Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill

on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move, That the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time. Ka haere tonu ngā mihi ki a tātou, ki a koutou kua hara mai nei ki te tautoko i tēnei rā nui, tēnei rā whakahirahira. Tēnā koutou. Kua mihia ngā mate, waiho rātou ki a rātou. Ko te mea nui i tēnei wā, ko tātou, ko koutou e hui tahi nei, ā, kia whakaoti ai tēnei kerēme i mua i te aroaro o te Kāwanatanga, arā, te Whare Paremata i tēnei rā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, nau mai, whakapiri mai.

[The tributes to you collectively who have come here to support this important and great day continue. Greetings. Tributes to the dead have been accorded. Allow them to be there among their own. The most important thing at this point in time is us and you gathered here today to conclude this claim that is before the Government, in other words, before Parliament today. Salutations and greetings to you collectively, welcome, draw closer.]

Whakapapa connections developed over many generations and hundreds of years bring together the families and tīpuna of Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui. Tēnā koutou katoa. I stand to acknowledge the families and tīpuna of Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga, four distinct iwi linked by whakapapa, by history, and by determination. Ko Aorere te moana, ko Tainui te waka, ko Hoturoa te rangatira, ko Ngāti Kōata te iwi. Ko Tainui te waka, ko Rāruaioio te tangata, ko Ngāti Rārua te iwi. Ko Tokomaru te waka, ko Tamariki te tangata, ko Ngāti Tama te iwi. Ko Taranaki Kōpiripiri ngā maunga, ko Waitohi te awa, ko Waikawa te marae, ko Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui te iwi.

[Aorere is the sea, Tainui is the canoe, Hoturoa is the chief, and Ngāti Kōata is the tribe. Tainui is the canoe, Rārua-ioio is the man, and Ngāti Rārua is the tribe. Tokomaru is the canoe, Tamariki is the man, and Ngāti Tama is the tribe. Taranaki Kōpiripiri are the mountains, Waituhi is the river, Waikawa is the courtyard, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui is the tribe.]

Nearly two centuries ago the peoples of Tainui and Taranaki ki te Tonga resided in Tainui, Kāwhia, and Taranaki lands on Te Ika-a-Māui. Facing hardship from the 1820s onwards, Tainui and Taranaki ki te Tonga tīpuna headed south. Wars were waged with the tribes throughout the bottom of the North Island and eventually across the top of the South Island. Those Tainui and Taranaki alliances and bonds remain strong to this day, as tīpuna established permanent communities across Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui.

By the time the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, the families of Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui exercised tino rangatiratanga over lands and resources in Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui. However, we stand here today because the Crown has consistently failed to protect, failed to honour, and failed to guarantee the legal rights of Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga families.

For Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga families back in 1840, the world was a different place to what we live in today. Te Tau Ihu whānau were a major part of a booming economy. They helped create it, and they owned much of it. Flax, wheat, potatoes, timber, and maize was grown, harvested, and processed on Te Tau Ihu lands by Te Tau Ihu families. It was then moved across New Zealand and shipped to Australia. The vessels that shifted it across were owned or leased by Te Tau Ihu families. This is what economic, political, and cultural rangatiratanga looks like. But when you take millions of acres off a people who have only ever known a life of enterprise and self-determination, you take more than land away. You remove a way of life, a culture, and an identity.

The Crown’s Governors and officials acted ruthlessly, sidelining the Treaty of Waitangi and deliberately giving new settlers advantage over Māori. As a result, the Crown’s purchases left Te Tau Ihu Māori in dire poverty. Much of this has been said in the other settlements leading up to this one, but clearly it happened, and clearly it happened in Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka. Today the Crown stands alongside those families of Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga and acknowledges the social, economic, and cultural devastation carried by generations of families. But through it all, the peoples of Tainui and Taranaki ki te Tonga remained steadfast. They remained at the prow of the waka of Māui, and they did not leave. Their identity was attacked, but was never destroyed. They lived in poverty, but they stayed. Their way of life was devastated, but was never wiped out.

All those things were lost due to the actions of the Crown and they can never be totally replaced, and yet the peoples of Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga are here today. They wish to settle their grievances with the Crown with honour and mana. The journey to get to this day has not been easy or brief. We remember those who have passed on but whose determination has led to the legislation that this House is considering right now. Today we witness a milestone in a journey that is taking place right before our eyes. We introduced legislation to resolve the historical grievances of eight—eight—tribes of Te Tau Ihu. It is legislation that will strengthen the ability of future generations to carry on a proud legacy of economic and cultural rangatiratanga.

This is what has been the marvellous thing about settlements. Despite the fact that a settlement is a mere pittance of what was taken away—stuff that can never be made up for and opportunities that have been lost—our people have taken it with two hands and made something of it going forward. There are many instances of tribal success after settlements that we can look upon.

I wish the eight tribes of Te Tau Ihu the same success as they move forward now, taking life into their own hands and remembering that once they ruled the area and its economy and owned ships that took produce across the Tasman Sea. It is a long cry from when I went to school and they called us dumb Māoris. Prior to that, we were not so dumb. We grew the crops and we sold them, and we owned the transport and everything. Now, the tribes will move into that area again.

So it is an honour for me to stand here and open up this discussion. I would just like to acknowledge the iwi who have come here today. He maha o koutou whakaaro kia hoki nga mahara ki a rātou kāre i konei i tēnei wā, engari ko te mea nui kei konei koutou. Kei konei koutou, ka whai atu ā koutou tamariki kia kawe ai i te kaupapa me te mana o ō koutou iwi, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Your thoughts to recollect those who are no longer here are numerous, but the most important thing is that you are here collectively. Presently you are here to be followed by your children, who will take responsibility for the scheme in question and the integrity of your tribes. Congratulations to you all.]

This is legislation that will strengthen the ability of future generations to carry on a proud legacy of economic and cultural rangatiratanga. Ngā iwi o Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui, who are at the prow of the great voyaging canoe of Māui, are at the prow of their own destinies and future. I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. E aku whanaunga, Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama me Te Ātiawa, whakatau mai, whakatau mai, whakatau mai. Whakatau mai ki te herehere i ō koutou kerēme. Nā koutou tēnei rā. He rā nui, he rā whakahirahira. Hara mai, nau mai ki te Whare Pāremata e takatū nei. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. To my relatives, Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa, welcome, welcome, welcome. Welcome in terms of wrapping up your claim. This is your day. It is a great and magnificent day. Welcome here to Parliament House standing in readiness. So, greetings, salutations, and congratulations to you collectively and to us all.]

Now this House turns to acknowledge the other parties involved in the story of the settlement of Te Tau Ihu: the four iwi of Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rārua, Te Ātiawa, and Ngāti Kōata. These four iwi were part of an invading force led by Ngati Toa that swept through Te Tau Ihu and further south.

I stated earlier, in my speech regarding Ngati Toa, my whakapapa interest to the people of Ngāti Rārua, who, in the time of Niho, Pikiwhara, Tākere, and Horomona, were part of a close but also distant collective of whānau and hapū that had struck out from the far northern reaches of Te Tai Hauāuru along that stretch of Māori highway between Kāwhia and the Poutama region of northern Taranaki as Te Wherowhero and his forces settled age-old enmities with Ngati Toa. The Ngāti Kōata at Pouwewe; the Ngati Toa at Taharoa, Te Maika, and Rākaunui; the Ngāti Rārua at Waikawa; the Ngāti Tama at Poutama; and the Ngāti Mutunga - Te Ātiawa of Urenui, Manukōrehi, and Ngāmotu were all tribes drawn into the conflict with Waikato-Tainui, either by choice or otherwise. The fear of reprisals from Te Wherowhero was reason enough to vacate virtually all of what we now know as the Taranaki province. My ancestors had no real choice but to throw their lot in with the heke of Ngati Toa and head to the Kāpiti region.

There were many reasons for this northern alliance’s raid down south. Insults were always guaranteed to get a chief’s hackles raised, and the chance to raid further south for the prized pounamu fuelled desire, but it was also a time for Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, and Te Ātiawa to strike out for new lands and build new homes. For Rārua and Kōata, there was no returning to their ancestral lands, which were now in the possession of a new iwi. Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa held on to their ancestral lands with the might of the musket behind them. They crossed the strait, fought their battles, won most of them, and managed to hold their mana in the areas this bill now covers: Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui. From Whanganui Inlet right across to Wairau, up through Tōtaranui and on to D’Urville Island and Wakapuaka, these four tribes managed to achieve what they had started 10 years earlier.

Then, as we mentioned earlier today, that taniwha the New Zealand Company turned up, flashing its trinkets, blankets, and bank drafts, and ended up buying the whole top half of the South Island in what has now become Te Tau Ihu, which is part of the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill.

We must realise these land transactions occurred at a time before the Treaty, Governors, and native land courts. They occurred during a time when two races were still sounding out each other’s cultures. It is fair to say, though, that Māori were diddled out of a lot of estate by dubious land-grabbers such as the New Zealand Company. To be fair, the Māori chiefs of old were not fools, and when it came to the ways of trade and barter they knew what they were doing. Indeed, it was a way of life for the Māori. They also had their own ways of dealing with the tribal estate and how individuals could use that piece of land, and that concept was something of a lease arrangement. But with the clash of cultures, there were to be inevitable differences, and conflicts soon arose.

Some of these iwi at the top of the south were granted reserves in tenths trusts, and others were not. Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, and Te Ātiawa largely missed out on a share of tribal estate. The commission into the Te Waipounamu deed did little to alleviate the problem of the culture of the fractured and uneconomic land base for the four tribes. It is clear to me that the mamae caused by the New Zealand Company, as I said, is the taniwha in the story of Te Tau Ihu. If not for those dubious land practices, this whole sorry saga of Te Tau Ihu might never have happened. It may not have happened there, but it may have happened somewhere else. Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, and Te Ātiawa will all receive apologies from the Crown, which acknowledges that its part, its acts and its omissions breached the Treaty of Waitangi. The Crown will apologise for its failure to adequately protect the interests of the four tribes during the process by which land was granted, for failing to provide adequate reserves in tenths reserves, and for the four tribes not being able to have control over the trusts and reserves. The Crown will also apologise for its failure to provide sufficient land for the future needs of the tribes.

What this bill does is it finally acknowledges every member of the aforementioned tribes, not just some. This rectifies some long-held grievances of those whānau who had a right to share in tribal estates but were left off the lists of beneficiaries. It gives those families who are left out of reserves, tenths, and iwi trusts an opportunity to have mana and to be included in the administering of their tribal estate.

It has been a long wait for these tribes. Throughout the history of these inquiries there have been many, many people who have helped progress these claims to this point. Mentioning names is always a tricky slope to negotiate, but we have come to the grand finale, encompassing all of the iwi of Te Tau Ihu. So what I would like to do is mention the surnames of whānau, in the hope that the whakapapa will bind all together. So today I mihi to these whānau and all of their uri whakatupu who are here today: Stafford, Luke, Joseph, McDonald, Hēmi, Wehipeihana, Bradley, Rūruku, Rene, Hippolite, Elkington, Tūpaea, Mason, Stevens, Te Miha, Ward-Holmes, Rōpata, and many, many, many more whānau.

It is a very proud day for me, for Te Wai Pounamu, for Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka, and especially for me as I am very privileged to hold the tūranga of the seat of Te Tai Tonga. Today we celebrate the final chapter in the historical land claims for all of Te Wai Pounamu, the South Island. My grandfather Sir Eruera Tirikatene, who was the MP for Southern Māori from 1932 to 1967, was no stranger to land claims. Right from his maiden speech in Parliament, he was advocating for resolution of the injustices and the grievances across iwi throughout the country. My late aunt, the Hon Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan, continued that legacy. She gave her full support to every claim that was going on throughout Te Wai Pounamu.

But let me mention those MPs who felt the force, the pressure, from their own people to settle their grievances, and there are many. Our matua tūpuna Hōri Kerei Taiaroa; Ihaia Tainui; Tame Pārata and Taare Pārata—Hekia’s whānau; Tuiti Makitānara—McDonald’s tupuna; Tā Eruera and Whetu—my whānau; and then Tūtekawa Wyllie, Maharoa Okeroa, and Rahui Katene. They have all been proud members of Te Tai Tonga, formerly known as Southern Māori, who have been privileged to represent our whānau. On behalf of those tūpuna I salute the iwi of Ngati Toa Rangatira, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Apa ki Te Rā Tō, Ngāti Kuia, and Rangitāne. It is a pleasure for me to salute them all today, and I wish them all the very best. Nō reira, e rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

I welcome this opportunity to join with others in supporting the third reading of the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill, which we are debating this morning. I want to acknowledge the presence of so many kaumātua and kuia here to note this historic day, and particularly some of the people whom I have been privileged to know over the long journey: Roma Hippolite, Priscilla Paul, Barry Mason, Janice Mason, Fred Te Miha, Reverend Harvey Ruru, and people like Glenis Payne. But I also want to acknowledge the research work from John and Hilary Mitchell in my own Nelson community. It was done a long time ago and it is founding this settlement.

I want to thank my colleagues, particularly Chris Finlayson and Pita Sharples, and their predecessors, and the officials who have helped us to get to this final leg of what has been a long journey. These settlements arise from grievances that are over 100 years old, and it is an important day, I acknowledge, for my colleague Rino Tirikatene across the House but also for all the people living in Nelson-Marlborough or Te Tau Ihu, the prow of the waka, that these are being resolved with these complex bills. I want to pay tribute to all of those who have laboured to bring us to this resolution.

This bill strikes at the core of who we are as New Zealanders. Most nations were born in a sea of blood. I am proud of our Māori and European ancestors, who founded this nation on a Treaty and, more important, on the notion that we can resolve our differences by discussion, with respect, and not by brute force and by violence. In a Nelson context our history is clear that our early colonial settlers were welcomed and were treated generously by local iwi. But it is also true that those settlers became arrogant, dominant, and disrespectful of Māori rights and of their culture and customs. Land agreements were not honoured, and this, combined with the effects of disease and economic dislocation, saw our local Māori left, by the end of the 19th century, in an impoverished state.

These Treaty settlements across Te Tau Ihu will be good for our region and good for our nation. They will be beneficial economically. Our eight iwi are more parochial than any of us Nelsonians and have a huge stake in our region’s future prosperity. The investment of the settlement funds into the regional economy will help jobs and growth in our community.

There is a second benefit I also want to acknowledge. This Treaty settlement process has helped bring local iwi together and that is a good thing. We are a small population in total across the top of the south, and Māori are a small proportion relative to many other parts of New Zealand. I recognise that each of our eight iwi has different whakapapa and histories, and that needs to be respected. But, equally, as we look to the future it makes sense as we face the challenges of education, of health, of economic development, and of natural resource management that our iwi work more closely together. I have seen this cooperation build up through the settlement process and I hope this momentum can be maintained. I also want to acknowledge the huge improvement in relations with Ngāi Tahu to the south and see that also as a positive development.

I also want to acknowledge the important new role iwi will have in so many of the special places across Nelson and Marlborough, and with me and the Department of Conservation. We have a treasured environment of stunning snowcapped mountains, golden beaches, pristine lakes, island treasures, rich estuaries, and beautiful sounds. The Department of Conservation was founded 25 years ago to play an important role in protecting those areas, but it has not been as engaging and as inclusive as it could be. The reforms that we have made to the Department of Conservation are about it being more able to partner with others, and they are part of this journey of Treaty settlements that we also celebrate today.

In conclusion, yes, these settlements are good for our local economy; yes, they are good for the management of our local environment; and, yes, they are good in bringing more closely together our local iwi, but the real reason we should celebrate today is the values that we recommit to: those values of justice, of mutual respect, and of the resolution of difficult issues—old issues—by negotiation and by goodwill. Having the courage in these bills to say sorry, the courage to put what was wrong right, and the courage to put that behind us and face the future together—that is what I really acknowledge and celebrate today. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ā, tēnei e tū ana anō ki te tuku aku mihi maioha ki a koutou. Tēnei, he iti nāku hei tuitui atu ki ngā kōrero ō tō tātou mema a Rino, e kawea nei i ngā kaupapa i mua i te aroaro o te Pāremata. Nō reira, tēnā tātou katoa.

[And so I rise once again to extend my fond accolades to you collectively. This small contribution of mine is merely to thread with those sentiments expressed by our member Rino on matters before the House. So congratulations to us all.]

It gives me great pleasure to be able to make a contribution on this third and final reading of the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill, and to endorse the comments of Rino Tirikatene, the local member for Te Tai Tonga, on this bill. It does take a lot of courage to apologise, and I want to acknowledge the contribution of the Hon Nick Smith. It is for that reason that I want to take the unusual step—if people look at my Treaty settlement contributions—of recording in Hansard the germane causes of each apology, and then I will make clear how I think that relates to looking forward.

Clause 199(3), the apology to Ngāti Kōata, states: “The Crown regrets and apologises for its failure to properly respect the rangatiratanga of Ngāti Kōata. Crown actions, moreover, left Ngāti Kōata virtually landless in Te Tau Ihu and alienated them from many of their most sacred sites. For this too the Crown apologises. Their disconnection from their lands marginalised Ngāti Kōata in the economic development of Te Tau Ihu, and had devastating consequences for the social, cultural, and spiritual well-being of Ngāti Kōata. Those consequences continue to be felt today.”

Clause 202, the apology to Ngāti Rārua states: “(4) The Crown admits it did not include Ngāti Rārua in its purchase of the Wairau district in 1847, and only belatedly recognised Ngāti Rārua interests in its Te Waipounamou purchase. The Crown apologises for these failures to recognise the rangatiratanga of Ngāti Rārua and protect their interests. (5) The Crown is sorry that its actions rendered Ngāti Rārua virtually landless in their rohe. This had a devastating impact on the social and cultural well-being of the people of Ngāti Rārua that continues to be seen today. The Crown also accepts that the loss of their land and their restriction to inadequate reserves has significantly marginalised Ngāti Rārua from the benefits of economic development, and limited the autonomy and ability of the iwi to exercise customary rights and responsibilities through the Ngāti Rārua rohe.”

Clause 205, the apology to Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, reads: “(3) The Crown profoundly regrets and apologises for its cumulative acts and omissions which left Ngāti Tama virtually landless in Te Tau Ihu. The Crown deeply regrets and sincerely apologises that it did not adequately protect the interests of Ngāti Tama and appropriately respect Ngāti Tama rangatiratanga when purchasing their land. (4) The Crown is deeply remorseful for the significant damage that the alienation of Ngāti Tama from their whenua and customary resources in Golden and Tasman Bays has caused over many generations to the traditional social and cultural structures, mana, and well-being of Ngāti Tama.”

Clause 208, the apology to Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Maui, states: “(2) The Crown is deeply sorry that it has failed to live up the obligations it accepted when more than twenty Te Ātiawa rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi at Totaranui (Queen Charlotte Sound) in May 1840. (3) The Crown profoundly regrets and apologises for its actions, which left Te Ātiawa virtually landless in Te Tau Ihu. The Crown recognises that by 1860 Crown land purchases in Te Tau Ihu had largely restricted Te Ātiawa to isolated reserves and marginalised iwi from the new emerging economy. In particular the Crown regrets that when it arranged the purchase of Waitohi as the site of a town for settlers, this meant Te Ātiawa had to forsake their principal settlement of Totaranui. (4) The Crown acknowledges that it has failed to appropriately respect Te Ātiawa rangatiratanga. It is greatly remorseful that, over the generations to the present day, Crown actions have undermined your social and traditional structures, and your autonomy and ability to exercise your customary rights and responsibilities.”

I too believe that it takes great courage to apologise. I too believe that the effort with which Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui have come towards the negotiations is such that they have given much already and compromised much already, but they are wanting to go forward, as captured in the nature of these apologies. The text of the apologies is a clear statement of the Crown’s admission of its wrongs. But the apology itself becomes a reference point for future interactions between each of your respective iwi and the Crown as it points to the original intent of the legislation in your settlement but also as to the post-settlement expectation of how the Crown can act honourably to uphold its part of the settlement.

This really becomes important at this point, after we have heard eight of the Te Tau Ihu claims being resolved through today’s presentations in the House and in the passing of your legislation. I reflect again on the relationship comment that I made in an earlier contribution. Ngāi Tahu is here as well. It is probably by no small and insignificant chance that the relationships that can now be forged will hold future Governments, and certainly the Crown, to account on how they deal with you in the South Island.

I am reminded by the former honourable member for Te Tai Tonga Rahui Katene that it is significant also that the Whānau Ora commissioning agency comprises each of the eight Te Tau Ihu iwi as well as Ngāi Tahu. This, again, bodes well for how a post-settlement environment can uphold the recognition of what you have each respectively achieved in your Treaty settlements but also what you would like to achieve going forward in a range of interactions, whether it be health, education, housing, employment, economic development. They are the whole raft of opportunities that now exist. In part, you have your Treaty settlement, which recognises the extent of the historical injustice and the redress that has been reached but also the opportunity of a post-settlement landscape that now forges a new normal for the way in which a Government must extend its relationship in a more purposeful way with each and every one of you.

It gives me great pride and pleasure to be able to be here today and witness, I think, a very significant step, not just for Te Tau Ihu iwi but for New Zealand and for the opportunities that can be provided to ensure that this range of Treaty settlements that we have debated through the Māori Affairs Committee to today will remain durable and will uphold the intent of what was identified in the apologies, in terms of what the expectation is in the future. Tēnā tātou katoa.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā rangatira mā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of the Greens on the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill. I maintain that it is a privilege to speak on these Treaty settlement bills. I want to thank the iwi who are here today, because this was the first settlement bill that I have been involved with where I have travelled to the actual area where the land claims are from. I did that with the Māori Affairs Committee. It was the first time that I had actually heard from the people who lived there in the rohe, while we were surrounded by the beautiful lands, while we were surrounded by the losses that these people had endured. That was the first time that it happened for me. So the weight of those submissions actually carried much more for me because I was there and because it was kanohi ki te kanohi. So thank you for that.

I want to acknowledge that there are many people over the very many generations who have worked to bring these Treaty settlements into legislation today. I want particularly to acknowledge those who have passed away on the journey to here. I want to acknowledge their foresightedness and their tenacity to bring justice to their people.

This bill puts into legislation the settlements that were signed with each of the four iwi. Ngāti Kōata signed on 21 December 2012. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui signed the deed of settlement on 21 December as well. Ngāti Rārua signed theirs on 13 April 2013. Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu signed theirs in April 2013 as well. Each of these iwi has separate and specific histories. However, they share a similar fate, and that is why they are here today. Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, Te Ātiawa, and Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui have areas of occupation and areas of interest that overlap, but they are distinct for each.

In 1839—and this is the common history—they were all caught up in the dodgy deal that was done by the New Zealand Company when the New Zealand Company purported to have bought the entire top of the South Island. After the Treaty was signed a year later—and leaders from these iwi did sign the Treaty—the Crown appointed a commissioner to investigate the company’s purchases. In Ngāti Rārua’s settlement it says that in Nelson the commissioner heard from only one Māori, and that person was Ngāti Rārua, before suspending the entire inquiry to enable the New Zealand Company to attempt to negotiate a settlement. Local Māori signed the deeds of settlement in return for accepting payments that were described as gifts, rather than as payments for the land. It is fair to say that the New Zealand Company, in its attempts to wrest land from iwi, negotiated with individual Māori for land ownership when, in fact, land was owned collectively. Breaking that collective ownership is basically how the land was alienated from iwi by both the New Zealand Company and also, subsequently, the Crown.

The Crown continued to do that. It used a variety of mechanisms, which are outlined fully in each of the deeds of settlement in each of the acknowledged histories that are contained in the legislation. To read those accounts and to understand the huge injustices that occurred when iwi were forced out of ownership of their resources, their economic base, is so incredibly sad. I just want to give an example of those acknowledgments from the conclusion of the Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui deed of settlement. It says: “Within three decades of Te Ātiawa rangatira signing the Treaty of Waitangi at Tōtaranui (Queen Charlotte Sound), extensive Crown purchases in Te Tau Ihu had left Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui virtually landless. The small areas of reserve land left to Te Ātiawa were insufficient for Te Ātiawa to participate in the new economy, and were subject to further alienation over the twentieth century. The loss of land has impacted on Te Ātiawa’s connection and access to many of their significant sites and resources. This has had a detrimental effect on the spiritual, economic, and cultural wellbeing of Te Ātiawa as an iwi.”

Iwi have carried these injustices and been hurt by them for generations, so I am aware that the apologies from the Crown are really important, and I acknowledge what the previous speaker, Nanaia Mahuta, said there. The apologies are crucial to healing those hurts. When I read the apologies that are in the legislation, I can see that care has been taken. Maybe the words were crafted and debated by the negotiation team, but they have been crafted to ensure that the Crown’s apology is sincere and unflinching in accepting responsibility for its actions and its omissions that disadvantaged the iwi.

I am going to quote from the Ngāti Rārua apology, which I think the previous speaker may have already done, but I think that it is worth repeating as an example of that unflinchingness: “The Crown is sorry that its actions rendered Ngāti Rārua virtually landless in their rohe. This had a devastating impact on the social and cultural well-being of the people of Ngāti Rārua that continues to be seen today. The Crown also accepts that the loss of their land and their restriction to inadequate reserves has significantly marginalised Ngāti Rārua from the benefits of economic development, and limited the autonomy and ability of the iwi to exercise customary rights and responsibilities throughout the Ngāti Rārua rohe.”

I maintain that to accept the apology is an act of huge generosity from these people. To be sure, the redress has been outlined in the legislation, as well, and iwi have managed to secure from the Crown some financial, cultural, and commercial redress, but in no way are the losses that have been suffered covered by what is in the legislation and what has been negotiated. Ngāti Kōata will get financial redress of $11.6 million and the opportunity to purchase Waimea and Hira forestry land near Nelson, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu receive financial redress of $12.06 million, for Te Ātiawa the financial redress is $11.7 million, and for Ngāti Rārua the financial redress is $11.7 million. As I pointed out in a previous speech, this is a drop in the bucket compared with what this Government sometimes spends its money on, and I refer to South Canterbury Finance. All the iwi get small parcels of land back, but they get nowhere near what was lost, and they symbolically give some of that land back to the people of New Zealand. For example, Te Tai Tapu and Kākā Point will be given to iwi but will be gifted back to the people of New Zealand 7 days later.

The Greens do not agree that these are full and final settlements, and that is a political point that I need to make in every speech on every settlement. It is not full, because the compensation is obviously not full, and it is not final, because how can we know now how the histories of these iwi will impact on their people in the future? Without a doubt, someone out there in the public will say that this is a gravy train and that Māori are privileged. It is my incredible wish that those people will receive the true histories of the tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand. That is the only way we will break down racism. Today is the day to celebrate. I join with the rest of the House in congratulating the people whose legislation will pass through finally. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa e te iwi o Ngāti Kōata. “Take tuku … take raupatu … take ahi kā roa”, and the “non-negotiable values” of Ngāti Kōata: whakawhanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and whakatūpatotanga. These underline their guiding principles: to protect rangatiratanga of Ngāti Kōata, to protect and preserve taonga, to identify and protect wāhi tapu, to promote and enhance Ngāti Kōata and its terms under the Treaty, and to support the social, economic, and cultural needs of its iwi.

Ngāti Rārua, nā tātou te wā. Ko te tirohanga rautaki o Ngāti Rārua he whakamana i te puna mauri ora o Ngāti Rārua kia kaha ai te pupuri i ngā hekenga ā muri ake tonu. Kia tū katoa rā te mauri me te ohaoha, me te hononga o Ngāti Rārua a te tau, 2014. Kei a Ngāti Rārua anake te tino mātauranga e pā ana ki a Ngāti Rārua mai i te ūkaipo, ka heke ki hea rānei.

[The time is ours, Ngāti Rārua. Te Tirohanga strategy of Ngāti Rārua confirms the healthy life force pool of Ngāti Rārua will be retained for the generations to come, and it ensures that the force, economy, and relationships of Ngāti Rārua in 2014 will be sustainable. Ngāti Rārua alone has the real knowledge about Ngāti Rārua relating to the source of sustenance from mother and down to wherever.]

Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu will determine its own rangatiratanga through education, skills training, and te reo me ōna tikanga. They will succeed in Te Ao Pākehā, me Te Ao Ngāti Tama, me Te Ao Māori. They have the courage, determination, and perseverance to withstand all the injustices, discrimination, losses, sadness, mamae, and pouritanga, and Ngāti Tama endures. Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, this is a day of celebration.

Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui are the people of Te Ātiawa descent whose whakapapa is Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui. In 1840 when Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Tōtaranui, they were a dynamic, robust society with their own lands and cultural customs that regulated their life both on land and at sea. Today, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui are dynamic, robust, innovative, generous, and enduring people.

I commend this bill to the House.

Kia ora, Mr Deputy Speaker. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu me Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. To the authorities and voices, to Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rāru, Ngāti Tama at Te Tau Ihu and Te Ātiawa of Te Waka-a-Māui, salutations, acknowledgments, and congratulations to you all.]

It has been a pretty special morning being part of this entire third reading of the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill. I have decided to pick up on a theme that we seem to have started within this particular reading about saying sorry. So for me, when I look at our Treaty settlement legislation, I think of it as New Zealand’s truth and reconciliation process. When I look at the bills that have been before us, what it speaks about to me is truth. The definition of truth is the real facts about New Zealand’s history. So when I look at this settlement legislation that we have in the House, it is the truth from the iwi that have been involved this morning in the Te Tau Ihu settlement process—it is your truth. I hope that what you have recorded within your specific piece of legislation is a truth that you are satisfied with.

The other part of the process is reconciliation. Reconciliation is about a restoration of relations. It is about a shared view and it is also about the Crown’s role. We have talked a bit in this particular settlement kōrero about the Crown saying sorry and the meaning of an apology. I think what I really want to have recorded is that the Crown was not passive in what happened to Māori and to mana whenua and tangata whenua. The Crown actually colluded with the settlement companies that came here to colonise our country. So the Crown was not passive; it was active. So for the Crown to acknowledge its deeds in our history is significant, but for me it is significant because of the relations that happen after a reconciliation process. Those relations are actually about the geographic name changes, the statutory acknowledgments, and the deeds of recognition. It is now about how the Crown and Māori—the Crown and tangata whenua and mana whenua—work together as we move into the future.

When I look at the opportunity that the settlement legislation provides, it means that we will develop memoranda of understanding. It means we will develop principles about how we will work together. It is about how mana whenua and tangata whenua will take their rightful place in the administration of all the taonga that have been identified in the Treaty legislation. The challenge going forward is going to be about the reality of those relationships going forward, the reality of the memoranda of understanding and the principles, and everything that this piece of legislation now empowers. It is going to be incumbent on us as members of Parliament now and as MPs in the future to be accountable for these pieces of legislation.

I want to pick up on something that Denise Roche has said about the Greens not accepting that this is full and final. In fact, in a way she is right, because if things do not work practically in terms of the relationship, we can make amendments to pieces of legislation. So if you become dissatisfied in the future about how the Government is working with you—whether it be the Department of Conservation or whatever; it could be the Ministry of Education—actually you can come back to this House and say you are not satisfied with the relations that this piece of legislation has created for your working relationship in the future. So in some regards Denise Roche is absolutely right. I think what I want to put on record is that as members of Parliament here today and members of Parliament going forward the challenge is actually on us to make this legislation work. My commitment to you—and I know this commitment is across the House—is that if this legislation does not work, then we need to keep working at it. There are mechanisms within the House of Parliament to ensure it does.

As far as I am concerned as a member of Parliament, this is the beginning of a formal relationship and there is always an opportunity for you to come back to us and say it is not working, it needs to be clearer, or you need more mandate to actually give effect to the whole reconciliation and apology part of these settlements. Otherwise, they are not real, and they will not create the real, transformative change that we need in our society.

So I will not speak any more, other than to again congratulate everybody who has been involved in getting us to this point in time. I wish you wonderful celebrations, not only here but actually at home on the marae, where most of the whānau will be. So I hope that over this Easter period you will have gatherings and people will celebrate and be satisfied with this process. I again want to reiterate how privileged we all are to be part of this truth and reconciliation process for our country. I wish you all the best going into the future. I do hope that you disseminate this history within your rohe so that all of our tamariki and mokopuna understand for ever our place, the place of tangata whenua, in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ngā whānau o ngā iwi, Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, me Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai.

[To the families of the tribes Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama at Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa of Te Waka-a-Māui, I have much admiration for you all. Welcome, welcome.]

I am very privileged to be standing here to take a final call on the third reading of the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill. I have heard the many speeches that have been passed on today. I, along with the other speakers, want to congratulate you on all the hard work you have done in getting your bill here to the final phase of negotiation. It is a short call.

I know that previous speakers have talked about it being a drop in the bucket when it comes to commercial redress around finances, but I also stand here because I have seen many iwi that have gone before you that have received their settlements and have turned their small drop in the bucket into a great big ocean—a great big ocean. Ngāi Tahu is a very good example of that big ocean. They have produced that for the whole of Te Wai Pounamu. I take my hat off to them. I take my hat off to the iwi of Tainui, who have done the same. They have taken a small amount and they have grown it. They have grown it for the benefit of our mokopuna—of our mokopuna, who will receive everything that is due to them. We must celebrate that as Māori.

The Crown has apologised. We have apologised. I know that when a door opens, everything can happen for us. We are an innovative and beautiful people. We need to keep on celebrating that and take this process all the way through. I know that the Crown will do that. So without any further ado, congratulations thrice—congratulations to you all, to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and to the Māori Affairs Committee. Kia ora tēnei rā koutou katoa.

Although this bill, the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill, may be the last to receive a third reading today, it is not the least. It provides for four settlements for iwi who have historical Treaty claims in Te Tau Ihu, at the top of the south. Many people have sacrificed their time and well-being to achieve these settlements, but it is very, very sad indeed that Chris Atutahi, who worked for the Tainui Taranaki ki te Tonga collective, is not here to see this day. We attribute his work at the commencement of negotiations to getting us here today.

The bill contains Crown acknowledgments and apologies made to each of these four iwi, and provides for specific redress. Understanding the history is critical, and I endorse what Mr Henare and others have said about the importance of history. I do not intend to repeat what he and Mr Tirikatene and others have so eloquently said about the history of these settlements. Mr Tirikatene, in particular, has spoken very well in this debate about these four iwi. I acknowledge their contribution. I endorse what they have said. But rather I want to make a few comments about each of the iwi represented here this morning.

Ngāti Kōata descended from Kōata of the Tainui waka, and for many years were a coastal iwi residing in Kāwhia. They came first to Te Tau Ihu through a tuku, or grant of land, from a Kurahaupō chief and then went through the subsequent invasion. They principally established themselves at Rangitoto Island, Croisilles, Whakatū, and Whakapuaka. They were a people with a close association to the coast, in terms of both navigation and fishing.

In recognition of the importance of certain sites to Ngāti Kōata, including part of Rangitoto, or D’Urville Island, this bill requires the New Zealand Conservation Authority to have particular regard to Ngāti Kōata’s values when considering management plans for these sites. Through the bill, Ngāti Kōata will be appointed as a conservation statutory adviser over Takapourewa, or Stephens Island. This island was traditionally used as a tohunga training ground, as well as being a valuable source of natural resources. Being appointed as a conservation statutory adviser provides Ngāti Kōata with the ability to give advice to the Minister of Conservation in relation to the restoration of native flora and the management of native fauna.

This settlement would not be happening today without the dedication of Roma Hippolite, who led negotiations with the support of Allen Hippolite. Api Hēmi united Ngāti Kōata, and previous chairs and original claimants Jim Elkington and Priscilla Paul guided Ngāti Kōata through the hearings, along with Pene Ruruku, Pūhanga Tūpaea, Ngārau Tūpaea, and the late Martin Dawson.

Let me say something about the late Martin Dawson. I am sure Shane Jones would endorse this. Martin Dawson was a lawyer in Wellington for many years. He acted for iwi long before it became the fashionable or popular thing to do. He was interested in these issues because he was a caring lawyer dedicated to justice, not because he was interested in the 6-minute units or fees. Without, of course, descending into personalities—that would be inappropriate—I simply say that he could teach some lawyers a thing or two about professionalism. We greatly miss him for the work he did on this and other settlements. May he rest in peace.

I want to say something about Ngāti Rārua. They originated from the western coast of the King Country region and descend from those tūpuna who migrated to New Zealand aboard the Tainui waka. The lands at Motueka, Rīwaka, and Marahau became a significant area of occupation for Ngāti Rārua in Te Tau Ihu, as did the Wairau district on the east coast and areas of Golden Bay and the upper West Coast. Despite being settled in Wairau, Ngāti Rārua were not party to the negotiations that led to the Wairau purchase. The reserves provided for Ngāti Rārua under the Te Wai Pounamu purchase had only a very small area of cultivatable land. They were isolated. They were of poor quality.

In recognition of the significance of certain sites to Ngāti Rārua, this bill requires the New Zealand Conservation Authority to have particular regard to Ngāti Rārua’s values when considering management plans in relation to these sites. I particularly want to acknowledge Barry Mason. He was the inaugural trust chair and a founding member of the committee that filed the Ngāti Rārua claim, along with Molly Luke, who has been a complete stalwart at the helm as chair until very recently. I acknowledge Lee Luke and also my old sparring partner Tim Castle, who were the principal negotiators for Ngāti Rārua. I am very kind to the lawyers today.

Then there is Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu. They trace their roots to the Tokomaru waka from Hawaiki. They take their name from Tamāriki, who came aboard that vessel. The Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu rangatira Te Puoho led their migration. He also led the last known taua by northern iwi into the Ngāi Tahu territory, in 1836, and was killed doing so. Ngāti Tama established themselves as tangata whenua in Te Tau Ihu with pā at numerous locations, including Te Tai Tapu, Wainui, Tākaka, and Parapara in Golden Bay, and also at various places like Wakapuaka in Tasman Bay. I think, without casting aspersions at all on other iwi, that they do have the best sites in the land.

Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu negotiators have consistently tried to re-establish their connections with their traditional sites. So one aspect of their settlement that is very important is Te Korowai Mana, which acknowledges the traditional cultural, spiritual, and historical association of Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu with certain sites of significance. Can I acknowledge Janice Manson, the inaugural chair, and Keri Stephens, another previous chair for Ngāti Tama. I particularly pay tribute today to that great warrior Fred Te Miha. I am so very fond of Fred. He says what he thinks, and he thinks a lot. He is going to be a force for this great iwi in the future. I also acknowledge Rob McKewen, Jo Westrupp, and John Ward-Holmes.

Then there is Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui, and I do want to say some things about that great iwi situated near Anakiwa. By the 1830s Te Ātiawa were settled through Tōtaranui—Queen Charlotte Sound. They also established themselves in Tasman Bay, Golden Bay, and Te Tai Tapu. The Tasman Sea, Pacific Ocean, and Cook Strait were great highways for them. By geographical choice and necessity they were coastal dwellers, and they continue to place high cultural and historical values on the foreshore, the seabed, and the coastal and maritime waterways. Through this bill they are appointed as statutory kaitiaki over five islands in Queen Charlotte Sound, and this will provide them with the opportunity to provide advice in relation to the restoration of native flora and the management of native fauna.

There are so many people who have led the charge for Te Ātiawa. The Rev. Harvey Ruru and Sharon Gemmell particularly deserve a special mention. I wish Glenis Payne and the trust all the best as they lead this wonderful iwi into a post-settlement era.

Let me just simply say one thing about the post-settlement era. We have heard this morning, as we hear with all third readings, some wonderful sentiments being expressed, but the bipartisan view that comes from the Labour Party and the National Party needs to be emphasised—that is, for all the great phrases, what will make these settlements succeed in the future will be the Crown living up to its obligations. I am acutely conscious of that, and that is why we have set up a post-settlement commitments unit to make sure that the Crown holds fast to its promises, not just tomorrow, not just in 25 years, but for ever after.

So I congratulate these iwi on achieving this moment. I thank you for the work that you have done over so many years. With goodwill on both sides and with the Crown doing its bit, I believe it is the start of a renewed relationship with the Crown, one that will be based on trust, cooperation, and respect for the Treaty. The third reading of the Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu, and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Maui Claims Settlement Bill marks the end for Parliament of what is a momentous day—a momentous day, of course, not just for Parliament but for the iwi. I commend this bill to the House.