Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill

on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move, That the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. He mihi tēnei ki a koutou o Ngāti Whātua kua tae mai i tēnei ata, nau mai, hara mai rā. Kāore anō kia tīmata nā reira, tēnā koutou, whakapiri mai. Ngā mate kua pā ki a koutou, waiho rātou kua mihia i runga i ngā marae maha o te motu. Ko te mea nui i tēnei wā, ko koutou kua tae a-tīnana mai i tēnei hui nui mō tātou. Nā reira, kai te rangatira, tēnā koe, koutou ngā kuia rangatira, tēnā koutou, whakapiri mai.

[This is an acknowledgment to you of Ngāti Whātua who have arrived here this morning. Welcome, welcome. It has not started yet, so greetings to you collectively, draw closer. As for the deaths that have affected you, leave them on the many courtyards of the nation so a tribute can be made to them. The most important thing at this point in time is that you are here collectively at this important gathering for you. Therefore I doff my hat to you, esteemed elder and venerable matriarchs. Welcome, draw closer.]

In moving that the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time, I begin with a quote: “You don’t run a Treaty settlement on your own.” I quote a very humble descendant of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. That was her response when the media congratulated her after she was honoured by the Governor-General for her work in negotiating the settlement of her people’s Treaty of Waitangi claims. She told the reporter that the more she delved into the injustices of her people’s past, the more she realised she was not venturing into new territories; she was merely following the well-trodden footsteps of those who had gone before her—generations of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara who spent entire lifetimes fighting for justice, her own family members who have not lived to see this day.

As only Treaty of Waitangi claimants can understand, she said that standing there receiving her award at Government House was an incredibly lonely act, and that there were so many other people who could equally share in that award. There were so many other people she would have dearly loved to be there to accept that award, and I quote: “You don’t run a Treaty settlement on your own.” Nā reira, tēnā koe Margaret Kāwharu mō ōu nei kupu. Tangi tonu mātou i tō pāpā.

[So thank you for your words, Margaret Kāwharu. We continue to mourn your dad.]

So in the spirit of those humble words I would like to pay tribute to those who have gone before, those sons and daughters of Haranui, Reweti, Kakanui, Araparera, and Puatahi marae. So many are not in the House today, but if not for them we would not be here considering a bill to resolve an injustice that began 169 years ago. Nā reira koutou, moe mai rā e ngā rangatira i te mōhio kua mau tonu koutou i a mātou ngākau i tēnei rangi, nā reira, okioki pai mai.

[And so to you, the esteemed elders, rest there in the knowledge that you are in our hearts today for ever. So rest well there.]

Ninety percent of the ancestral lands of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara were gone within a single generation. Could we imagine what it would be like to have 90 percent of our homes taken from us, from our children and grandchildren—90 percent taken by law? And the 10 percent of the lands left for Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, for their families, were fragmented, uneconomic, and hard to live off. Determined, unrelenting, and pervasive Government land buying and land fragmentation policies took not just hundreds but thousands of hectares of land off these families. By denying these families the lands and resources to take ownership of their own destiny, these policies sought to deny Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara the right to determine their own economic and social well-being.

But those policies failed miserably. The people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara are here in this House today seeking justice and taking ownership of their own destiny. Some are here in spirit, their journey etched on the words in this bill. An injustice that began in 1844 with the Crown takeover of vast tracts of land in the upper Waitematā will soon be resolved by this Parliament and the people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. In coming to this agreement to resolve past grievances we honour all of the ancestors, but, also, importantly, we honour our descendants and we plan for the future.

I stand to acknowledge Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, whose tenacity and leadership will soon see settlement for the hapū and marae of southern Kaipara. I commend the trustees of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Committee and the trustees of Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust for their passion and for their commitment. They have shown incredible leadership by working alongside other iwi and hapū of Kaipara—Tāmaki-makau-rau and Hauraki both. The support of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara people for the settlement negotiated on their behalf is clear. Two ratification processes held in August 2010 and August 2011 returned approval rates of 96 percent and 92 percent, respectively—a beautiful mandate. All those things the families of Haranui, Reweti, Kakanui, Araparera, and Puatahi have lost due to the actions of the Crown can never be totally restored, and yet today Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara seek to settle their grievances with the Crown.

The legislation before us is much more than a new law change. It is the history of a people and it is the future of a people. What has been taken from these families can never be totally replaced. Ninety percent of the ancestral lands can never be replaced, and yet here the people are to settle with the Crown. I acknowledge the sacrifice, the pain, and the injustice suffered by these people, those before them, and their whānau. I thank Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara for their leadership, generosity, and mana, without which we could not be here today. This bill provides for a strengthened relationship between the people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and the Crown—a strengthened relationship as partners in the Treaty of Waitangi. I am proud to stand in support of this bill.

Whāia te kotahitanga o Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. Nā reira, tēnā koutou katoa e manaaki nei i ahau i te wā i tae mai au ki Tāmaki-makau-rau. Whakaae ana ki te whakatū i tētahi marae i Waipareira, tautoko ana. Tautoko ana tātou i a tātou i roto o Tāmaki. Nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou.

[Strive for the unity of Ngāti Whātua of Kaipara. Thank you all for looking after me when I arrived in Auckland. You allowed me to establish a courtyard at Waipareira and you supported it. We supported each other in Auckland, so acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively.]

I look forward to this bill proceeding to the Committee stage without delay. Thank you.

E mihi kau ana ki te Minita Māori, te Minita e manaaki atu i te haere o ngā kerēme Tiriti. E mihi atu ki a rātou o Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara nā te mea i roto i āku, he tino take hoki atu tēnei, ko te mahi o ngā hoia mau pū, te āhua o te Kāwana e takahi atu rātou katoa. I kite atu tātou i te tino ngarongaro o te whenua katoa i reira. Kāre e tae atu wētahi o ngā āhua i ngā kerēme pērā tonu. Nā te mea mō tēnei tae atu, e kite atu tātou te tautoko o te tino nui o ngā uri o Kaipara o Ngāti Whātua. Ahakoa e tū pakari atu rātou i Ākarana, i Tāmaki-makau-rau, kei te haere tere kaha atu rātou i Kaipara.

Nā te mea, e roaroa atu te mahi o te Kāwana ki a rātou, kāre e huri ki te whakatika, tere noa tōku mihi ki te Minita Chris rāua ko Pita, me tātou katoa ngā kanohi Māori, ngā rōpū i roto i te Whare nei. He nui atu ngā whakahoki mō te mahi o taua tau a muri rā engari, kei te rekareka haere tō tātou whakaaro i kite atu te whakatikatika a tātou ngā mema i te Whare Mīere nei. He tino hōnore tērā, kei te whakahoki atu te nui o ngā wāhi tapu, ngā wāhi tikanga, he tino tūrangatira ki a rātou.

He mōhio rātou i te wā e puta ā-waha te kōrero a Naida Glavish, “kia ora”. Riri atu te whenua katoa i te mau atu i tō tātou Reo Māori, riri rātou ēngari, i nāianei kei te haere a tauiwi, haere ngā Hainamana, kei te haere wētahi o ngā tangata o Aotearoa ki te rapu atu i te reka o tō tātou Reo. Kāre hoki te whenua nei he whenua mō tetahi reo anake Pākehā, he tū kaha atu tātau, nō reira e mihi atu mō rātou. Ahakoa te whakahuri, te whakatuku atu ki a ratou te nui o te compensation, e puta ana wētahi o ngā kaha ki te manaaki atu i te haere i roto i te āhua o te umanga, te pakihi. E mihi kau ana ki te kaiwhakahaere o tō tātou komiti a Tau, mō tōna kaha ki te tae atu ki te oti nei. Mihi atu ki a rātou katoa.

[I acknowledge the Minister of Māori Affairs and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. I acknowledge them of Ngāti Whātua at Kaipara as well because I believe that this is a further issue of huge significance in terms of the militia taking up arms against them and Government abuse. We discovered that confiscation of all the land was a key loss there. Some of these circumstances did not occur in claims similar to this one. Because this occurred we note that support by relatives of Ngāti Whātua at Kaipara was significantly huge. While their presence in Auckland is strong, the number of them going to Kaipara is getting faster and stronger.

Because the Crown has been working with them for a very, very long time and has not sought to rectify the situation, I do commend the swift action by Ministers Chris and Pita, and all of us Māori members and all parties in this House. The responses in regard to what was done last year were quite significant, but on the other hand our thoughts are increasingly nice now after seeing the amendments made by us members of this Parliament. That is a real honour. A large number of places of sacred and cultural significance to them are being returned.

They are well aware what happened when Naida Glavish uttered the words “kia ora”. The whole country was angry at the use of our Māori language. The entire nation was furious but at this point in time mainstream, Chinese, and people of New Zealand are seeking out the sweetness of our language. This country is not one where only the English language is used. We have stood staunch against that and so it is a compliment to them. Although they are to receive much of the compensation, a great deal of effort will have to be spent looking after pursuits and business affairs. I acknowledge the chairman of our committee, Tau, for being resolute to ensure that this bill arrives here completed. I congratulate them all.]

We do support this bill, the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill, in the Labour Party, and the sooner it is through, the better. There are a whole lot of people to thank, and, without over-naming people, I thank the trust, the negotiation team—all of those people have had a key role, rātou o te Waitaha Raupatu Trust. In particular I want to mention other people in Ngāti Whātua, Naida and co., and all of those people who have helped, because there are a lot who helped to balance it. As the Minister of Māori Affairs said, it is quite a balancing act coming to agreement with six other settlements around you. That they have been able to do that shows real strength. But certainly from us and the rest of the parties, as I understand, we support this bill at the second reading, and hopefully into the Committee stage. Kia ora.

Mea tuatahi, i a koutou e aku rangatira, tēnā koutou. Kei a koutou Ngāti Whātua, mana whenua o taku kāinga, nō reira, mihi kau atu au ki a koutou.

[Firstly, to you, my elders, welcome. To you of Ngāti Whātua, who have inherited status over the land of my residence, I acknowledge you greatly.]

As a—I was going to say “young person”—reasonably young person being brought up, born, and bred in Ōtara, in those times, and making friends with various people from Ngāti Whātua through the movement such as Sharon Hawke and the Hawke whānau, having a sort of baptism of fire through the Auckland movement was always good, and it continues today. When you think of a people who have—I would not use the word “lost”, but who have had 90 percent of their land taken in an urban area that is Auckland, which is now a million people strong and has every immigrant from every part of the globe, it is more of a struggle for the indigenous home people to survive. And we have seen it all around the world.

Not only do they have to battle the Crown—and here is something that we should think seriously upon, too. That is that Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara were friends of the Crown. It was not as if they were enemies of the Crown. They were friends of the Crown. So you would expect that part of the deal of being a friend of the Crown would be that they would be looked after. So that even adds to the suffering that I think that Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, and the whole of the Auckland isthmus, had to live under.

I will not take too long. I commend the Māori Affairs Committee for its job. I commend the select committee for the questions that it sought answers to. And also I commend the select committee for visiting the heart of Kaipara to hear the submissions. I think that some of the amendments that come forth from the select committee are part and parcel of the process that we go through to refine the settlement deal between the Crown and iwi.

Lastly, can I say thank you to Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara for their hospitality to our select committee, which really did enjoy the day that we spent there—a very special day. I am sure that when we retire and we look back on the days that we have spent in here those will be some of the highlights of our careers. Nō reira, kei a koutou, kei a koutou e te Whare. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā koe e te Minita. Tēnā koutou e ngā mema o te Whare. Ki a koutou Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, nau mai, haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata e takatū nei. Āpiti hōno, tātai hōno rātou te hunga mate ki a rātou, āpiti hōno tātai hōno tātou te hunga ora ki a tātou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Salutations to you, Mr Speaker, Minister, and members of the House. To you collectively of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, welcome to Parliament House standing here in readiness—welcome. The lines are drawn, so allow the dead to remain there amongst their own while we, the living, remain here among the living world. Greetings and salutations to you all.]

I am pleased to rise and speak in support of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill at this second reading. I am really enjoying my time on the Māori Affairs Committee and it was unfortunate that I was not able to participate in the select committee when it travelled up to hear this bill at Kaipara. But I am very pleased to awhi this bill at this second reading stage.

As always I like to take a bit of a different tack when I give my speeches on these Treaty bills. I would like to stand today and really acknowledge the great visionary chief Paora Tūhaere of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, because he was really remarkable and as we go into these bills the wonderful history and the great works of these great chiefs come through. If we look at Paora Tūhaere, it is surely one of the great enticements ever. He convinced the Queen’s representative to move the capital of the colony from the Bay of Islands to the upper Waitematā Harbour—what was to become Auckland City. Tūhaere was the chief of a Ngāti Whātua tribe of the southern Kaipara Harbour, and their rohe extended down to Muriwai and across to Helensville and back up to the Kaipara.

His invitation to Governor Hobson must surely have raised the ire of his more senior and famous uncles from Ngāpuhi, but the gift of a couple of hundred thousand acres was obviously worth it, in order to have the Pākehā settlers build a new city founded purely around commerce and the administration of the colony. The idea was simple: bring the Pākehā settlers to the Waitematā Harbour and benefit from the inevitable trade. Hongi Hika in the north and Te Rauparaha in the south had benefited from the Pākehā contact. So tribes who had contact with Pākehā always benefited from picking up new technologies and customs.

Paora Tūhaere was a chief with foresight, and for a couple of years Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara did benefit from being close to the Pākehā. This did not transpire for ever, unfortunately, but only for a while. What actually happened is one of the sadder stories in this current crop of settlement bills. As we have heard in previous speeches at the first reading and surely in what will come, some terrible things happened to Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. After the good times ended and the commerce of Auckland really started to take off, as has been documented, the five hapū of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and the amount of land that was stolen from them—it was significant.

Personally this bill has thrown light, as I have mentioned at the start, on just what a true and loyal Māori and a true New Zealander Paora Tūhaere was. He seems to have been a person of real sound judgment and common sense. Pākehā coming from overseas—that was inevitable, and, as nephew to the paramount leader, Apihai Te Kawau of Ōrākei, Tūhaere and his people were in a good position to benefit. Paora was Christian, and learnt to read and write well before Auckland was founded. He was a capable administrator. He held several municipal positions.

In all huis and dealings with Pākehā in Auckland, he believed the best way forward for everyone to benefit was by following the Treaty. He soon came to understand that if Māori were to have an equal say in their own land, they should have political representation. Indeed, he was really at the beginning of Māori political awareness and consciousness. So he is the man, actually, whom I think all of us Māori electorate MPs should give thanks for, because it was through his efforts that there came the formation of the Māori electorates. So I give personal thanks for his efforts that I represent Te Tai Tonga today.

Later on I can elaborate further on the early huis at Kohimaramara and the dealings with Governor Gore Browne, and all of those early very significant hui, but I might hold those over for the third reading. But I do want to acknowledge Tūhaere for that wonderful saying that if there are to be 50 Pākehā seats in terms of the House of Representatives, let there be 50 Māori seats. So, again, I just acknowledge the tremendous foresight and contribution that that wonderful chief made to our constitution as a country. He knew the meaning of fair and equal, and when he found out that some of his more notable Pākehā acquaintances would never give Māori equal representation, he hosted his own Māori parliamentary movement at Ōrākei, and later joined forces with the Kotahitanga movement, of which he became a fervent supporter and follower.

So, as is documented in these bills, you know, Auckland really was based on a lot of thievery of land to establish it. Paora Tūhaere really was the genesis of the Māori seats that we have today, and it is interesting that some 160-plus years later we are doing a Māori option now that might determine whether we go from seven seats to maybe an eighth seat, which would be great. Yes, sometimes we have moved a long way and at other times it has been quite slow, but I think it is something for us to reflect on in terms of his contribution as the great chief of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. So I really just wanted to acknowledge his contribution, and I know that a lot of his early efforts and all of the subsequent work that has been conducted by Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara has led through to what we have here today, at the second reading of this bill.

We do support the bill. Obviously, it does not compensate for all the real hurt and mamae and grievance and losses, but it is an opportunity for Ngāti Whātua to recapitalise and reassert their tribal identity on their whenua and their connection and their permanence to Kaipara, and also their rohe takiwā. So I support this bill and I look forward to the Committee stage and also to finally bringing it to a conclusion at the third reading. Kia ora tātou.

Kei te mihi nui ki a koutou ki te mana o Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, ngā manuhiri ki tēnei Whare, te Whare Raruraru. Tēnā koutou katoa.

[A big welcome to you, the authority of Ngāti Whātua of Kaipara, and visitors to this House, the House of Perplexity. Welcome to you all.]

Could I begin to speak in support of this bill, the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill, on behalf of the Green Party by just acknowledging the opening remarks of the Minister of Māori Affairs, Dr Sharples, to associate ourselves with those comments, and to acknowledge his considerable work on this settlement and, indeed, on many others over the years.

One of the mixed blessings of this job of being an MP is that we travel a great deal, and for me my journey from home heading south is always somehow, either by air or by road, passing over or by the Kaipara Harbour. Particularly when flying over the harbour, one recognises the extraordinary landscape that it really is. It is the largest harbour in New Zealand, a remarkable landscape, and historically an extraordinarily rich landscape for the people who live there. It is worth remembering and recalling that the collective of hapū and whānau who make up the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara have dwelt in that land, occupied that land, for some three centuries. The Ngāti Hine element of that grouping are relative latecomers, with only 200-odd years in occupation and as kaitiaki of that land. I think something we should dwell on is the fact that prior to Pākehā arrival, I have no doubt, it was very productive land and very fruitful land, and it has been degraded over time—over a relatively short time. I think we all share responsibility with the kaitiaki to ensure that over the next generations the quality of that land, of the moana, and of the whenua is restored, at the same time that the health and well-being of the people whose right to that land is recognised in this Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill is also restored.

I have said before and I will probably continue to say that these settlement bills not only are of great value in themselves, to the extent that they do acknowledge wrongs that were done and seek to offer some level of restitution to those who were wronged over time, but also are extraordinary historic documents. They are very accessible histories of what has occurred. For some people the documents generated by the tribunal process may be a bit daunting, a little bit too much at once, but anybody can read these bills and get a very good summary and get a real flavour of what has occurred historically around this remarkable land of ours that we all share. These bills do have the history written in very clear and concise language. Nevertheless it is language that cannot help but stir the emotions, as well as being quite objective statements of what has happened over time. I recommend anyone in New Zealand read these bills to understand what is at stake here, and to understand the value of the settlement process that this reading is part of.

The point has been made that Ngāti Whātua cooperated considerably with the Crown. They made the Crown and the new Pākehā settlers very welcome. They engaged and sought benefit, both for themselves and for the new settlers, out of the new relationship that was established, which makes it doubly unfortunate that their hospitality, their welcome, and their goodwill was not reciprocated. The point has been made in the bill, in fact, that by 1853, only 13 years after the signing of the Treaty, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara had lost access to their lands around the upper Waitematā. By 1900, 90 percent of their former landholdings had been alienated from them. Of that remaining 10 percent, 75 percent of it disappeared by 1990. So, clearly, it has been a long and unfortunate history of alienation and of a failure to honour the spirit or, indeed, the letter of the Treaty—by legal means and illegal means. It is good, and it is a genuine privilege, to be a small part of this process of restitution, of making right some of the wrongs that have been done historically.

I think it is useful to mention, as ever, that of course we recognise that what is given back in material terms is only a small part of what was taken historically. We know that if all the material value was restored to iwi and hapū throughout the country, the New Zealand economy as we know it would be destroyed, and that would be to nobody’s benefit. So, although the material return—the land and the money—that is involved is not a trivial matter by any means, I think what is central to these bills is the Crown’s acknowledgment of wrongs that have been done over time, and, critically, the apology—the unreserved apology—which I believe is as important as the material return, if not the most important aspect of these bills. I think it restores some of the mana of the Crown, and indeed of the Government, as it does recognise the mana whenua of this particular rohe, the south Kaipara district, which is at stake in this bill.

I simply want to conclude by affirming the Green Party’s support for this, and our pleasure at seeing a turn, shall we say, for the better. We do support and are willing to be part of the ongoing restoration of value to those who have waited for such a very long time to have that restitution made. Kia ora.

I want to acknowledge the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara representatives in the gallery. I am told that we can expect a much larger contingent when the third reading of this bill, the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill, is debated, but it is great to have them here. On behalf of the Crown, I really enjoyed negotiating with Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. We signed the agreement in principle, as I recall, at the very end of 2010. It was what almost could be called a “rocket docket” negotiation, because we really cut to the chase. The deed was then signed on the shores of the great Kaipara a year or so later, and now we have reached the legislative stage. I am so very pleased that we are at this stage, and I very much look forward to the third reading in June.

I want to acknowledge also the Māori Affairs Committee. It travelled to south Kaipara to hear public submissions, and the strong support of members of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara for the settlement was evident in the submissions and at the hearing. I want to say also that very useful and helpful submissions were received from the Auckland Council and also Te Kawerau-a-Maki, an iwi who has shared interests with Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. The Auckland Council and the Rodney Local Board are a very important part of the post-settlement future for Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. One of the features of this settlement is a joint management body between the Auckland Council and Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara to manage the Parakai Recreation Reserve. I really do want to thank the members of the Rodney District Council, which originally considered this proposal.

I particularly want to congratulate and thank the Māori Affairs Committee on its work. The bill had its first reading on 19 September 2012, and the committee reported it back to Parliament on 12 December, 1 week shy of 3 months, which is very impressive, but, when one thinks about it, not all that surprising, given the dedication and the skill of the chair and the hard work that members of the committee have shown on previous settlement bills. Their reward, I have to say, is going to be a lot more work, hopefully in June. There will be—and Mr Tirikatene and I know this—the final signing at the top of the South Island in Tākaka on Saturday, and then a 600-page bill will be introduced to the House, incorporating nine settlements, and that will be great. But today is Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara’s day. I do not want to detract from that, but I simply say to Mr Horomia and the other members of the Māori Affairs Committee team that more work is on its way.

The committee recommended amendments to the bill that clarify the intent of the deed of settlement, especially in respect of properties at Commercial Road and Rata Street. These properties are part of the historic 10-acre block that Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara gifted to the Crown. Parts of this block were transferred from the Crown to previous councils, despite protests from Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, and this settlement will enable several properties that were retained in Crown ownership since that time to be returned.

That is all I want to say at this stage. It is a good settlement. I congratulate the negotiators and thank them for their hard work, because in the scheme of things it has been a very speedy negotiation. Once again, I reiterate my thanks to the select committee and its chair for the good work they did, and I very much look forward to the third reading.

Kia ora. Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko tēnei taku mihi nunui ki a koutou i tēnei wā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you and greetings to you all. This, indeed, is my huge salutation at this point in time to you collectively, so greetings, acknowledgments, and salutations to you all.]

I am honoured to speak on the second reading of this bill, the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill. Before I address my notes I want to acknowledge two things personally with regard to this settlement. Firstly, when I was elected to the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council, one of the first meetings I was invited to was a meeting run by Ngāti Whātua Ngā Rima o Kaipara, where they brought together the Pākehā community of Helensville, Shelly Beach, and Parakai and said to them quite clearly: “Our argument is not with you; our argument is with the Crown. You are our neighbours, and you have nothing to fear from us and nothing to fear from this settlement.” That embodies the history of Ngāti Whātua and the way they have dealt with Pākehā. They have always held the basic belief that one must stay in touch, one must negotiate, one must work together to move forward. It is that that they bring with them to this negotiation. It is that that they bring to the table when they speak with the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council about building a future for the people of this rohe. It is impressive. It has always been impressive.

The other issue I wish to acknowledge is the calibre of the people who sat at the table. One of the hardest things to do when we are negotiating is to stay at the table. When people say “No.”, or “I don’t agree.”, or “This is not correct.”, or “I don’t believe you.”, the hardest thing to do is to stay at the table and keep talking. That is exactly what Ngāti Whātua have done. They stayed at the table. They did not sway from their purpose, but they stayed at the table and in the discussions.

In the gallery today is a gentleman by the name of Haahi Walker from Te Araparera marae. On the grounds of Mahurangi College there is a whare, Te Whakawhitiwhiti. Haahi Walker helped raise that whare from the ground, so I acknowledge his presence here today.

I will now consult my notes. Before I address the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill directly, however, I do want to remind the House of New Zealand First’s commitment during the 2011 election—the commitment it made to this House to stand up for a fair go for all. That is a fair go for all New Zealanders—New Zealand Māori, New Zealand Pākehā/European, New Zealand Chinese, and New Zealanders from all ethnic backgrounds. A fair go for Māori is no different from a fair go needed by all New Zealanders. A fair go to gain First World wages so they can provide for their families; a fair go to gain jobs so that they can regain and retain their dignity—their mana—and gain warm housing and good health-care; and a fair go to have sound education and training systems that they can access, and that their young people aspire to be part of, and can see themselves attending, because they can reach them.

Great New Zealand leaders of the past, both Māori and non-Māori, knew their people. They worked hard to provide jobs, health-care, education, and housing for everyone. That is one of the strengths I have personally witnessed in my dealings with Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. Unlike some other settlements, where New Zealand First has held concerns that only an elite few inside an iwi has benefited, or will benefit, from settlement funds and property, we see today a real and honest commitment by Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara negotiators to turn this hard-won settlement from grievance and grief over the past into excitement and real prospects for the future. It is this place that New Zealand First believes we as a nation need to reach.

We need to acknowledge our past, we need to stand in it and own it, but we need to walk into our future with our heads held high. I am proud to be a sixth-generation Pākehā New Zealander. My ancestors benefited from actions of the Crown such as those addressed in these settlements. But although I may not approve of their actions, I will not deny my ancestors. I refuse to be ashamed to be connected to this land through the bones buried in it, just as my Ngāti Kahungunu aunts, uncles, and cousins are. I am very proud to be associated in a small way with Ngāti Whātua Ngā Rima o Kaipara.

I look forward to seeing this bill go through the House so that once it is given Royal assent the real work can begin. The establishment of the co-governance board over the Parakai Reserve, the pools, the campground, and the reserve itself—what an opportunity to bring back an asset that was a jewel in the 1950s, that people could be proud of, and that Aucklanders will flock to. What an opportunity. Imagine the potential for the young people not only of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara but also of the wider community of Helensville, Shelly Beach, Parakai, and even further afield.

We cannot wait to see the beginning of the papakāinga housing project, a joint venture between iwi, the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council, the Beacon Trust, and Albany’s Unitec Institute of Technology. This pre-apprenticeship retrofit programme will provide a win-win for the people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara through the training of young people, and by providing the more mature with access to papakāinga housing. These are just two of the many opportunities—the many opportunities—that this settlement will give this rohe.

We believe that Ngāti Whātua Ngā Rima o Kaipara is in a position to grab with both hands and take this settlement and create a better future, and that is the point of the settlement. New Zealand First joins with negotiators from iwi in the deep hope that this settlement will set the future in a positive direction that will address the social deprivation of Māori in this area. New Zealand First supports this bill. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

It is my pleasure to take a call on the second reading of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill today. I would first like to start off by acknowledging the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister Finlayson, for the hard work he does in these settlement bills and the speed with which he gets them into this House. I would also like to acknowledge the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, Tau Henare. He has always got a focus on getting these bills back into the House as quickly as he possibly can from the select committee, and he fast tracks them and prioritises them within the select committee. Thirdly, I would like to acknowledge those who have worked tirelessly on this bill from Ngāti Whātua, those in the gallery today—thank you for coming down here—and also those who have not been able to make it here today to see the second reading and the Committee stage in this House.

I am embarrassed to say I had never been to Kaipara before this settlement process, and when the select committee went up there to listen to the submissions, I had no idea that it is such a beautiful place—it absolutely is. In fact, I nearly did not make it, as many other select committee members did not, because the GPS cuts out up there, and it is quite a hard place to find. I drove up and down the road about five times before I saw this little sign that said “Go this way.”, so we got there in the end.

There is nothing richer than hearing the stories when you are there—hearing the stories about the vision they had for their future, where that vision is, and why they have not got there. The stories that we heard were about how they were a very generous iwi, and how they had a future gifting land to the council, actually. One of the stories was about gifting land to the council. In that gifting of land to the council, the iwi gave up that land for settlement. But the council never settled on that land, actually, and it used it as a reserve. We also heard how the iwi sold land to the Crown so we could go and settle in that land, and they could grow their area and prosper. But they sold the land at a very low price, and the Crown took advantage of that. So they were a very generous iwi and they had a vision for the future for the area, but, unfortunately, that was not realised. In that process, they lost most of their land and became virtually landless by the 1940s.

So to me this process is about acknowledging the wrongs of the past by the Crown and offering recompense. That is really important, because to me settlements are not only about acknowledging the past and apologising for it but also about the future and the future generations. If we can offer commercial redress to give you some opportunities in the future for economic provisions for the future generations, that is a good thing. Part of this settlement is about $22 million in redress, and part of that is also the transfer of land. So I look forward to debating this further in the House today, and thank you very much for this opportunity to speak on the second reading.

Tēnā tātou katoa i roto i tō tātou Whare i tēnei ata me ngā mahi i oti i roto i ngā rangi pahure ake nei: te whakatūturutanga o te nohonga tahitanga o te hunga takatāpui, te tangihanga me ngā karakia i whakaritea mō Baroness Thatcher i tērā pito o te ao.

Ēngari, kāti ēnei kōrero mō ngā baronesses o rāwāhi me huri atu ki te kōrero ki te tangata whenua o Aotearoa. Nā reira, e ōku tuākana, e ōku mātua tēnā koutou katoa kua tau mai ki Te Upoko o Te Ika ki te mātakitaki i a mātou, ngā kanohi o te ao tōrangapū, e tū kotahi ana ki te whakatūturu i tēnei pire e whiwhi pānga ai ngā whānau o roto o Ngāti Whātua ki te Kaipara, ki ngā taonga tuku iho mai i ō tātou wheinga i tērā pito o Te Tai Tokerau. Nā reira, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Acknowledgments to us all in our House this morning in regards to the business completed over the past days: the passing of the bill that will enable those of the same gender to marry each other, and the State funeral and service for Baroness Thatcher on the other side of the world.

But enough of these talks about baronesses from overseas. Let us turn to address the indigenous people of New Zealand. And so to my senior siblings and all my elders, acknowledgments to you all who have arrived here in Wellington to observe us, the faces of the political world, standing as one here to pass this bill, which will enable families of Ngāti Whātua of Kaipara to have a share in the treasures inherited from our very old people from that extremity of the north. So salutations to you all.]

I rise to support the passage of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill, along with my colleagues. It has become the custom that all of the speakers, with the exception of a few irritating dissenters from time to time, support pieces of legislation promoted by the Government to address our historic Treaty grievances. Ngāti Whātua represents an interesting case as to how the Treaty grievances in this part of Māoridom have been dealt with.

Can I just cast my thoughts back briefly to a former stalwart of the Māori Battalion, a senior member in his day of the National Party, and chief of Tai Tokerau, Eruera Patuawa Nathan, otherwise known as Ned Nathan. He took a lead in the Te Rōroa portion of the Ngāti Whātua estate. A number of us felt that it would have been better, in all honesty, for Ngāti Whātua not to have disaggregated, but I quickly learnt to my cost as the chair of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission that those matters are best left to iwi. If the descendants of an iwi find that it was not the best thing to do, then they can sort that out with their mātua and their whāea, not the occasional Dalmatian Māori politician.

So that was the first attempt, and, of course, that attempt was marred by the antics of Allan Titford and his neighbour Mr Harrison, who in the areas of Whāngaiariki and Manuwhētai lodged a host of very destructive acts against a small group of Ngāti Whātua, all of whom have gone now: Lovey Te Rore, Raiha Pāniora, matua Ned Nathan, and a host of others. Then we turned our attention to what is commonly known as Bastion Point, or Ōrākei, and that was a portion. Then we also—prior to a number of us coming into politics—watched the Te Uri o Hau settlement. And now we come and today support the descendants of Paora Tūhaere and a variety of other tūpuna around this area of the Kaipara.

I think a couple of things need to be pointed out: that there is a range of assets tied up in this settlement, but there are also first rights of refusal. I have to single out the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and congratulate him and his team on getting together the multiple interests that comprise the Tāmaki-makau-rau Māori ancestral community—I think they are the iwi collective—because it has not been easy. Indeed, the High Court, exasperated I am sure, had to poke its nose into the affairs of Ngāi Tai. One wonders whether, once a group gets so small that it is almost sort of an appellation problem, they should not have joined forces with the Ngāi Tai further down the countryside, but, then again, that is not for an MP to say. But things can be observed in the House without being sued for such observations. It might change when we get on the marae. But the Minister, and no doubt the Minister of Māori Affairs, shepherded forward these groups.

I raise it only in the context that this hapū, this group, has interests in the area around Whenuapai, Hobsonville, and a large block of Crown land formerly dedicated to a military purpose—I believe it was in our time—through the Public Works Act, or words to that effect, which came back into serving another Crown purpose, called “housing”. Recently I went to this development when I popped in to visit Māoridom’s most famous accountant, called Rob McLeod, currently the Chief Executive Officer of Ernst and Young in Australia—no doubt a contributor to the other side of the House, but that will soon be redressed. I looked at that Hobsonville development, and I send a signal to my relations up here: guard jealously the first rights of refusal, because the goodwill evinced through this Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and a variety of other politicians does not necessarily go forward to the next generation of politicians.

In the future you will have to look at the first rights of refusal and establish whether they are a kosher example of the Crown still needing use of such property and such resources. We can all agree in that part of Tāmaki-makau-rau that when it was used for the military it was beyond cavil. But when it moves into a kind of housing development—and I am not being partisan, because we on our side of the House initiated it—and I look at those developments, I have no doubt in my mind that very few people from that part of the Kaipara, from Ōtakanini, Haranui, and other such places, are going to find a home on land that was originally Crown land and has since been dedicated to serve a Crown housing purpose. But that is more of an issue that belongs in social policy, rather than a signal to the visitors here today to guard jealously the first rights of refusal, and ensure that when the Crown makes a call not only is it to your interests but also no one is exploiting it to your disadvantage.

It may actually have the capacity to sully the day that we raise commercial matters of this nature when there is a great deal of symbolism and history to be commemorated in this part of the bill’s journey, but, at the end of the day, all our fine rhetoric has to turn into an economic reality. There is a good opportunity here in the forestry asset. It is also valuable real estate, which over time will grow in value, and it may come to pass that pine trees are not the best thing to do with the Woodhill Forest, but the value is that it will be your decision, subject to the various nooks and crannies of the contract that lies upon that land. The Kaipara Harbour does need a great deal of remedial action. The fact that there are statutory acknowledgments and a willingness to take on the cultural leadership only bodes well for the future management and stewardship of the Kaipara. In days gone by that was the huarahi—that was the waterway.

Kia manawa nui, kia manawa roa, kia kaha koutou ki a koutou. Ka hoki ngā whakaaro ki tō koutou matua nā mātou i karanga, ko Happy Dynamite ēngari, ko Hapi Pīhema. Nāna mātou i mau ki Ōtakanini, mātou i ahu mai i roto i Muriwhenua. Ka haere ki konā ki te mātakitaki i ngā mahi whakatere kūmara, whakatupu kau, whakatupu kararehe. Kua pau katoa rātou ēngari, ēnei kaupapa i nāianei e amohia ana e koutou. Hoinō tā mātou ngā kanohi Māori, ahakoa ko Tau, ahakoa ko Pita, ko mātou, he tautoko i a koutou me tā mātou kī, i te tūpono he raruraru, karawhiua mai ki a mātou pēnā e oti i a mātou tētahi rongoā kia kore rawa atu ēnā momo raru e māturuturu tonu ki roto i a tātou tamariki, mokopuna. Nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Be big-hearted, be long-hearted, find strength in each other. My thoughts go back to your elder whom we called Happy Dynamite, but who was really Hapi Pīhema. He was the one who took us to Ōtakanini, those of us who were from Muriwhenua. We went to observe operations involved in launching kūmara, breeding cattle and animals. They are all gone now apart from these proposals that you bear now. All we, the Māori members, can do, whether it is Tau, Pita or us, is to support and say to you that should a problem arise, fire it in our direction for us to find a remedy so that those kinds of problems do not filter down to our children and grandchildren. And so, greetings and salutations to you and to us all.]

Kia ora. Tēnā tātou e te Whare. It is a privilege to be part of the Māori Affairs Committee and to play a very small part in this historic settlement between the Crown and Ngāti Whātua. Today is a special day in Parliament, because everyone in this House supports this settlement, and it does not happen very often that we get unanimous support out of the House. Everyone supports this settlement for a good reason: settlements enhance the mana of iwi, unlock their economic potential, and help New Zealand become a more culturally rich and more economically productive country.

I come from Ōtautahi/Christchurch, and I happened to be in Wellington at the time of the Ngāi Tahu settlement so many years ago—1996. Although I had no knowledge of the Treaty process at that time—and, actually, not many people did, because it was very early days—I shared in the celebration, and I have seen the enormous benefits, culturally, socially, and economically, that that settlement with Ngāi Tahu has delivered. Those benefits have been not just for the people of Ngāi Tahu, they have been for the people of Ōtautahi and the people of the South Island. There is a stronger, better relationship between both peoples since that settlement occurred.

Ngāti Whātua have a very strong vision for their future, and we in the House all support that and believe that this settlement is a step towards it. Being the original inhabitants of that Auckland area, a most beautiful part of our country and now a magnet for so many new inhabitants, life has not always been easy for this iwi. Their original friendship, generosity, and hospitality were not always returned in kind. This settlement focuses on cultural and historic redress and includes an agreed historical account and Crown acknowledgments, which form the basis of a Crown apology to Ngāti Whātua, and that is a very good thing.

I am excited about the potential of this settlement, and I would like to wish Ngāti Whātua all the very best for their future and for future generations to come. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

💬 Metiria Turei: Mr Speaker—

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is this a split call?

💬 Metiria Turei: No, Mr Speaker. It is not.

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. I call Metiria Turei.

Kia ora koutou katoa. He mihi aroha ki a koutou. To those of you in the gallery today who are here to witness the second reading and Committee stage of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill, tēnā koutou e te Whare. I want to take just a very small call to acknowledge and to pay my respects to the iwi who have completed this process, in as far as it has gotten so far. We are very close to the conclusion of this legislation and this settlement.

As has often been repeated in this House by me and by other colleagues, we have always had real concerns about making sure that the process for settlements is fair and that those who have been the victims of the State’s unlawful behaviour in the past are able to have—not mana restored, because their mana has never been lost; it is the Crown’s mana that has been lost in the process, not the mana of the iwi—their rights restored to at least some extent through these deals, and to have the chance to make some future decisions with land and resources that otherwise would not have been returned. Although we would rather that there was more returned to the iwi, that they were fully restored and compensated for the losses that they have suffered, we are pleased that there is at least some restoration of those resources.

So I just wanted to acknowledge that history and these issues, but also perhaps to identify one concern I have about this legislation, and that is a message to the Auckland Council, not to the iwi themselves. There is a description in the bill of the iwi having gifted land for various purposes that has been gifted away in terms of the council, and the Auckland Council was very concerned about the return of that land to the iwi because it is being used as a reserve—not for the purposes for which it was gifted, I would say, but for other purposes, and those purposes are public land as a reserve. The council is very concerned to try to retain that use of that land.

But this is the point: when we return resources that either were wrongfully taken or were taken under an agreement that was not honoured, it is not up to the State, the Crown, or Crown agents like the council to put conditions on the use of that land. It is our obligation and the obligation of all of the agents of the State to return that land, and it should be for the iwi to make decisions as to what happens to it. I notice that there are still some issues around that with this particular land that is being returned to the iwi. There are zoning issues with that land, in that the council will still have to make some decisions to enable the iwi to be able to use the land as they see fit, as is right. So I urge the Auckland Council and those members of Parliament who are involved in Auckland or are from Auckland to make sure that they step out of the way and enable the iwi to be able to have full use and decision-making over this land. It is theirs and they are entitled to do that within the bounds of the law. Trying to retain some control over the use of that land in order to meet other purposes is just not right.

So I hope that the Auckland Council is able to respect the fact that this land now belongs to the iwi and make sure that every possible legal encumbrance is removed from that land, to make it possible for them to use it as they best see fit. I look forward to the Committee stage. I understand that we will be voting on not only the second reading of this bill but also the amendments to this legislation. Therefore, I look forward to the third reading, in time, when this deal will be completed and the iwi will be able to take these resources and do with them as they see fit. Tēnā koutou katoa.

I first of all want to pay greetings to the people from Ngāti Whātua who have come here from so far for the debate on the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill. I feel a bit embarrassed because I am a recent arrival back to Parliament. I got here on 19 February and I have not been part of the select committee process. But during my sabbatical out of Parliament I did actually visit the beautiful part of the Kaipara Harbour and I found it a very stunning place. I enjoyed camping, actually, in the campground that I think you are going to take ownership of in a very short period of months.

For me, I think Treaty settlements are always a beautiful thing, and they give, as my grandmother said, karaka seeds to make great orchards from in the future. I believe that this Government that we are a part of and Minister Finlayson have a great focus to get more of these settlements done as soon as possible.

I did not know about the history of Ngāti Whātua until recently, and I was reading about it as part of a speech this morning. Ngāti Whātua had a major battle with Ngāpuhi in 1822 and it led to a major loss of life, which actually led to the signing on a sale of land with Governor Hobson in 1840. That actually led to the situation we find ourselves in today.

My ancestors were involved in the Ngāi Tahu settlement in 1996. I was too young to be involved in that process. I think many people thought at that time that it was not enough, and people wanted more redress, but Ngāi Tahu have gone on to show that even with small karaka seeds you can go on to create massive wealth. I look forward to Ngāti Whātua doing the same in time. I want to thank the members of the Māori Affairs Committee, who did all the work on this bill. I give you the guidance of the gods to go forward and multiply, and I look forward to talking further in later stages of the bill. Thank you.

Bill read a second time.

In Committee