Now I appreciate that Stuart comes from a party that struggles with the concept of Treaty rights.
This has been evident locally by Labour MP the late Geoff Braybrooke's Private Member's Bill that extinguished the opportunity for local hapu to own and administer the inner harbour endowment lands as recommended by the Waitangi Tribunal. The seabed and foreshore legislation is another example.
I contrast this with the polite and respectful way in which one of these so-called "foreigners" who intends to extract and bottle water at their plant at Awatoto came to Ngati Paarau of Waiohiki to ask for their support and partnership in their endeavour.
They manage One Pure, a company owned by Hon Lung International Investments (Hong Kong) Limited and Yongnan (Boris) Kang of Auckland. Boris. My Irishness compels me to immediately like any person of Asian extraction who has the wit to choose Boris as a name that is easy for English speakers to pronounce.
Boris is no "foreigner". He is a New Zealand citizen and is the sole director and a major shareholder of One Pure.
The One Pure plant is not yet in production and they came to talk with Ngati Paarau about how they might best go about things for the benefit of all parties. The primary agreed values were those of oranga - the wellbeing of the environment and the people who inhabit it.
One Pure did not apply for a new "water take" resource consent for their plant. It had already been granted by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and came with the plant when it was purchased from other New Zealanders. The consent to undertake water bottling activity has required further consent with various affected parties as required by the legal framework including Napier City Council and NZTA as well as Ngati Paarau.
The One Pure plant is at the foot of the Tutaekuri and is situated on the coast. The flow direction of the aquifer means that the water that they do not extract all goes out to the sea. There will be minimal effect on the aquifer if any.
One Pure have invested significantly in the construction of the plant to extract water. They have also been levied $300,000 for a development contribution by Napier City Council. They are committed to employing our local people to work in the plant.
At the front of the Hawke's Bay airport at Ahuriri is a bronze sculpture of the kuaka, the bar-tailed godwit. The Chinese call this little bird hei wei yu. It flies from China to Aotearoa every year at about this time in one of the longest unbroken journeys of any known creature. It symbolises a link between China and New Zealand and reminds us that relationships are built in the longterm: this is a marathon not a sprint.
Both One Pure and Ngati Paarau look towards a shared future that looks after both the environment and the people and which is done so in a respectful way that is good for our region and our nation, all of us regardless of our ethnicity or derivation.
• Denis O Reilly is the chairman of the fundraising committee for the Waiohiki Marae Complex
