Opinion: Huhana Lyndon, Green Party MP
The ongoing confiscation of whenua for ‘public works’ has left tangata whenua with little more than broken promises, token compensation, and the scars of colonisation.
The Crown has used the Public Works Act as a key tool to alienate whenua Māori through the generations.
Our hapū and iwi have a long list of lands taken to enable roads, railways, quarries, towns, cities, and public works—leaving tangata whenua with only a shadow of the lands we once held.
In their place, we were left with blights and schools, sometimes with ‘compensation’ and often without.
The raupatu of whenua through Public Works, leaving tangata whenua with only a shadow of the lands we once held, blights, the history of our country.
E ai ki te kōrero o Nopera Panakareao, ‘Ko te ātārangi o te whenua i riro ki a Kuini Wikitoria, ko te oneone i mau.’
Kīhai te ihu o taku pire i puta
This week, we had an opportunity to bring an end to this legacy of injustice. My Member’s Bill would have empowered Māori to say YES or NO to the taking of their land under the Public Works Act.
We have already lost so much; Māori should be empowered to say YES or NO when it comes to the possession of their land.
It is this choice, this tino rangatiratanga, that lies at the core of my bill. Unsurprisingly, this was something the government chose to shoot down, which aligns with the other numerous legislative attacks against te iwi Māori.
Meanwhile, the government is amending the Public Works Act to acquire land from landowners faster.
It is putting more power in the hands of government ministers and local authorities that are further suppressing tino rangatiratanga for te iwi Māori.
It is forcing iwi and hapū to go through a costly process with the Environmental Court, knowing that most Māori cannot afford to do so. This could see more whenua Māori lost at a faster rate, and while it is with compensation, that would never equate to the ancestral ties that we have with our whenua.
He poropititanga e whai niho tonu ana
Our Prime Minister dares to tell Māori that Te Tiriti is our past, present, and future, yet also undermines the very foundation of our founding agreement by allowing the confiscation of Māori land to continue.
As a result, this tool of the Crown will continue to be used today, tomorrow, and into our future.
E ai ki te poropiti o Aperahama Taonui ‘He taniwha kei te haere mai, ōna niho he hiriwa, he kōura, ko tōna kai he whenua. Kaua e mataku i te hiriwa me te kōura, engari, kaua e tukua i te hiriwa me te kōura hei atuatanga mōu.’
E tātou mā, kua kite te iwi Māori i te whakatinanatanga o tēnei poropiti, i a Kāwanatanga e kaingia ana te whenua, i ngā rawa o te taiao me te kore whakaaro ki te āpōpō.
However, what happened this week was just a speed bump on the road to Te Tiriti justice. We know the movement we are building, that we are seeing flood streets across the motu, will not allow this injustice to continue.
Taku manawa, he manawa ora
Despite the constant assaults this Government is making on Te Tiriti, on tangata whenua, on Papatūānuku, I remain hopeful.
I find hope in our tamariki and their generation that is standing loud and proud for tino rangatiratanga.
I find hope in our communities, tangata whenua, tangata Tiriti, and tagata moana, fighting for our founding agreement and the vision of unity it represents.
As Dr Moana Jackson said, Te Tiriti o Waitangi is about the rightness that comes from people accepting their obligations to each other.
He whakakite mō Aotearoa whānui. Aotearoa can be a place where everyone is supported to thrive, and no one is left behind - ko tātou tērā.
We know that this is where we are going, and the Government can only hold us back from getting there for so long. Even though my Bill did not make it through the House this time, the fact that all opposition parties were united in their support for it gives me hope.
Mā mātou anō tēnei kaupapa e pīkau mō te iwi Māori, kia pupuri te whenua mō ngā uri whakaheke, hei painga mō te katoa.
Mana Māori Motuhake, kia toitū te whenua, kia toitū te rangatiratanga.
