Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider this bill.

I want to begin by welcoming the representatives of Te Kawerau ā Maki who are here in Parliament today to attend this first reading. I acknowledge their ancestors, and the weight of the historical grievances that they have borne. I also want to acknowledge the recent passing of Eru Thompson, a kaumātua of Ngāti Māhanga and Te Kawerau ā Maki. Mr Thompson was the iwi spokesperson when we signed an agreement in principle in early 2010. Te Kawerau ā Maki representatives here today will be returning to Auckland after this first reading to attend his tangi, and I acknowledge their grief.

On 22 February this year I signed a deed of settlement on behalf of the Crown with Te Kawerau ā Maki. The deed and this Treaty settlement bill put to rest the longstanding grievances of Te Kawerau ā Maki. This iwi and its members are descendants of the youngest son of the ancestor Maki, named Tāwhiākiterangi, who also took the name Te Kawerau ā Maki. There are other iwi and hapū who claim descent from Maki’s other sons, such as Ngāti Manuhiri, who have their own Treaty settlement. Collectively, these descendants of Maki are sometimes called the Te Kawerau confederation, which can cause confusion.

Te Kawerau ā Maki hold customary interests in the Tāmaki region, particularly through Hikurangi and the Waitakere Ranges, which can be described as the heartland of Te Kawerau ā Maki. Their customary interests extend through lands in the upper Waitematā Harbour, the North Shore, and into the Mahurangi coast and south Kaipara. This is a broad rohe, through which Te Kawerau ā Maki maintain relationships with many other iwi.

In 2008 the Crown recognised the mandate of the Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority to represent Te Kawerau ā Maki in negotiations. A year later, in June 2009, Sir Douglas Graham proposed that all the iwi and hapū in the Kaipara, Tāmaki, and Hauraki regions, including Te Kawerau ā Maki, enter direct negotiations with the Crown to settle their historical Treaty grievances. Sir Douglas also proposed collective redress for the iwi of Tāmaki over the maunga and the motu.

In February 2010 I signed on behalf of the Crown an agreement of principle with Te Kawerau ā Maki. Negotiations continued until 12 December last year, when the negotiators and I initialled the deed of settlement. After initialling, the tribal authority took the deed to the wider community. Hui were held and a vote was taken. Of those who voted, 99 percent support the settlement. This is an outstanding result, and I congratulate Te Kawerau ā Maki on their fine efforts.

In the negotiating team I must acknowledge the perseverance of Te Wārena Taua, the lead negotiator and the chairman of the tribal authority. When I signed the deed of settlement in February, I said he was a very difficult man to deal with and I stand by that statement of the truth. Through our negotiations we traversed a number of hard issues. We ultimately resolved them, and this will be for the benefit and the durability of the settlement. Finally, behind the negotiators have been the trustees for the iwi tribal authority. They have worked tirelessly to have their grievances addressed, and I acknowledge that their Treaty settlement process has been a very long journey for them.

It is worth saying something about these historical grievances. Te Kawerau ā Maki lost most of their land through extensive and excessive Crown purchases in the three decades after the signing of the Treaty. What reserves were set aside were never protected and were gradually alienated from tribal control. At the end of this process, Te Kawerau ā Maki were rendered landless. This had a severe impact on the health and well-being of their community. Today, they are one of the few iwi in Tāmaki that do not have a marae or an urupā on their own land.

The financial and commercial redress provided to Te Kawerau ā Maki recognises the losses that have been suffered by them. They will receive $6.5 million, plus interest, and with this money they will acquire 86 percent of Riverhead Forest Crown forest licensed land. The accumulated rentals that come with the forest will provide a cash reserve and allow other commercial opportunities to be taken up. With good management, this redress will provide the iwi with a commercial base for the future.

Cultural redress provided to Te Kawerau ā Maki includes the vesting of nine culturally significant sites, including lands on which they can establish a marae and an urupā. The balance of the cultural redress package includes an overlay classification over Te Henga Historic Reserve, 11 statutory acknowledgments, and other redress that is culturally significant to the iwi.

I consider the bill should proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. As I said often in the last Parliament, the committee was brilliantly chaired by Mr Henare, and I have no doubt at all that the new team on the Māori Affairs Committee are going to deal with this legislation urgently and get it back to the House for its final stages. I commend the bill to the House.

Ā, tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Kāti e Te Whare, Reo Māori. Kia hiwa rā, kia hiwa rā! Kia hiwa rā ki tēnei tuku! Kia hiwa rā ki tēnā tuku! Ka whakapurua koe i te toto, ka whakapuru tonu, ka whakapuru tonu! Ka whakapuru tonu! Ka whakapuru tonu ngā tai ki Te Henga, e tangi tīari ana ki runga o Te Taupaki, kāre koa ko au e kimi ana, e hahau ana i ngā pari rā, i ngā piringa, ahakoa ko wai. Ka tō te rā ki tua o te ākau, ka ara mai ki runga i a Maki e tū nei. Tihewa mauri ora! Ki Te Pane o Mataoho, ki Te Ara Pūeru, kua tau te kākahu taratara, te kākahu rērea ki runga i tōna tihi.

E te pāpā e Eru, e taku rata tūtahi, e te kākākura o Te Wao Takunui ā Tiriwā. Kua roa rawa koe e hāpai ana i te mana o Te Kawerau ā Maki, o Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Mahanga, Ngāti Pukenga o Tainui Waka whānui. I rauhī koe i ngā moemoeā me ngā maruāpō o te tini, o te mano i tau ki runga o Tāmaki Makaurau. Kua pōhara mātou i tō ngarotanga atu ērangi ka ora tonu koe ki roto i ēnei kōrero, me ngā mahi ka tīmatahia ki roto i tēnei Whare i te rangi nei. Nō reira, ka tāpae atu ki runga i a koe, ko ngā mihi ki ngā kaumātua me ngā kuia katoa i ngaro atu ki te pōkākā o ēnei mahi. Kotahi tonu te kōrero mō rātou kua ngaro atu ki te pō, rire, rire, hau, Pai mārire! Ka whakahokia mai te rārangi kōrero ki te tāhuhu o tēnei Whare, ki te hunga ora, ki a koutou e ngā puāwaitanga o Te Kawerau ā Maki, tēnā koutou, tenā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you Mr Speaker, and to the House. I am going to speak in the Māori language. Be alert and wary, be alert and wary! Be alert and wary on this and that rampart in case you are crammed up repeatedly by blood! Tides cram repeatedly up at Te Henga and shriek and reverberate above Te Taupaki. Without a doubt it is I seeking out and striking against those cliffs, havens and whomever. The sun sets beyond the coastline and rises above Maki standing here before me. Behold the breath of life! The barbed cloak that flies at the top of its peak has come to rest at Te Pane Mataaho and at Te Ara Pūeru.

And so to you uncle Eru, my lone standing rata tree, precious orator of the great forest of Tiriwā, you spent many, many years raising the integrity of Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Mahanga, and Ngāti Pukenga of the Tainui canoe at large. You fostered the dreams and aspirations of the many thousands who settled in Auckland. We are impoverished by your loss but you will live on in these talks and in the work that will be initiated in this House today. I place upon you the tributes to all the elderly men and womenfolk who died in the stormy nature of these deeds. There is but one statement to them lost to the void, rire, rire, hau, Pai mārire! I bring the talk back to the ridgepole of this House, to the living, and to those of you the descendants of Te Kawerau ā Maki, my greetings, congratulations and accolades to you all.]

The Labour Party supports the first reading of this bill and recognises Te Kawerau ā Maki, who, despite mourning the recent loss of one of their leaders, in Eru Thompson, have continued to forge ahead with their future today, and I acknowledge them. Throughout the speeches on this matter, my esteemed colleagues from within the Labour Party will take us on a journey that brings into light the rich history of Te Kawerau ā Maki. We will also speak to matters in this bill and, time permitting, highlight some of the opportunities that will mark the future for Te Kawerau ā Maki.

The fact that Te Kawerau ā Maki are here today is cause to celebrate. Their story is a tale of established settlement in and throughout wider Tāmaki-makau-rau, from just south of Te Mānukanuka o Hoturoa, otherwise known as the Manukau Harbour, stretching north to the southern Kaipara Harbour. We greet Te Kawerau ā Maki today. This settlement saw Te Kawerau ā Maki grow and thrive for hundreds of years. At their disposal were the vast resources of land and sea. This is illustrated by the following proverb of Te Kawerau ā Maki: he toka hāpuku ki te moana, he kaihua ki uta. [A rock in the sea where hāpuku abound, a tree where birds are speared on the land.]

The term “mana whenua” has no doubt been long debated in this House, much to the amusement of iwi Māori and, indeed, of Te Kawerau ā Maki today, for the rich history and genealogy of Te Kawerau ā Maki has been handed down through many generations. This history tells of the feats of their many ancestors who guided their people through prosperous times; through war with Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, and other competing iwi and hapū throughout the Tāmaki isthmus; through trying times of colonisation that, as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations pointed out, saw systematic alienation of Te Kawerau ā Maki from their lands and resources; through to more recent times where Te Kawerau ā Maki have traversed the legal minefields to gain mana whenua status, as dictated to them by the Crown.

We need only look to the history of Te Kawerau ā Maki to define what mana whenua means. The historical place names that are still shared in traditional Māori schools of learning are finally coming to the light of public knowledge. It is in that vein I acknowledge the many ancestors and the many leaders within Te Kawerau ā Maki, the storehouses of such precious and ancient knowledge. Indeed, the name of Te Kawerau ā Maki, as the Minister has already pointed out, affords us a snapshot of a point in time for Te Kawerau ā Maki. He is the son of Maki and takes his name from a dispute between his father and the people of Ngāti Whātua over kūmara. On that point, I must say to the House that the kūmara has a lot to answer for. Māori history speaks of the kūmara being a point of war between many tribes. I want to acknowledge Te Kawerau ā Maki, who, in their battle with Ngāti Whātua, found peace, and their shared genealogy today is testament to their enduring legacy of being not only a staunch warrior nation but also peacemakers in times of war.

Te Wao Nui o Tiriwā, otherwise known as the Waitakere Ranges, is another name that has been burnt into Papatūānuku. I say it was burnt into Papatūānuku for if it was left to the Crown, that name would have been lost for many years. In fact, I would say it would have been lost to time. However, that name has been held by Te Kawerau ā Maki, and it is testament to this House and to them that mana whenua held by Te Kawerau ā Maki has gone on for many generations from circa 1500 to today, and long may it continue into the future.

The Minister acknowledges the breaches of the Crown with matters arising from Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we know, is a founding document. We believe—certainly Te Kawerau ā Maki share this belief—that it is a founding document of this country. However, I notice in the bill that it also refers to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. I want to echo the words of my grandfather in this very House, who said: “Let it be a reminder to this House in the history of our people we did not sign the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. However, we did sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi.” And it is from that kawenata, or that sacred covenant, entered into by our people that we find Te Kawerau ā Maki here and we have the first reading of the bill, and, of course, we support it as the Labour Party.

I want to just briefly touch on some of the details within this bill that talk about redress—cultural, commercial, and otherwise. We know that this bill affords to Te Kawerau ā Maki a seat at the table when it comes to matters pertaining to their wāhi tapu, their sacred sites, and to land held by them. Can I with caution congratulate Te Kawerau ā Maki and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations on finding this compromise. However, that caution I want to share is that when we consider tino rangatiratanga, is this true self-determination? Yes, I agree that it is a start. However, I look forward to a more prosperous time for Te Kawerau ā Maki in years to come, one that shares the values of tino rangatiratanga as left to us by our ancestors in Te Tiriti o Waitangi; not one prescribed by this House but one they hold dear to their hearts. Kāti ake rā. On the wāhi tapu that have been signed over to Te Kawerau ā Maki, it is with great sadness that we hear that Te Kawerau ā Maki do not have a traditional marae on their traditional lands, that they do not have a urupā where they can rest the descendants—the descendants of Te Kawerau ā Maki. And it is with great pleasure that I want to support the Minister and his officials in allowing and affording the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki a traditional right that was theirs from the beginning.

Nō reira, kāti ake rā e Te Whare. Ka huri tū atu ki a koutou e Te Kawerau ā Maki kua tatū mai nei ki runga i te tāhūhū o tēnei Whare, ka tukuna atu ēnei kōrero hei tīmatanga anake. Ka uru atu ki te pānuitanga tuatahi o tēnei pire ki roto i te roanga ake o te haere o tēnei pire, ka āta totohe, ka āta kōrero tātau katoa i ēnei take, e aku rangatira, e Te Whare, e Te Māngai, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau katoa.

[So enough for now for the House. I turn to you Te Kawerau ā Maki who have arrived here beneath the roof of this House, and say that these sentiments are presented as a starting point only. When we enter into the first reading of this bill and into the lengthy progress that it will go through, we will all carefully debate and deliberate over these matters together. So my acknowledgments and thanks to you my esteemed elders, the House, Mr Speaker, and us all.]

Ā tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Karanga mai ko Te Kawerau ā Maki, ko Te Wao Nui-ā-Tiriwā mai Te Korekore ki ngā Tai-ā-Rakataura, ko Rangihina, ko Whangaparāoa, ko Mahurangi, nā Maki te mana me te rangatiratanga! Tēnā koutou i ngā āhuatanga o te wā, iri te rau kawakawa, iri i te whare aituā, he piki, he raukura, he kōtore huia. Ka whaitia, ka whaitia, ka ngaro ki Paerau, ka ngaro whakaoti atu. Āpiti hono, tātai hono, ko te hunga mate ki te hunga mate, āpiti hono, tātai hono, ko tātou te hunga ora, te kanohi kitea ki a tātou anō, tēnā koutou.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. Behold Te Kawerau ā Maki and Te Wao Nui-ā-Tiriwā call from the Realm of Potential Being to the tides of Rakataura, as indeed do Rangihina, Whangaparāoa and Mahurangi. Maki has the power and autonomy! Greetings to you collectively with regard to the circumstances of the time. Adorning the house of death are macropiper excelsium leaves, as do the feathers, plumes, and tail feathers of the huia in our pursuit of a loved one passed and lost to the Meeting Place of the Dead for ever. The lines are drawn, let the dead be united unto themselves and us the living, the seen faces, interact with ourselves as well, I acknowledge you collectively.]

As we gather here this morning we grieve the passing of a son of Te Kawerau ā Maki, Eru Thompson. Four years ago, on 18 February 2010, it was Eru Thompson who was pictured in a symbolic hongi with Sir Doug Graham, the then Crown negotiator for the agreement in principle. It is so fitting that as this significant claim reaches its first reading we acknowledge the incredible efforts and sacrifices made by all those who have carried this claim. After more than 150 years of annihilation from your whenua and a negotiations process stretching back nearly 7 years, this is a very significant day for the descendants of Tāwhia-ki-te-Rangi, a day signed with sadness, a day touched with meaning.

Te Kawerau ā Maki originally lodged claims with the Waitangi Tribunal nearly 30 years ago, but the history dates back over centuries. We welcome to the House today Te Kawerau ā Maki, the descendants of the famous chief Maki and his wife Rotu, who in the early 17th century migrated with their whānau from Kāwhia to what is now the Tāmaki-makau-rau region. In time the children of Maki and his followers dispersed throughout the southern Kaipara, Te Whenua roa ō Kahu, Hikurangi, Whangaparāoa, Mahurangi, Matakanakana, Pakiri, Aotea, and Te Hauturu-o-Toi. Together they are known today as Te Kawerau confederation. Nau mai, haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata.

Te Kawerau ā Maki held their land and resources under collective tribal custodianship. Their rangatira exercised authority over their tribal domain and the surrounding sea. They enjoyed a highly mobile lifestyle based on a cycle of seasonal resource gathering. With intermarriage they soon had interests throughout the wider area settled by Te Kawerau confederation. However—and this is where our story becomes laden with heaviness—intertribal warfare and the arrival of Europeans had a devastating toll on the tribe, especially during the 19th century when numbers dwindled. European contact in the late 18th and early 19th centuries brought the tragedy of rewharewha.

In 1825 Te Kawerau ā Maki then suffered major losses in battles and with other groups were forced to exile to the Waikato. In 1835 they returned to Waitakere in the south Kaipara under the protection of Tainui ariki, Te Wherowhero. By 1840 Te Kawerau ā Maki, although reduced in numbers like other tribes of the region, were resident on their ancestral land. They continued to exercise kaitiakitanga over the vast natural resources and focused on the Waitakere coastline between Pīhā and Muriwai. At the time Te Kawerau ā Maki had little direct contact with the Crown. However, pre-Treaty land transactions between other iwi and early European settlers saw the annihilation of Te Kawerau ā Maki lands.

From 1841 the Land Claims Commission investigated the pre-Treaty transactions. However, when resolving them, the Crown failed to consider Te Kawerau ā Maki’s interests. The Crown granted settlers lands and retained a surplus of land for itself. In 1841 the Crown purchased an extensive area called Mahurangi and Ōmaha. This area included land that Te Kawerau ā Maki held shared interests in, but true to form Te Kawerau ā Maki was not consulted about the sale. Nor did the Crown provide adequate compensation in reserves when it later learned of Te Kawerau ā Maki’s interests in the area.

Between 1844 and 1845 the Crown waived its right of pre-emption, allowing private individuals to negotiate directly with Māori. However, the Crown did not apply the regulations it had established to protect Māori. Through these transactions Te Kawerau ā Maki lost land in west Auckland and around the upper Waitematā Harbour. The Crown took with one hand and gave with another, providing land for settlers and gaining control of the local rich timber sources.

In 1853 and 1854 the Crown turned its attention to acquisition of 100,000 acres in the Waitakere Ranges, deep in the rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki. That is right—100,000 acres. These purchases included the Hikurangi block, for £1,100. The heavily forested block was estimated to include 12,000 acres. It was not surveyed at the time. It was later found to include 54,141 acres. Again, the deed was not signed by any leading Te Kawerau ā Maki rangatira. No reserves were set aside for Te Kawerau ā Maki in the large Hikurangi block. Te Kawerau ā Maki received £50 as a final payment for Hikurangi and two neighbouring blocks.

From the mid-1860s the individualisation of title made Te Kawerau ā Maki lands, including their reserve lands, more susceptible to partition, fragmentation, and alienation. This process continued throughout the 20th century for the very limited areas of the land that Te Kawerau ā Maki had left. Between 1920 and 1951 the Crown acquired the remaining Te Kawerau ā Maki interests in Kōpironui and Puketapu blocks in south Kaipara. The Crown did this by compulsory purchases and Public Works Act takings for sand dune reclamation, despite Te Kawerau ā Maki protest.

The Crown’s actions and omissions have meant that today Te Kawerau ā Maki is virtually landless, with no marae or urupā of its own, as has been previously said. The Crown’s failure to ensure Te Kawerau ā Maki was left with sufficient land for its present and future needs has completely and utterly stalled the tribe’s social, economic, and cultural development. Furthermore, this failure has undermined the ability of Te Kawerau ā Maki to protect and manage its taonga and wāhi tapu and to maintain spiritual connections to the lands. Today the Crown acknowledges that for too long it failed to appropriately respond to Te Kawerau ā Maki claims for redress and justice for its breaches of the Treaty and its subsequent failure to protect the lands reserved for iwi. Today we finally begin to lift the burden of grievance for Te Kawerau ā Maki—a day that is long overdue.

As we start to make those next tentative steps forward, the Māori Party stands to acknowledge the trustees of the Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority. You have acted so diligently and unrelentingly on behalf of your tūpuna and your present descendants, and you have secured a future for generations of Te Kawerau ā Maki yet to come. We take this moment to acknowledge you: George Winikere Taua, Te Wārena Taua, Miriama Tamariki, Hāmuera Taua, and Ngārama Walker. Anō, nā koutou i whakapau werawera, i whakapau kaha, ka tuohu te māhunga ki mua i tō koutou aroaro. [Once again, and because you collectively expended sweat and energy, I bow my head before you.]

Finally, I want to leave the last word to your own Eru Thompson. On that auspicious day of the signing in 2010, Eru summed up the importance of the settlement when he said: “It’s taken almost 30 years for the Government to admit that my people are the tribe of the region. That is just a step leading up to the completion of the claim. It was never going to be exactly what we wanted. The issue is now about moving forward and developing a future for our grandchildren.” Moe mai rā, Eru. Your work to this point is done. Ka waiho anō te toenga mahi ki a mātou te hunga ora, te hunga tūtuki i ō wawata. Nō reira, e te whānau Te Kawerau ā Maki tēnā koutou, kai raro.

[What remains to be done is for us the living, the ones who are to fulfil your aspirations, to address once again. And so I salute you the family of Te Kawerau ā Maki and resume my seat.]

Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Tuatahi māku, ka huri ake ki a koutou o Te Kawerau ā Maki i tae mai ki raro i te tāhuhu o tēnei Whare hei rongohia i tēnei, te pānuitanga tuatahi o tēnei pire. E ai ki ngā kōrero e tautokongia ngā kōrero o te whanaunga nei a Peeni, he tīmatanga tēnei, ehara tēnei i te otinga. Nā reira, pīkaungia mai ō koutou tini mate kei runga i ō koutou pokowhiwhi, utaina mai ki runga i ngā mate o konei. Te haerenga o tērā o ngā rangatira, a Eru, ēhara tōna haerenga, he haerenga mokemoke. Ko tōku hungawai kua mate i ngā rā kua taha ake nei, te pāpā o tōku hoa rangatira, otirā, nā runga i tōna ngākau atawhai ki wēnei kaupapa, nāna i mea mai ki ahau kia haere mai ki konei, hei korero ki wēnei pire, hei mua i tōku hokinga atu ki te kāinga mō te nehunga o tōku hungawai. Nā reira, e Eru, e Tom, te hungawai, haere atu kourua takirua, haere atu, hono atu ki a rātou kua haere i mua i a kourua, haere, haere! Ko rātou te hunga wairua ki a rātou, ko tātou ngā kanohi ora tātou ki a tātou anō, huri rauna tēnā koutou.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. The first thing for me is to address Te Kawerau ā Maki, who have arrived here under the ridgepole of this House to hear the first reading of this bill. In line with the sentiments expressed by this relative Peeni, which I endorse, this is only a beginning, it is not the ending. Therefore, bring forth your many deaths that you bear on your shoulders and place them upon those here. The passing of that one of the esteemed elders, Eru, is not a lonely departure. My father-in-law, father of my wife, died 2 days ago, but because of her kindness in matters like these, she said to me to come and address these bills before returning home for the burial of my father-in-law. Therefore to you Eru and father-in-law Tom, depart both of you, link up with those who have gone on before you two, depart, farewell. Allow the spirits to be with the spirits and we the living to be with the living as well. So acknowledgments to us throughout and thank you collectively.]

I just, initially, would like to acknowledge the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki who have arrived here to hear this, the first reading of Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. I agree with my colleague and whanaunga Peeni when he says that this is just the beginning of better things for Te Kawerau ā Maki. I also ask them to bring with them the spirits of their dearly departed, such as Eru Thompson, who passed away yesterday. We have a saying in Māori that the spiritual walk is not a lonely walk because of the numbers who are going alongside. I just want to acknowledge that someone else who is walking that path with Eru is my father-in-law, who passed away in the last couple of days. My wife, knowing the importance of these bills, said it was fine to go and talk to the bills—this bill and the one that follows—before heading back to Kaitāia for the funeral. So we just acknowledge all those who have passed on, but we say, te hunga wairua, ki te hunga wairua. [The spirits, with the spirits.] Those people who have passed on, they will be with themselves, and we who are living must return to ourselves.

If the House can just bear with me, I am going to read some of the evidence from Graeme Murdoch, written in March 2000 around the Te Kawerau ā Maki claims. I think it actually describes the issues and the history very well in terms of why we have got to the place where we are now. I will start: “Te Kawerau ā Maki regard themselves as a distinct iwi but recognise their close genealogical connections with other tribal groupings of Kawerau descent. This applies in particular to the present day Ngāti Wai hapū of Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Rehua, and it also applies to Ngāti Rongo hapū and Ngāti Whātua, and the seldom recognised Ngāti Te Kahupara hapū of Ngāti Whātua and Te Kawerau descent. All of these tribal groupings share descent from the founding Kawerau ancestors Maki and Mataahu, and their children. Te Kawerau ā Maki also treasure their special ancestral ties and associations with the Waiohua hapū, who live around the shores of the Manukau Harbour. It is with them that Te Kawerau ā Maki have long-shared allegiances to the Kīngitanga and the Paimarire faith. Te Kawerau ā Maki Trust, who have lodged the claim, Wai 470, represent approximately 800 people, yet the iwi has so often been portrayed as being extinct until recent decades. In 1988 there was a television documentary series, Waka Huia, and in a dramatic opening to the programme, the Rev. Hone Kaa commented on this enigma, stating: “Kai te tirohia e tātou ngā kōrero i tuhia e tauiwi. Kei reira e takoto ana te kōrero ko te iwi o Te Kawerau kua rite ki te moa, kua mate, kua ngaro. Kei konei tātou ki Te Henga.” [We are examining the stories written by foreigners. Lying amongst it is the statement that the tribe of Te Kawerau has become like the moa. It has died, it has become extinct. We are here at Te Henga.]

This view of Te Kawerau ā Maki as a lost tribe who have disappeared off the face of the earth has been widely held and promoted by successive authors in recent generations. It is a view which has resulted from an ignorance of the complexity of Māori whakapapa and the history in the Auckland region, and also from an almost total reliance on 19th century historical chronologies produced by such authors as Percy Smith, John White, and George Graham. Most importantly, however, it is a perception resulting directly from the actions of the Crown, which have left Te Kawerau ā Maki bereft of their ancestral land and without a marae or kāinga to call their own.”—and, we hear, without even an urupā of their own to bury their dead. “Prior to 1840 Te Kawerau ā Maki lost a significant proportion of their ancestral land through old land claims transacted on the North Shore and west Auckland, and at Mahurangi. This loss intensified when the Crown allowed the pre-emptive waiver claims from 1844 to 1846 in contravention of the Crown’s sole right of pre-emption and responsibility of protection under the Treaty of Waitangi. In a further contravention of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, these transactions were legitimised by the Crown through an extremely cursory investigation in contravention of its own policies and regulations. Most importantly, Te Kawerau ā Maki were not involved in the transactions or in the Crown-sponsored process which legitimised them. They had no opportunity to challenge the Crown grants made or to obtain any compensation for their loss. These actions from the Crown from 1840 to 1848 resulted in the alienation of some 30,000 acres of land within the claim area alone where Te Kawerau ā Maki held or shared important ancestral interests and rights. A similar amount of land was also alienated as a result of the same process in West Auckland, the heartland of Te Kawerau ā Maki iwi and also within Mahurangi area. By 1848 Te Kawerau ā Maki had lost control of all their ancestral kāinga, mahinga kai, and wāhi tapu around the shores of the upper Waitematā Harbour, which was an integral part of their ancestral home. This massive alienation confirmed through the Crown aggregation of the surplus land subject to the pre-emptive waiver claims and was intensified as a result of the Crown purchases that followed from 1848.”

The evidence then goes on through the decades and outlines the result—the consequences—of that alienation. Then we get to 1918: “Sadly, Te Kawerau ā Maki kāinga, Waitakere, Muriwai, and Kōpironui were severely impacted by the 1918 influenza epidemic and the tribe’s numbers fell again. By this time much of the west coast land that Te Kawerau ā Maki and Ngāti Te Kahupara shared an ancestral interest in had become engulfed by sand.” Basically, the south head of the Kaipara Harbour is a big sandbank that has built up over millions of years and was settled on. “In 1920 the Waitematā County Council and the Crown moved to compulsorily acquire these lands for sand dune reclamation purposes. This included most of the inalienable Kōpironui reserve land that remained in Te Kawerau ā Maki ownership. As a result of these acquisitions the Te Kawerau ā Maki kāinga at Kōpironui became inaccessible. Thus by 1920, just 80 years after the arrival of the Crown and European settlement, Te Kawerau ā Maki had lost the practical ability to occupy their only remaining kāinga. Several families now settled at Pūkaki and Ōrākei, while others were scattered throughout the Auckland region, meeting only for lifecycle events in private homes or on non-Kawerau marae.”

The evidence is substantial about the effects of the Crown’s actions on Te Kawerau ā Maki. This bill goes a small way to redeeming some of the actions of the Crown. I support the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and I have to acknowledge his work in settling a number of Treaty claims. Again, I would just like to acknowledge Te Kawerau ā Maki for being here to see and hear this first reading. Kia ora.

💬 Nuk Korako: Ko te hau mua—

Order! Sorry to interrupt the member. When someone is seeking the call, they should stand and call “Mr Speaker,” and wait for their name to be called. Can we just start that again, please?

E Te Mana Whakawā Tuarua, ā, tēnā koe. Ko te hau mua, ko te hau muri, ko te hau tamawāhine, ko te hau tamatāne, e tū mai rā te tokatoka a Tānenuiāraki, e tūturu mautia, whakamaua ka tina, tina, haumi e, hui e, taiki e! Ā, tēnā rā koutou ngā pou waikākā o tō tātou matua tīpuna, kā mea nui ki te mihi atu ki tō tātou Matua Nui i Te Raki, ko Ia te tīmataka me te whakaoti o kā mea katoa. Ā, nō reira ka mihi au ki Te Kaihōmai o kā mea pai katoa. Ka maumahara mātou ki a rātou kā aituā kua wehe ki te taha wairua. Ā, nō reira e koutou rā, o ia marae, o ia iwi, o ia waka, e haere i ruka ki te ara o te whānui a Tāne ko tua o te ārai, haere, e haere, e haere atu rā! E haere atu rā e hoa, e Eru Thompson. E Eru, e haere atu rā ki te pā o te whakawairua, e takoto mai, takoto mai, takoto mai! E takoto i rangimārie i runga i tō waka. E hoe atu tō waka ko tua o te ārai, haere, haere, e haere atu rā, e Eru, e kā rakatira o Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāti Pūkenga o Tainui waka. Ā, nō reira e hoa, e moe mai, moe mai, moe mai! Ā, tēnei te mihi e huri noa i Te Whare maire nei ka mihi ki kā mema katoa. Ko Tūtehounuku Korako ahau, ko Kaiwhakahaere o Te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori. Ko Aoraki Mauka e tū mai ake kei uta. E maringi mai i Te Awa o Waitaki rāua ko Waimakariri ki Te Tai o Mahanui. Ko Te Whare Mahanui hoki rāua o Te Whare o Wheke, kei te rāpaki o te raki whakaputa e tū ana, hei anō tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Hail the winds of the north, south, east, and west, and the inland rock mass of the great heavenly Father standing firm yonder. Stand resolute eternally, gather, join, and unite! So acknowledgments to you esoteric pillars of our Father in heaven, but, more important, blessings to our great Father in heaven as all things good begin and end with Him. I therefore pay homage to the Provider of all things good. We recollect the dead who have departed to the spiritual realm, and so I say to all of you from every courtyard, tribe, and canoe, go forth upon the expansive pathway of Man to beyond the veil; depart, journey on, farewell! Go forth indeed friend Eru Thompson. Travel on indeed to the spiritual home lying there Eru; sleep, slumber and rest there! Sleep peacefully there upon your canoe. Paddle your canoe beyond the veil, depart, journey on, farewell Eru and esteemed ones of Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Māhanga, and Ngāti Pukenga of Tainui canoe. So sleep my friend, slumber and rest. I greet you, all members throughout this House. I am Tūtehounuku Korako, chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee. Mount Aoraki stands inland over there, and the rivers of Waitaki and Waimakariri flow from it into the sea of Mahanui. The House of Mahanui as well as that of Wheke stand to the north. My appreciation once again to us all.]

I want to acknowledge the previous speakers. E mihi atu ki a koutou e Te Rōpū Reipa, e ngā mihi. [I acknowledge you the Labour Party. Well done.] Also to our Māori Party whanauka—ngā mihi. I also want to reiterate and support the tautoko, the korero around this incredible journey of Te Kawerau ā Maki. Ki ahau ko Kai Tahu. I have been there, we have done this journey, and I know what you have gone through and what you are going through.

I also want to acknowledge, because we have talked here and remembered your rangatira, Eru Thompson. Can I just tell you that 4 years ago I worked with Eru and he was an inspiration. We took a garden called Te Pūtake, a permanent Māori garden, to north-eastern France. Together we worked—Eru, along with the company that he worked for, New Zealand Forests Ltd, along with Jean Joe and Matt Tānui, as well. We took a taonga from the north—a swamp kauri that was over 100,000 years old. Together with a piece of pounamu from the Arahura River, we set them in that garden in north-eastern France, where they remain and will always remain. To me that is significant because that is the journey of two—the pounamu and the kauri. Together you go on that journey, remembering the journey of Kāi Tahu as well—so kia ora.

I do not want to repeat this fascinating journey to date, which these noble people have embarked on and continue to embark on. What I would like to do is acknowledge the work of where this waka will go shortly after the first reading. Today is my first speech in the House as the chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee. I want to remind us all of the origins of this institution and the tikaka that it has established. I am also reminded of the very able and honourable chairs and members who have served on this very unique select committee throughout its history. Today I also want to mihi to my members on the 51st Parliament Māori Affairs Committee: our kaiwhakahaere Te Ururoa Flavell, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Rino Tirikatene, the honourable Metiria Turei, Pita Paraone, the Hon Chester Borrows, Marama Fox, and Jo Hayes. I say to you kā tikaka nō tātou Te Iwi Māori—our rights belong to the Māori people.

We are reminded that the Native Affairs Committee was founded in 1872 to consider the many petitions received from Māori. From the outset, all four Māori members of Parliament sat on the select committee. Much of what was considered was to do with Māori land. As Māori whenua required ratification in the House, many times most recommendations with significant implications were not successful. Still, many of the minor decisions were passed, and it was the one parliamentary institution that kept some faith in Māori MPs. Often they were jeered at and ridiculed, and they were also often unable to keep up with the complex debates in English. It was not until the years immediately post - World War II that the term “native” was replaced by “Māori”, and the select committee became known as the Māori Affairs Committee, as did the Government department.

Of course, it has considered some of the nation’s watershed bills over the 140 years, including land inquiries and commission reports, the Tohunga Suppression Act, the introduction of Māori committees, and, more recently, the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, the Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Claims) Settlement Act, all of the Treaty legislation, the Māori Language Act, and the introduction of the Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Act 2003, to name a few.

A feature of the committee has been a general cross-party collegiality. I say that word again—collegiality. That is based on shared Māori values and aspirations. During my tenure as chairman, I want to continue to preside over the open debate and discussion in a non-partisan fashion in order that this can continue to be characteristic of the Māori Affairs Committee, particularly personally. So kia ora to Te Kawerau ā Maki. E piki mai, kake mai, hōmai te wairua. E mauria mai he whakaako ki te kaupapa nunui. Nō reira, e koutou rā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa, kia ora.

[Climb up, come aboard, and give forth the spirit to me. Bring forth a teaching for this great policy, and so accolades and congratulations to you all. Thank you.]

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Tēnā koe e te Whare. Rau rangatira mā, tēnei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Tēnā koutou ngā rangatira, ngā tangata o Te Kawerau ā Maki. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. I rise to speak to support Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill, which is before the House. Firstly, let me acknowledge all those who have been involved in the negotiations and settlement process of the bill before us today. I recognise that this bill is the culmination of hours and hours and hours of work. To the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki, I pay tribute to them and to their kaumātua and kuia who have passed who have been involved in these claims over many, many years and have brought these claims to the House today. I also want to pay tribute and acknowledge Eru Thompson, who has joined his ancestors along the way.

I acknowledge the deep feelings and loss that these iwi have suffered as a result of the wrongs that have been done to them by the Crown. I pay tribute to all those who have persisted in bringing this bill to the House in their quest for justice. They have done that over many generations. The Greens stand on a charter that recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of this land of Aotearoa. One of our core principles is honouring and protecting the environment and another is a firm dedication to fairness, to peace, and to justice. This bill fits within our founding principles.

Firstly, when I look at this settlement bill, I want to acknowledge the generosity of Te Kawerau ā Maki. The synopsis of the settlement deed that was written by the Office of Treaty Settlements says: “The Crown acknowledges that for too long it failed to appropriately respond to Te Kawerau ā Maki’s claims for redress and justice.” The apology that is in the settlement deed and in the bill itself records “the Crown’s profound regret for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles which resulted in the alienation of much of Te Kawerau ā Maki’s land by 1856. The Crown also expresses sorrow for its subsequent failure to protect lands which were reserved for Te Kawerau ā Maki. Through the apology and settlement the Crown seeks to atone for its wrongs and lift the burden of grievance for Te Kawerau ā Maki so the process of healing can begin.”

When I read the full, acknowledged history, it is apparent that, time after time, going right back to just after the Treaty was signed, the rangatira of Te Kawerau ā Maki have attempted to utilise the legal processes that the Crown developed to protect and retain their interests, but, inevitably, the power of the Crown has been stacked against them. This includes allowing the private sale of their lands without their involvement, and ignoring their shared customary ownership of large sections of land.

An example of that is the Crown’s purchase in 1841 of the 110,000-acre area called Mahurangi and Ōmaha. In this documented case, the Crown dealt with other iwi on this purchase rather than Te Kawerau ā Maki, and it was not really until about 1866 that their interests were recognised by the Native Land Court for their rights within the Mahurangi reserves, and in 1873 for their rights at Mangatawhiri and Tāwharanui. Another example is the Crown’s land purchases between 1848 and 1865 in the west Auckland and south Kaipara areas. Again, from the settlement deed, it says: “There is no evidence the Crown obtained Te Kawerau ā Maki agreement in any of the 1848 negotiations for purchases of land in West Auckland and the Upper Waitematā Harbour area. No reserves were retained in association with these transactions. The land alienated included kāinga then occupied by Te Kawerau a Maki at Nihotupu … and Waikūmete …, [and] significant historic places such as Te Kotuitanga at the Whau Portage, and wāhi tapu at Pukeatua, Muri ō Hikurangi and Tītīrangi.”, and it goes on and on and on.

I am grateful that the settlement deed is there as a historical record. There is no doubt that Te Kawerau ā Maki were deliberately and systematically alienated from their lands. It documents example after example of dodgy dealings by the Crown that Te Kawerau ā Maki have had to bear the consequences of. These include things like land areas being vastly underestimated, like the Hikurangi block, which was purchased by the Crown in 1853. That was estimated to be 12,000 acres and was later found to be 54,141 acres. There are other examples like the Crown’s purchasing prices being low and the losses of around 100,000 acres in their heartland of west Auckland, which were bought by the Crown for about £950, which works out to be about 2 shillings an acre. There are other examples like the Crown never keeping its side of the deal to ensure that there would be benefits for Te Kawerau ā Maki with access to schools, medical care, and ongoing gratuities as a result of these land purchases. Those are only some of the examples.

I guess the swindles—that is, I guess, what we have to call them—were compounded by the inability for Te Kawerau ā Maki to get justice over the last 150 years or more. Te Kawerau ā Maki were not consulted about the creation of the Native Land Court. They were not represented in Parliament during the creation of the Native Lands Acts in 1862 and 1865. Their overlapping interests with other iwi were not recognised in Native Land Court cases time and time again. There was also the vesting of lands in individuals by the Native Land Court, so breaking down the collective ownership of land, which, of course, made it easier for iwi to be alienated from that whenua. In the 1920s land was appropriated by the Crown through the Public Works Act and then, of course, through private sales, as well as the Government Acts that continued right through until the mid-1900s.

The impact on the generations of Te Kawerau ā Maki has been severe. The alienation from their land means that they have suffered. The settlement records the socio-economic impacts and outlines basically the history of their diaspora. It goes into some detail about how that occurred in area after area, place after place, throughout their marvellous rohe.

When I look at the losses, I am astounded at the generosity of Te Kawerau ā Maki. There is no way on earth that this settlement will ever compensate them. That is acknowledged in the apology, in the bill, and in the deed of settlement. The bill does include the Crown’s apology, and we do not underestimate that as well. The settlement itself offers the apology, the cultural redress, and the financial and commercial redress, but when you look at it, essentially it is only nine sites being vested in the iwi, totalling 31 hectares. The financial redress of $6.5 million and $300,000 for establishing a living marae for these iwi is a really big start in their future healing and economic development.

But although we acknowledge the journey that it has taken to get this bill to this House, we do, as Greens, have to state for the record that we never believe that these Treaty bills are full and final settlements. We cannot acknowledge that they are because they are not full settlements, and they are not final because we do not know now how the impact of those historical grievances from before 1992 will impact on future generations. When you consider that this Government bailed out South Canterbury Finance and paid it far, far more than this iwi have received in their settlement, then you see that there is still unfairness occurring. Having said that, we agree that this is a time to celebrate the settlement and future progress towards healing for these iwi, so we commend this bill to the House. We look forward to hearing more about the issues during the select committee process, and we will be supporting the bill. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Ā, tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Ngā mihi hoki ki a koe nā te mea, i tae atu koe ki te taumata i Te W’are, me koutou ō hoa, arā, ko David Carter, Lindsay Tisch, ā, me tō tātou hoa a Trevor Mallard. Nā reira, ngā mihi hoki ki a koe nā te mea ko tēnei te wā tuatahi i muri mai i taku ngarotanga i roto i ngā koraha o Ngāti Hine. Ka hoki mai i muri mai i ngā tau e ono. Nā reira tēnā koe, tēnā koe, tēnā hoki tātou o Te W’are.

Nā reira e Te Kai’hakawā, ka hoki au ki te kaupapa o Te W’are i tēnei wā, ko te mea tuatahi, hoki atu ki a koutou, ngā uri, arā, ko Te Kawerau ā Maki, nau mai, haere mai. Pīkautia mai ngā mate kei waenganui i a koutou, ā, kei te tūhonohono ngā mate kei waenganui i a mātou o Te W’are nei. Nā reira e tika ana, kei te tautoko ngā mihi i mihingia e waku tuākana, ki tēnā o ngā rangatira a Eru. Kua tae kē te wā ka hoki atu koe, kei te hoki ki a Ia, ki te kāinga tūturu mō tātou mō te tangata. Tēnā pea e tika ana, i tīmata i a ia tana hīkoitanga i mua i te urunga mai o tēnei pire kei waenganui i a tātou i te rā nei. Tēnā pea, ko te ’hakaaro ko a ia te utu. He tohu rangatira tēnā! Nā reira, haere e Eru, haere, haere! E kore e mimiti te puna kōrero mōu! I rongo i a mātou ō mahi rangatira kia kawe atu tēnei pire ki mua i a tātou i te rā nei. Nā reira e Eru, haere, haere, hoki atu!

Waihotia ngā kōrero mā koutou te hunga wairua, kua hoki mai ki a tātou te hunga ora nā reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, kia ora mai anō tātou. Ā, ko tēnei te tū mō Te Rōpū Aotearoa Tuatahi ki te ‘hakatakoto ō mātou whakaaro mō te pire nei, arā, Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. Nō reira, koutou ngā uri i heke mai o ngā tūpuna, arā, Tawhiakiterangi, e mōhiotia e tātou ko Te Kawerau ā Maki, ko Mana, ko Te Au o Te Whenua, ko Kōwhatu ki Te Uru, ā, me Tuiau. Te āhuatanga o tēnei pire kia ‘hakatikatika ngā mahi hē, ngā mahi kikino o Te Karauna ki a koutou.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and congratulations to you too because you have reached the pinnacle in the House with your colleagues, David Carter, Lindsay Tisch, and our friend Trevor Mallard. Therefore acknowledgments to you also, as this is the first time back since my disappearance into the barren lands of Ngāti Hine. I am back after 6 years. So greetings and accolades to you and to us all as well of the House.

Therefore I go back to the matter before the House at this point in time, and I go back to you, first the descendants, in other words you Te Kawerau ā Maki, welcome, welcome. Bring forth the deaths that are in your midst and allow them to link up with the deaths among us here in Parliament House. Therefore it is appropriate that I endorse the tributes accorded by my elder colleagues to that esteemed elder, Eru. The time has arrived for you to return to Him, to the real home for the people. Perhaps it is fitting that he began his journey before this bill came into our midst to day. There is that thought that he might just be the sacrifice. That indeed is seen to be sign of greatness! So farewell Eru, depart, goodbye! The pool of stories about will never run dry. We heard of your fine work in getting this bill before us today. Therefore Eru, farewell, depart, take your leave from us, return!

I leave my tributes about you the deceased there and return to us the living, so congratulations and well done to you collectively. My appreciation to us once again. I stand on behalf of New Zealand First to present our views on this bill, the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. Therefore to you the descendants of Tawhiakiterangi, known by us as Te Kawerau ā Maki, Mana, Te Au o Te Whenua, Kōwhatu ki Te Uru, and Te Tuiau, this bill is about the Crown rectifying its wrongful doings and actions against you.]

I rise to take a call on behalf of New Zealand First in this, the first reading of Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. Since I was last in this House I have had the opportunity to witness a number of such bills enacted, which have contributed to bringing this whole process of settlement of claims to the Waitangi Tribunal towards some finality for both iwi and our nation. This bill is part of that process. However, many of those iwi who have settled to date have among their membership a number who still refuse to accept that the terms of settlement have been fair. Previous speakers so far have made references to that unfairness. I am not suggesting that this is the case in this circumstance. Certainly, you have confirmed this by your comment in regard to the level of support from the iwi of Te Kawerau ā Maki of this bill.

We will be supporting this bill being referred to the Māori Affairs Committee to allow for submissions from affected persons, supportive or otherwise. As I understand it, as with most other settlement bills, this bill will settle all historical claims—in this case from Te Kawerau ā Maki—resulting from acts and omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992. The package that forms this settlement includes an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgment and apology, cultural redress, financial redress, and commercial redress. I note that this bill has come to this House as a result of direct negotiations. A proposal was made to them in 2009 that they should take this course. We, in New Zealand First, do not deny any claimant group to opt for direct negotiations, particularly in terms of reaching a speedy settlement. However, we do wonder how much is lost in terms of detailing the extent of the acts and omissions of the Crown and their impact on the respective iwi.

When looking at the historical background to this claim, one is somewhat surprised that the Crown had very little contact with Te Kawerau ā Maki immediately post - signing of the Treaty. Prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, land transactions between other iwi and Europeans saw the alienation of lands belonging to Te Kawerau ā Maki. Further, no evidence was found, after being investigated by the Land Claims Commission of the time, that Te Kawerau ā Maki rangatira were ever involved in this alienation of what was their lands. Their interests were never considered, yet settlers were granted certain lands, and any surplus of land was retained by the Crown. The purchase of the Mahurangi and Ōmaha lands in 1841 by the Crown included Te Kawerau ā Maki interests, and yet they were not consulted. Their customary rights were never investigated, nor was adequate compensation provided when Te Kawerau ā Maki’s interests became known. One can only imagine if that sort of activity were to take place in this day and age. Anyway, why was this? Perhaps it might have become known if this claim had gone to a hearing, rather than into direct negotiation.

As I continue to read the historical background to this claim, it is quite plain that the Crown abdicated its responsibilities to the iwi. Nowhere was this exemplified more than in the 1844-55 period, when the Crown waived its right of pre-emption, which allowed for private individuals to negotiate with Māori, and failed to apply the regulations it had established to protect Māori in these circumstances. The next decade was no better for this iwi, as the Crown undertook a programme of acquisition that saw much of their land interests alienated from them. Between 1920 and 1951 the iwi lost their remaining interests in Kopironui and Puketapu blocks to the Crown by way of compulsory purchase under the Public Works Act. To say that this iwi was left virtually landless would be an understatement. In reality, the only title they hold is to the inaccessible title and another area.

Part of this settlement includes payment of $300,000 towards a marae. Can I suggest to this House that in this day and age $300,000 would probably meet the cost of one toilet. I really believe that this is some insult—not denying the intention of the Crown—to provide only this level of payment. However, we support this bill going to the select committee and, hopefully, the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki will take that opportunity. Nā reira e tātou mā, huri noa ki tēnei o tātou W’are, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora mai anō tātou.

[Therefore, to every one of us throughout this House, my congratulations, salutations and thanks once again.]

The Hon David Cunliffe—5 minutes.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa, rangatira mā, ngā whaea, ngā mana o Te Kawerau ā Maki. Mihi mai, karanga mai, aroha mai. Ngā mate, ngā whare, ngā mana whenua, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Te pō, ka awatea, whiti ao, whiti ao, whitiwhiti ao. Rātau ki a rātau, tātau ki a tātau.

[Greetings to you all, leaders, aunties, and mandated ones of Te Kawerau ā Maki, greetings. We accept your acknowledgments, calls and fond greetings. We pay a tribute to the deaths and salute the meeting houses and mandated ones; accolades, salutations and commendations to you all. Night gives way to daylight, then the sun rises to beckon in the dawn, and then a very, very enlightened world. Allow the dead to remain among the dead while we the living get on with the business that affect us.]

We remember today those who have gone before and we recognise the spirits of those who join us in this House. It is a tragedy that Te Kawerau and all of us have lost Eru Thompson in just the last few days, and we feel his presence hanging here in this House as his dream of the settlement of this claim is now realised.

I wish to acknowledge others who have worked so hard for this settlement: Te Wārena Taua, Hāriata Ewe, Rewi Spraggon. I want to acknowledge Sir Bob Harvey and Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse. I want to acknowledge my west Auckland Labour colleagues: Phil Twyford, who will shortly speak; his predecessor, Chris Carter, MP for Te Atatū; Lynne Pillay, MP for Waitakere; Carmel Sepuloni; and, of course, the Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt. Through our Labour whānui we mihi to you, we recognise you, we celebrate your mana whenua today through this albeit modest but entirely appropriate and historic settlement of redress and an apology by the Crown for its acts and omissions that have contributed to the situation of Te Kawerau today.

Te Kawerau ā Maki is dear to our hearts, but it is an iwi that has no marae—not even its own urupā in which to bury its dead. West Auckland, Te Hēnga, the Waitakeres are resonant of the history of this iwi—the caves at Karekare, where its people sheltered from the raiding parties of the north. Those hills bear testimony to the spirits of Te Kawerau. For all of what has been done wrong—the selling of land without consultation, the individualisation of collective title, dispossession, the alienation, the ignorance of the Crown, and the wilful neglect of mana whenua over the years—let us feel the pain of the iwi for this loss in acknowledging the depths of the Crown’s apology for it.

The Crown is making redress by way of cultural recognition, by way of the nine sites transferred—as is appropriate—to Te Kawerau, and by way of financial redress, principally through 86 percent of the Riverhead Forest being vested in a $6.5 million transfer, and various other sites. It is important in that it gives an asset that will produce a rental and thus provide some self-sufficiency. The financial contribution to the marae is modest, as other speakers have said, and we will stand alongside Te Kawerau and mihi to them as they establish their home marae. I look forward to the day when we can join them in celebration to enter it.

This is a historic day. Te Kawerau ā Maki is a much-loved part of the Waitakere community. I commend the Crown for its apology today, and I commend and celebrate this Aotearoa New Zealand where we lead the world in providing, albeit belated, cultural redress and the restoration of a mana relationship between the Crown and, ultimately, all iwi.

I call Phil Twyford—5 minutes.

Ka tangi te tītī, ka tangi te kākā, ka tangi hoki ahau, tīhei mauri ora! Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui-a-Tāne, te kaumātua nō te iwi o Te Kawerau ā Maki, arā, ko Matua Eru Thompson. Moe mai rā e te rangatira, hoki atu koe ki ō mātua tīpuna, moe mai rā, moe mai rā!

[The sooty shearwater cries, the parrot cries, and I cry too. Behold the breath of life! Uncle Eru Thompson, the elder of the tribe of Te Kawerau ā Maki, alas the podocarpus of the Great Forest of Tāne Mahuta, has fallen indeed. Oh revered one, slumber there, return to your forebears as well, sleep and rest there.]

I want to add my voice to the contributions of colleagues already made in this debate as to the condolences of this House to Te Kawerau ā Maki for the loss of Eru Thompson. As the member of Parliament for Te Atatū in west Auckland, it has been my pleasure to get to know Mr Thompson a little bit. The iwi’s settlement was, of course, important to him, and today it is with some sadness that we debate this first reading of the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill, with his loss so fresh in our minds.

Labour supports this bill, as we do the broad Treaty of Waitangi reconciliation of historical breaches by the Crown to Māori. It is great to see the Te Kawerau ā Maki settlement arrive at this point today. I want to acknowledge the commitment, the hard work, and the leadership from both the iwi and the Crown that went into achieving this agreement. Te Kawerau ā Maki’s experience of colonisation and land loss is not the biggest financially or geographically, it is not the most dramatic or even the most colourful such story in our country’s modern history, yet it is as poignant as any. This iwi, whose customary interests stretch from the Tāmaki isthmus through west Auckland to the upper Waitematā into the North Shore, and up to the Kaipara and Mahurangi, were, through the Crown’s actions and sins of omission, rendered landless to the extent that today they are left without even a marae or an urupā on their own land.

It goes without saying that this state of affairs has had devastating consequences for the well-being of Te Kawerau ā Maki. I want to quote from the deed of settlement the Crown’s acknowledgment of the impact this experience has had on Te Kawerau ā Maki: “The Crown’s failure to ensure that Te Kawerau ā Maki were left with sufficient land for their present and future needs was a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. This hindered the social, economic, and cultural development of Te Kawerau ā Maki as a tribe, and undermined the ability of Te Kawerau ā Maki to protect and manage their taonga and their wāhi tapu, and to maintain spiritual connections to their lands. The Crown further acknowledges that this has severely impacted on the well-being of Te Kawerau ā Maki today.”

Colleagues have touched on the history of land alienation. In 1841 the Crown investigated pre-Treaty purchases, but failed to properly consider Te Kawerau ā Maki’s interests. It granted settlers certain lands, according to the historical record, and retained a surplus for itself—for the Crown—of 22,000 acres. Shortly afterwards the Crown purchased an extensive area called Mahurangi and Ōmaha without consulting Te Kawerau ā Maki. It failed to set aside reserves and failed to provide compensation, and this pattern was repeated throughout the 19th century. In the 20th century the Crown acquired the remaining remnants of Te Kawerau ā Maki interests through compulsory purchase under the Public Works Act. So it is great to see in this settlement package both cultural redress and commercial and financial redress.

I want to finish by noting the inclusion in the cultural redress provisions of the original Te Kawerau ā Maki names that will become official geographic names of some of the natural features in west Auckland, like Te Wai-o-Pareira - Henderson Creek, which runs through my electorate. It is not the most important part of the package, but it is still an important daily reminder of Te Kawerau ā Maki’s mana whenua and as guardians of our place. Thank you.

I call Louisa Wall—5 minutes.

Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira mā, ngā uri o Te Kawerau ā Maki, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ngā mihi aroha ki te whānau o te rangatira o Te Kawerau ā Maki, ko Eru Thompson. Moe mai, moe mai, moe mai e te rangatira.

[To the authorities, voices, leaders of a hundred fold and descendants of Te Kawerau ā Maki, greetings, acknowledgments, and accolades to you all, and loving tributes to the family of the leader of Te Kawerau ā Maki. Rest Eru Thompson, slumber, and sleep on.]

I want to acknowledge all the previous speakers. I think we have sufficiently canvassed the history of Te Kawerau ā Maki’s claim, and I do want to take some liberty and talk about matua Eru Thompson, whom I have known in my role as the member of Parliament for Manurewa but also as a member of the Counties Manukau District Health Board. I want to acknowledge Eru’s leadership as a cultural adviser, as a kaumātua, and as, I believe, a taonga not only of the west but of the south in brokering relationships between Waitakere City Council, the Manurewa local board, the Manurewa Marae, and a lot of tauiwi organisations. I want to mihi to Eru because I believe he has provided the guidance to ensure that the status of Māori as tangata whenua, as mana whenua, has been represented in such forums as citizenship ceremonies, blessings for Manurewa netball courts, and in many different forums. So I grieve, like a lot of the whānau who are here today, and I mihi to you because I know you will be heading home after this to Makaurau Marae, where Eru will lie in state until his burial on Saturday. I will be there, representing our Labour whānau.

So I want to acknowledge everybody who has spoken today, because I think there is a lot of aroha in the House today. I also want to acknowledge the history of this claim. Wai 470 was lodged in July 1994 by Hāriata Ewe and Te Wārena Taua on behalf of Te Kawerau ā Maki. Days like today happen because of the resilience, because of the persistence, and because of the fortitude of our ancestors, of our rangatira, who on behalf of our hapū and iwi go through processes that eventuate in pieces of legislation that will rightfully acknowledge Te Kawerau ā Maki as one of the mana whenua in Tāmaki-maukau-rau. It is interesting to look at how we came to this place within the context of the Tāmaki Makaurau settlement process, which without Te Kawerau ā Maki, who were joined by Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Marutūahu, Te Taou, and the Hauraki Māori Trust board, would have allowed for Ngāti Whātua and the Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei claim to be the only mana whenua of Tāmaki-makau-rau. So I mihi to Te Kawerau ā Maki for fighting always for their right to be recognised as an iwi across Tāmaki-makau-rau.

I also want to mihi to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations because I think when he entered this portfolio, the Tāmaki Makaurau settlement was in a place where I think we were stuck, but what has happened through the process is the recognition of Tāmaki-makau-rau’s full history and the mana whenua of all our iwi across Tāmaki-makau-rau. I want to mihi to Nuk Korako, who is the new chair of the Māori Affairs Committee. I have served on the Māori Affairs Committee and I have to say it is a privilege to sit on the Māori Affairs Committee.

The process that we are involved in is about our truth and reconciliation, it is about acknowledging the history, and it is also about acknowledging, I believe, the incredible generosity of our iwi to enable us as a country to get to this point in time. There will be discussions at the select committee about the quantum because when we look at the land that was taken and the loss of our language and culture, this settlement is only a fraction of the compensation, I believe, that our hapū and iwi deserve. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

E koro mā, e kui mā, e rau rangatira mā o Te Kawerau ā Maki, tēnā koutou. [Acknowledgments to you the elderly men and womenfolk, and leaders of Te Kawerau ā Maki.]

I want to stand here and pay my respects to Eru Thompson, the rangatira of Te Kawerau ā Maki. As previous speakers have said and have voiced it so eloquently, he was one who worked hard to advance Te Kawerau ā Maki’s settlement claims process.

I am pleased to stand to take the last call to support the traverse of this bill through the House, beginning with this first reading. I acknowledge that although the Crown can never fully compensate Te Kawerau ā Maki for the wrongs of the past, this settlement enables Te Kawerau ā Maki to focus on developing a strong future culturally and economically.

As previous speakers have said, Te Kawerau ā Maki descends from the youngest son of the ancestor Maki, named Tāwhiākiterangi, who took the name Te Kawerau ā Maki. Te Kawerau ā Maki hold customary interests in the regions of Tāmaki, or Auckland; Hikurangi, or west Auckland; the Waitakere Ranges; lands in the upper Waitematā Harbour; the North Shore; the Mahurangi coast; and south Kaipara.

I look forward to the select committee hearing, to hearing the submissions on this bill and to returning it to the House at a later stage. Before I close I want to acknowledge the hard work of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Chris Finlayson, and members of the Māori Affairs Committee, whom I know will continue to work hard collegially to get this bill to its final stages. In closing, I commend Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill to the House.

Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.

Waiata