Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill, Te Urewera Bill

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Tēnā koe. Kia ora tātou kua tae mai i tēnei ata. Reo Māori nei. I tēnei rangi kua tae mai a Ngāi Tūhoe, Mātaatua waka ki tēnei rangi whakahirahira. I roto i ngā tikanga o Te Ao Māori ko te mahi tuatahi, ko te tuku i ngā whakamoemiti, ka mutu ko te tuku i tētahi karakia hei wāwāhi i ngā kōrero. Ko tāku ko te pātai ki te Whare Pāremata nei kia tukuna te kupu tuatahi ki a Ngāi Tūhoe ki te tuku i tētahi karakia hei wāwāhi i ngā kōrero ka mutu, ka rere ngā kōrero. Koinei te inoi he pātai noa ake ki te Whare kia pērā rawa tātou.

[Greetings to us all who have arrived here this morning. I will speak in Māori. Ngāi Tūhoe and the canoe of Mātaatua have arrived here on this magnificent day today. In accordance with the protocols of Māoridom, the first thing to be done is to express praises and give thanks, and then a prayer is recited afterwards, to open up the speeches. I seek leave of the House to allow this to happen, and further seek that Ngāi Tūhoe conduct the first part and recite a prayer to open up the speeches, so that the debates can flow. This is simply what is being sought of the House—to enable us to follow that course of action.]

The best way we can handle this is that leave has been sought for a karakia by Ngāi Tūhoe before we proceed. I will put the leave. Is there anyone opposed to that course of action? There appears not. Leave is granted.

Karakia

I move, That the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill and the Te Urewera Bill be now read a third time. Tūhoe rohe, Tūhoe tangata, nau mai, hara mai. Haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. Nā koutou te kaha, te māia, ā, kua tutuki pai tēnei mahi nui, mahi whakahirahira. He rā nui tēnei mō koutou me ngā uri kei te haere mai, ā, mō tātou katoa. Rau rangatira mā huri noa i tēnei Whare, tēnei taku mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Welcome, the region and people of Tūhoe, welcome. Welcome to Parliament. The strength and confidence was yours, and, as a consequence, this significant and magnificent task was completed efficiently. This is an outstanding day for you collectively, for generations to come, and for us all. The esteemed of a hundredfold throughout this House, I commend, acknowledge, congratulate, and applaud you all.]

To all members of Ngāi Tūhoe watching this debate up and down the valleys of Te Urewera, in Waikaremoana, in Tāneatua, and other places, I send you my best wishes and the best wishes of the Crown. This is a significant day for Ngāi Tūhoe, for the Crown, and for this country. It is a significant day also for this House, for 118 years ago this House passed legislation that would have achieved a lot of what this legislation sets out to achieve had the Crown only lived up to its obligations. Today we revisit some of the very issues debated in this Chamber in September 1896.

We are debating two bills today. The Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill necessarily focuses on the past, and I encourage every New Zealander watching or listening to this debate to read clauses 9 and 10 of the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill. Clause 9 lists the Crown acknowledgments of past actions—some of the worst in our history. That clause will not make comfortable reading for any New Zealander. Clause 10 then enacts in statute an apology through which, as subclause (7) says, “The Crown hopes to build afresh its relationship with Tūhoe … for current and for future generations.” I will give the formal apology when I go to Tāneatua on 22 August.

I want, however, to concentrate my brief remarks this morning on the Te Urewera Bill, which sets out the arrangements for what is currently Te Urewera National Park. Tūhoe spent the 20th century essentially locked out of involvement in their own homeland. The promises made in the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 were never kept. That Act was never honoured, and was eventually repealed without any input from Ngāi Tūhoe. Then in 1954 the Crown made a unilateral declaration that Te Urewera was to become a national park. Today we begin to remedy that history. Te Urewera will no longer be a national park; instead, it will have its own legal identity. It reflects a Tūhoe view of Te Urewera as having an identity in its own right, not as a mere possession but a treasured place that requires respect and careful stewardship.

Te Urewera will be governed by a board formed of Crown and Tūhoe appointees. For the first 3 years, while that board establishes itself, it will consist of four members appointed by Tūhoe and four by the Crown. After 3 years the board will consist of six members appointed by Tūhoe and three by the Crown—a Tūhoe majority. There is nothing particularly novel in this arrangement. The commission set up under the 1896 Act consisted of seven commissioners—two Pākehā and five Tūhoe. The board will be required to act in the best interests of Te Urewera. It will develop and approve a management plan, make decisions on concessions and other permits, and undertake other statutory functions. It must at all times promote unanimous or consensus decision-making and the highest level of collaboration. Most important, the board will work to enhance Te Urewera as a place of outstanding natural, recreational, and cultural value—a place that can be enjoyed by everyone. Public access will be unaffected. Tūhoe has always welcomed visitors and I know they are looking forward to welcoming visitors to Te Urewera under these new arrangements.

I am going to leave it for other speakers to talk about some of the other detail of the legislation. I emphasise, moreover, that the redress proposed in this bill does not preclude any future redress that may be agreed with other iwi and hapū who have interests in Te Urewera. The Waitangi Tribunal has considered these issues and found this to be the case. I make this clear—indeed, I belabour the point—because some members of this House seem to be hopelessly misled on the matter. It is a pity that on a day like today we have to bother with some of the antics of those who like to twist a good news story to fit their own yearning for constant publicity.

As this is a third reading speech, I want to acknowledge a number of people whose contributions should be recorded in Hansard. First, I want to acknowledge Tāmati Kruger and Kirsti Luke. They are together a class act. They have done a great job for Ngāi Tūhoe. It has been an honour to work with them. I also acknowledge the other trustees. They have worked so very hard to hold the Crown accountable for its wrongs generations ago and to negotiate a just and durable settlement. I acknowledge the many kaumātua who are no longer with us for the role that they played over many years, keeping the fires burning for Ngāi Tūhoe, and for their repeated attempts to resolve issues with the Crown. I want to pay a very special tribute to my chief Crown negotiator, John Wood. Tim Groser said to me “If you want a good negotiator, go for John Wood.” and he has been a great negotiator. I also want to acknowledge Lil Anderson, Clinton Geeves, Rachel Houlbrooke, and all their colleagues at the Office of Treaty Settlements because their work has been outstanding. They are skilled and dedicated professionals.

I want to acknowledge the Māori Affairs Committee, so ably chaired by my friend and colleague Tau Henare. I also acknowledge Te Ururoa Flavell, a great MP and a good parliamentary friend of mine, who has always been there to give wise counsel at difficult times. I acknowledge the Rt Hon Jim Bolger, who is going to be a member of the board. I remember the late Dame Judith Binney and the late Sir Rodney Gallen. Both of them would have loved to be here today. Sir Rodney was for many years a judge of the High Court, but, more important than that, he was a great friend of Ngāi Tūhoe. I remember having lunch with him shortly before his death and he was emphatic. He said to me on more than one occasion: “The Crown has to settle with Ngāi Tūhoe.” Finally, I want to acknowledge my ministerial colleagues, particularly the Prime Minister, the Hon Bill English, the Hon Gerry Brownlee, and the Hon Nick Smith for all their support.

It takes political courage to do what we are doing today. This is indeed a momentous step, but what we are doing should not be surprising, because what we are doing is honouring a promise that lay unfulfilled throughout the 20th century. This is the second chance the Crown has to get this right. This time it must do so. It indeed has been a fascinating and absorbing negotiation. I remember going with Tim Groser, who was then the Minister of Conservation, and he and I were shown the Tūhoe rohe by Basil. I do not know whether Basil is here this morning. I send him my best wishes. We went from Ruātoki to Waikaremoana, looking at key sites. I remember a journalist asking me how many hectares I thought Tūhoe had lost over the years. I waffled because I was not sure, but I sure know now. That is why I am so convinced that this settlement is absolutely necessary for the country.

The legislation has its third readings today. Then in a few days it will go to the Governor-General to be signed into law. From the day this legislation comes into force, Tūhoe will play the leading role in the future of their homeland, Te Urewera. More than that, what this House does today will provide the foundation for a new relationship between the Crown and Ngāi Tūhoe—a relationship in which I hope we will together walk and work for our mutual honour, dignity, advantage, and progress. I commend the legislation to the House.

E ngā mana o ngā marae, ngā hapu o te rohe pōtae o Tūhoe tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou i raro i te tuanui o te Whare nei, me ngā pou kanohi i whakatau i ngā kaupapa e pa ana ki a tātou te iwi Māori. Ahakoa te roanga o ngā toimahatanga e pā ana ki a koutou, i ngā kaupapa Kāwanatanga, e ū tonu ana ki tērā ki te mana motuhake o te iwi Māori, ō koutou o Tūhoe. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[To the authorities of the marae and subtribal territories of Tūhoe, salutations to you collectively. Greetings to you beneath the roof of this House, and to fellow members who are the pillars within it and who determine matters relating to us, the Māori people. Despite protracted difficulties relating to you in terms of Government proposals, it is firmly fixed on that Māori autonomy of yours, Tūhoe. Well done and congratulations to you all.]

I proudly stand to support the third and final reading of bills divided from the Te Urewera-Tūhoe Bill. To the many Tūhoe gathered here today to witness a historic moment, I acknowledge you. I cannot help but be reminded that history has an uncanny way of repeating itself and at times correcting itself and past mistakes. I sense that this is one of those times. We debate this bill during the time of Matariki, a time that heralds the new season, and the end and the beginning of the new cycle. The passing of legislation for Tūhoe and Te Urewera settlements today cements an ambition to forge ahead and determine new prospects. We have come a long way from the scorched earth policies etched in the minds of those here today, yet as a nation, much of that story still remains hidden and only resurfaces on occasions, and reminds us that there is still so much more to do.

Te Paki o Matariki is the coat of arms for the Kīngitanga and asserts the ambition to strive for mana motuhake, an aspiration that Tūhoe has always maintained as germane to their expression of self—past, present, and future. This year marks the commemoration of 150 years since the New Zealand Wars, a cogent point in our country’s history that led to some of the bloodiest engagements between iwi and colonial forces. Māori nationalism was at the forefront of these engagements and the aspiration to hold on to our lands and continue to assert Māori authority was at its core. In remembering that history and asserting a new future, it serves as a timely reminder that Treaty settlements have a significant part to play in the reconciliation and redress for past wrongs and the way in which the Crown, on behalf of all New Zealanders, seeks a durable outcome. I want to acknowledge the Rt Hon Jim Bolger in the House today, who is listening to this, and who commenced some of that process—tēnā koe. This intent will be held to account over many generations, not simply by the words we say today but by the actions we undertake tomorrow and into the future as parliamentarians, as members of the Government, and as representatives of the Crown.

In the first reading debate I considered that many iwi would be looking to the provisions of the Urewera management over the national park as a precedent for their own conservation and natural heritage areas. But there is more to the reason why this arrangement was able to be achieved in such a significant way for the people of Tūhoe. Some of that has been commented on by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Chris Finlayson. Just before you get to the steps of Parliament, the imposing statue of Richard Seddon welcomes visitors on to the grounds of our Parliament, the same man who promised to Tūhoe a pact, following the incessant conflict between military forces and Tūhoe.

The late Judith Binney’s account states: “Seddon invited a Tūhoe delegation to Wellington in September 1895, when a new compact between the Crown and Tūhoe was forged. Tūhoe affirmed their acknowledgment of the Crown’s authority while the Crown acknowledged and agreed to respect the mana motuhake, or independent authority, of Tūhoe. This time the tribal protectorate was confirmed by legislation, the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896, or Te Ture Motuhake o Tūhoe.” I make comment about that because the significance of this occasion was marked back then by the gift of a taiaha from a renowned Tūhoe rangatira, Kererū, to Seddon. Binney notes that this gift was a symbolic affirmation of peace, in return for the recognition of Tūhoe mana motuhake over their lands. It appears to me that in part today makes good on something that occurred some many years prior, and I want to acknowledge that this is an important day for New Zealand as much as it is for Tūhoe.

I also want to recognise that the country is celebrating Te Reo Māori this week. Many Tūhoe educators have been instrumental over a long period of time to reaffirm Te Reo Māori in schools and in communities throughout the country and in our academic learning institutions. That remains the case today. It was not uncommon in my home town of Huntly during the 1980s that a whole lot of Waikato kids would be running around Rākaumanga school with a distinct Tūhoe dialect, thanks to Barna Heremia. Even when I got to university I remember fondly my lecturer Whaea Ani Black and her determination to encourage us, above all else: “me kōrero tō reo Māori”. People might appreciate how refreshing that was against the linguistic backdrop of Professor Bruce Biggs, who deconstructed the language to a sequential pattern that could be traced across the Pacific. Auē! Tēnā koe, Whaea Ani. So it is no surprise, to me, anyway, that the aspirations of the Tūhoe Education Authority are the culmination of an extensive contribution of Tūhoe to Te Reo Māori and mātauranga Māori over a long period of time.

My previous contributions to the debates on this particular settlement have been extensive, and I do not intend to repeat previous contributions. In summary, as a member of the Māori Affairs Committee, it was my privilege to consider the bill alongside other select committee members, well chaired by the Hon Tau Henare. It was painfully evident, similar to our experience back home, that the settlement has had its challenges, both internally and externally, but only time, understanding, intent, and a commitment to the future generations may soften some of that mamae that may still pervade. By and large, I sense a great deal of optimism. There has been a need to forge and reaffirm key relationships with bordering iwi; I consider the representations of Ngāti Ruapani and Te Ūpokorehe, and I just comment, again, that this matter requires ongoing vigilance—also Ngāti Manawa, actually, looking at the member.

Representation and governance for and by the people of Tūhoe—the Tūhoe way—can be assessed only by Tūhoe, nobody else. We all learn better from our own experiences and create our threshold of what best practice looks like. Once the settlement is reached and the new governance structure is in place and Tūhoe get on with their business, a great deal of many people would want to comment on how that is done. But, actually, it is up to Tūhoe to determine for them what is best for them. We should stay out of it. Attracting tribal members home to help might well be the consequence of such a significant settlement. It does come with a huge level of expectation of all your tribal members sitting outside your boundary, thinking “Gee, how can I help out? Auē! What if I get called back home?”. Our experience, if I can be so bold to share, is that no matter where our people reside and how they contribute throughout society in their different areas, putting their skills to the best possible use all helps to build the mana of the iwi. When they are called home, let us not put a greater expectation on our own tribal members than we do on anybody else. Sometimes we can be the worst critics of ourselves.

This settlement is the most significant since that of Ngāi Tahu and Waikato-Tainui. It is an opportunity for Tūhoe to look forward, holding on to what is uniquely Tūhoe and will never be lost, for the benefit of future generations of Tūhoe. I am so proud to be a small part in the cog of a wheel that can help this waka move further. I want to thank the negotiators who lucidly presented the full context of this settlement to the select committee—Tāmati Kruger and your team. I also want to thank the Crown negotiators for the way in which you addressed, with what appears to be a great deal of sincerity, the way in which this particular settlement hangs together. I thank the select committee staff for your perseverance with us as select committee members, answering our questions and finding the information before we got to the outcome. To our chair, Tau Henare, awesome, brother. Ka kite anō. I think what you allowed the select committee to do was pursue any line of questioning that could give us full satisfaction that we were attempting to make sure that this was a robust and well-thought-through marrying of the deed of settlement with the legislation. It is with some regret, I have to say, that we have not got unanimity in the House.

Finally, I want to recognise the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Minister Finlayson, you in your own speech have more than adequately outlined how important and unique this settlement is, and to have arrived at this point in time, I certainly commend you and the Government. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. Labour happily supports the third reading of this legislation.

Can I start by saying tēnā koutou to all the members of Tūhoe who are gathered here today. Can I acknowledge the Rt Hon Jim Bolger, former Prime Minister, and also His Worship the Mayor of Whakatāne, Tony Bonne, who is in the gallery.

This legislation arising from the Te Urewera-Tūhoe Bill has special significance for me as the member of Parliament for East Coast. It addresses some of the worst actions by the Crown in our history, and, in part, these events took place within the boundaries of the East Coast electorate. That boundary includes a large part of Te Urewera and other parts of the Tūhoe rohe, including the town of Tāneatua, where I attended the opening of Tūhoe’s impressive new ecological community centre and headquarters in March. It is also where the Crown will deliver its formal apology for the breaches of the Treaty that this legislation settles. We can already see the progress that Tūhoe is making in revitalising its community in Tāneatua. This bill sets the groundwork. The Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill provides commercial and financial redress to the iwi of $170 million. This will allow the iwi to develop a strong economic base and provide for more opportunities for their people. Importantly, Tūhoe’s leadership have made clear that they want those opportunities not just for Tūhoe currently in their rohe but also so that those who have left can come home.

In this Government we are all committed to regional development. We understand that the regions drive our economy, and Tūhoe’s attitude has been one of unwavering commitment to regional development literally from the ground up. Mana motuhake redress relates to improved relationships between Tūhoe and the Crown and the delivery of Government and iwi services to Tūhoe communities, and includes the Crown-Tūhoe relationship agreement signed in 2011, which provides the foundation for how Tūhoe and the Crown will work together. It includes the social service management plan, which governs the relationships with, and the management and delivery of services by, key Crown agencies and Tūhoe over the long term. The initial planning is for 5 years of the eventual 40-year period. It sets out how the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and three district health boards in the area will work with Tūhoe to address disadvantage and improve social outcomes in Te Urewera.

At the beginning of this process there were ill-founded fears in some corners that mana motuhake somehow means separatism, and that was, of course, never true. Throughout the negotiations in the passage of this legislation we have seen nothing except the growing of closer ties between Tūhoe and the rest of the community. At the March opening of that magnificent community centre and Tūhoe headquarters, which was a huge Eastern Bay of Plenty community event, we saw that relationship between Tūhoe and the community personified by the celebrations in which the locals took part, and that depicted, of course, the maturing relationship. I believe that this will be the legacy of the legislation we are debating today. It sets the scene for a new relationship between the Crown and Tūhoe, and clears the path for Tūhoe to contribute to the community and take an active leadership role in the region.

This was first evident in the extensive consultation with other users of Te Urewera in order to define the different groups’ expectations of, and values for, the area. Not surprisingly, all these groups shared a great deal in terms of the values of biodiversity, conservation, and access. These values are now reflected in the Te Urewera Bill. The Te Urewera Bill is a unique solution to a unique situation, and it is very New Zealand. I want to say in this third reading of the bill that there are from time to time extraordinary moments in Parliament. Today is one of those. They always rely on extraordinary leadership and, as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations mentioned, on courage both by the Government but also by members of the wider community.

This bill, which sees its final passage through the House today, represents an absolute determination by this Government and by the leadership of Tūhoe to address the serious wrongdoings of the past by the Crown, but, more important, to move forward positively for both the Crown’s and Tūhoe’s benefit. It is fitting that we pay tribute to the extraordinary leadership that people like Tāmati Kruger and Kirsti Luke, backed by their trustees, have shown in these negotiations. But I also want to pay tribute to the extraordinary leadership in this House by the Hon Chris Finlayson and by the Rt Hon John Key, who have led the political debate and shown the political courage to make sure that we reach this final reading here today and the passage of the bill. Yes, they were supported by Cabinet. Yes, they were supported in the select committee process by a cross-section of party members. Yes, in this House today we will have almost unanimity across the House. But someone had to start. The Hon Chris Finlayson, the Rt Hon John Key, Tāmati Kruger, and Kirsti Luke were determined. They were the people who made sure that we reached this place today.

The existing national park will be vested in a Te Urewera legal identity, a unique solution. This reflects Tūhoe’s view that Te Urewera has its own identity and has its own special values and interests. It recognises, as the bill states, that Te Urewera is also prized by all New Zealanders as a place of outstanding national value and intrinsic worth. Tūhoe and Crown representatives will sit on the board, which will provide governance for Te Urewera in accordance with the Act, while maintaining access for all. The legislation recognises and provides for cultural values associated with Te Urewera and will include key principles relating to the protection of biodiversity, natural and historic heritage, public input into the management, and public access into the future. I am particularly excited by the commitment from both the Crown and Tūhoe to work with the new board to seek Unesco biosphere status for Te Urewera. This would make it the first and only biosphere-designated area in New Zealand, and I can think of no more fitting spot. This would be a huge boon for the region, for residents, and for tourism. This is not expressly provided for in the legislation; instead, it is more evidence of the spirit of partnership and cooperation that this bill makes possible for the future. The benefits of such an approach for the Crown and Tūhoe and the region have immense potential.

These are significant bills for Tūhoe. But they are significant bills for the Crown and they are significant bills for New Zealanders. It is with great pride as the member of Parliament for East Coast that I stand here today and commend these bills to the House. Kia ora tātou.

E te Kaiwhakahaere o te Whare tēnā koe. Koutou hoki ngā mema Pāremata o te Whare nei tēnā koutou. Tēnei au te mema Pāremata mō Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, he uri hoki o Kahungunu, o Rongowhakaata, e mihi nei, e tangi nei ki a koutou ngā uri o Tūhoe Pōtiki. Ko tēnei te pānui whakamutunga o tēnei pire, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Greetings to you also, members of the House of Representatives. I am the member for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, kin as well of Kahungunu and Rongowhakaata, acknowledging and lamenting you here, the descendants of Tūhoe Pōtiki. This is the final reading of this bill, and I congratulate us all.]

I rise with members of this House, as the proud member for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, to support the third and final readings of these two bills, the Te Urewera Bill and the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill. Following on from Anne Tolley, the previous speaker, it is probably significant for this House in attempting to correct the historic wrong of what has occurred to the people of Tūhoe, and today’s passage of this legislation and what is contained in it will never replace what was taken from the people of Tūhoe. So I stand in acknowledgment of what has occurred to you and the atrocities that you and your uri have faced through the actions of the Crown. The passing of these two bills is an acknowledgment of what has occurred but also it is an acknowledgment and a statement of the commitment to the future of Ngāi Tūhoe.

Like my colleague Nanaia Mahuta has said, the development of Tūhoe would definitely rest in your hands, so I stand and acknowledge those who have gone and those who are no longer with us. I acknowledge our kuia and kaumātua who have travelled here to join us in the House and the many uri who are listening at home and watching these third and final readings of your bills. In reflecting on this significant day today, it brings up many emotions. Some may be celebratory—that is a good day—some may be tinged with sadness, some may be just sheer relief, and some may be with hopes and aspirations that have not been quite rightly achieved. But like with all third readings of Treaty bills, there is always hope that tomorrow will bring a better day and that the future will bring a better light, particularly for our tamariki and mokopuna of Ngāi Tūhoe.

So I do want to add to those who have spoken previously in acknowledging Ngāi Tūhoe, particularly Tāmati Kruger and Kirsti Luke, the trustees of your negotiating team, and I acknowledge the support of the kaumātua and people of Ngāi Tūhoe, who have supported your negotiations, your commitment, to bringing us to today’s important period.

My contribution is really to highlight and uphold the institution of the Māori Affairs Committee. With legislation as significant as these two bills have been, as a member of the Māori Affairs Committee, I say that we were confronted with several contentious issues. I would like to take the time to reflect on what was presented to the Māori Affairs Committee and on how these contentious issues were dealt with. I was a proud member of the committee, which was ably chaired by the Hon Tau Henare. Issues around the Waikaremoana lake bed were presented to the select committee. The board found that the dissolution of the Tūhoe-Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board and the vesting of its assets would be provided for under these bills: “The Board’s charitable assets will be amalgamated with two other existing Tūhoe entities to form a single charitable trust. Any other assets will be transferred to the Tūhoe governance entity, Te Uru Taumatua. Among the Board’s charitable assets are 72 percent of the shares in the bed of Lake Waikaremoana. These shares were vested in the Board by the Lake Waikaremoana Act 1971. The previous individual owners became beneficiaries of the Trust Board, and do not hold direct ownership rights in the lake-bed. The amalgamation of the three charitable entities was voted on as part of the ratification of the Tūhoe deed of settlement. [The select committee] note that the resolutions to dissolve the Trust Board and amalgamate the charitable entities were supported by approximately 86 percent of voters. Lake Waikaremoana will not become part of Te Urewera, but remain separate, with a continuing obligation for the Crown, under the lease, to manage it in accordance with the National Parks Act 1980.”

In terms of the Wairoa Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board, the committee “considered whether this change to the lake-bed ownership would infringe the rights of the Wairoa Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board, which owns the remaining 28 percent of shares in the lake-bed. The board represents the Ngāti Kahungunu interests in Lake Waikaremoana.” However, “[the committee was] satisfied that the change in the ownership arrangement for the Tūhoe shares of the lake-bed will not change the Wairoa Waikaremoana Māori Trust Board’s ownership of its shares in the lake-bed. [The committee noted] that the new governance structure for Te Urewera does not extend to the bed of Lake Waikaremoana, which will remain private land. [The committee was] advised that this arrangement preserves the Crown’s ability to provide redress to Ngāti Kahungunu groups with interests in the Lake Waikaremoana area, including Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa, in the future as part of their Treaty settlements. … part of that solution was to seek representation on the Te Urewera Board for the purposes of expressing their interests in the management of Te Urewera.” And that clearly sits with Ngāi Tūhoe in terms of how they hope to take that forward.

We also had submissions from Ngāti Ruapani, which the committee received. That was their concern around the extent of the consultation, but clearly the committee felt that “the bill also provides for national park land within the former Onepoto Military Reserve to become a conservation area. The land will not be transferred to the Te Urewera legal entity, so that redress in relation to the land can be considered in Ngāti Ruapani ki Waikaremoana’s future Treaty settlement negotiations.” So I am raising these issues because they were presented to the Māori Affairs Committee, and the committee felt that they were ably addressed without impinging the passing of these two important bills.

Like previous speakers mentioned, reflecting on the important and significant contribution Ngāi Tūhoe has made throughout the motu in terms of Te Reo made me think about my own connection, albeit small, with Ngāi Tūhoe. I too was ably tutored by Pou Tēmara at my time at Victoria University. A former friend of our family, no longer with us, Roger Toki, who went to Te Aute College with my older brothers, was another friend of the family who got me to visit Tūhoe. Of course, in previous contributions to the passing of this bill, I acknowledged the contribution of Ngāi Tūhoe in the education of my two sons currently at Lindisfarne College, who would not have been able to attend that college without the Te Whaiti Scholarship. So I stand again to acknowledge Ngāi Tūhoe’s contribution across the motu but particularly for me on a personal note through the enabling of the education of my two sons. So tēnei te mihi ki a koutou katoa.

In closing, I too want to acknowledge the work of the Hon Chris Finlayson for the passage of this important bill, my colleague and whanaunga the Hon Tau Henare, and my Māori Affairs Committee members and the work that we have done to ensure that the passage of this bill has been completed. Of course, we would not get there without the officials, and I do want to acknowledge them. So, in closing, heoti rā, ka whakakapi au i Te Reo Māori, ko tēnei Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori nō reira whakanuia tō tātou Reo Rangatira. Ko Tūhoe, he iwi kaiārahi i Te Reo mō tātou katoa, kia ora. Nō reira, tēnā tātou katoa.

[And so, I conclude in Māori. This is the week of the Māori language, therefore we should celebrate our chiefly language. Tūhoe are a people who have been leaders of Te Reo for us all. Thank you for that. So congratulations to us all.]

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Tēnā koutou e te Whare. He mihi nui ki a Ngāi Tūhoe katoa. Tēnā koutou ngā rangatira, whaea, tuākana, ngā iwi katoa, tamariki, mokopuna, tēnā koutou.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Greetings to you all in the House, and a huge shout-out to all of Ngāi Tūhoe. Acknowledgments to leaders, aunties, elder siblings, the entire tribe, children, and grandchildren, greetings.]

I am humbly standing to take Metiria Turei’s place because she was unable to be here today, and I feel considerably whakamā. But as a Pākehā, it is a proud opportunity also to own the obligations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the necessity for us to own the history that we have benefited from and that Ngāi Tūhoe have had to fight to survive—and you have. These two bills, the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill and the Te Urewera Bill, are extraordinary achievements, and I want to acknowledge the people in the gallery who made it happen and the people back at home. Ā, tēnā koe Tāmati me Te Kotahi ā Tūhoe [And to you Tāmati, and the confederation of Tūhoe, thank you], and thank you to everyone involved. I would also like to acknowledge the Hon Christopher Finlayson and his office because this legislation could not have happened without both parties being prepared to be brave and creative, and to challenge the assumptions and prejudices of what a Te Tiriti settlement can actually contain. I would like to acknowledge the negotiation skills of Tūhoe, the persistence, the radicalism, and the creativity that have always challenged our nation to do better than we have done. Today is a great day, and it is your day.

I would also like to mihi to Te Urewera. It was never a park. That was a label imposed in the 1950s based on an old behaviour pattern since colonisation, and it has melted in the mist like all the other attempts to colonise the heart of the motu and the “children of the mist”. The history of Tūhoe and the Crown is turning a corner today because the Crown has finally conceded that Te Urewera cannot be treated as a parcel of real estate. Te Urewera, the living entity and the inseparable connection with te mana motuhake o Tūhoe, is being acknowledged in this legislation, finally. Thank goodness. Thank goodness there is no going back to the failed attempts to burn, to kill, and to destroy in the wake of Te Kooti seeking refuge in Te Urewera. Thank goodness we are not going back to the failed colonial assaults on Maungapōhatu and the dawn ninja nightmare that was visited upon Ruātoki. We must never go back to those moments.

I personally look forward to paying visitor fees, hut fees, and any other fees to the tangata whenua and the governing body that will manage this area, because it is a debt of gratitude that we can visit their rohe and be embraced by their ngahere, the magnificent maunga, awa, roto, and trees, and the equally magnificent, undefeated nation. We owe you apologies and we owe you respect. When the tarseal runs out beyond Murupara, it is entering another world, and we the Pākehā have always needed a passport, even if we did not realise it—a passport of respect and recognition—and I say bring it on. “Sorry” is not all we can say today. It is the job of Te Tiriti - committed Pākehā to say more than “sorry”, and we are here to say today that the Green Party fully supports your achievements and the achievement of the Crown.

However, no Te Tiriti settlement alone will bring all New Zealand citizens into the light. It is going to take a real Crown investment to shift the Pākehā understanding of Tūhoe and Te Urewera. The ugly demonising of Tame Iti, the so-called terrorist, has been so reminiscent of the ugly demonising of Rua Kēnana in 1916. That is why the Greens do not accept the concept of full and final settlement when the full and final recognition and restitution has not and cannot be paid. When Pākehā understand what full and final is, then I am with it. Until that day we need to continue the dialogue. “When will the settlers settle?”—a wise man has put out that challenge to us. The responsibility remains on the Crown and the kāwanatanga for this process that has been set up, and it is a great process. It is a permanent framework for powerful and often uncomfortable dialogue. That is what the Treaty process offers us. And we have to stop new breaches taking place—15 October 2007 is not forgotten. The children of Ruātoki have the scars. And the poverty caused by colonisation that I see whenever I travel through the rohe needs to be healed and supported by a permanent commitment from this Parliament to real support as well as settlement.

There have been other uncomfortable processes. I would like to acknowledge the leadership of Tau Henare in the select committee for a very, very fine job on these bills and also on the complexities around boundaries and borders that came to the select committee, which I think my colleague Meka Whaitiri has outlined extremely well. The kāwanatanga processes do not deal effectively with what are tangata whenua boundary issues. We are not capable of that. However, I was really reassured to hear from the Minister that the Waitangi Tribunal is not going to marginalise the other iwi. As we have seen throughout the settlement process, where there are smaller groups or boundary groups marginalised, we can never settle. We need ongoing dialogue and we need a place where everybody can get up and make their claim.

I would like to acknowledge that there are great traditional ways of resolving boundary and border disputes, which can be undermined by Crown processes. It is really important that we look at the overall Treaty settlement process in this House and make sure that the concepts that the Crown has imposed on the process do not undermine, basically, tino rangatiratanga ngā iwi katoa o Aotearoa [the sovereignty of all people in New Zealand]. Having named all those things, it is my privilege to have attended the pōwhiri at Te Uru Taumatua and once again be in the presence of the dynamic and theatrical wero of Tūhoe to the rest of us and to be moved to tears when Tainui came forward to acknowledge Tūhoe for their support in the Waikato wars. That was a profound moment of learning.

Also I recognise in Te Uru Taumatua the synthesis of ancient and contemporary sustainability being celebrated in Tāneatua. It is a symbol of the future and of the settlement that the ancient and the modern can come together through Tūhoe. That kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga of Tūhoe offers the whole nation—and, indeed, the planet—a new way of understanding how indigenous leadership will teach us how to heal our planet, which we have pushed to the brink of destruction. By acknowledging indigenous leadership and the inseparable connections of the whakapapa of people who take responsibility, whether we allow them to or not, we can learn and we can change and we can protect our planet. So the Green Party is very, very supportive. We really believe that the kaitiaki of Te Urewera will lead us to a better way, not only for this area but for the whole country.

It says in the settlement that it is not a precedent around national parks, but it is a leader, and it is about acknowledging the pātaka kai as well as the concept of preservation. Actually, pātaka kai is a critical thing for all of us. Some of us just seem to have forgotten that, because our fridge is the supermarket. But other people whose fridge is the moana or the ngahere actually have something to teach us about sustainability. If we want to survive as a human species, we had better start listening. Kia ora, Tūhoe. Awesome.

I also want to acknowledge the Pākehā people who have educated some of us about this. The late Judith Binney made an extraordinary contribution. She was able to do that because of the relationships that she was able to form. Relationship is everything. Everything is about interconnection. That is what is strong about the negotiated ideas in the settlement—the relationships that have been established between Tūhoe and the Crown and the local communities. It is great that we have people from Whakatāne—the mayor and others—here today. It is time for Pākehā to be there at the table but not to try to control the table. It is the Tūhoe table and we are welcome to sit at it.

Sometimes we can shut up, but actually today is a day for Pākehā to speak out and acknowledge the achievement and acknowledge our part of it. We have a role to play in educating our own. That is where Judith Binney with her wonderful books has led so many of us to a deeper understanding. I am not going to say she has led us to redemption yet, or even a decent song—you try to get Pākehās to work out what their song is! The collective Pākehā identity is individualism, and it is a bit of a problem, which you know about all too well. But the opportunity in this settlement is for Pākehā to understand more deeply the taonga that is Te Urewera under the kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga of the people of the land.

Personally, at the age of 17 I went to Tūhoe and learnt that I was second nation. What a blessing! What a great learning, to stand down the river from Whakatāne and realise I was second nation as cowboys on horseback rode past yelling at me in the Reo, and I am this little Pākehā girl who did not know what they were saying. What it taught me was that I had something to learn, and I will always be grateful to Tūhoe. As for many of us, it has been the most powerful learning, because the Reo, the mana motuhake, and the radicalism have been outstanding, and they have really helped many of us to learn. So kia ora for that.

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.

OK. Kia ora koutou. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.

Kia ora tātou katoa kua huihui mai. I acknowledge Tāmati Kruger, the trustees and people of Tūhoe, and this landmark legislation arising from the Te Urewera-Tūhoe Bill in the Treaty settlement process. I want to make a few comments about the settlement in the context of the history of Treaty settlements, some comments about the conservation significance of the Ureweras and the settlement, and a little bit about the future.

It is surprising for me, as a Minister of Conservation in the 1990s who was involved under the leadership of the Rt Hon Jim Bolger—who is in the House—in the huge debate that occurred around the provisions of the Ngāi Tahu settlement in respect of conservation land, how far this country and this Parliament have come when we now get to this Tūhoe settlement in respect of the treasured Te Urewera National Park. If you had told me 15 years ago that Parliament would almost unanimously be able to agree to this bill, I would have said “You’re dreaming mate”. It has been a real journey for New Zealand, iwi, and Parliament to get used to the idea that Māori are perfectly capable of conserving New Zealand treasures at least as well as Pākehā and departments of State. I want to also acknowledge, in the history of that Treaty settlement process—and I think, Minister Chris Finlayson, this is No. 34 that you have progressed through this Parliament—and I would actually say to you that I think this has been one of the most difficult, because the history with Tūhoe is actually one of the ugliest chapters in the settlement history of New Zealand. Even when we were elected to Government in 2008—with the commitment of the Prime Minister and your energy, which I acknowledge, Chris, as Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations—you would have been an optimist to think that we could get to this point with what I think is the most difficult of the Treaty breaches that this Parliament is having to deal with.

I note that the 213,000 hectares of the Ureweras is one of the very special conservation areas of New Zealand. It is the largest national park in the North Island. I note that in the Treaty settlement process there is a desire to have world heritage recognition of that area, something that I would welcome. I note that this is an area that has over 70,000 visitors a year. It is an area where over 5,000 people a year do that very special great walk of the Waikaremoana Track and I acknowledge that. The part for me that is a bit ironic in the debate that has occurred around national parks is that there has been this view that Pākehā treasure to a greater degree New Zealand’s natural heritage, and that, in my view, is actually the opposite of what has been true if we are honest about the history of New Zealand. Many of the settlers that came from Europe wanted to recreate in New Zealand a sort of English landscape rather than actually recognise the natural treasures. Even as a Minister of Conservation of Pākehā heritage, I note that there are literally thousands of species that exist only in New Zealand, whereas the United Kingdom, from which many of us descend, has only one unique species, a rather boring Scottish Crossbill. Then I look at just the Ureweras. Whether it be kiwi or kōkako, whether it be the kākā, whether it be in terms of the huge beech and podocarp forests, it is truly a natural treasure.

In that discussion around whether iwi can be trusted with managing those treasures, I say absolutely, and I say that the new board will do, in my view, equally as good a job of managing that treasure as any department might. There is in the conservation movement a view that only the State, only the Government, can do conservation well. I am pleased that this Government has actually made some changes to the Department of Conservation for it to be more outward looking, for it to be involved not just in more partnerships with iwi but also with business and with communities, because if we are truly to look after what makes these precious islands special, then it is not just up to departments of State but it means partnering with community organisations, and I think the Te Urewera Bill, which we are passing today, actually sets up a new framework in which to manage New Zealand’s treasures.

I want to finally comment about the future, because I am an optimist. I reflect back on when Tau Henare was the Minister of Māori Affairs and I was the Minister of Conservation in the 1990s and the huge controversy over the visitor centre at Lake Waikaremoana and the tensions that existed over the very issue. I would like not just to acknowledge Tau’s work as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee on this legislation but to say to Tau as a retiring member that I look forward to travelling to Lake Waikaremoana and opening a new visitor centre on a site that has been determined by Tūhoe, with a design that has involved Tūhoe, and in a place of which Tūhoe and all New Zealanders can be proud. This is remarkable legislation, and a remarkable achievement. We must acknowledge the courage of all of those who have been involved in getting this to the third reading stage. I particularly want to say that it is actually Tūhoe themselves who have had the most courage for having—where trust had previously been breached—the good faith to sit down with the Crown and find a way forward, and this legislation does just that.

I call the honourable member Tim Horan—Brendan Horan. I am thinking of the rugby player again. Tēnā koe, Mr Horan.

I only wish I could have played rugby that well. I take a very brief call to congratulate all of those involved with the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill and the Te Urewera Bill on all the work that has gone into it. I would like to acknowledge the chair of our Māori Affairs Committee, Tau Henare, for his amazing work and also my colleagues on the select committee. But, most important, I acknowledge all of those who have carried the great task that it has been for Tūhoe to reach this junction in our history. Over a hundred years of oppression, having land confiscated—imagine what could have happened, what Tūhoe could have done if that oppression had never taken place. Imagine where Tūhoe would be today. The key now is for Tūhoe leaders, parents, and whānau to demonstrate attributes that the children of Tūhoe will aspire to.

I must mention Te Wharehou o Tūhoe in Tāneatua, the living building, and the magnificence and the promise that that building represents to Tūhoe and to the children of Tūhoe. This is an opportunity for Tūhoe to move ahead of mainstream New Zealand in teaching, in digital literacies, and in planned pathways for our children. I say “our children” because my children are Tūhoe. The opportunity is there and I look forward to the ensuing years to see the magnificent future that can evolve with deep-minded people with the correct intentions. So I salute Tūhoe for the battle that has been fought, for the time that is yet to come, and I honour all of those people who have passed before us to get to this point where we are today. Thank you. Kia ora.

Anei taku mihi ki a koutou katoa e aku rangatira, e aku whanaunga, e aku tuākana me aku tēina, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Here is my acknowledgment to you all, my esteemed ones, relatives, and elder and younger siblings. Well done to you all.]

I actually think it is a very cool bringing together of events and timing to have Tūhoe, Ngāti Whātua, and Tāmaki settlements for my last two speeches in the House. I think that there is a sort of serendipitous ending to my—some would call it a career; some would call it other things. That is the cross that most politicians bear. Some like you, some hate you, and then there is your family. Where to start? I will not talk about anything in the two bills, the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill and the Te Urewera Bill, because I think that other people have done that in a fashion that is better than I could. But I do want to talk about Tūhoe as I see them—the nation of Tūhoe.

I was born and bred in Ōtara, which is not the wild bush scenes that people of Tūhoe are accustomed to. No. 42 Harwood Crescent in Ōtara is my papakāinga. I had the pleasure and the immense fun of going to Hillary College. In fact, Su’a William Sio was in the same class as I was, albeit younger because I had to sit School Certificate twice. In my day, there were a lot of people from all over the country, and Tūhoe to me were a mystical people. They were an iconic people, similar to, when we look overseas, the Sioux nation, and when we look over to South America, the Mayan people. Tūhoe have always struck me as being the sort of mystical standout people.

Sometimes you know whom you are speaking to without actually knowing where this person is from. You can tell by the bravado and the volume of the person’s voice when you are talking to a Ngāpuhi. It is quite loud. It is quite “we are the best”—all that sort of thing. But when you talk to other people, there are different little things that you notice. I suppose that what I noticed as a kid—and I am not a native speaker; I was never a native speaker, but we learnt from our teachers, Bill Tāwhai and Tahi Tait—was that there are little nuances about people. I could not get over the fact that these Tūhoe guys could not talk Māori properly. I could not get over it. They seemed to be missing a couple of letters in the alphabet.

People have their favourites. People have their favourite anything. They have their favourite rugby team, they have a favourite rugby league team—Queensland and the Blues—but my favourite iwi is Tūhoe for their mystical being, for living by themselves, and for being isolated. And it is not through any of their doing. The isolation comes from outside. We have isolated them over so many years. We have never been willing to engage in a meaningful way. You know, one of the last stories that I was ever told in sixth form history was that the last military intervention in New Zealand, on itself, was in 1916 at Maungapōhatu. Here we are in 2014 talking about what happened less than 10 years ago, when there was another military intervention in Tūhoe. On several occasions I have apologised for that myself—not that I need to, but I am a member of the Crown. The whole Parliament, to me, is the Crown, not just this side of the House.

A nation’s past and a nation’s present is a nation’s future. It is as simple as that, but only if we accept what has happened in the past and what is happening now. I am not talking about a feeling of guilt. By accepting, warts and all, everything bad that has happened and everything that has happened that has been good—it is about accepting that that happened. It is about teaching our young kids what happened. The trick, I suppose—and it is not about guilt—is to put all of that together and move on, because life moves on. Somebody died yesterday, but their whole whānau have to move on. They do not forget about that person; they talk about that person. They have him or her up in lights, for ever and a day, so that that person’s history, that person’s ihi—that flame—never ever goes out.

I honestly worry about this country and its lack of education in things Māori. The only reason is not because Māori are not cool, because we are, but this: can you imagine a culture, a language, and a people snuffed out just like that, and they are extinct? When you think of the huia bird, the last one was actually killed on purpose so that they could put it in a museum. You have that happen, and you think what a wonderful life it would have been with that bird. The same goes for people—the stories, the history, the way people look, the way people cook, the way people eat. This is a good thing that this nation does today. It does not say: “Yeah, I put my hand up. I’m guilty for what happened last week.” What this says is that we put our hand up and that we want to move on as a nation in a way that respects our cultural differences—our tribal differences. I love it when other people come into the north. They all freak out and go “Oh.” Well, not really—not too much these days. It is an indication of the nation, I suppose, moving into adulthood. We are less than 200 years old in this part of the country. In other parts of the country we are 1,000 years old.

Can I just mention the fight that I had with my colleague, the Hon Nick Smith. I was young. I was good looking. I had hair. And I was most probably 20 kilograms lighter.

My respect for Tame goes way back. I think his activism and his commitment is second to none in the country. There are a lot of people like him, but we never ever hear about them. I just want to say, bro, you have been one of the people whom I look up to. I do not even talk to you, but I do not have to. I do not have to get on the phone to you and say “Bro, am I doing right? Am I doing wrong?”. You would most probably say I am doing wrong.

We have such a rich culture, heritage, and history in this country—better than most countries in the world—and what we do today puts the world on notice. You can do things without blowing each other up. I will say this right now—I know the Assistant Speaker is going to stop me, but I will seek leave to have an extension of time—if people in the Gaza Strip, in Israel, and all over the world were to look at what we are doing here today, it is a step in the right direction. Hoi anō, taku mihimihi ki a koutou katoa, taku aroha ki a koutou katoa, tēnā koutou katoa.

[And so, my thanks, compassion, and congratulations to all of you.]

I seek leave of the House for the Hon Nick Smith’s and Brendan Horan’s calls, which were both less than the full allocated time, to be recorded as one call, divided as to time.

Is there any objection to that course of action being taken? There is none. Thank you.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Ā, kāti, tīhei-wā mauri ora ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama. E ngā mana, e ngā hapū o Ngāi Tūhoe, tēnā koutou. Haere mai nunui mā, teitei mā, nau mai, haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata e takatū nei. Nō koutou tēnei rā, he rā whakahirahira tēnei nō reira, tēnā koutou e ngā rangatira. Huri rauna i tō tātou Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. And so, behold the breath of life to the emerging world and to the world of enlightenment. To the authorities and subtribes of Ngāi Tūhoe, acknowledgments to you collectively. Welcome the might of the large and lofty, welcome, welcome to the House of Parliament, waiting here in readiness. This day of magnificence is your day, and therefore congratulations to you, the esteemed. To you collectively and to us all throughout our House, congratulations, acknowledgments, and well done.]

I am delighted to be speaking at the final reading of these two bills, the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill and the Te Urewera Bill, on this historic day. Ngāi Tūhoe as an iwi never signed the founding document of our nation, the Treaty of Waitangi, yet Tūhoe has certainly suffered most horrendously at the hands of the Crown. Their contribution to the post-colonial history of our country is immense.

Tūhoe supported the prophet hero Te Kooti in the Ringatū religion. They fought in the land wars at Rangiriri and Pukehina and Te Ranga, events that have recently been commemorated. The unreasonable, unwarranted, and unjustified treatment meted out by the police to Tūhoe in—take your pick—1916 and repeated in 2007 are some of the darkest days of our country’s history. Yet there is so much more that ordinary, everyday Kiwis do not know about this proud tribe known to us as the “children of the mist”.

In the poetry of Māori oratory, we know the people of Tūhoe to be the wasters of food, treasures, and men. By that we mean that such were their resources that they could afford to be generous with their food and in the gifting of their treasured taonga. When it came to warfare, it did not matter how many Tūhoe were dispatched to beyond the veil, there were plenty more Tūhoe prepared to step forward to take the place of those who had fallen. Tūhoe, moumou kai, moumou taonga, moumou tangata ki te pō.

[Wasters of food, wasters of treasures, and wasters of people to the void.]

It has taken decades to get to where Tūhoe are today. They are an iwi who are well prepared for the future. Their new tribal headquarters at Tāneatua is proof of that preparedness. They have used their existing settlements around the fisheries and the like to obvious great effect, and they seem more than ready to receive the Crown’s apology, which the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations will be delivering next month. They are more than prepared for the recompense for the historical wrongs and to receive that apology from the Crown.

I would like to acknowledge at this time those whānau and hapū who felt that the Treaty negotiations process did not fit their own truths, so some withdrew their support from this claims settlement bill. Can I say to them that their actions are not new. In every claims settlement bill that has ever been negotiated and settled there has never been a 100 percent acceptance by iwi. That stand is, in and of itself, a perfectly legitimate point of view to hold, and one that must be accepted by all the parties involved.

Settlement claims may be approved by a tribal majority, but they are never unanimous. Sometimes there is no way to move forward for those whānau and hapū who have deeply felt mamae and hurt, and sometimes those dissenters can be made to feel ostracised from the rest of their kin. But can I say to them that time is their ally and, hopefully, time will heal the wounds. The Treaty negotiations are invariably there as a legacy that all of their whānau and hapū can enjoy. Sometimes it is just not possible to pigeonhole every whānau, every mamae, and every grievance into a settlement. The stories of Ngāti Haka Patuheuheu and their grievance of Te Houhi and Waiōhau Block is, sadly, one of these examples.

Concerns were raised regarding the hapū and iwi Te Upokorehe, and also certain situations surrounding ownership of Waikaremoana and neighbouring iwi like Ngāti Ruapani. Can I say to those whanau concerned that every member of the Māori Affairs Committee has taken into account every piece of information that has been provided to come up with the best possible outcome. My hope is that those hapū and whānau who have maybe withdrawn from the processes will at some stage re-enter the fold and enjoy the benefits that have been provided for all of the iwi. I am also reassured by the comments from the Minister that he will make provision for other interests.

It is my observation, much like my whanaunga Tau, that one can identify a Tūhoe by the way they stand. There is something in their stance that suggests a tree—maybe a kauri. There is something in the way they stand that suggests a permanence, that they are going nowhere too soon. Maybe that is part of their mystique that Tau referred to: the staunchness and pride with which they stick to their guns, their personality sometimes as attractable as their vast forest mother of Te Urewera.

Who of us here and around the country will ever forget the day the Crown and the Waitangi Tribunal turned up at Tauārau Marae, having been transported there on horse and dray? The welcome of Tūhoe in full regalia was a sight to behold, as were the burning wrecks that littered the roadside and mirrored Tūhoe’s sense of grievance over the scorched earth policies of the Crown in former times. The shooting of the flag by Tame Iti was the ultimate insult to those Crown representatives who bravely turned up that day. Hoi anō e Te Mana Whakahaere o Te Whare Nui. Those days of protest evidenced in negotiations have passed. Today’s third reading and subsequent period between now and when the apology will be given next month to Tūhoe from the Minister will be one of full reflection and celebration.

And so in finishing, I would like to acknowledge the other significant aspect to be enacted in this third reading of the Te Urewera Bill. To Tūhoe their association with the forests, rivers, and mountains of Te Urewera defines who they are as a people. Tūhoe are the children of the mist maiden, Hinepūkohurangi. Their home is the mist-covered hills, mountains, and valleys of Te Urewera. But the Crown could never acknowledge or grant outright ownership to Tūhoe. Too much water has gone under our historical post-colonial bridge for the Government to cede Te Urewera totally. And so this Te Urewera Bill is a clear and innovative way to recognise Tūhoe’s link to Te Urewera for the whole of the country. Te Urewera will become its own entity in law as though it were a living and breathing thing and, of course, to the minds of Tūhoe that is exactly what it is. So this legislation serves as a way for Pākehā New Zealanders to better understand Tūhoe’s association with those forests, rivers, and mountains mentioned in the Treaty and the taonga that is Te Urewera.

Earlier I mentioned the largesse and magnaminity of Tūhoe in the gifting of their treasured belongings, maumau taonga. I can think of no other gesture that best represents those words than this Te Urewera Bill that will become an Act of Parliament. I commend the negotiating parties and the Minister and all those who have been involved in bringing these settlements to this point. I can only wish on behalf of all of the whanau of Te Wai Pounamu and Te Tai Tonga all the very best for the future to Ngāi Tūhoe. Nō reira, tēna koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Kia ora, tēnā koutou katoa. Greetings to Tūhoe and the Ngāti Whātua people, and welcome to Parliament. Also, on this historic day, it is a chance to acknowledge the grave wrong of history and attempt to put it right today.

Like all Treaty settlements, this legislation is important. Ultimately, all Treaty settlements rest on agreement. There is no tablet of stone, as we all know, and there is no higher authority out there that can be invoked to reveal some absolute truth. For any particular settlement, all the participants directly involved, and then the wider New Zealand public as well, must in the last resort consider a settlement to be fair and reasonable. The “fair and reasonable” test has to be passed. That requires that the processes followed for the settlement be consistent and open and fair to all relevant parties. That is not an easy exercise, and we in New Zealand First fully acknowledge the complexity and care that is called for in working through detailed and longstanding Treaty claims. We do not underestimate the task.

Within New Zealand as a whole, although there is a broad political consensus, the Treaty settlement process does have its critics—and, indeed, in Māoridom as well. That is why ensuring an impeccable process is vital to ensuring ongoing public confidence. If the rights of any group with a legitimate interest in a settlement are ignored, overlooked, or discounted, then the stage is set for ongoing discord and controversy. That is the concern New Zealand First has with this Tūhoe settlement. Specifically, there are remaining issues concerning other iwi, and these iwi are in the area that is covered by this settlement, but, seemingly, are not included. These iwi sought hearings with the Waitangi Tribunal on the impact of this settlement, but that was declined, and the Tūhoe settlement moved inexorably on towards its conclusion.

These tribes and these iwi are based in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and at Lake Waikaremoana. They have not been inactive. They have sought to be heard by the Māori Affairs Committee. They sought to make submissions to the select committee stating that the bill in its current form should be returned and redrafted. They have sought to make protest and have themselves heard. Similarly, Ngāti Ruapani’s primary concern is that they too will be made ghosts in their own land by a bigger collective, Ngāi Tūhoe. They still maintain dialogue with Ngāi Tūhoe regarding their status as an iwi who have different interests in the ancestral claim to the lake itself.

So, despite the bland assurances from the Government that the Treaty process has not left anything out and that it is not making a mistake with this bill, it does appear that something is amiss. Something is not as it should be. Our authority for that is the finest Māori politician, and perhaps one of the finest politicians this country has ever had, and one of the most knowledgeable, as well. His name was, of course, Sir Apirana Ngata. Some of us remember him, and his impact, which is so enduring, and the messages that he has passed on down the generations and down the years and across the tribes. So he is still much admired. When he said in 1929 that these people were a legitimate, recognised iwi, or tribe, I take him to be the authority. I take that to mean that if someone raises it all these years later, he should not be—

💬 Catherine Delahunty: He’s Ngati Porou.

Oh, now the Green member has said that he is Ngati Porou. Well, we know that. But let me tell you, if you know anything about this man, you will know that he was esteemed from the Kaitāia to Invercargill. That is what he was. He got a law degree in 2 years flat. He was a genius, and he was an expert in this area. And to say he is Ngati Porou and dismiss him like that—with the greatest respect, madam, you do not know anything about these people. That is the point. And the effrontery of that—here comes somebody with the white man’s burden now telling somebody else who has been working in Māori affairs for a long time, and who went in 1991 and gave the land back to Tūhoe, that he does not know what he is talking about. That is what we are not going to put up with—this idea that you can impute into Māoridom certain views and certain notions, which is not the Māori way.

Now, if Ngata said that in 1929—and he documented it and it is in the history books—then I think that even the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations himself, Mr Finlayson, could perhaps listen, rather than take on that hissy fit look that he has and discount Māoridom in this part of the world as though it does not matter. You will not correct a wrong by creating another one, and I think these people are deserving of a voice.

We believe that Ngāi Tūhoe has had the most raw deal—we do not dispute that, at all. We think that they have been left out there for all these years, languishing in a most unfair way. But, we do not think that in correcting this wrong, we should create another one. To say, as the Minister will: “Oh, these people have not had their rights in any way infringed.”, is actually legal and historical nonsense, because if they are not recognised now, how difficult will it be for them in the future to be recognised? Just because they may be smaller in number—the fundamental principle of the law is if they have right on their side, then that right should be acknowledged.

So, we seriously regret what has happened here, not because of the fate of Tūhoe, and not because this is not most worthy legislation in nearly every respect, but because others have been pushed aside, left aside, and—I might say this—they have been pushed aside by a Minister who may be more interested in gaining some sort of historical personal legacy rather than in the fundamentally great principles of law, which he is meant to be so expert in. He is meant to be, in fact, perhaps the finest practitioner that he thinks the House has ever seen. I want to ask him why he would take that view when, in fact, to do right by the people and iwi whom Ngata recognised—whom we in New Zealand First are speaking about—is still the most moral and principled thing we could do. Of course, he could get up and say today that he has a settlement process for them about to be resolved with the same expedition. That might save him. But to get up and give us his assurance: “Well, it won’t happen on my watch.”, as many Māori going down through generations will know, is an assurance not worth the air it passes on.

New Zealand First, therefore, says that this matter should have been corrected at the Committee of the whole House stage. We said so at the time. Again, that was ignored. The Māori Affairs Committee almost said: “Look, we have heard the evidence, and we don’t think that Ngata knows what he’s talking about.” Well, New Zealand First has the greatest admiration for Ngata, for Pōmare, and for Buck, the finest Māori politicians who ever came here, and when they speak down the ages of history to us, we intend to listen. That is why we are taking the stance that we are taking today. Kia ora tātou.

He kohu, he kohu, tau ana, tau ana, tau tapapa ana ki runga i a Maungapōhatu, ē ko Hinepūkohurangi, ko Tūhoe Pōtiki nau mai, haere mai, nau mai. He hōnore tēnei māku ki te tū i te rā nei i aku rua wiki whakamutunga mōku i Te Whare Pāremata, ā, ki te tautoko i tēnei kerēme, tēnei kaupapa i te rā nei. Nā te roa o te whawhai a Ngāi Tūhoe kia tae ki te rangi nei me te kaha o Te Minita Finlayson ki te whakaoti i tēnei kerēme, ā, me te hia kē o ngā wā e hui ana rātou i konei, i te rohe o Tūhoe hoki kia oti ai te kerēme nei. Nā runga i tērā, kei konei tonu ahau mō tēnei wiki, te wiki e tū mai kātahi ka puta, ka hoki atu ki ngā mokopuna. Nā reira, i tēnei rā kei konei au. Kāore au i te tautoko i ngā kōrero a Winitana i tēnei rā.

Kāore au i te tautoko i tēnā kōrero. Kāore tēnā tangata e mōhio ana ki ngā hiahia o aua iwi nō rātou ake. Kai te mōhio, kai te pai tēnā? Kāre i te mōhio kei te noho pai, noho tahi a Ūpokorehe, a Ngāti Kahungunu, a Ngāti Ruapani, rātou i tērā rohe. Ahakoa ngā wehewehenga nei o ngā hapu, kei te noho whānau rātou i roto i te ngāhere, i te tai, i te moana, ā, kai reira. Nā reira, harikoa ahau kei konei ahau ki te tautoko i a koutou i te rā nei.

Ko tētahi atu pātai, he aha te take, e Winitana, ka tatari koe mō tēnei rā? Kāre koe i haere ki mua i Te Komiti Whiriwhiri Māori i tērā wā ēngari ka tatari mō tēnei rā whakamutunga ka tū, ka whakapuaki i ō whakaaro i tēnei ata.

[A mist, a mist alights and settles and the Mist Maiden lands face down on Maungapōhatu and lo it is Tūhoe Pōtiki indeed, welcome, welcome, welcome. It is an honour for me to stand here this day during my last two weeks in Parliament to support this claim, this matter today. Because of the length of time Tūhoe has fought to arrive at this day and the intense effort by Minister Finlayson to complete this claim, as well as the several meetings here and in the territory of Tūhoe to conclude this claim, I am still here for this and next week, then I exit to return to my grandchildren. So I am still here today.

I do not support the sentiments expressed by Winston today. I do not accept that discourse. That member does not really understand the needs of those people that own it. Does he know whether that is good? He is unaware that Ūpokorehe, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Ruapani are well off and live as one in that region. Despite the differences that these subtribes have, they live as a family in the bush at the seaside and lake, and furthermore they are there in that region. So I am glad to be here to advocate for you collectively today.

Winston, I have a question. Why did you wait until today? You did not go before the select committee at that time but waited until this final day to rise and air your views this morning.]

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: Now that’s not true. Go and read the Hansard.

Kai te kōrero. Kāre koe e puta atu ki mua i a rātou. Tēhea te rangi i tae koe ki mua o te komiti? Tēhea te rangi? [I am speaking. You did not appear before them. Which day did you go before the committee? Which day?]

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: Don’t use the Māori language not to tell the truth.

You see, Winston—[Interruption]

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! Honourable members, it is not permitted for members who do not have the floor to interject on each other. If you want to interject on Dr Sharples, that is different because he has the floor. But to interject on each other is not permitted.

Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I do not like being accused of using the Māori language because he does not understand it. That is not the case at all. Hoki ki te kura. [Go back to school.]

I am deeply honoured to welcome to this House the sons and daughters of Maungapōhatu, the children of Hinepūkohurangi and the descendants of Tūhoe-Pōtiki. I am honoured because this landmark legislation concludes its passage in the final weeks of my office as Minister of Māori Affairs. What a privilege to be part of such a historic process. I want to say this part for the benefit of the House because I want it recorded in Hansard, in the volumes of this establishment.

For the past 26 years, since lodging the first of a long series of Treaty claims, Tūhoe have resolutely retraced their steps back to a time 118 years ago, and this is the irony of today. Back then Tūhoe had within its grasp what no other iwi had been able to obtain under colonial rule: recognition of its right to govern itself and to forge its own destiny. The Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 was the culmination of more than 20 years of negotiations between the Crown and Te Whitu Tekau. It enshrined Tūhoe traditional land as a 2,650 square kilometre reserve, within which title would be determined by a Tūhoe-controlled commission. More important, the Act allowed for internal self-government based on Tūhoe customs and protocol. The Urewera reserve was the only autonomous tribal district ever provided for in New Zealand law. But it was too good to last. In utter disregard for its own policies, the Government began buying up the very land it was supposed to be protecting. The bold new Act was sidelined, undermined, and eventually repealed.

Today a new dawn has come. It has taken until now to reach the point Tūhoe were at in 1896. Raupatu robbed Tūhoe twice over and made them landlocked and impoverished. I am reading this stuff because I want it recorded. Confiscation of the tribe’s best land was, in the view of many, a form of looting intended to take the wealth and break the autonomy of Tūhoe. Even when the mistake was realised that the wrong tribe had been punished for rebellion, the land was never returned, only to result in what some describe as compounding the evil. Historical accounts describe the famines that killed nearly a quarter of the population of Te Urewera in the late 1890s—the legacy of confiscation and military rampages. The devastating revelations, captured in four volumes of evidence by the Waitangi Tribunal, is an illusion-shattering experience, tātou mā. More than a catalogue of unjust acts by successive Governments, the evidence reviews a calculated intent to destroy Tūhoe—punishment of the most crippling and permanent kind.

After confiscation came invasion. In joining Te Kooti, Tūhoe earned the full wrath of the colonial Government. No part of their homeland was left unscathed—no part. Nonchalant inhumanity was standard fare. Scorched earth tactics, the execution of unarmed prisoners, and the killing of non-combatants was, as some described, almost a sport. The commander of the Government forces at the time, Colonel George Whitmore, put it plainly when he remarked: “Well, now I am going to punish them. They must be exterminated.”

The threat of starvation hung over Tūhoe for much of the early 20th century. It too was a brutal weapon in the Government’s arsenal that was used without hesitation. Whitmore again wrote that when his men were off duty, they roamed the country foraging, destroying crops, and burning kāinga. At Lake Waikaremoana the officer in charge of the expeditionary force gloated that his men had destroyed a quantity of potatoes that would have fed 1,000 men for 15 months. It is in the records. Whitmore and his troops were praised for their conspicuous courage. Only now, a century and a half later, does their conspicuous brutality come to light. I want these things recorded.

A new dawn has arrived. This is a settlement to be celebrated: firstly, for the Crown’s willingness to negotiate the unique environment of Te Urewera; secondly for the Crown’s readiness to address the formerly politically unpalatable concept of mana motuhake. No other iwi has made mana motuhake a non-negotiable component of its Treaty claim. This settlement is an acknowledgment that Te Urewera has its own identity and its own integrity and cannot be anyone’s possession. I quote lead negotiator Tāmati Kruger, who said—and I quote you, Tāmati—“My feeling is that the land was here first, so nobody owns it. If anything, it owns you. The water owns the water, the land owns the land. So our proposition to the Government has been, ‘let us agree that Te Urewera owns itself’.” This is how the Crown’s settlement with Tūhoe has turned out. Te Urewera’s national park status is to be revoked and the land vested as an independent legal entity under its own Act of Parliament.

The settlement is a profound alternative to the human presumption of sovereignty over the natural world. It restores to Tūhoe their role as kaitiaki and it embodies their hopes of self-determination—Tūhoe autonomy for the 21st century, Tūhoe services for Tūhoe, benefit on Tūhoe terms, and Tūhoe living by Tūhoe traditions and Tūhoe aspirations.

Tūhoe has always approached resolution with the Crown in a principled and determined manner. Through this settlement, the Crown has been given a second chance to work with Tūhoe in an honourable way. I would like to acknowledge Minister Finlayson, tōna kaha ki te whai i tēnei kaupapa ahakoa te roa o te whawhai.

E Tāmati, ki tō tīma, tēnei au e mihi atu ki a koe. Ia marama, ia marama puta mai koe ki te kōrero ki a mātou, ā, i konei mātou. Ā, Tūhoe, kei te tautoko au i a koutou ēngari, tae ki te Matatini ā tērā tau, kāre au i te tautoko. Hoi anō, he mihi atu tēnei tēnā koutou, kei raro. [and his perseverance to pursue this matter despite the length of the battle to achieve it.

To you and your team, Tāmati, I congratulate you. Month after month you appeared and engaged with us, and we were here. I support you collectively, Tūhoe, but come the Matatini next year you won’t have my support. So I congratulate and thank you collectively and sit down.]

I seek leave to table two documents in rebuttal of the claim that New Zealand First has never mentioned this matter before. One is a letter dated 31 May 2013, which was written to the Minister in charge of this legislation, Chris Finlayson, about the boundaries that were being encompassed. The other one, of course, is the Hansard of 7 May of the second reading. That rebuts that nonsense.

Well, the House is the master of its own destiny. The member can seek leave for the first document. Is there any objection to that course of action? There is. Just before I call the next member, I wish to advise the House that this is a split call.

Tēnā koutou Ngāi Tūhoe. Tēnā koutou nō Te Manawa-o-Te Ika-a-Māui, nā koutou i takahia mai i te tuarā o Te Ika-a-Māui kia tatū ki konei ki Te Upoko-o-Te Ika-a-Māui, ki te whakarongo ai ki te pānuitanga mutunga o tēnei pire. Tēnei te mihi nō tētahi nō Te Hiku-o-Te Ika-a-Māui. Nā reira, tēnā koutou. E Ngāi Tūhoe kei te mohio tātou, kīhai koutou i haina i Te Tiriti o Waitangi, kei a koutou anō ō koutou tino rangatiratanga i aua rangi. Kei te mōhio hoki tātou i te noho rangimārie ai koutou ēngari i tae ngā hōia me ngā pirihimana o Te Karauna ki waenganui i a koutou ki te raupatu i ō koutou whenua. I takahia e rātou ō koutou māra kai, i kāpurangia ō koutou kāinga ka noho whenua kore koutou. Kei te mōhio hoki mātou i te whakahokitanga o ō koutou whenua, i whakahokia ki iwi kē. Kei te mahara ahau i wēna kōrero o ō tātou tūpuna, “riro whenua atu, hoki henua mai”.

Mōhio ana tātou, i te tau kotahi mano, waru rau, ono tekau ma rima, i te rapu ngā hoia, ngā pirihimana o Te Karauna i ngā kaikōhuru o taua tangata, a Fulloon. I haere mai ngā hoia kua kāpurangia te whenua. Kei te mōhio tātou, ka titiro mātakitaki tātou i ngā pūrongo kōrero kei runga i te pouaka whakaata i ngā pō, ka kite mātou i aua tūmomo mahi kei tāwahi e pakanga ana ki ngā tāngata. E koropupū ake te pukuriri me te aroha mō rātou ēngari, kei te wareware te whenua o Aotearoa kua meatia ai ki a koutou aua tūmomo mahi ki roto o Aotearoa ki runga i ō koutou whenua. Kei te mōhio tātou i whakatūria ai e koutou a Ngāi Tūhoe tō koutou ake rūnanga rangatira, arā, ko te Whitu Tekau ēngari, i whakakāhorengia e Te Karauna rātou. Kei te mōhio hoki tātou katoa i haere atu Te Karauna ki a koutou, i mea atu ai ki te kore koutou e hokona atu i te roto o Waikaremoana, ka raupatungia.

Kua rongo hoki mātou i ngā kōrero a Te Minita i te tau kotahi mano waru rau iwa tekau mā ono, i whakamanahia e tēnei Whare Te Urewera District Native Reserve Act. I whakamanahia e taua ture tō koutou tino rangatiratanga kei runga ake i ō koutou whenua i runga i ngā tikanga o ngāi Māori mā ēngari, kua rongo Te Whare i te rā nei i whakakāhorengia, ā, i aro korengia e Te Karauna taua ture. I te tau kotahi mano iwa rau tekau mā ono, ka mauheretia a Rua Kānana. I haere atu ngā hōia, ngā pirihimana ki te whiu atu i a ia ki roto i te whareherehere i runga i ngā whakapae parau ēngari, tokorua o ō koutou tupuna ka mate i taua wā. I te tau kotahi mano iwa rau rima tekau mā whā, i whakatū ai Te Urewera National Park. Kīhai Te Karauna i haere ki a koutou hei mea atu, hei pātai, he aha ō koutou whakaaro, kei te whakaae rānei koutou. Kei te mōhio hoki tātou, tekau mā rima paihēneti noa iho a Ngāi Tūhoe e noho ana kei runga i ō koutou whenua. Noho āhua pōhara ana wētahi nā ngā mahi tūkino a Te Karauna i a koutou. Nā reira, tēnei ahau e tū ana ki te tautoko i tēnei pire.

I whakarārangitia mai ngā tūkinotanga ki a koutou, ā, e whakapāha ana hoki mō aua tūkinotanga. E tika ana ngā kōrero roto i tēnei pire. Me anga atu tātou ki ngā mahi o neherā, kaua e warewaretia e tātou ēngari, me whakatū tatau pounamu kia titiro whakamua ai tātou. Nā reira, e Ngāi Tūhoe he tīmatanga hou tēnei mā koutou. Kei te tautokongia e mātou ngā mahi a ngā kupu kei roto i tēnei pire. Kei te mihi ahau ki ō koutou kaikōrero me Te Minita hoki. Nā koutou katoa i kōkiringia tēnei pire ki Te Whare, tēnā koutou.

[Greetings, Ngāi Tūhoe, from heartland North Island. You travelled the back of Māui’s fish so that you could reach Wellington here, the head of the fish, to listen to this final reading of the bill. As one from the tail of the fish, from the Far North, I acknowledge you, so salutations to you collectively. Kindly note, Ngāi Tūhoe, that we are aware that you did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi and you had your very own sovereignty in those days. We know also that you were living peacefully, but soldiers and policemen of the Crown reached there and got amongst you to confiscate your lands, trampled all over your gardens, burnt down your homes and left you landless. We know too that when your lands were returned they went to some other tribe instead. I recollect those tales of our ancestors, “land taken must be returned in kind”.

We know that in 1865 Crown soldiers and Crown police pursued the murderers of that man, James Francis Fulloon. Soldiers came and burnt the land. We are well aware that when we watch documentary programmes on television in the evenings, we see those kinds of hostilities being taken against people overseas. Anger and compassion well up within me for them, but New Zealand as a country overlooks the fact that those sorts of hostilities happened here in New Zealand on your lands and against you. We know that you, Ngāi Tūhoe, established your very own council of leaders called the Seventy, which was dissolved by the Crown. We all know too that the Crown visited you and said that if you did not sell Lake Waikaremoana to them, it would be confiscated.

We have heard the Minister’s comments that in 1896 this House gave effect to the Te Urewera District Native Reserve Act. That Act gave effect to your sovereignty over your lands according to Māori custom. None the less, the House heard that the Crown abolished and ignored that Act. In 1906 Rua Kēnana was imprisoned. Lawyers and policemen went to arrest Rua Kēnana on false charges, but two of your ancestors died at that stage. In 1954 the Te Urewera National Park was established. The Crown did not come to consult with you, to ask you questions or seek your thoughts or whether you agreed. We know as well that only 15 percent of Ngāi Tūhoe’s population live on your lands. Some of you became somewhat poor because of ill-treatment of you by the Crown, and so I endorse this bill.

I apologise also for those atrocities against you which are listed. The comments in the bill about them are correct. We must address and not forget them and make enduring peace so that we look ahead to the future. This, then, Ngāi Tūhoe, is a new beginning for you. We support the intentions expressed in this bill. I acknowledge your speakers and the Minister as well along with those of you who advanced this bill to the House. Well done.]

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Can I acknowledge our distinguished visitors here—Tāmati Kruger, Kirsti Luke and the negotiating team, the people of Ngāi Tūhoe here today and at home, and the Hon Chis Finlayson. Every Treaty settlement is a privilege, but what an incredible honour to have your name attached to this particular Treaty settlement. Congratulations on all the work you have done with Ngāi Tūhoe, te Whakatāne mayor Tony Bonne.

This is a very special day, acknowledging the brutal history of Ngāi Tūhoe and the beginning of the journey of reconciliation with the Crown. In 2010 I made the beautiful journey to Maungapōhatu for the first time. Maungapōhatu is truly a sacred and spiritual place, and as a manuhiri I felt very privileged to be welcomed on to the marae there. You feel the presence of Hinepūkohurangi, the personification of mist and fog, and her younger sister Hinewai, the personification of light, misty rain.

It was Hinepūkohurangi who enticed the sacred maunga down to earth. In this respect Tūhoe are truly descended from the environment, from the dense bush and rugged ranges of Te Urewera and the ever-present misty clouds that shroud them. There is no question that you will protect the taonga of Te Urewera, and I want to acknowledge the words of the Hon Dr Nick Smith, the Minister of Conservation, who said he believes that Ngāi Tūhoe will be as good as the Crown or Pākehā in protecting Te Urewera. I will suggest they will prove to be better. I made the journey to Maungapōhatu for the launch of a book called Best of Both Worlds: The Story of Elsdon Best and Tutakangahau by Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, celebrating the relationship between Tūtakangahau and my great-grand-uncle, Elsdon Best.

In 1892 Government survey teams met opposition from Tūhoe when attempting to survey a road through the Urewera district without Tūhoe consent. The Department of Lands and Surveys sent my great-grand-uncle Elsdon Best to Urewera as a mediator. Tūhoe had been in contact with Pākehā society for more than 50 years. However, it was seen at that time by Government as the last opportunity to gather information about pre-European Māori society, due to the isolation of Ngāi Tūhoe. Elsdon Best joined the roadmaking team in 1895 and formed a close relationship with Tūtakangahau and Paitini Wi Tāpeka of Maungapōhatu.

Through these relationships he was drawn into continuing conflicts over the future of Tūhoe lands and was eventually accused by the Government officials of deliberately stirring up trouble for the Government in the rohe of Ngāi Tūhoe. On that basis he threatened to leave the position, and at that time he was appointed secretary of the Urewera Commission. In this new position Elsdon Best was able to record Tūhoe history and genealogy as it was debated before him.

I feel truly honoured when I travel around some of the marae in the rohe of Ngāi Tūhoe and during my doorknocking in Tāneatua and Ruātoki to see photographs of my great-grand-uncle Elsdon Best on the walls of the wharenui and people’s homes, and of my grandfather Elsdon Craig, who wrote the biography of Elsdon Best, Man of the Mist. So, very personally, I feel that this is a special day for this House. I feel extremely honoured to participate in this debate today. The brutal history of Ngāi Tūhoe has been well spelt out by many of my colleagues.

Can I also acknowledge that there is much more work for the Crown to do in the rohe of Ngāi Tūhoe, beyond this settlement. We have some of the worst housing in the country, people living in extreme poverty, and there is much in that area that needs to be remedied by the Crown. In that respect can I also acknowledge the late Terry Firkin and the work that he did in housing and in training young apprentices in the Tūhoe rohe.

This is a very, very special day for this House. It is a day that I think many thought would be a long time off and very distant into the future. Can I again congratulate the Minister of Māori Affairs and the Minister for Treaty settlements on bringing the Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill and the Te Urewera Bill to the House. I certainly feel very humbled and privileged to be able to participate in this debate today.

Tēnā koe, Mr. Speaker, kia ora tātau katoa. Tēnā koutou i hara mai i te kāinga kia tatū mai ai ki runga i te aroaro o Te Whare Pāremata. E kī ana te kōrero, “kiri kawa ki te kupu, kiri kawa ki te riri, kiri kawa ki te rākau”, Ngāi Tūhoe, ko koutou tērā tēnā koutou, haere mai. Ā, te āhuatanga ō wā tātau mate, i a au e tū nei ki mua i a koutou ka hoki ngā mahara ki te hunga kua ngaro atu ki te tirohanga kanohi, arā noa atu rātau. Ēngari i tēnei rangi, ka hoki ngā mahara ki a Rangipuke. Ko ia te tangata i hara mai ki konei, i haere ki ngā huihuinga katoa arā noa atu, ā, me te hunga kāore i konei kia kite mai ai te āhuatanga o tēnei rangi. Nō reira, heria mai ngā mate ki konei kia tangihia e tātau i te rā nei. Waiho rātou kia moe. Anei koutou kua tae mai i te rā nei ki te whakanui i tēnei rangi, nanakia nei. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa.

Kāti, ē, ka mihi rā ki te āhuatanga o te whakarite. E hoa, he pai tērā kia whakatau i te wairua. Ahakoa ngā kōrero ka puta i ētahi, kua tau te wairua. Ā, tēnā ka mihi rā ki Te Minita i te mea, kai te mōhio tonu ahau he ara tāpokopoko i whāia e koutou, e ia. Arā noa ētahi ka kī atu, e kore, kore, kore rawa a Tuhoe e kite i te taitara o Te Urewera ki a rātau. Anā, ā kō ake nei kua whakatikahia tērā kōrero. Ara noa te hunga i kī atu, e kore a Ngāi Tūhoe e whakatutuki ko tāna i pīrangi nei, ā kō ake nei ka kite mai ai te puāwaitanga o tērā kōrero, o te whakatika i tērā kōrero. E Tāmati, he aha he kōrero i tua atu o te mihi anō rā, e tautoko i ngā mihi ki a koe, ki a kōrua ko Kirsty, tēnā kōrua i kaha nei ki te āki i Te Karauna, me te Pākehā rā a John Wood, tēnā koe. Ko koe tērā e noho ā-takawaenga nei i Te Kāwanatanga me Ngāi Tūhoe. Kātahi te tangata ko koe, otirā, ki ngā ringaringa āwhina o Te Kāwanatanga kia tutuki pai tēnei kaupapa.

Me mihi rā ki a koutou ka tika. E hoa mā, i a au e tū nei, ka hoki ngā mahara ki ngā hui e hia kē nei. Ā, i ngā rā kua hipa ake i kōrero au mō te āhuatanga o te ekenga o Te Taraipiunara o Waitangi ki runga i te whārua o Rūātoki. I tae atu me taku pēpi, toru tau, whā tau pea tōna pakeke. Te taenga atu ki Rūātoki ki te whārua ka kite atu i ngā waka, te auahi, ā, me te whakaaro ake, he aha te mahi a ngā Māori nei? Kite atu i ngā hōiho, ngā mea e eke hōiho, i kite atu i a koutou e whakatika ana mō te ekenga o Te Taraipiunara o Waitangi ki runga i a koutou. E kore au e wareware ki tērā āhuatanga. Ēhara i te mea e noho atu au ki reira mō te roanga ake o te rā ēngari, i reira au i te pōhiri ki Te Taraipiunara i te manemanerau. Ā, whai muri ka haere atu rā ki roto ki Te Rewarewa, ā, he pōhiri i tua atu, ā, te mutunga mai ka tae atu ki Tauārai. Ka mutu, kai te mōhio te motu i ahatia i tērā rangi. Ko tētahi Māori nei, inā pea te tāroa o te Māori nei me tana pū, anā, i pērā ia ki te haki o Te Kāwanatanga. Nō reira, ka hoki ngā mahara ki ērā āhuatanga.

Ka hoki ngā mahara ki te wā i haere atu a John Key i mua o te wā i noho ia hei Pirimia, mātau ko te Māori o Te Nota nei, ka mutu ko Georgina Te Heuheu, i mua o te wā i tae mai au ki Te Whare Pāremata, i haere atu mātau ki te hōhonutanga o Te Urewera, ā, ki Ōwhakatoro, ā, ki tērā hui i tū ki reira. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki te kōrero a Tame, me tana kī atu ki te John Key mua o te wā i tū ia hei Pirimia. E rua ngā pātai. Tuatahi: John Key, ka whakahoki koe i Te Urewera ki a Ngāi Tūhoe? Ka rua, pēhea ō whakaaro mō te mana motuhake o Ngāi Tūhoe? Poto noa iho te kōrero a Te Pirimia mō te whakahoki o Te Urewera, ummm, āe pea. Ka mutu, e pā ana ki te kōrero mō te mana motuhake, ē, kāre mātau Te Kāwanatanga e whakaae atu ki tērā momo āhuatanga. He mataku nōna pea mō te āhuatanga o ngā haki? Pea!

Ēngari, ā, nā wai, nā wai, ka rere te kōrero me te kī a ētahi o ngā kaikōrero i tērā hui, ko tā Ngāi Tūhoe e pīrangi nei, kia waiho ngā āhuatanga o Ngāi Tūhoe ki a Ngāi Tūhoe ā-mātauranga mai, ā-hauora mai. Ko mātou kei te mōhio ki a mātou anō. Waiho mā mātou anō mātou e whakatika ā-hauora, ā-mātauranga. Ka pai, ka kī atu Te Pirimia, ka pai tērā! Ka pai hoki! Kāore ia i kite i te āhuatanga o te hononga o te mana motuhake ki tērā kōrero i kōrerohia e Ngāi Tūhoe. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki tērā o ngā hui. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki tō māua ekenga ko Te Minita ki te papakāinga o Ngāti Kōura i te wā i puta i konei, ka haere atu ki te whakamārama ki ngā mea o Rūātoki mō te āhuatanga o te kerēme nei. Ā, puta te pātai, whakautua te pātai, puta te pātai, whakautua te pātai. He painga anō rā o tērā kōrero, arā, ko te wānanga tērā o tēnei o ngā kaupapa. Ka hoki ngā mahara ki Te Whai o Te Motu, tērā hui i tae atu te nuinga o Ngāi Tūhoe mō Te Tatau Pounamu i heria atu ai e te tangata nei e Te Minita. I reira, ā, kātahi nei te whakaaro nui i roto i ngā kūrakuraku o te kerēme nei, ko Te Tatau Pounamu te mea whakatau i te puehu ki te taha o Te Kāwanatanga, me te mōhio anō hoki, arā noa te rā, ā, ko te uru tonu o te pirihimana ki roto o Rūātoki. Ā, koia tētahi āhuatanga i whakatau i te puehu. Ka hoki ngā mahara, e hoa mā, ki Rangiriri, ki Ōrākau, ki Pukehinahina.

I ara ake te kōrero, tēnā, me whakaako i ngā tamariki o tēnei motu ki ngā hītori kai mua i te motu. Kaua e whakaako i ngā kōrero o Kirihi, o Āwherika rānei, anei te kōrero, kai te kāinga! Kai tua o te taiapa! Kai waenganui i a tātau! Nō reira, ā nā tata nei a Pita ka whakatinana ai i tērā kōrero. Kia tika rā nō te whakaako i ngā hītori o Aotearoa nei ki konei. Ka mutu, me kōrero mō te āhuatanga o te urutanga o te pirīhimana ki roto o Rūātoki i te mea, i whai wāhi ano rā tērā i roto i ngā wānanga mō tēnei o ngā pire. Āe, kāre anō te kupu kōrero kia puta i Te Kōmihana hoi anō tērā pea, ā kō ake nei ka puta tērā kupu whakapāhā ki ngā mea i rongo nei i te ngau o te ture i tērā wā.

Ka mutu, e pērā anō hoki te āhuatanga mōu, e Tame. Ka tautoko ake i te kōrero a Tau Hēnare e pā ana ki tērā momo tū mō te ao Māori. Ko koe te tangata! Nā, me hara mai au ki te kōrero o te tangata nei. Koinei te mate o te tangata kore mōhio. Mēnā i tae atu ia kī ngā kōrero a Te Kōmiti Whaiti mō ngā Take Māori kua rongo ia i ngā whakahē. Mēnā i kite i te pūrongo a Te Taraipiunara o Waitangi kua mōhio ia ki te pūtake o te kōrero. I reira au i ngā huihuinga katoa. Kua tae atu au kia rongo i ngā kōrero o te hunga whakahē. Koina te mahi o te mema Pāremata he kawe, he whakarongo ki tētahi tangata takitahi me te rongo anō rā i tērā taha! Kua tae au ki ngā hui – katoa.

Ko au tētahi kua tae atu ki te hui i Waiōhau. E rua pea ngā hui i tae atu au ki Waiōhau ki te rongo i ngā kōrero. I tae atu ki te hui a Ngāi Tūhoe i Ōhotu. I kite au i ngā kuia katoa o te whārua me tā rātau tautoko i tēnei pire, me te kī atu, taihoa! Māku mā Ngāi Tūhoe ngā take a Ngāi Tūhoe e whakatika. Nā, mō te karanga hui i te taha o te hunga o roto o Waiōhau. Kua hui tahi mātau ko Te Minita nei me ngā hunga whakahē ki te rongo i ngā kōrero, ka mutu, kua rongo anō rā i te taha o Ngāi Tūhoe, nā te waha o Tāmati, o Kirsty, o wai ake, o wai ake o koutou. Nō reira kāti, me whakakōpani taku kōrero. I rongo nei i te kōrero a Ngata, āe, i rongo nei au i te kōrero mō Ngata. E kore e taea e au te whakahē te āhuatanga o tērā o ngā rangatira o te ao Māori ēngari, ko te āhuatanga ki a Ngata, ki au nei, kua āhua rerekē. Nō reira kua kapohia mai ai tētahi kōrero i roto i tētahi pukapuka kia huri au ki te reo Pākehā hei whakakōpani.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker, and greetings everyone. Welcome to those of you who have arrived from home before Parliament. According to the proverb “fearsome with words, fearsome in anger, and fearsome with weaponry”, that is you, Ngāi Tūhoe, so welcome to you collectively. Now, in terms of our dearly departed, and as I stand here before you, my thoughts go back to those who are no longer with us, and there are so many of them. However, on this day my thoughts go back to Rangipuke. He was the one who came here and attended all the meetings and many more alongside others who are no longer here to see how this day has turned out. And so bring forth the dead to be mourned over by us today. Let them rest. And so here you are who have arrived today to celebrate this day which is better than what we expected. Congratulations and greetings to you all collectively and compliments to us all.

Well, I truly acknowledge the way the prayer was delivered. It was a satisfying way to put the spirit at ease. Despite what others may say, it has satisfied the spirit. I pay a tribute to the Minister because I for one am very much aware that the path which you and he collectively pursued was a boggy one. Many others have said that Tūhoe will never ever see the title to Te Urewera returned to them, but that talk will be amended shortly. Others have said that Ngāi Tūhoe will never fulfil what it is really after, but what will come out of that statement or a modification of it will be seen soon enough. Tāmati, what further complimentary remarks can be expressed once again to endorse the congratulations accorded to you, to you two and Kirsti. Well done, you two who worked hard to encourage the Crown and that non-Māori John Wood, thank you. That was you acting as a mediator between Government and Ngāi Tūhoe. What a person you are indeed to Government officials to ensure that this matter is completed effectively. It is only right that we salute you collectively.

Fellow colleagues, as I stand before you my thoughts go back to the numerous meetings that were held. I have spoken in the past about the arrival of the Waitangi Tribunal upon the valley of Rūātoki. I arrived there with my baby who was about three or four years old at the time. When we arrived at Rūātoki, at the valley, we saw vehicles, the smoke, and we were thinking “What are these Māori doing?” We could see the horses and the ones riding them and we observed you readying yourselves for the arrival of the Waitangi Tribunal upon you. I will never forget that situation. It was not because I was going to stay for the rest of the day, but I was merely there for the welcome of the Tribunal at the confiscation line. Afterwards it would proceed to Te Rewarewa for a further welcome and then ultimately arrive at Tauārai. Furthermore, the nation knows what occurred on that day. There was this Māori person about that tall with his gun and, behold, he did that to the Government’s flag. And so the thoughts go back to those situations.

I recall the time before John Key became Prime Minister, when we and the Māori member of the North and also Georgina te Heuheu—before I arrived here in Parliament—we went into the very depth of Te Urewera at Ōwhakatoro with them to that meeting which was held there. My thoughts go back to a statement by Tame to John Key in regard to what he would do if he became Prime Minister. There were two questions; firstly, John Key, will you return Te Urewera to Ngāi Tūhoe, and, secondly, what are your views on the independence of Ngāi Tūhoe? The response by the Prime Minister about Te Urewera was a short one: “Ummm, perhaps yes.” And then about independence, we the Government do not agree to that kind of thing. Perhaps he feared the situation about flags? Maybe!

But after a time a statement emerged with some speakers at that meeting stating that what this Ngāi Tūhoe was really after was that things relating to Ngāi Tūhoe in respect to education and health should be left for Ngāi Tūhoe to deal with. We know about our own capacity. Leave it for us to deal with our health and educational issues. The Prime Minister said that that is fine. Absolutely great! He could not see the connection to self-determination that Ngāi Tūhoe was alluding to. Of all the meetings, my thoughts go back to that one in particular. My recollections return to the formal arrival of the Minister and myself at the village settlement of Ngāti Kōura when we appeared there from here to explain aspects of this claim to the ones at Rūātoki. And it was there that whenever a question emerged it was responded to and so it went on. As soon as a question was asked, it was answered. There were benefits too from that consultation in terms of debating this one of the policies. Recollections of the meeting at Te Whai o Te Motu Marae return where most members of Ngāi Tūhoe arrived for Te Tatau Pounamu, which this person, the Minister, took along. It was there that a huge appreciation for Te Tatau Pounamu was seen in terms of addressing complications in this claim and from a Government’s perspective that was fully aware of the dust created by the day of the police raids in Rūātoki and the need to settle it. Te Tatau Pounamu effectively did that. Recollections of Rangiriri, Ōrākau and Pukehinahina come to mind, colleagues.

Now then, I bring up a point that children of this nation should be taught the history that is before them. Don’t teach stories relating to Greece or America. I say, teach the stories from here that are in front of them! Just over the fence! Amongst them! Pita is about to implement that statement so that the history here of New Zealand can be taught appropriately. Furthermore, let’s talk about the invasion of Rūātoki by the police, because there was a place as well in this bill for discussions. Yes, the Police Commissioner has not released a statement yet. Perhaps an apology will be made shortly to those who suffered at the hands of the law.

Furthermore, that applies to you, Tame. I really endorse Tau Henare’s statement in terms of anyone taking that stance for Māoridom as you have. You are the man! Now, let me come to the comment by this person, Winston Peters. The problem here is one of ignorance. If he was at the submissions to the Māori Affairs Committee he would have heard the objections. If he had seen the Waitangi Tribunal’s report he would have found out where the sentiments came from. I was there at all the hearings. I went there to hear what the ones who objected had to say. That is the role of a member of Parliament, to take aboard, listen to an individual’s point of view and listen to an opposing view as well! I have been to the meetings – all of them.

I attended a meeting at Waiōhau. Perhaps there were two that I got to and listened to the talk. I got to Ngāi Tūhoe’s one at Ōhotu. I saw all the elderly women of the valley there and witnessed their support for this bill and how they called out: “Hang on! We of Ngāi Tūhoe will address issues pertaining to Ngāi Tūhoe.” Now, in terms of calling a meeting with those in Waiōhau, the Minister and I met with those who opposed it to listen to what they had to air, and, furthermore, heard Ngāi Tūhoe’s side through Tāmati, Kirsti, and others of you as well. And so enough, I should end my address here. Yes, I heard the comments pertaining to Ngata and about him. It is not possible for me to go against that great leader of Māoridom, but my view is that the circumstances around Ngata have changed somewhat. Therefore, I snatched up an account from a book but will switch to English in conclusion.]

In respect of Ngata, I did a Google search for Tūhoe and Ngata, and it said—and I will read this passage to close—“From 1894, when Prime Minister Seddon and Native Minister James Carroll … conducted meetings with Tūhoe elders, to 1908, when Apirana Ngata co-authored a report on Urewera lands, the Tūhoe watched their world turn upside down. Despite their wholehearted distrust of government and canny understanding that surveying would undermine the mana of their chiefs and herald the loss of their land, the Tūhoe suffered a relentless political raupatu, proving that conquest could proceed as well by legislative act as by military invasion.”

He pai tonu te kōrero mō Ngata ēngari, te wā i raupatuhia ngā whenua o Ngāi Tūhoe, i reira rātau. Pēnei i a mātau o Te Pāti Māori, arā nō te tokomaha ēngari, ko te tokoiti kai konei tonu e kawe nei i ngā kōrero. Nō reira rā, ko tāku ko te kī atu, ka pai! Kua tō te rā, mahia te mahi Ngāi Tūhoe, kia kaha ki a koutou! He rā tino harikoa tēnei mō koutou, mō tēnei Māori e tū atu nei, ā, hoi anō mō ētahi ēngari, ko tātau tēnei, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau.

[The talk about Ngata is fine, but when Tūhoe’s lands were confiscated they were the ones who were there. Like us here, the Māori Party, a vast number are about but only a few of us are here to bear the discourse. So therefore, I say, all good! The sun has set, do the job, Ngāi Tūhoe, be strong amongst yourselves! This is a real euphoric day for you collectively, for this Māori standing before you, and for others, but this is us. Go for it, good on you, and congratulations to us.]