Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill, Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill

I move, That the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill and the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill be now read a third time. I begin by offering warm greetings to the people of Ngati Toa Rangatira—to those in the public gallery and those out at Takapūwāhia Marae who have gathered today for the third reading of their settlement legislation.

Today, as well as progressing these bills on their way to enactment, we acknowledge those people who strive to make a Ngati Toa Rangatira settlement possible, despite what seemed at times to be very unfavourable odds. It is impossible to name all the individuals who have played a significant role. However, we must mention the negotiating team of Te Kaha, which consisted of Matiu Rei, and I am sure he will not mind my acknowledging him as New Zealand’s best bush lawyer; Iwi Nicholson; Tiratū Williams; Miria Pōmare—I am delighted to see her here this morning with her daughter—and Te Ariki Wineera Jr, who, in turn, was supported by many other individuals, including Jennie Smeaton. There are also the past and present chairs of the rūnanga Mrs Ruta Rene, Bill Kātene, Robert Solomon, Riki Wineera, and Taku Pārai.

We cannot go further without acknowledging the many people who championed historical claims filed with the Waitangi Tribunal and the people who gave evidence in the tribunal hearings and the inquiries. I am sure that Ngati Toa Rangatira would want me to mention two very special friends of the iwi over many years: Richard Boast, their historian, and Deborah Edmunds, their lawyer.

The third reading of these two bills is the start of a highly significant day for eight iwi—eight iwi with claims against the Crown, who between 2010 and 2013 have all signed deeds of settlement agreeing to settle those claims. Today is the culmination of years and years of work by many individuals to see some justice for their tūpuna and for future generations.

In many people’s minds the identity of this great iwi is synonymous with Te Rauparaha, a Ngati Toa Rangatira leader of the 19th century who has left a deep impression on the New Zealand psyche as one of our truly historical figures. The 19th century was a time of great upheaval for Māori across this land, and a formative time for what is now modern-day New Zealand. But Ngati Toa Rangatira were a people before Te Rauparaha, and continue to be a people today with a history and a future beyond that legacy.

This iwi are a people of the Tainui waka, who for many generations occupied the coastline around Kāwhia on the west coast of the North Island, and were kaitiaki of the resting place of the Tainui waka. In the early 19th century, due to increasing pressure from Waikato tribes and ongoing conflict, Ngati Toa made the decision to leave Kāwhia permanently and migrate south. They moved south to the Cook Strait region, with allied iwi settling principally around the shores of the Porirua Harbour and on that wonderful island Kāpiti Island. Further heke and taua with allied iwi were then undertaken across the Cook Strait from the Kāpiti coast. Following their migration south, Ngati Toa Rangatira established a very powerful position in the Cook Strait region. Their position was based on military victories, relationships with other tribal groups, and trade with Europeans.

The tide significantly changed for Ngati Toa Rangatira, with the increasing demand from incoming settlers seeking Māori land. This tension reached a climax when, in 1843, Ngati Toa Rangatira asked surveyors for the New Zealand Company to stop surveying their land in the Wairau Valley. Te Rauparaha had already asked Commissioner Spain to intervene and stop the New Zealand Company from undertaking this activity.

While awaiting the arrival of Commissioner Spain, Ngati Toa Rangatira told one of the surveyors he had to leave, and then set fire to the hut that the surveyor had built to temporarily live in. The survey party was not harmed. With the arrest warrant for Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata for the crime of arson, a group of people recruited for the purpose arrived from Nelson, and, as many know, the attempt to arrest Ngati Toa Rangatira leaders erupted into gunfire and, ultimately, the deaths of nearly two dozen Europeans and nine Māori.

I say all this because it is important to encourage all our fellow countrymen and women to read the historical account in the deed of settlement, as it sets out this detail in the deed of an incident that in the past has often been recounted from only one perspective. The deed contains an agreed account of this clash between the Crown and Ngati Toa Rangatira. The clash in the Wairau, which came out of the competing desires for land, was a turning point for the relationship between the Crown and Ngati Toa and had very long-term consequences for the iwi.

An important part of this settlement is the Crown’s acknowledgment that its actions since 1840 have ultimately left Ngati Toa Rangatira virtually landless and without resources in both the North Island and the South Island. As I have just mentioned in relation to the Wairau incident, the mid-1840s was a key period in the relationship between Ngati Toa Rangatira and the Crown. It was during this time that the Crown, through political and military means, sought to establish its authority in the middle of our land and reduce the power and influence of senior Ngati Toa Rangatira leaders.

During 1845 Te Rangihaeata and his section of Ngati Toa Rangatira supported the claims of their allies living on disputed land in the Hutt Valley. Te Rauparaha, for his part, took a mostly neutral stance, not opposing the actions of his nephew but not wanting to see conflict. These tensions led to several violent incidents. In July 1846 the Crown seized Te Raparaha and several other Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs at Porirua. The Crown detained Te Rauparaha without trial for 18 months. He was never charged or tried for any offence.

In 1847, whilst he was in captivity and Te Rangihaeata was in exile, the Crown purchased several extensive Wairau and Porirua districts from several younger Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs, who hoped to secure Te Rauparaha’s release. These purchases undermined the influence of other senior Ngati Toa Rangatira and left a sense of grievance among the iwi, who feel that the Crown’s actions violated the rights of other leaders of their iwi. So the history is very, very important, and that is why we have this settlement today.

I want to conclude by saying something about the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, which is a very important piece of legislation. It provides an attribution right in favour of Ngati Toa Rangatira in relation to the haka. It is novel legislation. It is very, very tentative, and that is why in 5 years’ time there will be a mandatory review of it. Through this settlement the Crown acknowledges the significance of Ka Mate as an integral part of the history and the culture and the identity of Ngati Toa, and, as kaitaiki of the haka, they have sought to protect the haka from culturally inappropriate and offensive use.

What we have here is, I believe, exciting legislation. It is the very first tentative step by the Crown towards recognition of traditional cultural expressions, and I hope we have more enlightened commentary on this legislation than we had in the Dominion Post when the agreement in principle was signed, because it had an article that said “All Black haka goes to Māori”.

So congratulations to all those who have been involved in this matter. I particularly acknowledge my Crown officials for the work that they have done and my chief negotiators: first, Ross Philipson, and that wonderful former Labour MP Paul Swain. Why more of his colleagues are not like him, I do not know.

This is a very hard-won settlement. It has been hindered for far too long by litigation and, at times, mindless opposition by other parties. I hope that people commemorate this day long into the night at Takapūwāhia. I feel very privileged to have been the Minister over the past 5 years working with this wonderful iwi, and today I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. As I always say about settlements, it is not the end; it is the end of the beginning, but it is the sign of what I hope will be a great relationship, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the development of the haka Ka Mate legislation that is going to occur in the next 5 years. I commend these bills to the House.

Te Reo Māori i te tuatahi. Tēnā tātou katoa e hui tahi nei i roto i te Whare Pāremata i roto tonu i te ana o te raiona, i a tātou e whiriwhiri, e rapu me pēhea rānei tō tātou kaha e whakatōpūngia ai hei whakatūturu i ngā ōati, hei whakatūturu hoki i ngā moemoeā kua herea ki te kapu o te pepa i roto i tēnei pire, o tēnei iwi rangatira e kiia nei ko Ngati Toa Rangatira. Nā reira, e ōku mātua, e ōku whaea nō tēnā pito o Aotearoa, tēnā koutou.

Tēnā koutou i runga i tō tātou waka i a Tainui, i roto i ngā kupu whakarite mō tērā hau tupua o Te Āo Māori, a Te Rauparaha, me te whare karakia i tū ai i muri mai i tana tukunga e te Kāwanatanga kia hoki mai ki tana kāinga tupu, me te rangatiratanga o ngā whakaahua, te rangatiratanga o ngā taonga, ngā mana tunga i kohia ki roto i tēnā whare karakia i oti i tēnā tupuna rangatira a Te Rauparaha. He tangata i haere ngātahi mē tērā matua ōku a Nene, i roto i o rātou haereretanga i wērā tau noa atu, otirā i tēnei rā, tēnei ahau te mihi atu ki a koutou. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Māori language first. Salutations to us all gathered together here in Parliament, in the very sanctity of the lion’s den, to discuss and find a way to utilise our combined energy to ensure the promises and dreams that have been committed in writing, in this bill, of this noble tribe known as Ngati Toa. Therefore, to my fathers and aunts from that end of the country, greetings to you collectively.

Salutations to you on our Tainui canoe, and in regards to the words attributed to that illustrious person of Māoridom, Te Rauparaha, and, furthermore, to the church that was erected following his release by the Government to return to his homeland, as well as the ownership of photos, treasures, and precious items that were gathered together and placed in that church that was completed by that illustrious chief, Te Rauparaha. He was someone who accompanied that elder of mine, Nene, in their travels back in those times a long time ago. And today I, indeed, salute you collectively. Greetings, acknowledgments, and congratulations to you and to us all.]

It is often said that political parties need to brand themselves to ensure that the voters can distinguish who stands for what, but I want Ngati Toa in this House to know today that the Māori members of Labour, and indeed, Labour, stand solidly with the Crown to ensure that the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill achieves Royal assent without any delay. It is a piece of legislation that has come to the House prior to Easter, a time when a dwindling number of us contemplate and think about colonial origins, the role of the Church, and, in my case, the role of the missionaries in the north. When you think about the history of Ngati Toa and, in particular, Te Rauparaha, it is intertwined with that colonial part of New Zealand’s sad history, and that person, whom our mātua called “Wide-Awake”, otherwise known as Wakefield, and Octavius Hadfield, who in some way gifted Hone Harawira his name in a transliteration. After all, before he went down south, the man was at Waimate North. If anyone wants to know how indigenous the name Harawira is, just look at Octavius Hadfield, that well-known missionary.

But I digress. This should be a day of some celebration. I want to acknowledge a number of the identities who have come here to support Ngati Toa today. We will talk of the other iwi as well, but we are starting with Ngati Toa this morning.

One of Māoridom’s foremost orators, Mr Nicholson, whose son I had the good fortune to go to university with—who has, sadly, passed away—was a graduate of Te Aute College. I was a graduate of St Steven’s School. Mr Nicholson’s son Huata and I were at Victoria University. He was a fine rugby league player and demonstrated that Te Aute boys drank more beer than St Steven’s boys. But we should remember with some joy those who have passed on. Obviously, I should acknowledge Mr Rei, who is the current leader of Ngati Toa and also the chair of Te Ohu Kaimoana. I think of Mr Metekīngi, who when we were young university students was an identity.

I want to recite the names of a famous orator from this tribe whom I met when I was a lad at Tūrangawaewae. I went with my Ngāpuhi Aupōuri elders to Tūrangawaewae in the early 1970s. An old man gave a speech. Although we were very good at Māori, it was well beyond our capacity to understand, as young men going along with our mātua from the Anglican Church. His name was Rēnē. If I am not mistaken, it was Uenuku Rēnē, but they just called him Rēnē. I recall my grandmother telling me that that man came from the Cook Strait. Being from the far north, it was all a bit sort of blurry, just as the southerners call everyone from north of Auckland Ngāpuhi. I recall her saying that he had just demonstrated in his speech that to be a great navigator for Māoridom you have to see in the night; you have to be able to read the signs and translate in a form that modern people can understand. He aha ngā tohu o te pō mai i ngā whetū me ngā manu, tūtuki noa ki te moana?

[What are the night signs from the stars, birds, and down to the sea?]

As a youngster of 11 or 12, I have never forgotten the trip I took with my grandmother, who was born in 1892.

So let us come back to Ka Mate. I do not think there is a more valuable contribution that the Pākehā hoi polloi borrow from us on a regular basis when they go to Amsterdam, when they go to London, or when they go to wherever. Indeed, on my Tararā side I can assure Ngati Toa that my own son has done Ka Mate in Croatia on many occasions. He went there to play rugby. Unfortunately, I learnt that that was not all he was doing. He did ring and say: “Hey, Papa, I didn’t know the Swedish played rugby.” Kātahi au ka mea atu ki a ia me hoki mai koe ki te kāinga. He Māori koe, ēhara koe i te Tararā.

[Then I said to him that you should return home. You are a Māori, not a Croatian.]

This is now a key quality of our modern identity as New Zealanders. This bill, the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, ensures that its indigeneity is never stripped away. Who knows what the future holds for such contributions? But let it be known that it was Te Rauparaha and his flight in the various battles of the 1820s, and the assistance that he took from Te Whareangi who decided that he would assist him as he was fleeing, probably, some of his own relatives. That is where that haka originated from. The fact that this legislation has been used to provide a level of stewardship over the haka is, I think, reflective of how far we have come in terms of biculturalism, because this would never have happened in the time that I worked for Sir Geoffrey Palmer. I dare say it would have been very difficult to have got through in the time that Don Brash held sway in terms of the bicultural narrative. But those identities have moved out of politics, and today the current identities are here to salute Ngati Toa and to remind ourselves that these settlements will not avenge everything that happened in the past. They are the contribution of this group of parliamentarians and the Crown officials, and society being prepared to back the politicians to take these steps. That is what they are. Now it falls to the iwi to be the kaitiaki.

I want to ensure this. Mena e rongo ana koe e iwi, kei te pānui ahau i te katoa o tō haka, a Ka mate ka mate.

[If you the people can hear, I am going to recite all of your haka Ka Mate to you.]

I want to read into the record the entirety of Ka Mate. I will not go over my time. Ordinary Kiwis know five or six lines. It is probably the only opportunity that we will have to put this on the record. You never know, some of them might join me. It defies English translation, but there are a couple of rude words that in good time I will explain to you.

It starts:

Kikiki kakaka kauana!

Kei waniwania taku tara

Kei tarawāhia, kei te rua i te kerokero!

He pounga rāhui te uirā ka rarapa;

Ketekete kau ana tō peru koi riri

Māu au e koro e—Hī! Hā!

Ka wehi au a ka matakana,

Ko wai te tangata kia rere ure?

Tirohanga ngā rua rerarera

Ngā rua kurī kakanui i raro! Aha ha!

Ka mate! Ka mate!

Ka ora! Ka ora!

Ka mate! Ka mate!

Ka ora! Ka ora!

Tēnei te tangata

Puhūruhūru nāna nei i tiki mai

Whakawhiti te rā!

Ūpāne, ka Upāne

Ūpane, ka Ūpāne

Whiti te rā!

Let it lie on our record the day we came to salute Ngati Toa and agree to the legislation, protecting that haka for them in New Zealand. It now lies as a permanent record of this Parliament. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Tēnā koutou Ngati Toa Rangatira kua hara mai nei i tēnei rā ātaahua ki te whakanui i te kaupapa e haere nei. Matiu, taku hoa, taku rangatira, nui rawa ngā mihi ki a koe kua tae nei ki tēnei rangi. Nā reira, nau mai, hara mai ki tēnei Whare kia whakaoti ai tēnei mahi, tēnei pire, kia tū rangatira ai tō tātou haka, a Ka Mate, anā, kia whakaoti ai ngā kōrero mō te kerēme hoki. Ki te iwi, tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou i ō koutou tini mate e tīraha tonu i ngā marae maha, rātou kua tukuna atu hoki ki te kōpū o te whaea, ā, tēnā koutou, haere, haere rātou.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Greetings to you collectively Ngati Toa Rangatira, who have come here on this beautiful day to celebrate the matter progressing before us. To you, Matiu, my friend and elder, there is much admiration for your arrival here today. So welcome. Welcome here to this House to complete this task, this bill, so that our posture dance Ka Mate will remain noble, and also to complete the talk about this claim. Acknowledgments to you the tribe. Greetings and salutations to you in regards to your very many deaths that continue to lie in state on the courtyards and those as well who have been committed to the womb of mother Earth, a farewell and tribute to them.]

Today we welcome the sons and daughters of Hoturoa, captain of the great Tainui canoe. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. Nearly two centuries ago the people of Ngati Toa Rangatira resided at Kāwhia, on Waikato-Tainui’s western coast, from Aotea to Huikōmako, ko Tainui te waka, ko Hoturoa te tangata, ko Ngati Toa Rangatira te iwi. Their incredible heke, or great migration south, is the stuff that legends are made of. In the early 1800s they faced conquest in their northern lands. The people of Ngati Toa Rangatira turned south. Led by the renowned chief Te Rauparaha, Ngati Toa Rangatira and their allies embraced technology armed with muskets. They waged wars with tribes across the southern North Island and the northern South Island. The Ngati Toa Rangatira heke included their women, children, and kaumātua. They too walked hundreds of kilometres. Many would die along the way from Kāwhia to their new homelands in Kāpiti.

By the time the Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, Ngati Toa Rangatira were exercising tino rangatiratanga as mana whenua over the lands they occupied in the south-west coast of Wellington at Ōhāriu, Porirua, and Kāpiti Island and, of course, parts of the Horowhenua coast. In Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Māui their main areas of occuption were the Wairau Valley, Port Underwood, and Pelorus Sound. By the time the Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, the global whaling industry was burgeoning, with whaling stations established across Ngati Toa whenua. The flax trade was also booming. Ngati Toa Rangatira were not just part of an emerging economy in this part of the country; they were actually leading this economy and they were the owners of it.

But the Tiriti o Waitangi, signed by Te Rauparaha, changed the ground rules for ever. The Crown’s military action, land confiscations, and land purchases were pervasive and unrelenting. Ngati Toa Rangatira’s economic power was ruined. Ngati Toa Rangatira’s political power was devastated. Ngati Toa Rangatira people were left virtually landless, without reserves or endowments. All those things that the Crown has taken from the people of Ngati Toa Rangatira can never be replaced, and yet they honour the Crown today with their generosity and their willingness to settle their historical grievances.

Most people have heard of the former whakatauākī “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata”—what is the greatest thing of all? It is people, it is people, it is people. New Zealanders often ponder about what things best define us in this country: our mountains, our artists, our rugby. But without someone to climb the mountain, without someone to write the book, without an incredible captain to lead that team, and without people we have nothing to define us.

The greatest thing of all about New Zealand is our people. It is our people, it is our people. They are fearless, ingenious, and straight-up. These are some of the words that help explain our No. 8 wire mentality. So it is not surprising that, before anyone else, our ancestors went where no man or woman had gone before, conquering one-third of the surface of this planet as we migrated south from island to island, writing a final chapter of human exploration and settlement. It is not surprising that the guy who decided to knock the bugger off and climb the tallest mountain on earth was from Tuakau. It is not surprising that the most successful sports team on the planet wears black jerseys.

When it comes to a unique defining cultural symbol that sets New Zealand out from the rest of the world, it is not surprising that the rest of the world thinks of one word: haka. And it is not surprising that the haka New Zealanders know and are known for above all others is a haka like no other. It is a triumphant, defiant celebration of life over death: Ka mate, ka mate ka ora, ka ora! Ka mate, ka mate ka ora, ka ora! It was composed by the warrior chieftain Te Rauparaha as he cheated death. Years later the words of Te Rauparaha resound through the generations. His words have come to define the human spirit: fearless, ingenious, straight-up. The haka Ka Mate is our most powerful icon and symbol of New Zealand’s most favourite pastime of punching above our own weight. Nearly 200 years later the words of Te Rauparaha resound through the generations.

From this day on the Crown acknowledges and recognises the significance of Ka Mate as a taonga, as an integral part of the history, culture, and identity of Ngati Toa Rangatira. I am proud to be part of a Government that honours, respects, and recognises the whakapapa of Ka Mate. Nā tēnei mahi, ka whakamanahia tētahi taonga Māori, ka whakamanahia te hītori o tātou ngāi Māori. He mea tuatahi tēnei ki ōku whakaaro nā te mea, ka haere ā tātou tamariki ki te kura, kāre he hītori Māori kei roto i ngā kura. Kāre rātou e whakaako i ēnei hītori i mua i te taenga mai o te Pākehā. Nā reira, nā tēnei haka, e whakaarahi te huarahi. Nā reira, kei te mihi atu ki a koutou mō tēnei taonga, Ngati Toa Rangatira.

[As a consequence of this work, a Māori heirloom and our Māori history will be enshrined in law. To my understanding, this is a first, because when our children went to school, there was not any Māori history in schools. They did not learn about these histories prior to the arrival of non-Māori. This posture dance will therefore lead the way. And so I thank you for these treasures, Ngati Toa Rangatira.]

What pleases me is not just the haka, its significance, and the place and the role it is playing in terms of putting our history back where it should be and inviting something that we have just started to embark on; it is putting our history into schools so the children can learn who we are, what mana whenua is, and the long history that goes back to the settling of islands in the Pacific Ocean right to this day. But as far as the haka is concerned, what pleases me is the impetus in this bill, the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, for those who perform Ka Mate to do it properly. In the immortal words of the great All Black captain Buck Shelford, who helped resurrect the correct performance of Ka Mate: “Do the fucking thing right or don’t do it at all.”

I am proud to be part of a Government that today stands alongside the whānau o Ngati Toa Rangatira. Today we resolve historical grievances with honour, with mana, and with the generosity of the sons and daughters of Hoturoa. From the house of Toa Rangatira to the New Zealand House of Representatives, it is a great day. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Ngati Toa Rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. E aku mātua, e aku whanaunga whakatau mai, whakatau mai, whakatau mai. Whakatau mai ki te Whare Paremata e takatū nei. Āpiti hono, tātai hono, ko te hunga wairua ki a rātou, āpiti hono, tātai hono ko te hunga ora ki a tātou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Greetings, Mr Deputy Speaker. Greetings to you Ngati Toa Rangatira, acknowledgments and salutations to you all. Welcome, welcome, and welcome to my elders and relatives. Welcome to Parliament House standing here in readiness. The lines of the spirits are joined to allow them to rest there among their own while the lines that join us the living allow us to live here among ourselves. And so salutations, greetings, and acknowledgments to you and to us all.]

Let me start with a well-known pepeha of Ngati Toa. Ko Ngati Toa te tuatahi, ko Ngāti Kōata te tuarua, ko Ngāti Rārua te tuatoru.

[Ngati Toa is first, Ngāti Kōata is second, and Ngāti Rārua is third.]

This pepeha is to denote the mana of Ngati Toa and their two allies of Kōata and Rārua. It is a historical link to the way things were in the past, when Ngati Toa had to explain to the Crown their relationship to the land and hapū of Te Tau Ihu. We all know that they have all advanced to be the iwi that they are today, but that is the historical link.

With that in mind, let me declare my own personal stake in the history of Ngati Toa. Anyone who knows my family’s history will know me as a Poutini Ngāi Tahu, but not many people know the connection to Ngati Toa through my ancestor Niho, who was a chief of Ngāti Rārua and who, along with the other chiefs of the invading alliance of Ngati Toa, Ngāti Kōata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, and Te Ātiawa, crossed Raukawa Moana and fought with local Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa, and Rangitāne. From Te Tau Ihu, my ancestor pushed through the West Coast making war and searching for the highly prized pounamu.

My Kai Tahu ancestor Tūhuru was a clever man, and in an effort to protect his people he took the prudent step of negotiating a peace deal with the Ngāti Rārua by offering his daughter Nihorere as a wife for Niho. This was accepted, and so Tūhuru and his family spent 5 years at Tai Tapu as guests of Niho and the Ngāti Rārua. The particular branch of the union of Tūhuru’s daughter Nihorere to Niho are known as a takawaenga family, which, in times of raru, was used to remind the tribes of Poutini Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Rārua of that shared history.

If 6 February 1840 is this nation’s birth date, then the events of 1839 must surely be the conception and gestation period of our country. Before the Treaty and Governor Hobson, New Zealand was a lawless land with no real civil law and definitely no land courts. The country and its tangata whenua were susceptible to unscrupulous land deals. The arrival of the New Zealand Company in 1839 is the crux of the troubles in Te Tau Ihu.

In 1839 Ngati Toa were a powerful tribe situated on the northern side of Raukawa Moana, who also had interests in Te Tau Ihu. Ngati Toa signed the Kāpiti deed, which purportedly gave up their interests in 20 million acres between Taranaki and North Canterbury. The oral translation of the English deed did not convey its meaning and effect. More misunderstandings and shady deals were to occur: 1843 and the Wairau affair, Te Rangihaeta’s rebellion in the Hutt Valley in 1845 and eventual exile to Poroutāwhao, and Te Rauparaha’s illegal arrest and detention in 1846.

The arrest of Te Rauparaha was a master stroke for Governor Grey and the Crown. It was totally illegal and on trumped-up charges. Grey used the detention of Te Rauparaha as leverage to wrest land from the Ngati Toa estate. The remaining chiefs of Ngati Toa had little option but to offer up land at Porirua and Wairau and to have reserves set aside. Ngati Toa had interests at Port Nicholson, Wairau, and Whakatū, but their interests were not acknowledged in the likes of the Wellington Tenths and the Nelson Tenths. There were further, more modern-day mamae to add to the list of grievances. In 1948 and 1960 the Public Works Act stole hundreds of acres of land from families to build housing. Some of that land has never been used but is now tied up in the Crown’s hands.

In the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill the Crown will apologise to Ngati Toa for its failure to uphold the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, apologise for Te Rauparaha’s illegal detention, and apologise for pressuring other chiefs of Ngati Toa to sign away the land in return for Te Rauparaha’s release. It will also apologise for failing to ensure that Ngati Toa retained sufficient land for their future needs. There are deeds of recognition and overlay classifications acknowledging areas of significance and association: Kāpiti Island, The Brothers, Thoms Rock, and the Wairau Lagoon, to name a few. There is, of course, also cultural, commercial, and financial redress.

There are many people who have helped to advance this claim to where we are today, but I would particularly like to acknowledge Tiratū Williams, who is the last of the original claimants for Ngati Toa and who, I understand, is in the gallery today.

I would like to move on to the haka. The Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill has been put in place so as to acknowledge Te Rauparaha, the composer of the haka, and Ngati Toa’s guardianship, or kaitiakitanga, of this taonga. The bill sets guidelines on how this haka can and should be used in a commercial and non-commercial world.

This haka, Ka Mate, is by default this country’s national haka. It is the first haka to be taught to children of school age. It is the first haka I was taught. I remember, when we first moved up from the South Island to Wellington, my father taking me out to Takapūwāhia, where Mark Metekīngi taught me as a 5-year-old. It is the haka of our national rugby team and of our Olympic and Commonwealth Games representatives. Other national sporting teams have used it at an international level. The haka has reverberated around the battlefields of the world not just during the Māori, civil, and land wars but also in places like Gallipoli and North Africa during World War I and World War II, and even in more modern theatres such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been performed by ordinary Kiwis doing their OEs, sometimes in a drunken manner, and it has even been performed—poorly, I might say—by British pop stars.

But when I think of this mighty haka and I think of my whanaunga of Ngati Toa, what I think about is running up and down the basketball court with Taku Pārai and Donal Wineera, waiting for that pass so I could get the easy layup. I will tell you, it rarely came. It is hard to get a ball off a Ngati Toa hoopster, even if you are on their team.

This haka also reminds me of one of Ngati Toa’s greatest living exponents of the haka, none other than Uncle Nelson Solomon—surely one of this country’s greatest storytellers, truthful or not. Kia ora, Uncle. Uncle Nelson told me one night after a few drinks in Nelson of his exploits on the basketball court and how he and John Arthur were the best point and shooting guard combo that Ngati Toa had ever seen. He then reminded me of it again on the drive from Whakatū over to Waikawa, just to reinforce the point. When I think of the haka, I am reminded of the basketball mates I ran with back in the day, whether we were on the same team or playing against each other. I think of names such as Pārai, Wineera, Hippolite, Solomon, Kimi, and Parata. Let us not forget the Katenes, and I acknowledge Rahui Katene—it is wonderful that you are here—and the Arthurs, the Kohe Loves, and the Metekīngis. I would like to thank the many families of Ngati Toa that allowed Taku and Donal and some of the other whānau to join the Rātana Church, even if it was only for one midweek basketball game.

When I think of these wonderful people, I think about the everyday use of the haka—how it is performed every day by Ngati Toa at births, deaths, marriages, and 21st birthdays. If there is a meeting of Ngati Toa anywhere in this country or anywhere in the world, you can guarantee there will be a stirring performance of Te Rauparaha’s famous composition at the end of the speeches. Today the descendants of Te Rauparaha and Ngati Toa are here, and once the debate is finished I am sure we will be treated to a very special extended version of their, and this country’s, most famous haka. I commend these bills to the House. Kia ora anō tātou.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā rangatira, e ngā iwi e huihui nei, tēnā koutou. Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Whare Pāremata, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[To the authorities, voices, leaders, and tribes assembled here, greetings to you. Welcome to Parliament House, welcome. Salutations, acknowledgments, and congratulations to you all.]

It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of the Greens on these bills, the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill and the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, not just because this is the most positive experience of Parliament that I have ever had but also because for me personally, as I said in my first speech on the omnibus legislation, I whakapapa to the great warrior Te Rauparaha through his mother, Parekōhatu, and the Raukawa line. So I am grateful to have the opportunity, in my privileged position as an MP, to read the true histories of Aotearoa through these settlement deeds.

The story of Ngati Toa Rangatira is perhaps one that is more widely known than for most iwi, due to the famous ancestor Te Rauparaha and his fierce reputation as a warrior, and, of course, for his role as the composer of the haka Ka Mate. I note that as part of the settlement outlined in the claims legislation, the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill will also be passed today, to ensure that the intellectual property rights of the iwi are acknowledged and that the haka is recognised as a taonga belonging to Ngati Toa Rangatira and their ancestor Te Rauparaha as the composer, whenever their haka is performed.

The legislation has taken a long time to get to this House. The deed of settlement was signed in 2012. However, the legal action goes right back to the actions of the New Zealand Company in the 1830s, when the first dodgy dealings with that company resulted in the first large tracts of land in the South Island being alienated. Given their warlike nature, there is no way that Ngati Toa Rangatira were ever going to relinquish their landholdings without a fight. There have been many over the generations who have carried on that fight. The original claims for this settlement were made in 1986, and I want to also acknowledge the kuia Tiratū Williams, up in the gallery today, and also acknowledge those who have passed on—the other 13 claimants. It has taken 28 years to get to this place.

The settlement relates to the gradual alienation of nearly all of the original 4 million hectares that were in Ngati Toa Rangatira’s area of interest. That interest includes both the lower part of the North Island and the top of the South Island. It goes from the Rangitīkei in the north and includes the Kāpiti coast, Hutt Valley, and Wellington areas, as well as Kāpiti Island and Mana Island. It includes large areas of the Marlborough Sounds and much of the northern South Island. How Ngati Toa were alienated from that land is outlined in the legislation, in the deed of settlement. The methods used include the dodgy land sales, war, duress, the Crown awarding land to individual Māori, and exclusion. These tactics were used with many iwi across Aotearoa in the land-grabs of the 1800s. I use the term “duress”, in this case, to describe the dubious land sales that occurred while Te Rauparaha was being illegally detained by the Crown for 18 months and his nephew, the leader Te Rangihaeata, was in exile in the Horowhenua.

In this settlement, for the first time the Crown apologises for that wrongdoing, and I am going quote from the settlement deed the apology. It says: “The Crown unreservedly apologises for the breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi … and its principles which have hurt and caused prejudice to Ngati Toa Rangatira. The Crown is deeply sorry for its actions that intentionally undermined the mana and rangatiratanga of leading Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs. In particular the Crown apologies for its indefinite detention of Te Rauparaha, and deeply regrets that it has failed, until now, to acknowledge this injustice in an appropriate manner.” In light of the huge land losses and the loss of resources that Ngati Toa Rangatira had once utilised, like the whaling industry and the flax trade, the compensation package is modest, and that is also acknowledged in the settlement. The financial and commercial redress is about $72 million, and some of that is tagged for express purposes. By accepting this, Ngati Toa Rangatira are being generous.

They are generous with the cultural redress package as well. Ngati Toa Rangatira will have 20 sites vested in them, with another three sites that will be jointly vested with other iwi from Te Tau Ihu. That means that public access and conservation values will be maintained. In total, the amount of land comes to about 267 hectares, and I note that the area of occupation—the area that was originally occupied by Ngati Toa—was estimated at about 2 million hectares. Kāpiti Island will symbolically be vested in the iwi and then they will return it to the Crown after 10 days. They will return it to the people of New Zealand, and the iwi will work alongside others to develop the management plans for, and conservation of, that area. This is incredibly generous—to receive their rightful land and then to give it to the people of New Zealand.

I am mindful that with many settlements that come before the House, there is a lack of public understanding about the history—the history of the iwi and the breaches of Treaty of Waitangi that they have suffered. I am mindful also that this bill attempts to address some of them. Too often we hear, when these settlements are published, the racist comments that this is part of a gravy train. Whenever I hear that, I am enraged. We must do more to educate the people, and I support the Hon Pita Sharples in that call.

The Greens’ position is—and I must make this point—that this is not a full and final settlement, and we will say this in every speech on every settlement bill. Undoubtedly, the journey to this day has been hard-won and it should be celebrated. I want to acknowledge the Treaty negotiation team, who must be congratulated on the intricacies of the settlement and how they have maintained a delicate balance between overlapping claims and those different from others. But our stance stems from the fact that this is the best the iwi could possibly get at this time but the compensation, of course, is not full, and that is acknowledged. We do not believe it is final because we do not know yet how these historical claims will impact on the generations of Ngati Toa Rangatira yet to come.

One thing is for sure, though. Undoubtedly, Ngati Toa Rangatira will be on a surer economic footing as a result of this settlement and they can chart a future for their rangatahi and whānau. This is a day to celebrate. We offer our congratulations to Ngati Toa Rangatira and every success. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Te mea tuatahi, anei taku mihi ki a Ngati Toa Rangatira, tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou, a koutou i haere mai nei i tēnei rā, te rā whakahirahira mō koutou, mō mātou nō reira, tēnā koutou katoa.

[The first thing is my tribute to Ngati Toa Rangatira, congratulations. Acknowledgments to you and to those who came today on this important day for you and for us all. So well done to you all.]

There have been several platitudes offered up to various people. I want to start by saying that my cousin Shane Jones continues to give great speeches, continues to tell a story in his way and as only he can. I could listen to Shane all day, apart from when he talks politics. But I do want to make particular mention to—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: The feeling’s probably mutual.

Sorry?

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: The feeling’s probably mutual.

That is most probably right. I want to pay particular respects to a person who is not here now, and that is Pātariki Rei. I do remember when I became a member of Parliament having a couple of hui with him. I was astounded to find out that he has a Ngāpuhi link, like most of the country, and that is through Matauri Bay and through our tupuna Tametame. Ngā mihi nunui ki a ia, ki a koe Matiu.

[Huge greetings to him and to you, Matiu.]

If you read various Treaty settlement pieces of legislation, you will find that over a very, very short period, people starting out with thousands upon thousands of acres, a people with their own economy, a people who were highly regarded for their exploits, became landless. In this particular case, over a 20-year period from 1840 to 1860 you have what could only be classed as theft and genocide and all sorts of words that we are wont to use these days. In a matter of less than 100 years they became as other iwi have become, and that is landless. When you take that land away, you take away a whole part of a people.

I want to talk about the attribution of Ka Mate. When the bill was introduced to the House and it was called the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, I did not know what that word “attribution” meant. I am only from Ōtara. I am not a university graduate. So I looked it up. I looked up the word “attribution”. There is a whole whakapapa of this word “attribution”. Back in the day in England there was a kawa, a kaupapa, a way of doing things in the pub. If you did not have any money on you, you could go in and you could get a piece of chalk and put down on a slate what you were drinking. That is where the terms “chalk it up” and “put it on the slate” come from, as some of us have been wont to do over the years.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: In the back room here.

In the back room here. But that is what attribution means. So we can chalk this haka up to Ngati Toa and Te Rauparaha. The first time I came across Te Rauparaha was when I was a kid at Hillary College. Bill Tāwhai was our Māori teacher. We got to know about who composed the haka. We got to know about who Ngati Toa Rangatira were and are. I will always doff my cap to Bill Tāwhai for being the sort of teacher whom New Zealand deserved, then and now.

I do want to say this, though, which is that we should not on these occasions miss the opportunity to talk about those sorts of people—you know, Te Rauparaha, Kawiti, Pōtatau; all the big names of our past, all the big players on the stage that was Māoridom—and to take up the challenge that the Minister of Māori Affairs has talked about today about our education system. It is now time, when this country has moved on so much, that we should make our history part of the curriculum.

I make this plea: that the next Government, whomever it may be, seriously investigates and puts into practice what most other countries do anyway—that is, have our own history as a particular subject in our schools, primary, intermediate, and college. We need to call it New Zealand history and talk about it all—not just the nice bits but everything. You know, you cannot have war without another side. In the Wairau affair, you could not have had a Wairau affair with one person—you know, you cannot have an affair with one person, anyway.

💬 Hon Chester Borrows: Oh, you can.

Well, you could, I suppose, if you think about it. But with the Wairau affair, when the Māori Affairs Committee went to the South Island to hear submissions, we heard about this, that, and the other thing and about how terrible it was. We heard the Māori history. Let us not forget that there were a couple of dozen European settlers who perished and died in the affray—in the affair. We should not be shy to talk about the whole, rather than the part, of our history. So I do make that plea: that wherever we go, when we are talking about Te Rauparaha, we do not see him as only a composer, because there had to be an affair. There had to be a reason for—and I am not saying that the Wairau affair led up to the haka, but there has to be something that leads a man like that, or any person, to compose a verse that explains their situation. So we should not be scared of, or be shy about, talking about the whole, rather than just the part.

In this House, Thursdays are becoming the day when we talk about New Zealand’s history. Like I said before, I make a passionate plea for the next Minister of Education, whomever they may be—Chester? I make the plea that that is one of the first things we do.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Hey, Tau.

Hi, Trevor. I want that to be one of the first things they do, because, I tell you what, it will bring our nation closer together, just as the passage of these bills brings the nation closer together. Hoi anō, taku mihi ki a koutou katoa e aku rangatira, e aku kaumātua, e aku kuia, tēnā koutou katoa.

[So congratulations to you all my leaders, elderly men and womenfolk. Thank you all.]

Tuatahi, tēnei ka tāpiri atu aku mihi ki a koutou katoa e uru mai nei ki roto i tēnei tō koutou nei Whare ki te whakarongo ki tēnei āhuatanga, te whakaturengia ā koutou kaupapa i mua i te aroaro o te Pāremata nō reira, ki a koutou katoa, tēnā koutou. Me tuku mihi ki a koutou ngā whanaunga o Ngāti Toa. I kite i a koe taku kaumātua, iwi, kōrua ko Matiu, nei te mihi maioha ki a koutou e kawea nei ēnei kaupapa i tēnei wā.

[Firstly, I add my tributes to you all who have entered this House of yours to listen to this situation that relates to the enshrinement of your matters into law, which you have placed before Parliament, so congratulations to you all. I must acknowledge your presence, the relatives of Ngati Toa, both yours and my elder, Matiu. Fond greetings to you collectively who brought these matters forth at this point in time.]

It gives me great pleasure to be able to support the third and final reading of the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill and the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill. With that, as members in the House have reflected on history, it is an opportunity for each member who has participated in the Māori Affairs Committee to reflect on their connection in some way to what has been considered at the select committee with the passage and consideration of each Treaty settlement. In this particular regard, I reflect on my own history and connection. In some humble way I consider that as I have grown up from childhood and tried to pursue and find out more and more about who I am, I cannot get away from the matrix of histories of our people within the Tainui waka region.

With that said, there are stories that you grow up with that are a part, I guess, of your identity and how you relate to people and places and events. You cannot grow up within the Tainui waka region without hearing about Te Rauparaha, whether it is his exploits as a mature man and his fighting prowess, or the nature of his departure from Kāwhia, or his illustrious birth and the significance of what the old people at that time had seen in the marriage that took place between Te Rauparaha’s parents, but, more important, the intent with which Te Rauparaha was raised and things that were foretold of his lifetime.

I reflect on my Maniapoto connection. Again, as I grew up, I heard about this man Te Rauparaha, who was strong, and when he departed from Kāwhia, all through Ngāti Māhuta, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa, and right down to Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa ki Te Tonga—all the way down to the top of the south—you will hear a number of stories from families who recount how their tūpuna joined the heke, then connecting them to the exploits, the rampage, or however you would like to refer to it, but they were significant, from Kāwhia all the way down the North Island and into the South Island.

With some pride and trepidation I think to myself that Te Rauparaha has left more than a footprint, but a legacy, and it goes beyond Ka Mate. But the fact that Ka Mate is now reflected on by Māori and Pākehā alike, within New Zealand and outside of New Zealand, in our kōhanga reo, in our schools, and in our universities, certainly strengthens the way in which our stories and our connections can be told and retold. Many members have made the point better than I can, but I certainly want to recognise that.

For the purposes of this third reading debate, I want to set on record the apology of the Crown to Ngati Toa Rangatira, so that when their children come back to reflect on what their parents and grandparents did to settle, they will see why it was so important. Clause 426 of the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill reads: “The text of the apology set out in the deed of settlement is as follows: (1) The Crown recognises that a number of Ngati Toa Rangatira, including Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The Crown profoundly regrets that it has not always lived up to its obligations to Ngati Toa Rangatira under Te Tiriti o Waitangi … Accordingly, the Crown makes this apology to Ngati Toa Rangatira, to their ancestors, and to their descendants. (2) The Crown unreservedly apologises for the breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi … and its principles which have hurt and caused prejudice to Ngati Toa Rangatira. The Crown is deeply sorry for its actions that intentionally undermined the mana and rangatiratanga of leading Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs. In particular the Crown apologises for its indefinite detention of Te Rauparaha, and deeply regrets that it has failed, until now, to acknowledge this injustice in an appropriate manner. (3) The Crown profoundly regrets and apologises for its actions that left Ngati Toa Rangatira with few landholdings by 1865, and its ongoing failure to protect their remaining landholdings, which has left Ngati Toa Rangatira virtually landless and unable to access customary resources and significant sites. (4) The Crown deeply regrets the cumulative effect of its actions and omissions which severely damaged Ngati Toa Rangatira social and traditional tribal structures, their autonomy and ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities, their capacity for economic and social development, and physical, cultural, and spiritual well-being. (5) With this apology and settlement the Crown seeks to atone for these wrongs, restore its tarnished honour and begin the process of healing. The Crown hopes that this apology and settlement will mark the beginning of a new, positive, and enduring relationship with Ngati Toa Rangatira founded on mutual trust and co-operation and respect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi … and its principles.”

I set this on the record for the future generations of Ngati Toa Rangatira, to ensure that a Treaty settlement can be durable to the aspirations of their grandparents, their parents, their tūpuna, in coming to this day. I also set this on record as an opportunity for those members of Parliament who will often listen to these debates but not really grab the full intent of them, to know that the significance of a Crown apology can be huge—both reflective but prospective, when we think about how to make the settlement work and evolve in the way that it was intended to.

Coming to the substance of the bill, I had a look at the statutory areas that are included. It should be noted that there are a significant number of areas where statutory acknowledgments are made but, more important, where they intersect with local government, with the Resource Management Act, and with the Conservation Act. This is a real opportunity to evolve the settlement into a different working relationship. Some of that has already taken place. It has not needed to wait until the settlement to secure that. However, with statutory acknowledgments, the ongoing commitment of various local councils to improve their relationships with Ngati Toa Rangatira in relation to these sites will be greatly enhanced. I need only look at the Pāuatahanui Wildlife Reserve, Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoroa in the Nelson Lakes, the Wairau Pā—these are but some of those particular areas. The other unique part of the settlement is the ngā paihau sites, and there are three of them—Kāpiti Island, The Brothers, and Wairau Lagoons. Importantly, it ensures that there is an opportunity in the ongoing management and setting of plans for these areas.

I have come to the end of my contribution, and I would really like to say at this point that if children in kōhanga reo today grow up learning Ka Mate and stand with pride in knowing who they are and where they come from, and can share a little bit of the history of what connects them to the leadership attributes of Te Rauparaha, or the places he has been or the exploits he has undertaken, then New Zealand is in good stead. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe. Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa te whānau o Ngati Toa Rangatira. Ka nui te aroha ki a koutou katoa.

[Thank you. Acknowledgments to you all the family of Ngati Toa Rangatira. There is much empathy to you all.]

On the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill and the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, I want to talk a little bit about the Māori Affairs Committee, which examined the bills and recommended that they be passed with some amendments. The intent of the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill is that Te Rauparaha must be identified as both the composer of the haka Ka Mate and a chief of Ngati Toa Rangatira, and that this obligation should apply whenever the haka Ka Mate is published commercially, communicated to the public, or features in a film that is shown in public or made available to the public. The committee recommended amending that clause to clarify exemptions to this obligation for educational purposes.

The Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill includes a summary of the agreed historical account, the Crown’s acknowledgments and apology, and the vesting of part of Mana Island and Kāpiti Island to Ngati Toa Rangatira, which will be gifted back to the people of Aotearoa New Zealand. It includes a poutiaki package over the Cook Strait, comprising a Crown acknowledgment of Ngati Toa’s role as kaitiaki of the coastal marine areas of the Cook Strait, Porirua Harbour, Port Underwood, and Pelorus Sound. It also includes the establishment of, and participation of Ngati Toa Rangitira in, a strategic advisory committee, which will be involved in the preparation of a conservation management plan for the management of Kāpiti Island Nature Reserve, to control and manage the Queen Elizabeth Park campground site, and a board to manage Whitireia Park.

In the commercial redress, there is the right to purchase Crown-owned properties on the settlement date, some for lease back to Crown agencies; the right of deferred selection to purchase specified Crown-owned properties for a 2-year period from the settlement date; and the right to purchase some Ministry of Education properties for a period of 10 years from the settlement date.

The Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill is a separate bill being read as a cognate bill with the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill. The bill provides an acknowledgment of the significance of the famous Ka Mate haka as a taonga of Ngati Toa Rangatira and as an integral part of the history, culture, and identity of Ngati Toa Rangatira. The values that Ngati Toa Rangatira seek to uphold are ihi, wehi, and wana—the ihi being the spiritual force, and the wehi and wana being the emotions that emanate from the performance and understanding of this haka. The bill provides Ngati Toa Rangatira with a right of attribution. This is a moral right rather than a commercial right.

The legislation will require the composer of the haka, Ngati Toa Rangatira chief Te Rauparaha, to be attributed in certain circumstances. What this means is that the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill will require people who use the haka in a commercial context—for example, on commercial products or in films for distribution—to acknowledge Te Rauparaha as the author. The requirement of the attribution does not apply to public performances—for example, by the All Blacks—or educational purposes. I commend these bills to the House.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā whānau o Ngati Toa, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. I am also aware that at Takapūwāhia Marae in Porirua many of the whānau have gathered to watch the proceedings in the House today. To all the whānau of Ngati Toa, I say congratulations. Congratulations on the third readings of your bills, the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Bill and the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill, which will provide, I guess, more assets for you to build on in terms of Ngati Toa moving into the future with confidence. So I congratulate you. I also want to thank you, particularly for the leadership of your tūpuna Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata. because when I look at your history, like all histories your journey began in 1839 when you signed the Kāpiti deed. By 1843 your rangatira were fighting for the rights of Ngati Toa. I think that warrior spirit has to be acknowledged because it is that fighting spirit that endures today when we look at the performance of our haka that our All Blacks, who define us internationally within a sporting context, perform. So I hope when you see that haka, when you look at the All Blacks, for you now and into the future it is about your rangatira Te Rauparaha, who has created that platform for us.

I note, however, that in the Haka Ka Mate Attribution Bill there is no copyright to the haka Ka Mate. This is a very unique part of this legislation, because you do have formal acknowledgment. But because it is not contained within the Copyright Act, there are no royalties. So I say thank you very much to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for that 5-year review, because that 5-year review enables Ngati Toa to actually look at how the haka is used and whether or not formal acknowledgment is sufficient into the future in terms of how the haka Ka Mate is used. In fact, it clarifies and confirms the Wai 262 report that said there should be controls on the use of the haka. So I think the position of Ngati Toa going forward in terms of the control of the haka Ka Mate is something that ultimately should be in your hands. I acknowledge the very special and significant attribution of the haka to Te Rauparaha and to Ngati Toa, and I look forward, as we move into the future, to the safeguarding of the haka in terms of Ngati Toatanga.

I want to acknowledge, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson, that you went to Ngāti Toa School in Tītahi Bay. I think it is special to acknowledge all the connections that we have. My role here today is to add support to our Labour voice. Our kaumātua, as I will call him, Shane Jones, kicked the proceedings off this morning. He and my colleagues Rino Tirikatene and Nanaia Mahuta sit on the Māori Affairs Committee. I was previously a member of the Māori Affairs Committee. I am no longer, but as a proud member of this House and of Māori whakapapa—Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Waikato—it is always a pleasure to participate in these Treaty settlement debates.

For all of us I think the resolution of our colonial history and the resolution of our truth and reconciliation process, as I call it, is incredibly significant. Always we pay tribute to the people who have gone before—our tūpuna who are not with us any more—and our tūpuna and our rangatira here today, who will ensure that as we move into the future we do so always with our heads held high. So I want to acknowledge all Ngati Toa who have been involved in getting you to where we are today, because, yes, the Crown is the partner that you have negotiated with to get to where we are today, but we have a lot of resources on our side. Always it is the fortitude, persistence, and steadfast commitment to making sure that we, as tangata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand, are for ever acknowledged as mana whenua, as tangata whenua. So these settlement bills are incredibly important in terms of moving forward as a nation.

I always like to look at either the statutory acknowledgments or the place names, and I see that within your legislation this settlement has provided for place name changes to 12 North Island sites and nine South Island sites. For me it is those names that actually mean a lot because they honour our tūpuna and they honour our specific relationships, so Ngati Toa’s relationship, to these geographical sites here in Aotearoa. For ever Ngati Toa’s footprint will be recorded formally within our country. The new geographic names are, for example, Taupō Point, Kapukapuariki Rocks, Mount Porirua, Haukopua Point, Motuhara Point, Te Ana-o-Hau, and Toka Potaka Rock. And there are altered names for Colonial Knob, which will be called Rangituhi; Goat Point, which will be called Tawhitikuri; Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour; Toka-a-Papa Reef; Te Rewarewa Point; Te Whanganui—with an “h”—which is to sit alongside Port Underwood; Te Hoiere, which is the Pelorus Sound and Pelorus River; Te Koko-o-Kupe, which is Cloudy Bay; Oraumoa, which is Fighting Bay; Pukatea, which is Whites Bay; Tokomaru, which is Mount Robertson; Waikutakuta, which is Robin Hood Bay; and Tōtaranui, which is Queen Charlotte Sound.

The significance of these renamings for Ngati Toa is incredibly important. It is incredibly important for us as a country as well. I will not contribute any more other than to again congratulate you on your Treaty settlement. I hope that in this process you have felt that there is a momentum within this House to settle these Treaty claims, and we move forward constructively in partnership with you. The statutory acknowledgments and the fact that you will have, for example, resource management governance authority over eight coastal sites and over 23 other sites means that for ever Ngati Toa will formally be part of the management and be the kaitiaki that you are of these sites. For me, that is the significance in terms of our acknowledgment of you as mana whenua, as first sovereigns, and the partnership opportunity that we have as a country going forward. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakahaere o tō tātou Whare, ā, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou huri noa i tō tātou Whare. Hoi anō ki a koutou Ngati Toa Rangatira, tēnā koutou. Ngā mihi nunui ki a koutou i hara mai i runga i tēnei rā tino whakahirahira mō koutou ēngari, mō ngā iwi katoa o Aotearoa, i a rātou e rapa ana te tutukitanga pai ō ngā hiahia, moemoeā, hara me ngā hapa. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ā, i runga anō i ngā tikanga o ngā tīpuna, ko te tikanga ko Toa Rangatira whenua, ko Toa Rangatira moana, ko Toa Rangatira taonga, ko Toa Rangatira mana, ā, ko Toa Rangatira tāngata, whānau, hapū, iwi. I runga i tērā, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou e waha nei i tēnei kaupapa mō tētahi wā roa. Kātahi anō ka tae ki te wā ka kite ā ākuni ka mutu, ka taea e koutou te whakapakari i ngā āhuatanga e tino pīrangitia ana e koutou kei roto i tō iwi, kei roto i tō kāinga.

Nō reira, ngā mihi nui, me ngā kanohi kei te mōhio ahau, ā, ngā kanohi kāre i te mōhio. Ēngari, i raro i te iwi, te mana o Toa Rangatira, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Greetings to you, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson of our House, and to us all collectively throughout our House. Accordingly, salutations to you collectively Ngati Toa Rangatira. Huge acknowledgments to you who have come on this very important day—for you but for all tribes of New Zealand as they seek the accomplishment of aspirations, dreams, transgressions, and redress. And so acknowledgments, salutations, and congratulations to you all.

As with the custom of the ancestors, recognition is accorded to the land, sea, heirlooms, and authority of Toa Rangatira, and to the people, families, subtribes, and tribe of Toa Rangatira. A massive tribute to you collectively for bearing this matter upon yourselves for such a long time. At last it has reached the stage when an end can be seen as to whether you will be able to strengthen features that you have really desired for within your tribe and homeland.

Therefore, a huge tribute to you collectively, and to the faces within you whom I recognise as well as the unfamiliar ones. Furthermore, and under the status and tribe of Toa Rangatira, I salute you all.]

Good morning. It is wonderful to be able to have the opportunity to take a call to recognise the stage at which this long kaupapa has finally arrived, and to be able to see this part of the process of redress and of settlement imminently reaching this final stage, so that you might be able to move forward into the future of your making, having had recognised the historical breaches and grievances and the effect they have had on Ngati Toa Rangatira, with the opportunity to reshape the future in the way that you wish to for your people, for your uri whakaheke, and for the generations that are to come.

It is always a delight to be in the House when these Treaty settlement bills are being debated. For a start, they are debated as a Parliament because these are settlements between the Crown and iwi, not the Government of the day and iwi. They are intended to be enduring, to be sustainable over time, and it is wonderful to be able to share in this unusual experience, as a Parliament, of celebrating as one the work that has been done and the opportunity to see a strengthened New Zealand as a result of the particular parts that you will choose to play, based on the settlement of your claim.

Can I acknowledge, therefore, you and your negotiators. We are very much aware from our experience of other Treaty settlements that have gone on for quite some time how much of a toll they take on the people, how much times passes, how many of your kaumātua, kuia, and pakeke pass away during the course of these negotiations, and how taumaha this can be, although you will be able to see the light when it lifts. So we recognise that. Certainly our Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Christopher Finlayson, has since he became that Minister. He may well have told you, and it is true. I can attest to it from before we even came into Parliament.

It has been an absolute mission for him as Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to ensure that these claims are approached with respect, seriousness, and comprehensiveness, but also are settled as quickly as possible so that you and the Crown might move on from a particular time in our history to a better place in our future. So, having acknowledged all of you, can I acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. He has worked hard not only on this settlement but, I think close to 50 settlements in the time he has been the Minister. He approaches that with seriousness and with commitment to all of the work and to that principle and practice of all iwi, kanohi kitea. He is one Minister who travels to know whom he is dealing with and to understand face to face what their concerns are, what the issues are, and how important the relationship is. He has been very involved in the appointment of the Crown negotiators—and I notice that we have the Hon Paul Swain and others in the House today—to ensure that the settlement can be conducted with dispatch but also with respect. He has been a tireless and committed Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and I acknowledge him for that work.

Can I also acknowledge our Māori Affairs Committee for the work it does. It is often unsung and unseen, but it is the absolute glue that makes these settlements possible. My friend and colleague Tau Henare has chaired that committee and has got through a huge amount of work, not only paperwork but hearings and travel around the country, going to the places that settlements require going to—in your case to the top of the South Island as well as just out to Mana Island. The Hon Tau Henare chairs that committee in his own inimitable fashion, as he does everything else in this House. He brings fire, humour, and passion to all he undertakes, and I think it is important in that role as chair of the Māori Affairs Committee that that be the case—that the full emotional range can be expressed and experienced by all of us. I think he chairs and leads that work with great style, commitment, and passion.

He also oversees a group of members of Parliament who are equally committed to getting this right, to getting your settlement to the place you are comfortable with, and that is why we have seen some changes and refinements both in the name of the bill and in the substance of the bill. The point of the select committee process is to put in front of you what it is that we think we have reached agreement on, and also to use that process to refine the detail, and that detail has been refined.

One of the things that, having grown up in Ngati Porou, I have been very conscious about is haka taparahi. Therefore, I am absolutely delighted that your haka, which you have allowed to become part of our haka not just here in New Zealand but overseas, is being legislated for to reflect its composer, Te Rauparaha. It reflects that time in history and its continuing significance not only to you as the direct descendants and how you carry that on into the future but to all of us who have had the privilege and the ihi and the wehi of experiencing and participating in Ka Mate, as we go through our primary school days into our secondary school days and, indeed, into our history. It is the experience of what it means both here and in the reflection of your ancestor—and, may I say, Te Rauparaha is a very striking figure in all Māori and New Zealand history in the kinds of events and activities that he led.

In more modern times the reflection of that in Porirua is the great Te Rauparaha Arena, which continues to draw people not only from the local community but from all over the country. Can I acknowledge Ngati Toa not only for this particular process but for the leadership you show through Porirua and up the Kāpiti coast into Paraparaumu. You have been an iwi that saw early the opportunity, the potential, and, actually, the responsibility of working with your local government as well as with central government. You have understood and carried out the responsibilities of governance beyond your iwi about how, together with the mayor and council of Porirua, we make the places we live in and the everyday operations better for all citizens of that area.

My colleague Kris Faafoi and I together benefit from Ngati Toa not only by your participation in governance but in the cultural authenticity that you bring to every event that occurs in Porirua and on the Kāpiti coast. That itself sits as a model for the rest of New Zealand. The debate goes on as to whether Māori representation should be legislated for or not, but you just get on with it and participate in that representation, and the greater Porirua area is all the better for it. As my colleague Louisa Wall has already indicated—I am afraid I have not heard all the other previous speeches—the fact that the cultural names of the places that are important and of significance and tell a story for the community will be restored to that community is also a gift, a contribution, and a cultural enrichment that you make to our places. Your ability to commercially participate in and grow the local, regional, and national economies is another contribution for which we thank you. We look forward to its growth not only for the local people of the rohe of Ngati Toa but for all New Zealanders. Nō reira, i runga i ērā kōrero poto noa iho, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou, Ngati Toa Rangatira. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Kia ora.

[And so my huge compliments to you Ngati Toa Rangatira upon those somewhat brief comments. Well done, well done, and congratulations to you all. Thank you.]

Bills read a third time.

I understand, honourable members, that permission has been given to Ngati Toa for a haka. Tēnā koutou e te Whare, e ngā iwi, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ngati Toa, the floor is yours.

Haka