Auckland Domain (Auckland Tennis) Amendment Bill

Like others, I would like to meander through the game of tennis, having been a small town champion myself in former days, in the Hawkes Bay.
Having done a bit of research, I have found out the modern game of lawn tennis takes its origins from late 19th century England; and in particular Major Walton Clopton Wingfield.

It wasn’t long before the finest of indigenous talents had picked up the ball and showed the world what we are made of.

We think of such stars on the courts as:
Ruia Morrison-Davy; the first Maori and first New Zealand woman to make it to Wimbledon,
Kelly Evernden who represented New Zealand at Davis Cup level;
Tutere Durie competing at the World Junior Tennis Asia/Oceania competition in China;
Kataraina Hunia who spent five months training in Barcelona;
Barrett Franks of Ngapuhi fame, who played in the World Junior Tennis Finals in the Czech republic;
Ngati Raukawa player, Tracey O’Connor;
Ngati Maniapoto player, Luci Barlow; and
Code Star and Olympic competitor, Rewa Hudson or
Ngati Porou champion, Mose Harvey who in winning the World Super Seniors 70 plus; was the first New Zealander to win a world title in tennis.

The Tainui tennis champ, Leanne Baker, perhaps epitomises best the lengths to which tangata whenua will go to, in advancing this sport.

Two months ago, Baker battling a broken toe, fought on through a three hour match to win the United States international tennis tournament in Mazatlan, Mexico.

There is a whakatauaki, a proverb that encourages this never-give-up attitude, that Leanne must know well, and it is one that people in here could well follow. It says:
Kaua ma te waewae tutuki e hokia, engari ma te upoko pakaru - Don't give up and turn back because you stub your toe - only if you split your skull.
There’s some good advice here.
This incredible international hall of fame may seem a long way away from the days of Major Walton Clopton Wingfield – but illustrates that ever Maori are out there, excelling in elite sports, in almost every field we take on.

I wanted to set this context out in some depth, as way of background to this Auckland Domain (Auckland Tennis) Amendment Bill.

But of course when we are talking background, we could go back even further.
Maori participation in tennis dates back to the 1890s. In fact, as a descendent of Ngati Kahungunu, I am proud to reveal that the earliest photograph of Maori playing tennis dates back to 1899 and depicts Maori shearers playing on the courts of Elms Hill Station in the Hawkes Bay.
In that same year, Sir Maui Pomare won the Inter-varsity tennis championships while he was studying in the States.

Inter-marae and inter-rohe championships for the Turoa Morehu and Marumaru Cups were in full swing by 1910.

The New Zealand Maori Tennis Association was formally constituted in 1926 by Sir Apirana Ngata, long before the Auckland Domain was developing the facilities for the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association.

Tangata whenua have, however, a background with the Auckland Domain which predates even the history of tennis in Aotearoa.

Almost 190 years ago, Te Wherowhero, the great rangatira of Waikato, came to Pukekaroa to make peace with Ngapuhi.

And when Lieutenant Governor Hobson set about founding Auckland in 1840, at the invitation of Ngati Whatua, he reserved some two hundred acres around the central volcanic cone for parkland which eventually became the Auckland Domain.

We can, of course, go even further back. Ngati Whatua has advised the Maori Party that they have a kaitiaki obligation which stretches back to the 1700s when the land in question was a waka tauranga, a landing place for waka, known as Waipapa.

Mr Speaker, this history of tangata whenua relationship with tennis, relationship with the Auckland Domain, relationships with the Auckland City Council, should have been canvassed well before this Bill made it to the House.

The requirements under the Local Government Act 2002 for Councils to consult with mana whenua are not just words on a page, concepts to pad out a policy.

The Select Committee stated that they were informed that local iwi had been consulted before the Bill was introduced.

And yet, we wonder who it was that was consulted.

Was it Tainui? Ngapuhi? Ngati Whatua?

Was the Aotearoa Maori Tennis Association involved? Kingi Tuheitia – their patron? Their tumuaki – Dick Garratt?

When we in the Maori Party approached Ngati Whatua at the first reading of this Bill we learnt they were not aware of the Bill even being put forward.

It is hardly the benchmark of a good relationship on the part of Auckland City Council.

The Auckland City Council now has the legal rights to the land in question in their capacity as lessor.

But that should never have had the effect of denying the cultural interest that Ngati Whatua maintain in the land, and the ongoing obligation of kaitiakitanga.

Today, as we approach the second and third reading of the Bill, we have learnt that Ngati Whatua give conditional support to the Bill – conditional on tennis remaining as the kaupapa, and not something else such as the building of apartments.

We would have expected, however, that Ngati Whatua o Orakei would have been involved in the planning stages. We would expect, also, that any development scheduled for the site will be required to go through a resource consent process which again should inevitably involve Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Mr Speaker, it is not a big ask.

The Auckland Tennis Association is a key player in the competitive global environment in which tennis events take place. The ASB Classic, the Sony Ericsson World Tennis Association Tour, the ATB Heinekenn Open Men’s Tournament, are all elite events on the prestigious international tournament circuit.

The twenty-five million dollar upgrade is critical in order for Auckland to be able to maintain a high standard of facilities for players and spectators alike.

Planning is currently in progress to develop state of the art tennis and squash courts, gymnasium, crèche, recreation, pool and health facilities and a new on-site car park.

In the midst of such intense investment we, in the Maori Party would expect that ongoing relationships with mana whenua would have been accorded priority.

The slogan for Auckland Tennis Incorporated is ‘hit me with your best shot’.

The best shot in terms of actively respecting and engaging with mana whenua is a long shot off, but the game isn’t over yet.

All we can hope is that Auckland City Council do not keep on serving up faults.
The future ahead for Auckland Tennis will inevitably require them to engage in public consultation if they expect to apply for an extended lease, and the right to sub-lease part of the site.
We will follow the lead of Ngati Whatua in giving conditional support this Bill.

But the match point must be that we hope that the overwhelming generosity of mana whenua is recognised, as Auckland Tennis moves forward.