Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill.

First and foremost, a heartfelt welcome to the manuhiri here today to represent Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, and Tapuika and witness the first reading of their settlement bill. The iwi of Ngā Punawai o te Tokotoru have not, it must be said, had a particularly smooth or speedy passage through the tribunal and Treaty settlement negotiations. Nevertheless, the iwi have, to their great credit, emerged with their grievances and their distinctive identities acknowledged and their mana enhanced. I want to acknowledge those iwi members who have contributed so very much to the realisation of these settlements. These include the very able lead negotiators: Te Rangikāheke Bidois for Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Pia Callaghan for Tapuika, and Donna Hall for Ngāti Rangiteaorere. I also want to acknowledge the chairs of the mandated bodies: Te Rangikāheke Bidois for Te Maru o Te Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Carol Biel for Tapuika, and Tai Eru and Kereama Pene for Ngāti Rangiteaorere. Without their vision, their support, and their leadership, these settlements would not have occurred.

It is important to acknowledge all those who are no longer with us who carried the injustices the Crown inflicted on these three iwi, those who lodged the claims with the tribunal, and every person who has contributed to this settlement. Without these people, this settlement would not have been possible. I want to acknowledge those who have worked to find a way to ease the burdens of the grievances carried by the three iwi here today. This involves timeless efforts from many individuals. That is not a formulaic statement. I do actually say it in the first reading of most settlement legislation because it is a simple fact that these grievances are carried down through the generations and the negotiations can take a very long time and require a great deal of effort from quite a number of people. As I have said before, so often it is the case that the grand nieces or the grandsons of the original claimants are the ones who are signing the deeds of settlement.

I have spoken about the grievances of each iwi in detail when the deeds of settlement were signed. There will be another opportunity to traverse that material at the third reading. Today I simply want to say something about the magnitude of those grievances. First, I refer to Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Its Treaty grievances relate to the Crown’s initiation of hostilities in Waikato in 1863 and Tauranga in 1864, and the subsequent loss of life for Ngāti Rangiwewehi. The Crown also compulsorily extinguished Ngāti Rangiwewehi customary interests through the Tauranga raupatu of the 1860s and contributed to the erosion of traditional tribal structures of Ngāti Rangiwewehi as a result of native land laws. The Crown failed to provide the iwi with an effective form of corporate title prior to 1894. The native land laws promoted by the Crown facilitated the alienation of lands and resources cherished by Ngāti Rangiwewehi, including a site of very great significance at Hamurana Springs. The Crown also played a part in the iwi losing the Pekehāua Puna reserve, another of the iwi’s most sacred sites.

Ngāti Rangiwewehi signed a deed of settlement with the Crown on 16 December 2012. The deed provides for a range of redress, including the historical account, the Crown acknowledgments, the Crown apology, and financial and commercial redress of $6 million, comprised of an on-account payment paid in 2008, a cash amount, and commercial properties. It provides for the return of 37 hectares at Hamurana Springs, including Puna-a-Hangarua, in recognition of the iwi’s special relationship with this place, and I am sure Mr Flavell will mention that in greater detail in his speech. It provides for the vesting of Te Riu o Ngata, an 18.41 hectare site, in Ngāti Rangiwewehi, subject to a conservation covenant for biodiversity values and with a provision for the cultural harvest of flora. This will enable the iwi to share their history and culture and to educate and train people about conservation and harvesting. There is the vesting of 6 hectares of the Taumata Scenic Reserve to enable Ngāti Rangiwewehi to establish a native plant nursery on the site, and there are statutory acknowledgments and deeds of recognition over Crown-owned lands across the rohe.

I now turn to Tapuika. Tapuika’s Treaty grievances relate to the Crown’s responsibility for initiating hostilities in Tauranga in 1864 and subsequent loss of life for Tapuika. The Crown also compulsorily extinguished Tapuika customary interests through the Tauranga raupatu of the 1860s and destroyed their settlements in 1867 using scorched earth tactics. The erosion of the traditional tribal structures of Tapuika resulted from native land laws and the Crown’s 1875 determination of customary interests within the rohe of Tapuika and the exclusion of Tapuika from the titles to around 40,000 acres of ancestral coastal lands. The Crown also unlawfully took a Tapuika urupā in 1971. The iwi are aggrieved also by the degradation—the continued degradation—of the Kaituna River.

Tapuika signed a deed of settlement with the Crown on 16 December 2012—a great day—alongside Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Redress in the deed of settlement includes, as with Ngāti Rangiwewehi, the agreed historical account; the Crown acknowledgments; a Crown apology; and the financial redress of $6 million, less the on-account payment of $2.5 million provided in December 2008 and the value of 17 commercial redress properties. There are also rights of first refusal in relation to 11 Crown-owned properties for a period of 171 years, 12 sites of special significance to Tapuika across their rohe totalling approximately 209 hectares, and three additional sites jointly with other iwi, including Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Very important, the deed also sets out a framework for governance of the Kaituna River, Te Awanui o Tapuika, that will acknowledge—[Bell rung]—in a meaningful and practical way the great significance of the river to Tapuika and help protect the ecological and cultural values of the Kaituna. Was that the 8-minute bell, or did you just inadvertently press a button?

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No, it was the 8-minute bell.

Ah. Well, very well.

Then there are also the grievances of Ngāti Rangiteaorere. I am dealing with three iwi, so maybe I could crave an indulgence. Their grievances relate to the erosion of the traditional tribal structures as a result of native land laws and the Crown’s failure to provide the iwi with an effective form of tribal title prior to 1894. Through native land laws, the actions of Crown purchase agents, and the extension of the Lake Ōkataina Scenic Reserve, the Crown facilitated the estrangement of this iwi from some of the most cherished parts of their rohe. The redress is set out in the deed of settlement and includes the historical account, the Crown acknowledgments and commercial redress, numerous statutory acknowledgments, and the return of 321 hectares of Whakapougnākau, reuniting Rangiteaorere with their maunga.

So my thanks to the iwi for coming to this House today to hear the first reading of what is an omnibus bill containing three settlements, which is why, in the space of 10 minutes, I have to say so much. But I look forward to saying more about each individual iwi when the bills come back to the House. I want to thank all of them for coming today. Finally, I give my very special thanks to my chief Crown negotiator, Patsy Reddy, and the team at the Office of Treaty Settlements for all their good work on these three settlements. I commend the bill to the House.

Ko tā tātou e kōrero i tēnei wā, ko te pire e meinga nei, Te Pire Whakataunga i ngā Kerēme a Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru. Ko te hunga nō roto i Te Ao Māori nā rātou tēnei pire i popoi, ā, tutuki noa ki tēnei hāora, ki tēnei wā, tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou ka ahu mai i roto i ēnā pānga kāinga o Te Ao Māori ki tēnā rohe, ngā pūmanawa, tēnā koutou, ā, tutuki noa ki roto i Te Moana-a-Toi. Ahakoa ko te pānuitanga tuatahi tēnei o te pire neki, he haringa ngākau nā mātou te kite i a koutou. I te tuatahi ko te whānau mai i Tāmaki-makau-rau; tuarua, ko te whānau i ahu mai i roto o Kahungunu; nā, kua riro ko koutou hei manuhiri tuatoru, hei mihinga mā mātou, hei mātakitaki noki mā koutou i a mātou e whiriwhiri nei, e rūnanga nei, me pēhea tēneki pire e whakahōhonungia ai tana whakatutukitanga i waenga tonu i a mātou. Nā reira, tēnā koutou katoa.

[We are now debating the bill called the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill. To those of you from within Māoridom who nurtured this bill along to its completion at this hour and moment, I congratulate you. Congratulations and well done to you the talented ones who came from within those home connections in that region of Māoridom that extends right the way out to the Bay of Plenty. Even though this bill is at its first reading, we are absolutely delighted to see you. First of all, it was the family collective from Auckland; secondly, it was the one from Kahungunu; and now you have become the third visitors for us to welcome here, and for you to observe us considering and debating how the settlement of this bill can be extended greatly amongst us politicians here. So welcome, indeed, to you all.]

Once again I rise on behalf of the Labour Party to acknowledge that not only has the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations brought forward another bill that we will be agreeing to but there are elements within this bill, the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill, that the Māori Affairs Committee will pay particular attention to. The select committee, by and large, when dealing with Treaty matters, is not interested in the inevitable tension that comes from time to time within the hapū or iwi. We have got enough of our own tension to match without indulging in the tensions of hapū and iwi. From time to time neighbouring iwis do come to the select committee and raise contentious issues, and I look forward to those being sent where they belong—back to the marae and to the whānau. We look at whether or not the law that we are passing will be durable and whether it actually captures in words what the Treaty partners—in this case, the elements from around Te Arawa—have actually agreed to or were mandated to agree to.

The select committee process will, for example, pay attention to the proposal to come up with a better scheme for addressing Māori interests and better resource management outcomes—which I suppose is an accurate expression—in the Kaituna River, given that the Kaituna River claim was one of the earlier well-known Waitangi Tribunal cases. In the heyday of Judge Eddie Durie, prior to him and the chair of the Crown Forestry Rental Trust—the name of whom escapes me at the moment. Unfortunately, they seem to be locked in some sort of battle there at the Crown Forestry Rental Trust, just when it gets to one of our tribes of the north, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu. It is saying it is running out of money. Maybe it is time to change the chair of the trust if that is the best it can do for that part of Māoridom. It is a tribe, I would tell the Minister, that 155,000 members of the Māori people give as their tribe—Ngāpuhi. I may have done it once or twice and been reminded: “Oh, no, you’re from ‘Te Ao Pōuri’ on the coast of Yugoslavia, not Ngāpuhi.” But that is another matter.

Naturally, we will support this bill, but we want to be absolutely confident, as members of the select committee, that when it comes to us the processes we put in place are not overly bureaucratic, and they not only actually enable all the stakeholders who have an interest in such key assets as rivers to play a role but also do not end up stymying the full range of uses that such an asset or a resource represents—a river. It is still a work in progress in respect of what outcomes—not so much processes—for the Waikato River are coming as a consequence of the model that was originally put in place by our colleague Parekura Horomia, recently departed, and Dr Cullen, and then refined by the current Minister. This is a significant improvement, actually, because when the Resource Management Act was passed, it was just not possible to introduce such notions and concepts.

As I said earlier, the closest we got was a vague reference to the ethic of stewardship, which in itself fell out of the Manukau Harbour report championed by the now Dame Sian Elias, and her clients were Carmen Kirkwood and Ngāneko Minhinnick. As I recall, the kaumātua was Rua Cooper, a man who came and visited us many times at St Stephen’s School, along with Hēnare Tūwhāngai—those taniwhas of the Waikato tribe in their time. That is one element we will pay particular attention to, and this is an area where there are a lot of overlapping iwi interests. What is being tried here is an attempt to bring them all together, and then work with four or five local government entities—I mean local government as in regional government as well. It will be a challenge, in the sense that it is hard enough to get local government itself to work together before we get a range of Māori entities to do so, but it is worth a try. Naturally, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and the representatives from the iwi feel that it will be successful.

There have been interesting comments on the process of Treaty settlements. Ngāti Rangiteaorere had a settlement on account—I think that is the technical term—of the Te Ngāe Mission Farm. It has wandered along and wandered along, and now it is here with us today. It is not a large sum of money that is at stake here, but it does actually increase the visibility of Ngāti Rangiteaorere within the scope of the interaction both within Te Arawa and with Te Arawa and statutory authorities. There is a rather bleak account of what happened to Ngāti Rangiwewehi. All I can say is that the bleakness of their asset loss has not been mirrored in their kapa haka performance. I only hope that their asset management mirrors their kapa haka abilities, and they will do very well in asset management.

This does bring to the fore an opportunity to try to recover what was lost, not just in assets but in mana whenua, in visibility, and in influence. At the end of the day, the influence will grow if it sits upon trust and goodwill. That is a challenge to us as MPs and our proxies in local government. If there were ever a case of local government failing the test in terms of resource management and local government’s responsibilities, too often it is the case of how they deal with their local whānau Māori in areas such as resource management of rivers and the treatment of geothermal resources. I see the bill goes out of its way to explicitly note any protocol entered into to do with Crown minerals and the administration of Crown minerals from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment—elements of which I hope to move out of Wellington in the not-too-distant future. [Bell rung] Mr Assistant Speaker, I could not possibly apply that to you—moving you out of Wellington.

The bill is quite explicit. This does not give property rights or any ownership interests to the iwi and hapū elements that comprise Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru. All it does is it puts in place a process for interaction. That might be disappointing, because there is a body of thought, both politically and economically, that Māori rights to geothermal resources should be spelt out more explicitly. The only route that exists through there is by dint of being a landowner. There is no severable right that has been recognised, other than a small reference in the Resource Management Act to the Minister for the people of Te Arawa, such that when the council of the late 1980s and early 1990s drew up its geothermal plans, it was to treat as of right the ability of that whānau to use geothermal energy for communal purposes—non-commercial purposes. Presumably, that platform can be expanded.

We will support this bill, but we do look forward to giving it a very significant airing at the select committee. Kia ora tātou.

Mea tuatahi ki a koutou āku rangatira, tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou Te Arawa, Mātaatua, te motu. Nō reira, tēnā koutou katoa.

[The first thing is to you, collectively, my leaders, acknowledgments. Salutations to you, collectively, Te Arawa, Mātaatua, and the country. So greetings to you all.]

I am reminded of my colleague Rino Tirikatene, who when he got up earlier this morning linked himself to Ngāti Whātua. I am sure there is a link there for me; it is just not as good as his. But I can say that my children have a link to Te Arawa through their mother’s side—so there.

When this Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill and the speech notes came across my table, I had a quick glance at them, as I normally do when we get information from the honourable Minister, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. It is the first thing in my in-tray and the first thing in my out tray. I noticed “Te Tokotoru”, and I thought “What? Are we settling something at Rātana?”.

I want to go a bit deeper than normal. We have an opportunity. Let me digress first. The Crown is getting away with murder. Let me make that quite clear. We are getting away with quite a lot. That does not set aside what we are trying to do collegially, and it does not set aside what we are trying to do in a partnership. What we have is the opportunity, and what we have, through the 40-odd deeds of settlement that we have signed in the term of this Government and also in the term of the Labour Government—the past Government—is our own, I suppose, reconciliation process. It may not be the same as others around the world. It may not be as good as others around the world. In fact, I think we do a better job than most people around the world.

But the thing is, as my colleague and my uncle, Shane Jones, says, things progress—things progress. Things grow up. In his time he was one of the many architects of the Resource Management Act. Things grow and things progress. We can do now what we could not do even 5 years ago, and certainly not 10 and 20 years ago. We have the opportunity to put in place a new set of rules, a new regime. Who knows, in 5 years’ time and in 10 years’ time, the three entities that we are talking about today may very well grow into more powerful, better-run entities than they are today. So I have no doubt that what we are trying to achieve here is not only for today but essentially for tomorrow’s children and the children who have not even been born yet.

I will not take too much longer. I do not like to correct my colleague and my uncle, Shane Jones, but he did mention something about 130,000-odd Ngāpuhi. It is funny that out of that 130,000 there are supposedly—and I could be corrected if I am wrong—75,000 Ngāti Hine. So I want to put on record now and use this opportunity, if you do not mind—

💬 Hone Harawira: He wai. [A song]

Oh no! What is coming from Ngāti Hine, I can assure you, is the idea of their own piece of settlement legislation. We might laugh and we might think “Oh yeah, that’s very big of them.”, but it is a development on what we are doing today. It is a development on what we were doing 20 years ago. If people thought that in 1840 we sat there and we would never progress, then they are mistaken. They are absolutely mistaken. If this country was not colonised, I would bet my bottom dollar that we would have progressed a hell of a lot further than people think we would have. We would not have stayed in the Stone Age, so to speak.

So I am pleased that I am part of a Parliament that actually looks at these things and is very well equipped and skilled to look at all of the issues that come before us. I am pleased that I am the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, which I think on the whole looks at all the issues in front of it in a bipartisan way. We have gone from Tāmaki this morning through to Kahungunu and have now ended up in Te Arawa territory. I look forward to taking our select committee to Te Arawa and listening to the stories that make this settlement, along with all the other settlements that we have done, just a part of our attempt at reconciliation. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. E rau rangatira mā huri noa i te Whare, tēnā koutou. Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Tapuika, nau mai, nau mai, haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata e takatū nei, ā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, tēnā tātou katoa. E tū ake au ki te tautoko i tēnei pire.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings to you, collectively, the many leaders throughout the House. Welcome to you Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Tapuika. Welcome to Parliament House in deliberation mode here, and so acknowledgments, greetings, and congratulations to you and you, collectively, as well as all of us. I rise to support this bill.]

I am pleased to stand in support of this bill, the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill. It is not the Tokotoru Tapu that Tau was referring to, but three illustrious tribes from Te Arawa: Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, and Tapuika.

💬 Te Ururoa Flavell: Very illustrious.

Indeed. Try as I might, I have not been able to connect my whakapapa link to this particular bill, but the history and the whakapapa continues with my kōrero. This time we are focusing in on Te Arawa - Bay of Plenty, where these tribes made their home. The land wars of Waikato had finally overflowed into neighbouring areas of Tauranga Moana at Te Ranga and Pukehina, and the main players, the antagonists, who have featured so far in the Waikato Land Wars raise their heads in this bill as well. I am talking about people like Grey, Cameron, Whitmore, and Mair. But this time they faced the people of Te Arawa, and I know that the hapū of the Rotorua lakes district share a common eastern border also with Raukawa and have over many centuries forged close bonds and become kin.

It was because of the kinship with Raukawa that some of Te Arawa fought with their Raukawa relations against the colonial forces of General Cameron and Colonel Whitmore. Those who fought against the Crown paid a high price. Although the people of Ngāti Rangiteaorere did not sign the Treaty, they did have a relationship with the Crown.

So let us remind the House exactly where we are at when we talk about these great tribes. Rotorua is the tourist capital of New Zealand, a geothermal wonderland, and it has been since Europeans discovered that the area is a fantastic attraction and experience for many, many people. The Crown actively encouraged the sale of desirable land. So with that taniwha that was created, which I mentioned in my previous speeches, the Māori Land Court, the Governments of the day along with land speculators managed to alienate the people of these three iwi from their ancestral lands. No surprises there. That was the modus operandi of the day. We know today that the Māori Land Court was not set up to help keep Māori title in those days; it was set up to do the exact opposite.

The Rotorua lakes district had the potential to attract international tourists. Even as long ago as the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s there was a tourism industry, so securing title to important lands to ensure Pākēha control over strategic assets was very important in those times. So I want to indulge the House, and let us stop and think about Rotorua for a minute, because I am sure all of the members of this House have been to Rotorua at least once. The drive is spectacular as you make your way in there. You can see all the geothermal wonders, and the flight there is even more spectacular. You can see the volcanic nature of the land from high above. It is also easy to see how truly significant Rotorua is in the cultural history of Aotearoa and also to the economy of our nation.

It was stolen, legally and by trickery, until the people had nothing but steep hills and mud pools. All the nice land was bought by Pākehā at mortgagee sales for a pittance, and, as always—this is the classic modus operandi—Māori were forced to pay survey costs or other debts by selling their land. It should have been these tribes here today that formed our first Tourism Industry Association and opened up the chain of hotels. Iwi Māori should have been the managers, not just the guides. The souvenir business, the ice cream vendor—everything should have been run by these three tribes that we speak of today and other hāpu of the Te Arawa confederation.

So the next time you fly into Rotorua, have a look at the land that these people lost and the economic opportunities that were lost, such as tourism and geothermal energy. It is plain to see from the sky. All that steam and beautiful scenery used to be under the mana of the local body authorities of Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, and Tapauika. So this claims settlement bill is divided into three parts, one for each of the respective iwi. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the Māori Affairs Committee. We certainly have a busy work programme ahead, but it is very enjoyable work, awhi-ing and hearing submissions on these very significant pieces of legislation.

I would like to acknowledge the whānau and all the representatives from the wonderful iwi up in Te Arawa who have come through today. It is always a significant occasion to be able to speak on these bills, and although the tone of my speeches can sometimes be a bit heavy, I think it is very important that we acknowledge the significance and the history for each iwi, because each iwi has its own mana and its own story. I look forward to further tautoko for this bill in later stages and I commend it to the House. Kia ora tātou.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. He mihi nui ki te tangata whenua o Te Arawa, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Tapuika, tēnā koutou.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and a huge acknowledgment to the locals of Te Arawa, namely Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, and Tapuika. Salutations to you collectively.]

It is a humble moment to be able to speak in the presence of the people for whom this bill, the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill, is so important. I would also like to acknowledge the co-leader of the Māori Party, Te Ururoa Flavell, his connection to this bill, his connection to the rohe, and, therefore, his particular contribution to our House as a proud member of Te Arawa. I would like to also acknowledge our new member, Meka Whaitiri, of Ngāti Kahungunu. Tēnā koe. It is great to have you on board.

This bill is an omnibus measure that covers aspects of three Te Arawa iwi claims and it gives effect to the deeds of settlement that the Crown has negotiated. This negotiation includes some very significant issues that others have touched upon. My own personal connection to this is that my grandfather bought land on the lakeside of Rotorua in the 1930s. I have to say, to the shame of my family, that nobody in my family at the time or since, until recent years, would have any concept of what had happened to the land and the whenua, to the area, to the rohe, and to the iwi of the area. Nobody, in their enjoyment of the magical wonderland and playground that is Rotorua, had any concept of whose toes had been stamped on or whose fingernails, perhaps, had been ripped out in the colonisation of the area.

These are places such as Tikitere and Hamurana Springs that are iconic and magical, which many of us enjoyed in our childhoods as manuhiri, exquisite lakes such as Ōkataina, and those that were exquisite but are now deeply polluted by years of bad farming practice, sewerage disposal, pentachlorophenol contamination from the Waipā lakes and Waipā sawmill, and erosion. All of those things have been a heavy weight upon tangata whenua, but many others have come and gone and ignored or been unaware of those very important rights and relationships that have been trampled on. So it is an important day—a beginning, at least, towards healing some of those issues. The three iwi from the eastern side of the lakes and out to the coast have waited a very long time for redress.

The Crown apologies are a really important part of this bill. The apology is for the effect of warfare and land theft, which the iwi did not seek, and the loss of tribe authority, life, land, resources, social structures, etc., and, very important, the ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities. As others have said, the native land laws in particular were—and, I believe, still are—devastating in their ability to alienate. It is appropriate that the Crown acknowledges and apologises for the effects of these laws on hapū and whānau. Let us make sure that the Native Land Court, now allegedly reformed, and other instruments do not continue. That is why the Green Party does not believe in full and final settlement. Because we do not think that the rest of the legislative framework of this country supports justice yet, we believe that tangata whenua must always have the right to claim and to speak out on these issues. All of these words do not adequately convey the multilayered nightmare of colonisation.

I just want to speak about one aspect of the loss—the loss of access to customary rights and responsibilities. The lakes, rivers, and hot springs of the rohe are legendary and magnificent taonga, and, although contaminated in many instances, once must have been the most productive source of kai, of energy, and of mana. The loss is not only of the physical access to these resources, it is also the history of contamination, which I know these iwi have fought for in a very steadfast manner. Kaituna, for example, under the Tapuika settlement, is a legendary name for the wrong reasons as well as for the right reasons. “Kai-tuna”—I can only imagine the abundance of kai, the abundance of tuna, that were once in that river. What has been done to that river is inexcusable and unforgettable. Let us hope that some of the mechanisms of this bill will start to restore it.

For Ngāti Rangiteaorere there is specific cultural address in terms of Waiohewa stream, which is vested in the trustees. There is commercial redress. It is an advancement of agreements that were set out in 1993, and I hope, for those who have worked so hard since 1993, that this feels like a really big milestone and major progress for them.

Ngāti Rangiwewehi, equally, were marginalised totally through the war and the raupatu in the Tauranga area. The bill does clarify issues around their settlement in relation to fisheries protocol and creates joint management structures for some sites, as well as very strong conservation-related rights, which are important. Cultural harvest is an integral part of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and was never ever given up by many people.

I want to talk briefly about co-governance in relation to Tapuika, because they established Te Maru o Kaituna, the Kaituna River Authority, as a permanent joint committee for the restoration, protection, and enhancement of that awa. This involves a number of iwi, including the Tapuika Iwi Authority and the local authorities, and it will be vital for this group to work, and vital for the kaupapa of restoring the Kaituna River and providing for the well-being of the communities with their deep whakapapa and kaitiaki connections to this long-abused and much-treasured waterway.

It must always be acknowledged that co-governance is not article 2. It is not tino rangatiratanga. It is a response to the current reality, and it is generously agreed upon by mana whenua in the spirit of relationship-building. My honourable colleague Tau Henare talked about co-governance in a previous speech this morning as a kind of unique mechanism in Aotearoa. It is actually a global model, and it has mixed success. Co-governance is not the sovereignty of tangata whenua, but it is what is possible in the current situation, and therefore should be welcomed and celebrated.

But if you look at Sami, if you look at the Arctic, if you look at Australia and the indigenous people there, there are real challenges in co-governance in terms of two very different world views sitting at the table and doing what they need to do, which is negotiate, and there are real issues of power. If you talk to any of the Aboriginal people from Central Australia and you talk to some of the Arctic indigenous people, the challenges are very important but they are also very profound. So we cannot romanticise co-governance, much as we celebrate it. We have to recognise that it is always about power. It is always about power, and it is very important that we recognise the challenges within it, because we need to be at the table, but that is not article 2. That is just the reality that we need to deal with, and it is a good reality.

This omnibus bill has a number of technical provisions to clarify the unfinished business for these iwi who have come together to progress justice with the Crown—and well done for that. Like all such legislation, it includes some recognition of rights to very sacred places and lost resources. It provides some opportunities for forest and fisheries ownership and some shared governance over bodies of important rivers and sites. But reading these bills always gives a sense, for me as a Pākehā and for many of mine, of how little we really know about the original price that was paid and how hard the journey has been to this point. I think it is very important that, with humility, those of us who do not come from Te Arawa and who have enjoyed that rohe recognise what we do not know, what we have not experienced, and what is still unseen through the process.

As always, the Green Party is cognisant of the silent side, whereby other citizens who have enjoyed this magic are not participating and barely know how important this day is in terms of these three iwi. The depressing emails I receive claiming that the “Treaty gravy train” provides Māori with so many privileges just show the depth of ignorance and the gaps, so I welcome any settlement bill that will provide historical background. One of the most beneficial things about the bill is the stories told. But we need to get those stories out again to the people who think that Rotorua is a tourist mecca, rather than the rohe of the important Te Arawa tribes.

I still receive so much in my in-box that should not be there, and I do hope that through this process and this very important bill, and the other bills that we are happy to support today, that there will be more information, more education, and more positive challenges to people who still do not understand what really goes on. Obviously these iwi are legendary for their extraordinary hospitality, their extraordinary generosity, and their extraordinary culture. People come to enjoy that culture and pay for that privilege from all around the world. But it is here in Aotearoa that the challenge must go out to my own culture and tauiwi katoa. We need to learn the history. We need to own the past. We need to recognise our present privilege, and we need to stand up for a continuing dialogue on the Treaty of Waitangi so that these settlements will have the full meaning that they should have. Kia ora tātou.

I did not realise during my last kōrero that Rūaumoko sat up to listen to me and started to vibrate a little bit there. I took that as a tohu—he tohu pai, actually—and I felt that Rūaumoko was rumbling again. So another tohu pai, I think—he tohu pai. The Crown and Te Tāhuhu o Tawakeheimoa Trust signed a deed of settlement with the Crown on behalf of Ngāti Rangiwewehi on 16 December last year. Ki te iwi o Ngāti Rangiwewehi, mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

[To you the people of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, I acknowledge you all.]

The Crown and the Tapuika Iwi Authority Trust signed a deed of settlement with the Crown on behalf of Tapuika on 16 December last year. Ki te iwi o Tapuika, mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

[To the people of Tapuika, I salute you all.]

The Crown and the Ngāti Rangiteaorere Koromatua Council signed a deed of settlement on 14 June this year. Mihi atu ki a koutou katoa ki te whakatō i tō hīkaka o Ngāti Rangiwewehi i tōna ake mana.

[I commend you all collectively to introduce your eagerness of Ngāti Rangiwewehi against its very own authority.]

Each settlement provides an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgments, and an apology to iwi. There is cultural redress to Ngāti Rangiwewehi, the vesting of Te Riu o Kererū in Ngāti Rangiwewehi, the vesting of part of Hamurana Springs as recreation reserve, and the second part as historical reserve, the vesting of Ngā Tini Roimata a Rangiwewehi and Te Riu o Kererū B as scenic reserves, the vesting of Te Riu o Ngata subject to a conservation covenant, the statutory acknowledgments over a number of culturally significant sites to Ngāti Rangiwewehi, protocols with the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and letters of introduction to local government authorities in a number of non-core Crown agencies.

In respect of commercial and financial redress, Ngāti Rangiwewehi will receive financial and commercial redress of $6 million, comprised of a mix of cash and commercial properties. Ngāti Rangiwewehi will also have the option to purchase further Crown-owned property, following settlement date. Ngāti Rangiwewehi have a right of first refusal over 1.3364 hectares of land held by the Ministry of Education. This right continues for 171 years from the settlement date. Ngāti Rangiwewehi, we thank you for your generosity. Tapuika, mai i ngā pae maunga ki Te Toro Puke e tū kau mai rā ki te awa e rere mai ana, waiho te whenua ko te takapū o taku tamaiti a Tapuika.

[Tapuika, let the land from the mountain range to the hill standing over there before us to the flowing river be the abdomen of my child Tapuika.]

In terms of cultural redress the settlement establishes a framework for co-governance of the Kaituna River. The Lower Kaituna Wildlife Management Reserve will be vested jointly in Tapuika and Ngāti Whakauē who will in turn, and after a specified period of time, give the reserve back to the Crown. The Crown will provide $500,000 to assist Tapuika to enhance their cultural presence within Te Puke. Twelve sites of special significance to Tapuika, totalling approximately 209 hectares, will be vested in Tapuika, including three sites from within Kaharoa conservation forest, two sites from within Te Mātai conservation forest, Otāhu Pā, and Ōtūkawa. The settlement provides a whenua rāhui over Ōpoutihi. One additional site, Te Taitā, will be vested jointly in Tapuika and Ngāti Rangiwewehi. The settlement provides for statutory acknowledgments over a number of sites and waterways of significance to Tapuika and protocols within the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

In terms of financial and commercial redress, Tapuika will receive financial redress of $6 million comprising a mix of cash and properties. Tapuika will also have a right of first refusal in relation to 11 Crown-owned properties for a period of 171 years. Tapuika, we thank you for your generosity. Ngāti Rangiteaorere, kāore e hangaia te kupenga hei hapu hao ika i āna kai ēngari, i hangaia kia oioi i roto i te nekeneke o te tai.

[Ngāti Rangiteaorere, the net was not fashioned to catch fish as its food but rather to move continuously through the tidal flow.]

The settlement provides for the vesting of the fee simple of the Te Ngae/Rangiteaorere site to be known as Waiōhewa and the vesting of Te Ngae Junction Recreation Reserve to be known as Rangiteaorere, subject to recreation reserve status. The Crown vests the Lake Ōkataina Scenic Reserve, to be known as Whakapoungakau, subject to scenic reserve status. The deed of settlement will provide for protocols to facilitate good working relationships between the iwi and the Department of Conservation, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations will write letters of introduction to a number of non-core Crown agencies.

In respect of financial and commercial redress, the financial redress amount to be paid under this settlement is $750,000. Ngāti Rangiteaorere will also have a right of first refusal over an area of land held by the New Zealand Transport Agency between State Highway 33 and State Highway 30. Ngāti Rangiteaorere, we thank you for your generosity.

Again, we see that these settlements are part of our future, moving forward together in partnership under the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as a partnership between the Crown and iwi. And for that, again, I thank the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Chris Finlayson. To that end, I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, tēnā tātou katoa. Tāpiri atu aku mihi ki a koutou kua tae mai mō tēnei wāhanga o tō koutou pire, Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Tapuika, nei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

[Thank you, and acknowledgments to you all. I add my salutations accorded to you collectively who have arrived here for this part of your bill: Ngāti Rangiteaorere, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, and Tapuika. I greet you all.]

Unlike previous contributions on other settlement bills I am quite optimistic about the opportunity that is happening here. I am assured and affirmed from some relationships that I have in the Te Arawa area that much will be done with what is contained here in this particular bill, the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill. It provides not a new chance but it confirms relationships that are already well established within the Te Arawa area for these hapū in terms of what they want to do going forward.

The very mechanical part of this stage in the House is that the bill comes here for the first reading, and it is referred to the select committee where we will hear submissions. We are going to make sure that we give full hearings to everybody who has something to say on the bill. It is important because a lot of people feel that maybe they have not had the opportunity to be heard in public or to go through some of their whakaaro around whether or not they agree with the settlement, and the select committee can give attention to those types of whakaaro.

But at the end of the day, what has been agreed to with the Minister, with your negotiators, and with Crown officials is something that must bind all members of this House towards assuring the members of hapū who are present that they can go forward with some commitment. That has really been the tenor of the contribution I have made in the House today—that Treaty settlements go beyond the Government and must endure when all members of the House commit to supporting them, because Governments come and go but iwi stay and you need that type of assurance to make sure that the implementation and expectations in terms of what is wanted to be achieved in settlements will stand the test of time.

For my part I really did not want to take up too much time in the House, because members before me have given book, line, and verse about the terms of the settlement, the history, and the like. However, there are two things I would like to say. Firstly, we have impending local body elections, and it is my strong view that not enough local government politicians get themselves well, kind of, immersed in the Treaty settlement process so that they understand at a local level the importance of the relationship and perhaps some of the cross-cutting aspects of Treaty settlements that dovetail into local government politics.

To those people who may be listening and watching the debate, aspiring local body politicians for Environment Bay of Plenty and for the Rotorua District Council, my plea would be to give some urgency to getting to know what the terms and conditions of Treaty settlements are in your area and getting to know those people who really want to make things happen.

The second point I would like to raise is really in relation to the technical aspects of implementing Treaty settlements. Every iwi and every hapū who have gone through this process are prepared for it but do not really realise the time taken to try to work through many of the more technical aspects and how time-exhaustive it can be. For that part of the process, my strong plea again is really to the Office of Treaty Settlements officials: do not walk away from the process once the settlement has been achieved, because there are expectations that dovetail into responsibilities of other Government departments that the Office of Treaty Settlements should, by some measure, ensure that everyone is always coming up to the plate, bringing their best game, and being as committed as the office has been to achieving the settlement and to implementing the technical aspects and undertakings in the legislation.

So with that said, I am looking forward to this bill going to the Māori Affairs Committee. I am very optimistic. This is not a start from nothing situation for the hapū involved, in terms of having capacity and having a track record, I guess you could say, in terms of doing things for their people. Unlike some other settlements, where people kind of use their settlement as a push to create something, I think this will be another cog in a wheel that has been turning for a while and that will just gain momentum and go faster. So in the second reading—it remains to be seen—there may not be too much change coming back to the House. I look forward to the speedy passage of this legislation, so that people can get on the road and do their thing. Kia ora koutou.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker, kia ora tātau katoa. E kī ana te kōrero, ko Tiheia te maunga, ko Te Mimi-ō-Pekehāua te wai tupu kiri o ngā mātua tūpuna, ka puta ki Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamamoe, ko Tarimano te papa tapu. Ko Tawakeheimoa ka moe a Te Aongahoro ka puta ki waho ko Rangiwewehi, ē, tēnei te tatū mai i te rā nei. Ehara i te mea māku rātou e mihi, ko tōku iwi tēnei kua tatū mai. Nō reira, kāore au i te mihi ki a rātou, i tua atu o te kī, kai taku rahi, koinei taku kāinga rua. Hara mai ki tēnei Whare Pāremata me te mihi anō rā ki te āhuatanga ki ngā uri o Te Waha, o Ngā, o Ātareta anei te kāinga tuarua kei ngā karanga rua. Nā reira, kōrua ko Rātena te taha ki a au ki a Mohi Terae; ka mutu ki taku rahi, he mea nui tēnei kua tatū mai koutou i tēnei rā. Kua roa au e tatari ana mō tēnei rangi, pēnei i a koutou, pēnei i a tātou.

E aroha atu ana, kotahi anake te kanohi e kite nei au o roto o Rangiteaorere. E tangi atu ana ki te āhuatanga ki a Tapuika, ko tō tātou rahi o tērā taha ēngari, kai te pai. Kei konei koutou hei kanohi mō rātou. I a au e noho nei, e tū nei, ka hoki ngā mahara ki te hunga nā rātou tēnei take i kōkiri ki tōna orokohanga, ki a Haami mā, koira tērā o ngā pāpā. Ki taku mōhio, kotahi anake tana kaupapa. Ko te wai, ko te wai, ko te wai. Anā, e tohengia ana i roto i te Whare Pāremata i tēnei wā. Ki a Te Meihana, ka kite atu i wana uri i te rā nei. Te Rangikāheke tēnā koe, te urī o Te Meihana. Kite atu i te whakaahua o te Dennis, he uri o roto i a tātou o Rangiwewehi, tae rā anō ki a Rangiteaorere, tērā i hinga i ngā tau tata kua hipa ake. Me te aroha anō hoki ki a Huka. Ko ia tērā i tū i te marae o Tarimano i te ekenga o te Minita ki mua i a tātou e te rahi, ā, koia tērā e tohutohu nei i a mātou, i a tātou rā, i te taha tō tātou kuia, a Ella kia pēnei mai, kia pērā mai. Ko ia tērā i kawe nei i te āhuatanga o te waiata i runga i tō tātou marae o Tarimano. Nō reira, e aroha atu ana ki a rātou katoa kua ngaro i te tirohanga kanohi. E kore e tāea te pēhea, anā, ko koutou, ko tātau tēnei e tīmata nei i tēnei huarahi.

Kei te kōrero ahau he tīmatanga tēnei i te mea, e whā ngā wāhanga o tēnei o ngā kaupapa. Āe, kua ea tētahi wāhanga. Ko te tohetohe kei waenganui i a tātou, ko te ekenga ki te Whare Pāremata i tēnei rangi, ko te pānuitanga tuatahi. Nō reira, kia eke ki konei he nui ngā mahi ka oti nei i a tātau. Ka titiro atu ki a koe te kanohi pakeke, Te Tāuri, te uri o rātou mā, ko koe te pakeke i ārahi nei i tō tātou rahi ki runga i tēnei huarahi. Tōku ngākau kei te kī, me whakarahi ake te pūtea, tōku ngākau tērā. Ko tōku ngākau kei te kī, hā, iti noa iho te whenua kua hoki mai ēngari, kāore au i te whakahē i tō mahi. Ko koe te kanohi, ko koe te reo i kawe nei i ngā tūmanako o te iwi, me mihi rā ki a koe, oti rā, te hunga ko Hārata, ko Te Rangikāheke, mā i kōkiri i te take nei. Āe, ko au tētahi e noho kawa nei ki ētahi o ngā āhuatanga o te kāinga ēngari ērā kōrero mō Tarimano tērā. Kāore au i te whakatakoto i ēnā kōrero ki mua i te aroaro o te hunga nei. Nō reira tērā, tērā. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki te āhuatanga o tō tātou haerenga ki runga i te marae o Makahae i roto o Tapuika. I tērā wā, ē, he rōpū pakupaku nei i haere ki reira nā runga i te hiahia kei te whakatutuki i te kaupapa. Ā, i reira ko Huka anō hoki. Ka eke i te marae, i kōrerohia te take, i kai tahi, ka puta te kōrero, ā kāti, me noho tahi. Ā tērā, tērā.

Ē, ka hoki ngā mahara ki ngā kōrero i puta mō te haerenga o Rangiwewehi ki runga o Rangiteaorere. He whakakōhatu i te āhuatanga o te ara whanaunga, ko tētahi ki tētahi, ā, nā wai, nā wai, tutuki pai tērā taha. Koinei te take ki taku mōhio, i puta te kōrero ko Te Tokotoru, kaua ko Te Tokotoru Tapu e kōrerohia ake nei ēngari, ko Te Tokotoru o ngā Puna Wai. He aha i puna wai ai? Nā te āhuatanga ki a Waiōhewa, nā te āhuatanga ki te awa o Te Kaituna, te āhuatanga ki tō tātou awa, ki Te Mimi-ō-Pekehāua. Koirā te hononga mai, ko te āhuatanga o te wai. I whakaritea mai ai, i kōrerohia mai ai e tō tātou pāpā i a Haami i te wā i a ia e takatū ana i te mata o te whenua. E tangi atu ana i te mea, kāore au i te kite i wana tamariki i konei i te rā nei, me mihi ki a ia, me tana hoa rangatira. Ā tērā, tērā.

Me mihi anō hoki ki te hunga e noho nei hei kaitakawaenga mō ngā iwi nei. I kite au i a Patsy Moore kua puta pea ēngari, me mihi ki a ia. Ko ia tērā i te mea, he nui ngā kōrero kua puta mō tāua wahine Pākehā rā mō tana noho ki waenganui i a tātau. Me mihi rā ki a ia, otirā, ki te Minita e noho nei, ā, ko ia tērā i āta titiro nei ki te āhuatanga o ngā kōrero, ka mihi ki a koe e te Minita. Ē, he tangata pai koe ki te tuku i ngā rawa ēngari me whakamōmona ake te nui o te moni mō taku rahi a Tapuika, ki a Rangiteaorere, mēnā i pai tērā, ā, ka pai, ka tino tautoko i a koe. Kai wareware i a tātau, ko te āhuatanga o te kuia nei o Donna Hall. Ko ētahi, ā, āhua noho kawa nei ki tērā kuia ēngari, nānā tonu ngā iwi e toru i whakakao mai. Nō reira, ahakoa ērā ka noho kino nei ētahi ki a ia, ko au tēnei kei te kī, he painga anō rā pēnei tā te Mita Hikairo Mohi e kī ana, he painga anō rā i roto i te kino. Ko te kino, ko ngā whiunga kōrero ki a ia, i ētahi wā ko te pai kua puta te kaupapa nei ki te whaiao, ki Te Ao Mārama.

Kāti, ka rongo ake i ngā kōrero nei o te tangata nei o Te Wai Pounamu me tana kī mai mō te āhuatanga o Rotorua. E hoa, e Rino, kāore koe i te mōhio ki te āhuatanga o taku iwi. I kōrero koe mō te hītori me ngā tūruhi. Ko taku iwi e noho nei ki Awahou, te wai tupu kiri o ngā mātua, o ngā tūpuna, kai te kōrero koe mō ētahi atu iwi. Arā anō ngā iwi o roto o Te Arawa ēngari ko Rangiwewehi, he iwi humārie, iwi noho nei te whakaiti, kāore ki te whakanui i a ia, nō reira, waiho ake waku kōrero ki taku iwi. Mō te Māori o te Nōta nei kei muri i a au. Taku iwi, kāore he paku pānga o tērā Māori ki tō tātou whenua. Nō Te Tai Tokerau te Māori nei. Nō reira, ēnei kōrero katoa e mihi ana ki a ia me tērā tono. Mēnā ka whai pānga a Te Ururoa ki te whenua o Te Tai Tokerau, ā, haramai ki a au ēngari tērā kōrero, tērā.

Kāti hei kupu whakamutunga kai taku rahi, ko ahau te mea whakakōpani i te āhuatanga o te kōrero me te mōhio anō hoki, ā muri ake nei ka waiata tātou i tētahi waiata o te wā kāinga. He ara tāpokopoko kua whaiwhai haeretia e tātou i ngā tau kua hipa ake. Ko au tētahi e noho kawa nei ki ētahi o ngā āhuatanga. He wā tōna pea ka noho nei tātou ki roto i tō tātou Whare ki reira tuitui anō rā i te āhuatanga o te ara whanaunga, koinei te tūmanako. Ko te riri kai roto i a au i tēnei wā mō ētahi āhuatanga, e kore e mutu. Tērā pea kei waenganui i a tātau, e pērā anō te āhua. Mēnā ka noho au i te riri mō te wā ka tukuna au ki te kōpū o Papatūānuku, ki Puhirua. Ka takoto riri au ki roto i tērā o ngā wāhi. Nō reira, i te mea kua tae tuatahi mai koutou ki tēnei Whare, koinei te īnoi atu, he wā tōna kia whai wāhi tātou ki te whakatakoto i te āhuatanga o te ara whanaunga o tētahi ki tētahi, kia kore ai tērā riri e tūkino nei i te tangata, ā, mate nei. Koia te āhuatanga o te kerēme, me puta tātou ki te whaiao ki Te Ao Mārama, ēngari mā te kōrero. E kī ana te kōrero: ko te kai o te rangatira he kōrero, kāti, he rangatira tātau, me kōrero. Nā runga i tērā kōrero e taku rahi, ka nui te tangi ki a tātau i tēnei rā. Kua tae mai koutou i te rā nei, tēnā koutou, haere mai. Tō tātou Whare, ngā mema Pāremata, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kai a koutou te wai.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and greetings to us all collectively. An aphorism states that Tiheia is the mountain, Te Mimi-ō-Pekehāua is the bathing waters of the ancestral forefathers. Out to Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamamoe, Tarimano is the sacred bed. Tawakeheimoa married Te Aongahoro, and lo this Rangiwewehi who has arrived here today was born. But it is definitely not appropriate for me to welcome them. This is my tribe that has arrived here. So I am not welcoming them specifically other than to say to my multitude that this is my second home; welcome to this House of Parliament. I acknowledge the circumstances once again that relate to the descendants of Te Waha, Ngā, Ātareta. The second home is here at your disposal, cousins. So you and Rātena is the side of me to Mohi Terae; furthermore, my multitude, this arrival of yours here today is a momentous occasion. Like you and us, I have been waiting a long time for this day.

I am saddened that I see only one face from within Ngāti Rangiteaorere. I lament the situation relating to Tapuika, the bulk of us on that side, but that is fine. You are here as a representative for them. As I sit and stand here, my thoughts go back to the ones who really championed this cause at its beginnings, to Haami and others. He was one of the uncles. To my knowledge, he only had one purpose. It was water, water, water. Today, Parliament is debating it. I see his relatives today and Te Meihana comes to mind. Greetings Te Rangikāheke, relative of Te Meihana. I see the photo of Dennis, a relative within us of Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngāti Rangiteaorere too. He passed away in recent years. My sympathy once again to Huka. She was the one who stood at the courtyard of Tarimano when the Minister arrived before us the multitude. She was there advising us—everyone, in fact, alongside our female elder Ella—do it like this, like that. When it came to chants she was the one who led those on our Tarimano courtyard. Therefore, I extend my sympathies to all of them who have passed on and whose faces are no longer seen. Nothing could be done to avoid the inevitable, so you and we lot started this procedure.

I said that this is a commencement because there are four stages to this matter. Yes, a stage of it has been satisfied, the debate amongst ourselves about contentious matters, the arrival at Parliament House on this day and the first reading. So we had to do a lot of work to get here. So I look in your direction, Te Tāuri, elder face and descendant of those who have departed. You are the elder of our multitude on this path. My inner self is saying go for a greater financial return. That is my thinking inside of me. But then I ponder, gosh, only a small amount of land has been returned. But I am not going against what you are doing. You are the representative and voice with the aspirations of our people upon you. I acknowledge you for that and the input by those like Hārata, Te Rangikāheke, and others who have been dealing with this matter. Yes, I was one who found some of the things going on back home distasteful, but that is for Tarimano to sort out. I certainly will not be raising those issues here in front of these ones gathered here. So, that is that. My thoughts go back to the reasons why we went to Makahae, Tapuika’s courtyard. At that time, just a small group went because we wanted to complete the matter. Huka was there as well. We went on to the courtyard, discussed the matter, ate together, and then it was proposed that we should remain united. So, that was that.

My thoughts go back rather hesitantly to the talk that emerged about Ngāti Rangiwewehi going over the top Ngāti Rangiteaorere. The purpose was to solidify the line of kinship, one with the other, and, after a period of time mulling it over, that side was completed well. This is the reason as I understand why The Threesome emerged, and not The Sacred Threesome as such but The Water Sources of the Threesome. Why the water sources? Because of the reference to Waiōhewa, the Kaituna River, and to our river Te Mimi-ō-Pekehāua. That was the connection, the reference to the water. It was considered and explained to us by our fatherly figure Haami when he was up and about on the face of the earth. I grieve because I do not see any of his children here today. We need to acknowledge him and his wife. And that is that one.

I need to acknowledge those that become facilitators for these people. I saw Patsy Moore earlier, and she may have gone out but we must applaud her. She is the one because much has been said about this European woman and the time she has spent amongst us. Accolades to her and, indeed, to the Minister present here, the one who examined the presentations. Thank you, Minister. You are a good man at distributing resources, but do untie the purse strings a little for my multitude Tapuika and Rangiteaorere—if that is possible, well and good, I will support you more. We must not forget the situation relating to this elder motherly figure Donna Hall. Some have adverse feelings towards her, but the fact remains she gathered the three together. Therefore, in spite of these things, some people remain adverse towards her, but I say that a benefit is just like what Mita Hikairo Mohi advocates—there is always a benefit from a bad situation. The bad side is the disparaging remarks cast at her, and the benefit at times is that this proposal gets out to the World of Light and Enlightenment.

Well, I listened to these sentiments by this person of the South Island about Rotorua. Colleague Rino, you do not know anything about my people. You made references to the history and tourism. My tribe that lives at Awahou, at the traditional water source of the forefathers and ancestors, Rangiwewehi, cannot be who you were talking about. You must have been referring to some other tribe. There are many other tribes in the Te Arawa region. Ngāti Rangiwewehi is genial, humble, and tends to adopt a low profile rather then putting itself to the fore, so let us leave my references about my people there. As for that Māori member behind me from the North, I say to my people, that indigenous person has no shares in our lands. This Māori is from Northland. So, this banter aside, I salute him and that request. If Te Ururoa has any interests in Northland land, come and see me. But that is another story.

Well, then, as a final word, my multitude, I am the closing speaker and know all too well that we will sing one of our songs from home at the end of this address. The path we have been following over the past years has been a boggy one. I am one who has remained sour over some experiences. There will come a time when we will need to sit down in our House to stitch together a protocol of common relationship—this is the expectation. The anger within me at this point in time about some aspects has no ending. Perhaps there are others amongst us who share the same feeling of sheer anger. If that was to remain with me forever, I will end up being buried in the bosom of Mother Earth at Puhirua and lie hostile there in that place. Therefore, because this is your first time to this House, my plea is that we will need to set aside time to discuss aspects of our genealogical lineage that will link everyone to each other, so that this hostility does not wear us all down and die. The outcome of the claim should be for us to emerge into the World of Light and Enlightenment. There is a saying that states: the food of a chief is talk. Well, then, we are chiefs, so we need to engage in discussion. On that, my multitude, my grief for us this day is much. You have arrived here today, so salutations and welcome. To you all our House and members of Parliament, greetings, acknowledgements, and salutations. You have the song, my multitude.]

Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.

Waiata

The House adjourned at 12.21 p.m. (Thursday)