable growth that then leads to increased land prices, and therefore to the economic exclusion of ordinary New Zealanders, as we are seeing. We simply will not be able to stop the subsequent effects of that exclusion-rates rises and councils taking advantage of increased land valuations being one of those effects.

This bill distorts and distracts us from the real issues behind why these things are happening for local ratepayers, and we consider that we simply cannot support a bill that really only provides a band-aid approach and does not deal with the real issues. We would welcome the support of ACT and other members of this House to deal with those background issues if they are prepared to set aside their absolute adherence to unsustainable economic growth as the only option for this country, because that is in large part the problem. Kia ora.

HONE HARAWIRA( Maori Party-Te Tai Tokerau):

E tautoko ana te Pati Maori i era kaupapa ka taea e te iwi kia kitea i nga mahi e mahi ana, e whakapono ano hoki te tangata, nana nei nga mahi. Ko ta te pire nei, he whakarereke i Te Ture a-Rohe 2002. Ko tana hei whakapotae kia kore e rahi ake nga reiti kua tohungia e nga kaunihera a-rohe ki runga i te hunga e noho ana ki reira. Ko te tahuhu korero mo nga taake whenua ki a ngai Maori kei a ia ona piki me ona heke, kia penei, kia pera. I tera atu rau tau, i kitea i nga mahi nanakia a te tari taake, kia whakarahi ake te wariu o te whenua Maori ki te whenua Pakeha, a, i te kore utu i nga reiti, ka tahae te kawana i aua whenua. Anei ano. i tera rau tau i whakaitihia te wariu o nga whenua Maori i te rohe potae o Tainui kia taea a tauiwi te hoko i aua whenua. E mea ana a tauiwi, ko te take o tenei tino iti o te wariu, te kore wariu ano hoki i te mea, he tini rawa nga tangata na ratou te whenua. Ko enei nga mahi tukino a nga ture wariu whenua, ka nui te whakama.

He rahi tonu nga whenua Maori, horekau he tangata e noho ana ki reira, a, kahore te whenua i mahia. Hanga pakeke ana te utu reiti mo nga tangata na ratou enei whenua. Ko etahi he rawakore, ko etahi ano e kore hiahia kia whakamahia te whenua kia riro rawa ratou. Ko nga take e penei ana, ara, ko te ahua o nga tangata na ratou te whenua; ko te ahua o te whenua ehara i te whenua pai kia whakamahia, kia noho ranei te tangata, me te mea ano ko te whenua he whenua taratahi.

Kei Te Ture Kawanatanga a-Rohe 2002 he wahanga hei tautoko i te Maori kia mahi i wa ratou mahi tawhito i aua whenua. Kia taea hoki e nga tangata whenua te whakahaere i etahi mahi rawa i raro i te mohioranga, kei reira ano he wahi tapu.

Ko tetahi wahanga o Te Ture Reiti i whakaritea kia orite te ahua o te whenua Maori, ki wera atu o nga whenua whanui. Engari, kua kite tatou i nga tau kua pahure ake nei, kua piki haere nga reiti o nga whenua Maori, tata atu ki te wha rau te rere ki tera o nga whenua whanui a wetahi o nga kaunihera. Ko te tikanga, ma te reiti ka ngaro ano hoki te tangata i ona whenua. Koia nei te take, kahore te Pati Maori i tautoko i te putea kotahi te utu, mo nga mahi nunui i raro i Te Pire Whakarereke i te Ture Kawanatanga a-Rohe i te mea, he momo ano tera kia whakarahi ake atu nga reiti.

E tika ana kia wanangahia i tenei kaupapa i tenei ra i te mea, e wanangahia ano hoki e matou nga korero mo Te Tiriti O Waitangi i tenei ra. Ko ta Pita Rikys: Ko te tino whakaaro kia riro e te Maori i tona mana i raro i te mana o te Tiriti, a, kia totika tonu nga tikanga me nga kaupapa ka hangaia kia pono te mahi i muri mai o tera. Ko te