Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill, Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill

on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move, That the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill and the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill be now read a first time. I intend to move at the appropriate time that the bills be considered by the Māori Affairs Committee, and I want to advise the Speaker that I will using my notes.

I would like to welcome the representatives of Maraeroa A and B Blocks who are here today for this very special occasion. The endeavours of people such as Glen Katu, Edward Moana Emery, Brian Stanley, and Piripi Crown continue to bear fruit, and this private bill today, the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill, is a testimony to their dedication and their commitment to working together. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.

Today is a significant moment for the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks, as we acknowledge their historical Treaty grievances and seek to move forward. Although we look forward to realising the potential that exists in this settlement for the generations to come, we acknowledge and honour the legacy provided by the leadership of Charlie Wehi, the original claimant, and Murdoch Paki, a much-respected member of Te Maru o Rereahu Trust.

It is almost a year to the day that I joined with Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Rereahu, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa at Pā Harakeke to sign the deed on behalf of the Crown. It is a great privilege to be able now to act on the intent of that deed and to be able to sponsor one of the two bills being introduced today under the cognate procedure, namely the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill.

The two bills being introduced today are the final steps towards the completion of a journey that has taken many years. The bills are significant in that they seek to re-establish broken relationships and the promise of a better future for all. The Maraeroa A and B Blocks lie on the volcanic plateau east of Te Kūiti. The interests of several iwi and hapū groups intersect here, being predominantly Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and Ngāti Raukawa.

In September 2008 terms of negotiations were signed with Te Mahu o Rereahu Trust and the Crown, and the Crown commenced exploratory work with Ngāti Rereahu interests in the Maraeroa Blocks. In July 2009 the Crown agreed to negotiate a block settlement with the trust in relation to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks, with the beneficiaries being all descendants of the original owners of those blocks, regardless of iwi or hapū affiliation.

The trust sought a fresh mandate in August 2010 to negotiate on behalf of the descendants of the Maraeroa Blocks. This mandate was recognised on 18 November 2010, and a deed was initialled on 16 December 2010. Five ratification information hui were held in January 2011. The hui were held at Māngere, Te Kūiti, Waihī marae, Pā Harakeke, and Kōkiri marae in Wellington. I am told that the hui were well attended and supported by owners residing in those places. I think this is worthy of acknowledgment—the commitment, the resourcing, and the manaakitanga of our marae and entities who gave so generously to enable the settlement’s process to flow.

The block settlement recognised that the claims settlement bill is outside the settlement framework and does not comprehensively settle all the claims of the claimant groups. All claims, however, relating to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks will be extinguished by this settlement. I acknowledge that this feature in itself—that the settlement relates exclusively to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks—adds another layer to the legislation, in that we must also be aware that there are other negotiations occurring between the parties in respective areas outside of this settlement.

The land on which the people of Maraeroa A and B Blocks settled and exercised kaitiakitanga was rich in resources. It was an area regarded as a kono kai, which provided a wide range of foods and resources for all of the iwi of the surrounding district. The Crown acknowledges that in 1862 native land legislation was imposed on Māori landowners without consulting them, and that the native land laws facilitated Crown and private purchasing of Māori land.

I am reminded of the wisdom of one of my tipuna, Tinirau, who left us the vision of these words: toitū te kupu, toitū te mana, toitū te w’enua. In that message, he urged us all to hold fast to our language, to our land, as the essence of who we are as mana w’enua—the people of the land. It is an intimate and all-enduring relationship—the tangata, the people, always connected to the w’enua, their land. It is a relationship that forms the very foundation of our being, and yet a relationship that has been sorely tested by the actions of the Crown over the past 170 years and more.

In this legislation we saw this manifest from 1884 to 1908, a period of time in which the Crown had a monopoly over purchasing from Maraeroa A and B Blocks. Between 1895 and 1908 the Crown purchased the individual interests of most of the owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks, totalling a massive 90 percent of two blocks. The Maraeroa A and B Blocks contained significant areas of indigenous forest. The prices paid by the Crown for these blocks did not appear to include the value of the indigenous timber on the land, and the milling of indigenous forest removed the habitat of indigenous species.

The alienation of these blocks separated the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks from their wāhi tapu, undermined their cultural connection to the land, and deprived them of the ability to access ngā wāhi kohinga kai, cultural resources, and materials for construction. The loss of these lands undermined the social and traditional tribal structures of the people, their autonomy, and their ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities. Today this legislation is an attempt to rectify and remedy the wrong.

The Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill is a private bill in my name, required to establish the Māori incorporation that is to form part of the post-Government settlement entity. This bill has also resulted from the deed that was negotiated and agreed between the Crown and the descendants of this w’enua. I am proud to sponsor this bill on behalf of the descendants of the Maraeroa Blocks.

I want to also thank my parliamentary colleagues for supporting the procedural changes necessary to allow both Government and private bills to be considered together as cognate bills through the legislative process. Both bills need to come into force at the same time so that the transfer of the settlement assets to the incorporation can take place.

I hope that this settlement will atone for these wrongs and continue the process of healing. It will mark the beginning of a new relationship with the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks that is based on mutual trust and cooperation. I consider the bills should, therefore, proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. I commend these bills to the House.

Mr Deputy Speaker, e mihi kau ana ki a koe e noho ana i runga i te tūru rā, e mau awhi mō te pō nei. Kua tae ake tātou ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero mō te tīmata o tēnei kerēme mō rātou a Maraeroa. E mihi atu ki a Tariana e tuku i te pire nei ki roto i te Whare Mīere. Me whakahoki atu ōku whakaaro ki wērā tau i tae atu au ki reira ki tō rātou wāhi, i kite atu i te nui o te ngahere, o te harakeke. Nā, te tino rekareka i roto i āku i tae atu ki reira, i kite atu i a rātou e whai kaha ā muri mō nga tuku i waihotia mai e ngā mea pakeke ō rātou. E tika atu me tautoko, me mihi atu ki wēnei kaiwhakahaere, a Piripi Crown me Glen Katu, a Brian Stanley, a Deborah Maxwell, a Tūtahanga Tēpu, a Edward Moana, me Thomas Tūwhāngai, nā te mea, i roto i āku, e mihi kau ana ki a rātou me ngā mea pakeke e kore e ora, rātou i tīmata atu i te take nei.

E whakaaro atu mō te kōrero a Tariana mō rātou, ahakoa e tū atu i muri i te haki o Maraeroa, nā, te nui ō rātou he iwi kē, he iwi kē. Wētahi nō Ngāti Rereahu, wētahi nō Ngāti Maniapoto, nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, nō Raukawa me wētahi o ngā iwi. Nā, te tino take i roto i āku, he tino wāhi tapu te wāhi nei o Maraeroa. He nui atu ngā mahi o ngā koroua, kuia e mōhio atu te mahi o te ao kōhatu. Nā te pai hoki i tae atu tātou ki reira, i kite atu i a rātou e whai kaha ana mō te mahi ūmanga, te mahi pākihi. Nō reira, mihi atu ki a rātou.

[Mr Deputy Speaker, I acknowledge you sitting there on that Chair and bringing your assistance to this evening’s proceedings. We have reached the point where we start the debate on this claim for those of Maraeroa. I commend the Minister, the Hon Tariana Turia, who presented this bill before the Chamber. I cast my thoughts back to those years past when I arrived at their place and observed how big the forest and flax were. I was really pleased to be there and to witness how hard they had worked afterwards on initiatives left by their older ones. It is fitting that I endorse and salute these negotiators, Piripi Crown and Glen Katu, Brian Stanley, Deborah Maxwell, Tūtahanga Tēpu, Edward Moana, and Thomas Tūwhāngai, because within me I pay a tribute to them and the older ones who are no longer alive, the ones who initiated this matter.

I take into account Tariana’s statement about them, when she stated that even though they stand behind Maraeroa’s flag, many of them are from different tribes. Some are from Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and so on. The real issue for me is that this Maraeroa is a very sacred place. There are many elderly men and womenfolk who practise and know about rituals from prehistoric times. The good thing, though, was we visited and saw how hard they worked on business and economic initiatives. So I congratulate them.]

As my learned colleague Tariana Turia said earlier on, this settlement is not comprehensive. It settles claims to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks. The beneficiaries, as has already been pointed out, are those who are descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks, and it is interesting that they include members of Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniopoto, Rereahu, and Ngāti Raukawa. It is a blend that has learnt to mould together and I think, if you go there today, you can witness the effort that they undertake in relation to their commerciality in making sure that their assets are used for their people. I think they are a great example for other Māori iwi and tribes to follow and look at. That we have coupled these two, the private bill and the Government bill, together will bring expediency, and we will get through the claims that arise largely from the introduction of the operation of the native land laws.

It is fascinating, when you study these whānau, iwi, and hapū, who at some stage have had a principled direction from the Native Land Court, that it all seemed to go askew. What they did have was large tracts of commercial native timber, and a lot of that was milled, but they never saw the financial benefit of that. It is important to understand that they have sort of followed through, if you have a look at their forestry operation. They own the forestry truck companies, they own the forestry groups that export it, and it is really a lesson, an exercise, in how, joined together, you can make best use.

A provision for a partnership, an agreement between the Department of Conservation and the settlement entity in respect of public conservation land and wāhi tapu with Maraeroa A and B, is important in this bill. I think one of the things that I have been taken with in dealing with Maraeroa is that they are quite an elegant people and they really are true environmentalists—the majority of them. I can recall going up there when they were opening their supposed international operation in relation to preservation of the harakeke flax and native plant species to ensure that they did not slide away.

I think it is important to point out that as much as these descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B are identified in this order, it needs to be recognised that they have got through, toiled away, and brought themselves into an order that I think is the envy of a whole lot of other Māori organisations. That is not saying that they were unpronounced in relation to the struggles and the poverty inflicted on them by the Crown’s nonsense of that time.

The claims of the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks, like I said, relate primarily to the operation of the Native Land Court. Part 1 of this bill sets out the purpose of the legislation, and it is important to understand that they already have a construct, which is in the incorporation and the other part of developing the construction, which will take the settlement assets and proceeds and ensure that they pass on, and that they go to where they should go to. It specifies that the Act binds the Crown, and I think the better part of it is the statutory acknowledgments of the 12 culturally significant sites, the overlay classification of Pureora o Kahu, and two geographic name changes: Mangakōkakotaea Stream and Mangaparuhou Stream. I think it is great. I think a lot of these overburdened, English-named streams need to be changed. So you might be able to do a bit more, Minister.

But look, we join with the Minister launching this into the House, and we are certainly supportive of, and encouraged by, getting Maraeroa and its claims through. Kia ora.

Can I begin by expressing my thanks to the House for approving the debate proceeding in this way, because we are dealing with cognate Government and private bills. The Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill is required so that the incorporation can receive the fruits of the settlement, and so it is just great that we have been able to proceed in this way rather than deal with the public bill, the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill, and leave the private bill for members’ day, which would have been a very untidy way of dealing with this issue.

Like the two previous speakers, I acknowledge the negotiation team from the Te Mahu o Rereahu Trust, who, as Mr Horomia said, represented a really diverse group of iwi. They took a lead in this negotiation, and I acknowledge their practicality and their very hard work, which has made this settlement possible. I particularly refer to Piripi Crown, Brian Stanley, and Glen Katu whose endeavour, skill, and influence have got us to where we are today. I also want to thank everyone who has been involved in, and given their support to, this negotiation over the past couple of years. As Mrs Turia said, it is right and proper to remember those who are no longer with us, and I too want to acknowledge the work of Murdoch Paki, a prominent and respected member of the trust during the negotiations.

Today we address the historic grievances of the descendants of the original owners of the Maraeroa A and B Blocks, so that they and the Crown can move forward together. Developing a new relationship that is based on mutual trust and cooperation is really what these Treaty settlements are about—healing the past and building the future—and I am confident that this settlement too will very successful. I do not intend to repeat the matters that have already been covered by my ministerial colleague Mrs Turia, so what I want to do is say something about the redress components of the settlement.

The settlement is, to use that very overused word, unique in the Treaty settlement framework. The beneficiaries are going to be the descendants of those who once owned the lands rather than being based on iwi affiliation, and, as Mr Horomia said, there are a number of members of various iwi who are involved in this settlement. The cultural redress will reaffirm the relationships of the iwi with sites of significance within the Maraeroa Blocks. The commercial redress elements of the settlement will help provide a platform for economic development.

In particular, I want to highlight a number of key features of the settlement. First, there is the option to purchase 286 hectares of the Pureora north Crown forest licensed land, and then what goes with that: the accumulated rentals and New Zealand units, and a right of first refusal over the Crown land at Pureora Village for a period of 50 years. Approximately 1,793 hectares across six Crown sites will be vested, with four of the sites subject to a conservation covenant, and $40,000 will be provided to explore the vesting of the Ngā Herenga Pā site, which is a site of great significance for the descendants, being the place where Rereahu died. There are a number of other changes and name changes included in this settlement, and 12 statutory acknowledgments over culturally significant sites, including the commencement of the Waipā River, the co-governance of which was dealt with a few minutes ago in Committee in the context of the Ngāti Maniapoto legislation, and there are a number of other sites as well.

As part of these post-governance arrangements, representatives of the iwi bodies will be provided for on the trust entity. These arrangements reflect the—as I said—unique nature of the block settlement, where the beneficiaries are descendants of the former owners of the Maraeroa A and B Blocks, rather than based on iwi affiliation.

So my thanks go to members of the trust and the negotiating team for their patience while we have waited to get to this parliamentary stage. I very much look forward to both these bills being considered as quickly as possible by the Māori Affairs Committee, under the energetic and professional chairmanship of the newly wed Tau Henare, and I look forward to those bills coming back to the House as quickly as possible so that we can have the settlement enacted.

Just to pick up on a point that I think one of the Green members may have made earlier, we had a bit of a sermon on how the Government rushes these matters through. Well, we are anxious that iwi and trusts receive the fruits of their settlement. This deed was signed by Mrs Turia on behalf of the Crown about a year ago. They are anxious that it proceed; we are anxious that it proceed. It is not a question of rushing things through because of some timetable, but in order to deliver justice as quickly as possible to these people. And, to quote the old adage, justice delayed is justice denied. So I am very pleased to support this legislation as it now embarks on the select committee consideration.

I am pleased to take a call on this legislation and to again affirm the Green Party’s support for the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill and the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill. We also offer our respects and our regards to the leadership of the people who will benefit from this settlement, and, indeed, we acknowledge the work and the commitment of the Minister who presented these two bills to the House. These bills, these settlements, of course, are both necessary and desirable to make good injustices that have occurred over many generations, to make good breaches of the Treaty that occurred over time, and to make some restitution both in terms of acknowledging mana of people and in terms of more practical restitution in the way of land, money, resource—whatever it might be.

I am often reminded of a commentary made by Mr David Williams some years ago. Acknowledging, himself, that he was speaking in 20/20 hindsight, he reflected that perhaps it would have been better for New Zealanders if, before launching into the Treaty settlement process some 25 or 30-odd years ago, we had, in advance of that, gone through something along the lines of a truth and reconciliation process. David himself, of course, was an early tribunal member. He was not being critical, in a sense; he was speaking with hindsight. I think, had we created a situation where more people understand the nature of the Treaty, the nature of the relationship it established, and the importance of that relationship in contemporary New Zealand, then we might have got a swift resolution, or a swifter resolution, which is, indeed, in everybody’s interests, notwithstanding some of the commentary of the previous speaker.

Te Tiriti is undoubtedly the underpinning of our constitutional arrangements. It has enormous unifying potential, but that potential is compromised to some extent until we eventually resolve at least all of the historical grievances, acknowledging again that there will continue to be moments where the Treaty relationship becomes strained. We will never be in a situation where we can put the Treaty aside and consider it a historical entity; it is a living document, and we have great regard and respect for it for that reason.

These particular two bills we are looking at, dare I say it, present what genuinely appears to be an elegant solution—perhaps an overused phrase of late. But nevertheless it does seem that the establishment of the incorporation in the nature of the settlement does acknowledge and give some respect to the fact that the evidence is, the history tells us, that there has for a long time been a shared usage of this land. As we know, Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and others all have legitimate claims—overlapping cross-claims, perhaps—and the notion of creating this new entity, this new incorporation, with representation from all of those iwi is an excellent solution, we believe.

I think it is generally well known that pre-European Māori did not have the same concept of ownership—the notion of individual ownership of land—that was common in Western thought and Western practice. People clearly, as tangata whenua, literally felt that they belonged to the land, rather than the land belonging to them. But nevertheless, Māori in pre-European times had a very sophisticated, well-developed, and, I believe, very effective system of user rights—not ownership rights, but user rights. I think some of that principle, if you like, is perhaps carrying over into the bill and into the construct of this incorporation and the chosen solution for this particular area of land. The idea is that in a given season, particularly in a subsistence economy, it makes a great deal of sense for a particular group with mana whenua rights to share the resource with others in reciprocal arrangements—to share resources at the coast, in the bush, or whatever it might be. I think this is an example where we actually have a great deal to learn in contemporary New Zealand about some of the principle and practice that underpinned Māori society in pre-European times. As I say, it is nice to see a reflection of that notion of reciprocity, of shared rights, and, indeed, of shared responsibility coming through in the structure of this incorporation and in the settlement arrangements that have been made about this.

I think that is all I need say at this point. We started out by offering our respects and regards to the beneficiaries and acknowledging their work over many generations to reach this point, and we look forward to a resolution finally. Kia ora.

I will put the questions. If members wish to give some attention to the Order Paper, they will see this has been a cognate debate—

💬 Brendan Horan: Mr Deputy Speaker—

Brendan Horan, are you seeking the call? You are seeking a call to speak? I have started to put the question, but if the member is seeking the call—

💬 Brendan Horan: Yes, I am seeking the call.

I call Brendan Horan.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am pleased to take a call in the first readings of the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill and the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill, and I would like to acknowledge the people who are here tonight. I would like to acknowledge the people of Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, and others who may be listening to or watching this debate on our bills. I say “our bills” because I am of Ngāti Maniapoto descent. This legislation is to address the longstanding historical grievances of the affected iwi and hapū, and it therefore has several layers of importance to me.

I am pleased to stand in this debate on behalf of New Zealand First to support many of the sentiments previously conveyed. It is reassuring to the iwi and hapū affected by the settlement that after many years of consultation we are now remedying these historical injustices. That is what this legislation is about: restoring justice, and closure. It is about righting historical wrongs so that together we can all move forward as a country.

The grievances set to be rectified by this settlement stem from nearly 150 years ago. Initially the iwi were employed in the clearing of the land, the felling of the mighty tōtara and kauri. But it is interesting that eventually the sawmill industry collapsed, and one of the main drivers of this industry was pulp and paper. Sadly, there has not been a new machine installed since the 1970s. The sustained collapse of the sawmill industry forced the continued migration of a large number of hapū to the cities in order to find work to support their families. This settlement sets out to restore rights for these disaffected iwi, to reconnect with their wāhi tapu, and to restore what is owed to them financially, spiritually, and culturally.

Traditionally, Maraeroa A and B Blocks were considered a kono kai—a food basket—but also a healing centre for gathering harakeke, as the honourable member from Labour mentioned earlier. Harakeke is one of the great healing plants of Māori. So this area was held in common by these iwi, conveying a bond of mutual understanding and benefit. With this settlement set to be approved, we hope that these resources will enable those members in the urban diaspora communities to once again reconnect with the region and recognise it as being an important part of their cultural and spiritual tūrangawaewae.

He kura whenua tiakina, māna koe e ora ai ā-tinana, ā-wairua. The land is precious: nurture it and in good time it will nurture you physically and spiritually. In conclusion, I reaffirm New Zealand First’s support for the first reading of this legislation. Kia ora.

I will now put the question, if no other member is seeking the call. As I was saying earlier, this is a cognate debate. There are two bills—one in the name of the Hon Christopher Finlayson and one in the name of the Hon Tariana Turia—so there are two lots of questions. Just so that people understand the process from this point on.

Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.

Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.