Te Arawa hearings: Impassioned reminder of area's history

Proposed Te Arawa Partnership Plan hearings at the Rotorua Lakes Council. 30 April 2015 Rotorua Daily Post Photograph by Ben Fraser

The Te Arawa Partnership Proposal submission hearings continued yesterday with passionate speeches made both for and against the proposal.

About 200 people asked to be heard in person by the Rotorua Lakes Council after it received almost 2000 submissions.

Former Te Arawa Standing Committee member Potaua Biasiny-Tule spoke about Te Arawa's connection to the area, at the hearings.

"When Henry VIII was cutting off heads in England, we were here defending our lands.

"When Joan of Arc was communing with God and inspiring her nation to fight back, our wahine rangitira were developing indigenous strategies to keep their hapu alive ... When Genghis Khan humbled Europe and created a new dynasty in China we were here raising children.

"When Shaka Zulu ran with his people on the plains of Africa we were here organising ourselves and when Tasman, Cook and many others found their way to Aotearoa we were here.

"So, just to set the record straight, our people were creating history and herstory [sic] long before the western world sought to rule over us."

He said Te Arawa had made sacrifices in several wars for the Crown.

"And for all of our contributions, sacrifices and effort, we still have not had a Maori mayor. Even when we were the majority we not allowed to fully participate.

"And this is what annoys me about the so-called democracy being pushed by Reynold [Macpherson] and his co-conspirators.

"What I see is a network of the old boys desperately trying to hold on to power. This fight is as racial as it is cultural and inter-generational.

"I am not here to plead for partnership, I am here to remind you all that our indigenous rights to these whenua have not been extinguished.

"You may think you can bully us in the newspaper, speak poorly of us Maori everywhere, mispronounce our words with every breath, but I am here to say that if you do not like the way we are then move."

Rotorua resident Rod Milne opposed the partnership proposal, and was concerned all Maori in the region were not accounted for in the proposal.

"Arawa is the main holding tribe from the coast to the mountains ... are you consulting with everyone or not?

"My grandson is a proud Ngai Tahu. If he goes to university and decides to come and work for Ngai Tahu here - they've got substantial holdings - I would like for him, if he wants to, to be able to stand and be elected. That's democracy. I want to see a broad encompassing of the area."

Mr Milne said the rural community were also not well represented on council.

"I propose to put two Maori seats in and two rural wards because you drop them to save your own little backsides.You need a couple of farmers around the desk too."

The last submission hearing will be held on Monday, May 11, from 9.30am to 5pm.

The council is due to make a final decision on the Te Arawa Partnership Proposal at its meeting on May 26.