Historic Waikato River treaty enacted

Parliament's public gallery rang to the sound of a haka yesterday as Tainui supporters marked the enactment of the bill that gives the tribe and Crown joint governance over the Waikato river.

The public galleries were packed yesterday with iwi members and the Maori King Tuheitia, seated beside Speaker Lockwood Smith, as the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Bill was passed on a voice vote.

It was an emotional day for Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta, who closed the debate by paying tribute to her parents.

Her late father, Sir Robert Mahuta, led Maoridom in negotiating the ground-breaking $170 million Raupatu settlement in 1995, and her mother, Lady Raiha, led these negotiations, but died in March just before seeing her deal make it into legislation.

Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson said in a statement after the vote the co-governance marked a new era in the relationship between Waikato-Tainui and the Crown.

"The search for justice by Waikato-Tainui has been a long one," he said.

The legislation provides for a $210m cleanup fund for the river over the next 30 years. It will establish the Waikato River Authority, comprising equal numbers of Crown and iwi-appointed members, responsible for monitoring and guiding implementation of the direction-setting document Te Ture Whaimana, the Vision and Strategy.

The bill includes joint management agreements between Waikato-Tainui and local authorities, participation in river-related resource consent decisions, recognition of a Waikato-Tainui environmental plan and provision for regulations covering conservation issues.

Most MPs praised the settlement but ACT MP David Garrett said "many New Zealanders, regardless of their race, have an affinity with the Waikato River. We don't have to be Maori to feel a connection ... this bill says our connection doesn't matter".

The Governor-General will sign the bill into law today.

-with NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News