Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Can I ask whether we have got restricted time? What we are doing in terms of the length of time? I mean, do we shorten our speeches—what is the procedure?

Well, the extended hours go until 1 o’clock. The extended hours go to 1 o’clock, and at 1 o’clock the House rises, or is adjourned, until 2 p.m. So if you want this bill to be completed within that time frame, it is up to the speakers to make sure that that happens, because we cannot go beyond it unless leave is sought.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Notwithstanding the various Standing Orders, I seek leave for the House to continue past 1 o’clock for up to about a quarter of an hour, but only if that is necessary. Or we can do it by leave—anything.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Could I ask the member, before I put the leave—it is to adjourn following the completion of the second reading. Would the member like to seek leave for that purpose?

I seek leave for that, which means exactly what I said before.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): No, it is to adjourn, all right? Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection?

I was seeking leave to continue, which is the same thing.

Yes. Well, we will just get it right. Leave is sought for that purpose. There is no objection.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. I move, That the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill be now read a second time. Tēnā tātou e hui anō nei i roto i tēnei Whare. Tēnā koutou katoa. Tangohia te taura i taku kakī kia waiata au i taku waiata. Ko te karanga a Mokomoko kia rangona tōna reo e te motu, kia puta ai ōna whakaaro, ōna wawata, tōna riri, tōna aroha, kia kitea ai he tangata tonu a ia. Koia taku karanga, taku mihi hoki ki te whānau a Mokomoko i tēnei rā whakahirahira. Tēnā koutou. Kai te tangi tonu mō ngā hara a te Karauna ki a rātau ēngari, i te rā nei kei te mihi ki tā rātau mahi whakarangatira i a tātau katoa.

Ko ngā mahi a te Karauna ki a Mokomoko, ko aua mahi anō rā ki a tātau katoa. Nā te taura tārona i tōna kakī a Mokomoko i mate ai, ā, tōna reo i ngū ai kātahi, ka murua ngā whenua o te iwi o Whakatōhea whānui, o te waka o Mātaatua, ā, ka tīmata te korekore haere o ō rātau reo tīpuna. Otirā, ko te whānau i tino mate i te whakamā, ko te whānau a Mokomoko. Nā te whiu o te ture tō rātau tipuna i patu, ka waiho tōna whānau mā te whakamā e patu. Tēnā koutou. Kua kōrero mai rātau mō te nohongū i roto i te pōuritanga me te taumahatanga mai rā anō i te tāronatanga o Mokomoko tae noa mai ki ēnei rā.

Ki te whakaaro ake tātau ki te ngaro haeretanga o ō tātau reo, tō tātau Reo Māori huri noa te motu tērā ka kīia, kua tāronatia tātau katoa ki ngā taura here o te ture a te Kāwanatanga. Ka ngaro Te Reo Māori i roto i ngā kura, i ngā reo irirangi, i ngā tari Kāwanatanga. Kāhore tō tātau Reo e whai mana, e whai wāhi ki roto i te Kāwanatanga o tēnei whenua. Kāhore Te Reo o ō tātau tīpuna i rangona i roto i tēnei Whare Pāremata. E te Māngai, nō tēnei rā tonu kua huri te ao. Kua tae ki te wā, mā te whānau a Mokomoko tātau katoa e whakatika. Nā te kaha akiaki o te whānau i te pire e kōrerotia nei, i tuhi ki Te Reo Māori, reo Pākehā hoki kia rite tonu ngā mana o ngā reo e rua. He tuatahitanga tēnei mō te Whare Pāremata. Nō reira, me kī, nā te whānau a Mokomoko te taura i tango i taku kakī, kia whakaputa kōrero au i Te Reo Māori mō tēnei pire whakamana i taua reo, hei whakamana hoki i a Mokomoko rātau ko tōna whānau i tēnei Whare, i tēnei rā. Tangohia te taura i taku kakī, kia waiata au i taku waiata.

[Greetings once again to us gathered in this House. Greetings to you all. Remove the rope from my neck so I may sing my song. That was Mokomoko’s call so that his voice could be heard by the nation, his thoughts, aspirations, anger and empathy could emerge, and he could still be seen as a human being. That indeed is my call too, and my acknowledgment as well to the Mokomoko family on this momentous day. I applaud you, the family. I continue to grieve over the transgressions inflicted by the Crown on them, but today I commend the whānau for what they are doing to make us all better off.

What the Crown inflicted upon the Mokomoko family was also inflicted upon us all as well. It was the rope that strangled his neck that killed Mokomoko and silenced his voice. Then the lands of the Whakatōhea people at large and of the Mātaatua canoe were confiscated, and the beginning of the gradual loss of the language of their forefathers began. It was the Mokomoko family that suffered greatly from the humiliation. It was the exercise of the law that killed their ancestor and left his family to suffer in humiliation. My sympathy to you, the family. They have spoken to us about remaining silent, in a state of despondency and severe illness, from the time of Mokomoko’s execution to the present day.

If we consider the gradual loss of our language, of our Māori language throughout the country, it could be said that we are all being strangled by the binding ropes of Government law. The Māori language was lost in schools, on radios, and in Government departments. Our language did not have official status and involvement in the Government of this country. It was not heard in this House of Parliament. But from this day the world has changed. We have reached the time when the Mokomoko family will put everything right for all of us, because this family strongly urged that this bill being debated here be written in Māori and English, as well, so that both languages have equal status. This is a real first for Parliament. Let us say, therefore, that the Mokomoko family removed the rope from my neck so I can express my views in the Māori language about this bill, which will restore the integrity, as well, of Mokomoko and his family in this House today. Remove the rope from my neck so that I may sing my song.]

“Take the rope from my throat so that I may sing my song.” Have the strength to speak up, and the truth will not be silenced. I quote a great leader of Te Whakatōhea, Mokomoko. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and, finally, executed by the Crown on the morning of Thursday, 17 May 1866 at Mount Eden stockade in Auckland. While in prison, Mokomoko composed that waiata, which has since become a guiding philosophy for generations of his whānau. I think it is so important.

I would like to now thank the Māori Affairs Committee for considering the bill and attending hearings at Waiaua Marae, Ōpōtiki—Mokomoko’s final resting place. The committee recommended that the entire bill be translated into Te Reo Māori. I commend and support the recommendation wholeheartedly. The committee also noted the whānau request for an expanded historical narrative concerning the treatment of Mokomoko during 1865 and 1866 and an apology to be included. I will address the House on these matters, perhaps in the third reading debate. Ēngari, kei te mihi au i te komiti Māori, ā, me te whānau a Mokomoko.

[But I commend the Māori Affairs Committee and the Mokomoko family.]

This is a first—to have a bill presented in the House in the Māori language, and in doing so they are leading us, New Zealand, in this institution. Who knows where next—where Te Reo Māori can be the official language to carry such serious things as this? In my third reading speech, I will talk about Carl Völkner, the events that happened, the shame. I would just like to say this: I support this claim 100 percent. I have seen the pain, I have heard the mamae i roto i te karanga i te marae rā, me te wero, me ngā kōrero i puta mai i roto i ngā kōrero e pā ana ki tēnei take [hurt in the formal call of welcome at that courtyard over there, and the stories that emerged about accounts relating to this matter]. Kua kawea tēnei mamae mai i tērā wā tae noa ki tēnei rangi. Nā reira ki ahau nei, he kaupapa nui tēnei pire. Kei te tautoko au.

[This hurt has been borne from that time to this day. So to me, this bill is of huge significance. I endorse it.]

I support this bill, but I also support, Minister Finlayson, that the opportunity be given for this bill to be heard as a separate bill belonging to the whānau a Mokomoko. Nō rātau te mamae. [The hurt belongs to them.] The hurt has been from those closest to them, and therefore they should be allowed to stand in their own right and have this bill for themselves, so they can relate face to face with the rest of the world, particularly their extended whānau and neighbours. I have no right to say that—however, I have. Nā reira, he mihi tēnei ki a koutou kua tae mai i tēnei rā.

[Therefore, this is a conciliatory acknowledgment to you who have arrived here today.]

Thank you.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Ā, te whānau Mokomoko, tēnā koutou, nau mai, haere mai. Haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata, Te Ana o Ngā Raiona. E rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. And to the Mokomoko whānau, greetings to you, welcome, welcome. Welcome to Parliament House, the lions’ lair. Greetings to you leaders of a hundred fold, acknowledgments and salutations to you all.]

I am very pleased to stand in support of this bill, the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill, at its second reading. As a very hard-working member of the Māori Affairs Committee, I unfortunately did not get to the hearing on this bill up in the Bay of Plenty—

💬 Hon Tau Henare: Missed a good day, bro.

I did. I was somewhere down deep in Te Wai Pounamu, as I recall. But I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the committee on this bill. Can I particularly acknowledge our chair, Tau Henare, for his work. We had to give the officials a bit of a hurry-up on a couple of occasions, but I would like to thank Minister Finlayson also for what is a historic bill at its second reading. It is all because of the perseverance of te whānau Mokomoko—their perseverance and their tono. They wanted this bill in Te Reo Māori. This is very much a historic first for our Parliament and for our country. It is a wonderful occasion.

I am going to keep my contribution quite brief this morning, but I think what I would want to say is that this bill is a salutary lesson in how important it is for Governments to properly negotiate with whānau, hapū, and iwi over their mamae or their claims that come before this House. We know that there was an apology given back in 1992, which related to some other tūpuna from Ngāti Awa, but it did not fully restore the mana of Mokomoko. I am sure this is a lesson for our Parliament that we want to get things right and we want to get things right the first time. Having said that, I am pleased that we have been able to go through this process. I actually think we have achieved a better outcome. We have achieved a better outcome because not only have we brought things on a par for Mokomoko but I think we have taken them to another level by having this special bill, which has been completely put in Te Reo Māori.

I would like to talk just a bit about the nature of the man Mokomoko and mana and reputation, which are what this bill is about. There is a quote from Abraham Lincoln. He was the President of the United States back in the day, as we know, from 1861 to his untimely death in 1865. He said, when he was talking about what we call mana, that “Character is like a tree, and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” What President Lincoln was telling us is that the reputation of a man is what someone says it is. As we kōrero more about a person, their reputation grows, but it is only the thought, what someone else thinks of us, that makes our reputation. The true estimation of a person is their character. In the case of the quote it is the metaphorical tree, so what has more substance is the tree. That represents the person’s character. Like the character of the person, it is the real thing that you or I or society should not lose focus of. The tree is real; the shadow is reputation. Character is defined as the mental and moral abilities of an individual.

I just wanted to leave that quote because we must not forget the lesson as we progress this bill. We want to not lose focus of the tree, of Mokomoko the man. With that in mind I just want to repeat that quote again: “Character is like a tree, and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” The shadow that was cast over Mokomoko was due to some misinformation and some trickery. It was an angle. It was some trickery that created a false shadow. But the shadow that was cast by the big tree, Mokomoko’s tree, is from a tree of strength, character, and mana. I commend this bill to the House.

E tū ana au ki te tautoko i te kōrero o tō tātou Minita a Pita. Nō reira, kei a koutou te whānau, tēnā koutou katoa.

[I rise to endorse the sentiments expressed by our Minister Pita. And to you, the family, I extend salutations to you all.]

It is funny that back in 1992 the Government of the day thought that it had better go and apologise. So off it went and apologised and gave Mokomoko a pardon, but forgot to talk to the people about that pardon. Those are lessons that we pick up along the way. Having the inability to pardon a person again for the same offence, there has to be some other way of recognising what the Government had done. The Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill sets out to restore the character, the mana, and the reputation of that person who has been accused and actually been dispatched by Her Majesty’s Government.

Personally, I travel past where Mokomoko is from at least once a year. I have never ever turned to my right and acknowledged those people until the day that the Māori Affairs Committee went up and did the business and listened to the concerns of the whānau. I am glad to say that we were able to deliver to the House 90 percent of what the whānau wanted, even breaking new ground in this Parliament by not so much having a translation of the legislation but a version of the bill in Māori before it is enacted. So when it comes time to enact the bill the Governor-General will be signing off the English and the Māori versions. When I talk about the restoration of mana, especially of Mokomoko, how can you restore somebody’s mana and reputation if not through his own language? I think that the huge lesson that we got from our whānau was just that. That is how you proceed to restore his contribution to their society.

I see Mokomoko as a bit of a hero, along with other people right throughout history and through the world like Breaker Morant, and all of those people who have been dispatched by their Governments because of some skulduggery. It is not the first time that somebody has been pardoned in this House. Let it be known that there are others who have been dispatched by Her Majesty’s Government for not carrying out orders and have been pardoned along the way. I think it is a good thing. I think it does restore the character, the mana, and the reputation of that person, of Mokomoko, but hopefully it works on the restoration of the people’s mana and their reputation. They can stand tall in their communities and say that they are the descendants of Mokomoko without shame, and without carrying the burden of 150-odd years of that.

I think that this bill will go through the House very, very smoothly and we will be on to our third reading in no time at all. Kia ora.

Kia ora, Mr Deputy Speaker. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira mā, ngā uri o te rangatira Mokomoko, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. To the powers, voices, myriad leaders, and the descendants of Mokomoko the chief, salutations, acknowledgments, and greetings to you all.]

It is my pleasure to join the House in our collective support of the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill. I want to begin with some words from Mokomoko. I repeat them: “Tangohia te taura i taku kakī, kia waiata au i taku waiata.”

[Remove the rope from my throat so I may sing my song.]

The translation is: “Have the strength to speak up, and the truth will not be silenced.” This bill is all about tika me pono. This is about truth and justice for Mokomoko and his uri. This is an opportunity for us as a Parliament to specifically address the historical injustice that was perpetuated on this rangatira of Te Whakatōhea and his uri, and for ever more raise him to the esteem that he had, and raise him to the esteem that he currently has, and will always have, in the eyes of not only his whānau but in the eyes of us here in Parliament.

I want to tautoko Minister Sharples’ words about the importance of this piece of legislation and the right of this piece of legislation to stand on its own merits. This morning we have been here discussing Treaty settlements, but also actually the mana of this particular legislation. I am glad Minister Finlayson is here, and he hopefully will be able to ensure that the next passage of this bill means that the whānau will be able to come here to Parliament in the third reading and enjoy, I think, the intention of this bill, which is about restoring the character, mana, and reputation of Mokomoko.

I do want to highlight the process that has led us to this particular point in time. Mokomoko was executed in 1866 for a crime he did not commit. The whānau of Mokomoko, from that time on, have fought for justice to prevail. They wanted to clear their tupuna’s name. They wanted to make sure that the mana of Mokomoko as a rangatira for his community was also addressed. In 1988, via the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act, section 11, there was an acknowledgment that others involved who had been accused of the death of Carl Völkner were also pardoned, which led to the Governor-General in 1992 extending a pardon. We are all here because the extension of that pardon did not include the whānau.

So what we are trying to do today is make sure that we as a country acknowledge the wrong that was perpetuated. This bill is trying to correct it. Part 2 specifically provides that the character, mana, and reputation of Mokomoko and his uri are restored by the passing of this bill.

I too want to focus on the uniqueness of this bill, in that contained within it is Te Reo, an official language of our country. It is not a normal thing. This bill, in itself, is an incredibly unique piece of legislation. I think the uniqueness of that, in itself, restores the mana of Mokomoko, because it is only through this process that, actually, we have created, I think, a legacy for the future. It is something that the whānau should feel very proud about, because it is through your persistence, it is through your insistence, that we here are able to help to restore the mana. It is through your guidance and support that we are able to do that.

I will not take up much more of the House’s time, other than to again acknowledge the generosity of Mokomoko and his uri in enabling us as a country to come to this point in our history. This is all part of our truth and reconciliation history, our history of Treaty settlements. I think it provides an amazing platform for the future in terms of how we work together, how we acknowledge each other in a respectful way, but also how we uphold the mana not only of Mokomoko but of Te Reo and of our mana whenua status. I wish you a safe trip home and expedited travel, as this bill goes through this House, so that you can feel that all the work you have done to get us to this point is something that you can celebrate in the very near future. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa.

Ā, tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Ngā mihi nui ki ngā uri o Mokomoko, te tangata whenua o te rohe o Whakatōhea, tēnā koutou.

[And thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Huge compliments to the descendants of Mokomoko, the indigenous people of the Whakatōhea region, greetings to you collectively.]

It is great to see you back here again at the second reading of the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill. It is a great privilege to have spoken on the first reading of the bill and to acknowledge the whānau and the long moments that have led to this moment since the terrible act in 1866. I also acknowledge the issues in 1992, when a first but not sufficiently consultative attempt at redress and apology was made. I also acknowledge the importance of the bill before us today. The Māori Affairs Committee has obviously done good work and is on board. Tau Henare said maybe 90 percent of what was asked for by the whānau is included.

The recognition of Mokomoko is more than a heartbreaking story of the hurt and pain of a whānau that led to an unjust hanging and raupatu of 490,000 hectares of Whakatōhea land because Mokomoko was falsely accused of what happened between Völkner and Kereopa and others. As a strictly non - historical expert, I would like to acknowledge some of the possible context for the actions of Kereopa Te Rau of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, who was not from Ōpōtiki but who had suffered from the actions of the Crown in 1864 in a manner that drove peace and the philosophies of Pai Mārire from his heart.

We have already heard this morning about the burning and bayoneting of the women in the church at Rangiaowhia in 1864, including the burning of Kereopa’s daughters, and, some have also said, of his hoa rangatira and, a few days later, his sister. This terrible act in 1864 by the troops of General Cameron, who refused to accept that the church was a sanctuary, possibly led to Völkner’s murder in the church at Ōpōtiki. But what makes it so much worse is that all of this tragic violence was then compounded by a guilty State deciding to kill an innocent man and stigmatise his descendants. It took the opportunity to confiscate the land, and so it has stood until today.

But today, at least, the manner of Mokomoko’s death is being acknowledged, and the mana of Mokomoko has been re-examined and recognised, and his status as an innocent and proud rangatira upheld. The Green Party is more than happy to support this bill and any future bills that shed light on injustice and unfinished business. We particularly acknowledge the leadership of the whānau in demanding that Te Reo Māori was the language of the bill, and that is great leadership for our House and for the future. I am very appreciative of that effort. It is so important that we keep moving.

We do not believe in using the word “final” around these laws because, with the best will in the world, each generation has limited knowledge and tools at its disposal. As new information, hurts, or creative opportunities evolve around best practice in terms of this truth and reconciliation around Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we believe that Parliament has an obligation to review the past—that is why this bill is so important—and to look at redress in terms of the inherent justice and fairness at every stage. Te Tiriti issues need to be looked at in terms of consistency and best practice over time, and mistakes like this one need to be rectified, as we do not need to compound our hurts. When we are not returning whenua and when life cannot be returned, the least we can do is to be sorry and to say sorry as wholeheartedly as we can.

But the Greens would also just like to say that we believe that the name Mokomoko shall never be forgotten and will always stand for a reminder of the need for justice not only to be done but to be seen to be done throughout the generations. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker, kia ora tātou katoa. Tēnā koutou i hara mai ināpō nei ki te Whare Pāremata, ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero. Ki taku mōhio anō hoki kua hui tahi koutou me ngā Minita ki te kōrero mō te āhuatanga o te take hōhonu nei, ā, kia kaua e kōrero ki tēnei pire me tōna kotahi anake ēngari, ko te nui o te mamae kei roto i te ngākau mō te āhuatanga tuatahi, āe, tā koutou tupuna ēngari, mō te āhuatanga o tā koutou whakakotahitanga i raro i te korowai o Te Whakatōhea. Ēngari taihoa ake nei, māku tēnā e kōrero.

Hoi anō he kitenga kanohi. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki te hunga kua ngaro e hoa mā. Ki tērā o ngā papa, a Mannie, ka mutu, ki a Matenga, ko rātou kua ngaro atu ki te tirohanga kanohi. Hara mai me te āhuatanga o ngā pare kawakawa kai runga i a koutou. Kaua ki a Mokomoko i tōna kotahi i te mea, arā noa ngā whakatipuranga kua ngaro atu, kāre e kite i te āhuatanga o tēnei rā. Nō reira, tēnā tērā kōrero.

Kai te papa, Tai, tēnā koe. Ka nui te mihi ki a koe kua tae mai i te ata nei ki te kōrero, ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero, otirā, te hononga ki waenganui i a tātau a Ngāti Rangiwewehi, ki te āhuatanga ki a Mokomoko. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and salutations to us all. Greetings to you collectively who came here last night to Parliament House to listen to the discussions. I understand, as well, that you and the Ministers met together to discuss an aspect relating to the depth of this matter and not to address this bill in isolation, despite the pain in the heart being huge for the first aspect, and, yes, about your ancestor. But rather that you address the situation where you came together as one under the cloak of Te Whakatōhea. Park that there, however, as I will come back later to speak on it.

Well, and now for faces seen. My thoughts go back to those who have passed on, dear friends, to Mannie, father of all fathers, and, furthermore, to Matenga. They are ones who have departed and are no longer seen. Welcome here with the symbolic mourning wreath of kawakawa leaves upon your heads, not just for Mokomoko alone but for the very vast number descendants who have passed away and will not witness today’s event. So, that is that statement.

Greetings to you, Tai, the father figure, I appreciate your presence here greatly this morning. You have arrived here to talk, to listen to the addresses, and in particular to reaffirm the connection that exists between us and Ngāti Rangiwewehi and the circumstances relating to Mokomoko. Therefore, greetings and salutations to you collectively and to us all.]

I heard that earlier Mr Tau Henare talked about the historical context, which was, I suppose, a pardon back in 1992, and what we are doing here today. I think that the title of this bill, the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill, tells it all. The terms of the 1992 pardon did not expressly restore the character, the mana, and the reputation of Mokomoko and all of his uri. Because it did fail to do so, conversely, it added to the stigma and the shame felt so strongly by the descendants of a man wrongfully labelled as a murderer.

I have got a couple of links here with some of the people in the gallery. Of course, recently we had the settlement of Ngā Punawai o te Tokotoru, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Tāpuika, and Ngāti Rangiteaorere. They came through the door, and one part of the Rangiwewehi settlement was around the pardon for Kereopa Te Rau. Of course, Kereopa Te Rau, as other speakers have said, was of Rangiwewehi, a disciple of Te Ua Haumene, and the founder of the Pai Mārire faith, if you like. The other speakers have talked about the consequences that happened to Kereopa. In a sense, actually, it all fell on Mokomoko, but Kereopa was involved in terms of the murder of Völkner.

The thing I want to make my short contribution on is to think about two things that I think have really come to light. The first thing is to say that there were some serious consequences of that whole episode that many people would not know about. Of course, as other speakers have said, the first consequences for Te Whakatōhea was that their rangatira Mokomoko was arrested, tried, and hanged in 1866 for Völkner’s murder, and a consequence was that, I suppose, his execution was only the beginning of Te Whakatōhea’s punishment. The Government then confiscated, as I understand it, about 490,000 acres, and then, basically, banished the so-called rebels to about 20,000 acres out at Ōpape, in the general reserve out there.

I think that the Minister of Māori Affairs has highlighted an issue that I tend to support, which is around the fact that, I suppose, amongst the internal things that happened—and I talked a little bit about that this morning at the Tūhoe settlement legislation—this particular issue is a little bit different around the settlements that we know of around the loss of land. Sure, that has to be dealt with, and the loss of life has to be dealt with as well. Reputation is one thing, which I suppose goes hand in hand there, but I think it is a worrying episode that, in a sense, the people who are in this gallery—and they have expressed it, I understand, on more than one occasion—believe that their issues are separate from those of Whakatōhea. In some senses, they need to have a right to have a say about that. I was, in a former life, an educator, and one of the things I used to do was to go—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: A good one, too.

A very good one—an excellent one. Thank you, Mr Mallard.

💬 Dr Megan Woods: And a good PPTA member, as well.

I was a Post Primary Teachers Association member, but you are making me digress, and I want to come back to the serious part of it, which was that part of what I used to teach was around Treaty education. One of the resources I had was a video, which I think is actually very relevant to today, because, from memory, the video was called One Land, Two People. It was about an hour-long documentary. It actually went over this whole issue in 1 hour. It showed and talked about the stories, and talked to the actual members of this whānau about their stories. I was taken by that video, and I used it because it talked about, sure, the arrival of the settlers, and there was some role playing in there about the settlers having farming days and so on, and the loss of land, but also the actual impact on the people. But I think that one of the interesting parts of that video was that it actually talked about this issue, which probably has been swept under the carpet and kept hidden.

I suspect that for all intents and purposes, although one might say that they are part of Te Whakatōhea—and far be it from me to sort of put this on the table, but it is out there already, so the Minister has made it available. For all intents and purposes, these people have also suffered internally under the korowai of Te Whakatōhea. That is a pretty strong statement for somebody from Ngāti Rangiwewehi to make, but I think that that is the point of the exercise, and, therefore, it should be put out there. I hope that with support from the Minister we can look at that issue, such is the feeling and such is the depth of feeling that is held by this whānau, and I think it should be rightly acknowledged.

The last part I want to say is that, as other speakers have said, it is not every day—and it is a little bit of a contradiction, me speaking English—that you have iwi who come to the House who expressly want their bills to be put into the Māori language. I want to acknowledge that. Me mihi rā ki a koutou katoa i whakaaro ake mō tērā o ngā kaupapa, he mea nui tērā hei tauira mō ngā pire katoa ka tae mai ki roto i tēnei Whare Pāremata. Mēnā ka ea i a koutou, ā, tērā pea ko ētahi iwi ka whai atu i tērā tauira. Nō reira, kāre he kōrero i tua atu o tērā, ko te pānuitanga tuarua tēnei, ka waiho ake ki te mutunga mai. Mā reira ka taea te kī, kua mana, kua ea, kua tutuki, waiho tērā ki reira. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau.

[I truly acknowledge you all for giving the matters due consideration, because that is a major one and can be used as a model for other bills that arrive in this House of Parliament. Because you achieved that, other tribes may follow suit perhaps. Therefore, there is no other statement beyond, and, as this is the second reading, I will leave it there for the final reading. It is at that point where one is able to state it has been validated, settled, and done. Leave that there. Greetings and salutations to you collectively and to us all.]

It is my pleasure to take a very brief call on the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Bill today, not because it is not important—because it is a very, very important bill—but we do want to get this finished today and go on to our Committee stage and third reading, so that this bill can be passed. This is a very unique bill, as you all know, and it is good to see that, actually, a bill like this can come before Parliament and be recognised.

I would like to thank the Waiaua Marae for hosting us as the Māori Affairs Committee. You were fantastic hosts. What it allows us to do as a select committee is to go and listen to you, listen to your stories, get an understanding of what has happened, see the grief that it has caused, and know that we can make a difference. We listened to what you had to say, we came back into Parliament, and we made those changes that you recommended to the bill. So thank you for hosting us and being such fantastic hosts. Thank you for telling us your stories. You have certainly given us stories to tell our children about what has happened to Mokomoko. Thank you very much for this opportunity, and I commend this bill to the House.

Bill read a second time.

The House adjourned at 12.45 p.m. (Wednesday)