Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time. First, may I welcome the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki who have joined us today for this historic and memorable occasion—nau mai, haere mai. Also, before I turn to acknowledgments, can I welcome some of their friends and colleagues. I see Sir Bob Harvey up there, and I acknowledge him. He is one of my favourite lefties, I have to say. And Penny Webster, it is great to have you here. I also acknowledge Michael Dreaver, who was the Crown negotiator at the relevant time.

Can I say that the final version of this bill is the outcome of a huge amount of hard work and cooperation between all the parties involved in developing this legislation, and it represents a positive approach for the future engagement between Te Kawerau Iwi Settlement Trust, the iwi of Tāmaki-makau-rau, and the Crown. I want particularly to acknowledge the positive engagement of the iwi and the commitment and dedication of its appointed representatives, in particular Te Wārena Taua, who is up in the gallery today, Ngārama Walker, George Taua, Hāmuera Taua, and Miriama Tamariki. Many, many others have contributed to this settlement and, as I say in every third reading, it is always sad that some of those people have passed away during the course of these negotiations. Of course, we acknowledge them as well.

Let me say something about Te Kawerau ā Maki and read it into the permanent record of the House. The people of Te Kawerau ā Maki descend from the youngest son of the ancestor Maki, named Tāwhiākiterangi, who also took the name Te Kawerau ā Maki. Te Kawerau ā Maki hold customary interests in the Tāmaki region, particularly through Hikurangi and the Waitakere Ranges—which is why Sir Bob is here, no doubt. It can be described as Te Kawerau ā Maki heartland. Its customary interests also extend through lands in the upper Waitematā Harbour, the North Shore, and into the Mahurangi coast and south Kaipara. This is a very broad rohe, through which Te Kawerau ā Maki maintained relationships with many other iwi.

In 2008 the Crown recognised the mandate of the tribal authority to represent Te Kawerau ā Maki in negotiations. A year later, in June 2009, Sir Douglas Graham delivered a proposal on my behalf to the iwi and hapū of the Kaipara, Mahurangi, Tāmaki-makau-rau, Hauraki, and Coromandel regions. He proposed that all groups in the region, including Te Kawerau ā Maki, enter direct negotiations with the Crown for the settlement of their historical Treaty claims, and I acknowledge the tremendous work done for me by Sir Douglas.

In February 2010 I signed an agreement in principle with Te Kawerau ā Maki. Our negotiations towards a deed of settlement continued until late 2013. Together we traversed a number of difficult issues, but ultimately we resolved them. On 22 February 2014 I attended the signing of the deed of settlement at Māngere. In 18 months, the bill has been introduced, considered by the Māori Affairs Committee, and is now being read for a third time by Parliament. The settlement of this iwi’s historical Treaty grievances has taken some time to reach this stage, but I do want to commend the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki for their patience and their determination in reaching a settlement.

The financial and commercial redress provided to Te Kawerau ā Maki recognises the losses suffered by them. The iwi will receive $6.5 million plus interest, and with this money it will acquire 86 percent of Riverhead Forest Crown-licensed land. The accumulated rentals that come with the forest will provide a cash reserve and will allow other commercial opportunities to be taken up. Te Kawerau ā Maki will have a number of other commercial opportunities available from this settlement, including deferred selection property rights, as well as rights of first refusal, both exclusive and non-exclusive, over Crown-owned properties. As I say to people—and Nanaia Mahuta will understand this—it is very important, when one is dealing with rights of first refusal, to focus on the particular right of first refusal and its terms. I have said that before, and I will be saying it again on many, many occasions, no doubt.

Cultural redress provided to Te Kawerau ā Maki includes the vesting of nine culturally significant sites, including lands on which Te Kawerau ā Maki can establish a marae and an urupā. The cultural redress package includes an overlay classification over Te Henga Historic Reserve, which we dealt with briefly in the Committee stage a few minutes ago, 11 statutory acknowledgments, and other redress that is culturally significant to the iwi. I certainly want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of Te Kawerau ā Maki, Crown officials, and third parties in reaching agreement over access rights to Te Hēnga site B. It was, if I may say so, a class act on the part of the iwi to deal with those matters at the eleventh hour, and I personally want to thank them very much.

This is an iwi that has lost most of its land through extensive and excessive Crown purchases for three decades after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. 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, and this has had—as it always has—a severe impact on the health and well-being of their community. Today Te Kawerau ā Maki is one of the few iwi in Tāmaki that does not have a marae or an urupā on its own land.

At the heart of the settlement, then, is an apology from the Crown for acts and omissions that breached the Treaty and its principles. Not only is this apology an acknowledgment of long-held grievances but also it is the right thing to do. Therefore, I hope that this settlement forms the basis of a new relationship between the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki and the Crown based on mutual trust, cooperation, and respect for the Treaty and its principles. I look forward, as Attorney-General, with responsibility for post-settlement relationships, to working with this iwi and its great leaders to build up a very close relationship in the years to come. I commend the bill to the House.

Tēnā tātou e te Whare. “He hōnore, he korōria ki Te Atua, he maungārongo ki runga i te mata o te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa, āmine.” Nā te mea e ōku whanaunga kua mea mai tō tātou Whare me kaua e tīmata tō tātou huihuinga i te ata nei nā runga i ngā manaakitanga o tō tātou Kaihanga, ka waiho nā atu mā taua karakia tā tātau whakatau i a koutou i te rā nei, nō reira, haere mai rā, haere mai rā, haere mai rā. Hāpai nei ō koutou aituā ki runga i te tāhūhū o tō tātou Whare, ka tukuna mā koutou otirā, mā mātou, mā tātou rātou e tangi, haere, haere, haere!

E ōku rangatira, e ōku mātua, e ōku tini whanaunga, kua roa rawa tō koutou takahanga ki runga i tēnei huarahi, kua tae mai rā koutou ki roto i tō tātou Whare i te rā nei me te whakaaro mō ngā rangi kei mua i a koutou, otirā, kei mua i a tātau katoa. Nō reira, mōku nei nā ēhara ahau i te oro i te kōrero, i te waha anō i ngā kōrero a te Minita mō te kiko o te pire i te rā nei. E mōhio ana koutou, e mōhio ana mātou, ko te anga o te titiro, anā, mō ngā uri whakatupu e haere ake nei. Nō reira ka mihi atu ahau ki Te Minita, ōna āpiha mō ā rātou mahi ki te whakatutuki i ngā moemoeā, i ngā nawe o Kawerau ā Maki, anā, ka kite tātau ki roto i ngā kupu o tēnei pire.

E ōku rangatira, ka huri atu ahau ki te reo tuarua nā te mea, i a au e kōrero Māori ana, ka kite ahau i ngā tāngata e mōhio ana ki Te Reo Māori, e whakaae ana! Ko te hiahia kia whakaae mai ngā tangata kore Reo Māori, nō reira, ka tahuri atu ahau ki te reo tuarua.

[Greetings to us in the House. “Honour and glory to God. Peace upon earth and goodwill to all mankind. Amen.” Because our House has stated, my relatives, that our proceedings this morning will not begin under the kindness of our Creator, I have left it for that particular prayer to begin our welcome to you; so welcome, welcome, welcome. We raise your misfortunes upon the ridgepole of our House, and leave it for you and, indeed, for all of us, to mourn. So to them I say, farewell, journey on, depart!

To my esteemed ones, my elders and my myriad of relatives, you have roamed for a very long time upon this journey and have arrived at last into our House today, with your view about the future before you and, indeed, before all of us. Therefore, for me in particular, I shall not reiterate the Minister’s statement nor repeat his words in regard to the content of the bill today. You know, and we all know, that it is directed at the generations to come. So I acknowledge the Minister and his officials in their efforts to fulfil Te Kawerau ā Maki’s aspirations and grievances, which we have all seen in this bill.

To my esteemed elders, I turn now to address you in the second language because, as I am speaking in Māori, I note that those who understand me are approving. I really wanted a nod of approval from the ones who do not understand Māori, so I turn to the second language.]

Today we are celebrating a good and just settlement, although, as with many settlements, the redress provided is just a small portion of the actual loss. But it is an unfortunate fact that there are significant problems emerging in the settlement process. It is with some regret that I raise this matter today. Te Kawerau ā Maki may be thinking they were lucky to get their settlement in just before Minister Finlayson gave up on the Auckland negotiations. I say this as the member for Tāmaki Makaurau, because there are many other Treaty settlements that we could also be celebrating today as whanaunga. Sadly—and I say this as a member of the Labour Party, which does not, never has, and never will play politics in this area. Very shortly, as the House is aware—next month—we will be remembering 40 years of the Treaty of Waitangi Act, which initiated these settlement processes and the very discussions that we are having in the House today. However, I do believe that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations has floundered with the Treaty settlements and the cracks are starting to show.

There is a lot of respect for what the Minister has achieved, but it appears, sadly, in Tāmaki-makau-rau he is running out of commitment in some parts of the country, and this, to me, is quite troubling. As I understand it, there was considerable goodwill when Sir Douglas Graham began the negotiations in Auckland in 2009, and the Minister has mentioned this. Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Ngāti Whātua ki Ōrākei, and the Tāmaki Collective were signed in 2012, but this is now the first Treaty settlement in 3 years in that region. These are not large settlements by any scope, but the pace of progress in Tāmaki-makau-rau is slowing to a crawl and, in some cases, has completely come to a halt.

The slow pace of settlements in Tāmaki-makau-rau is, obviously, causing trouble for some of the Minister’s colleagues. Last week the Government announced it had reached an agreement with Tāmaki-makau-rau iwi over housing, yet if you read the text of that agreement, you will see that it says: “Ngā Mana Whenua advise that lack of progress on durable Treaty settlements is an impediment to their ability to participate, and resource their participation,”. I know from talking to some of those iwi that there are mounting frustrations and a sense of hopelessness. We see that with the threats of litigation and with iwi going to courts or to the Waitangi Tribunal in order to have their frustrations resolved, which surely cannot make for a smooth pathway forward. The Minister ordered a halt—

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: No—this bill.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Minister ordered a halt to negotiations in Hauraki because he does not negotiate with iwi who are in litigation against the Crown. I am speaking directly to the wider Tāmaki-makau-rau rohe, and I do so in respect of this bill because of the large competing interests and, indeed, the politicisation of many of the aspects of settlements in Tāmaki-makau-rau.

It is a well-known fact that there are claims being made across wider Tāmaki-makau-rau, and I do want to applaud Te Kawerau ā Maki for their efforts in establishing their mana whenua, which is set out in this bill. It also acknowledges the apology from the Crown. It also does provide scope for Te Kawerau ā Maki to realise parts of tino rangatiratanga over what is their customary rights to many of the lands, significant names, and places throughout Te Kawerau ā Maki and Tāmaki-makau-rau.

However, in this particular contribution I do want to have a look at what does this bill mean moving forward, not only for Te Kawerau ā Maki but for many of the tribes in the Tāmaki-makau-rau—

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I just want to draw the member’s attention to the fact that what he has given so far is essentially a general debate speech, holding the Government to account in respect of the pace of Treaty settlements. He is at liberty to do that in that forum. This particular forum is discussing the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. I guess I am indicating to the member that I have given him about as much latitude as I am prepared to give in relation to that tenor of his debate. Now he should concentrate on the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill—although I acknowledge that there has been some rigorous debate, and some very staunch opposition to some of the aspects of the bill, I do commend the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and also Te Kawerau ā Maki for coming to agreement around, as I have already mentioned, some of the names of some of the geographical areas within Te Kawerau ā Maki, which is indicated in the bill, and also the effect that is given to Te Kawerau ā Maki to establish mana whenua.

Now mana whenua—we know there are several aspects of that, which the Crown acknowledges carries the weight of mana whenua. One of those is a customary right or a traditional right, and the other one is of marae and continued settlement. So the bill does provide for Te Kawerau ā Maki to have a marae, to get that recognition. I do want to say, just as I wrap up my contribution on this particular part, that other iwi in Tāmaki-makau-rau also celebrate with Te Kawerau ā Maki at this point in time, and it is evidenced by the faces who are sitting up in the gallery.

Nō reira kāti ake! E te Whare, ka whakaaro ake ahau mō ngā kōrero o te rōia rongonui a Moana Jackson e pā ana ki ngā take Tiriti i te wā nei. Hei tāna mō Te Tiriti o Waitangi ahakoa kua tatū te nuinga o ngā kerēme, nā, ko Te Kawerau ā Maki i te rā nei, ehara tēnei i te whakataha ake i ngā take Tiriti, otirā, i te taonga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi mō ngā tau e haere ake nei. Ki a koutou e Te Kawerau ā Maki, kei te pūare tonu ngā kuaha ki a koutou ki roto i ōku tari katoa o Tāmaki-makau-rau, tae noa mai ki te tari i roto i tēnei Whare, māku koutou e āwhina atu i roto i ō koutou mahi whakatutuki i ō koutou moemoeā i mua i a koutou, otirā, i mua i a tātau o Tāmaki-makau-rau. E te Whare, e te Māngai o te Whare kāti ki a tātau, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa.

[So enough! In regard to Treaty matters today, I think about statements made by that well-known lawyer, Moana Jackson. According to him, while the majority of claims are settled, such as the Te Kawerau ā Maki one today, it does not mean that Treaty matters—indeed, Treaty effects—are being put to one side to be dealt with in years to come. He said to Te Kawerau ā Maki that the doors to all my offices in Auckland remain open to you all, including to the office in this House. I will help you in your efforts to realise your aspirations that are before you and indeed, before us in Auckland. So enough. To us, the House and the Deputy Speaker of the House, acknowledgments, greetings, and congratulations to you and to us all collectively.]

Tēnā koe e te Mana Kōrero o te Whare Pāremata i tēnei ata. Hei tīmatanga kōrero mō taku kōrero i tēnei ata, me pēnei rawa te kōrero: “Kia whakarongo ake au ki te tangi mai o te manu nei a te mā tūī, tūī, tūī, tuituiā. Tuia i runga, tuia i raro, tuia i waho, tuia i roto, tuia te here tangata ka rongo te pō, ka rongo te ao, tuia i te muka tangata i takea mai i Hawaiki nui, i Hawaiki roa, i Hawaiki pāmamao, te hono i wairua ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama. Koia rā e Rongo, ka whakairia ki runga, tūturu ōwhiti whakamaua kia tina! Tina! Hui ē, tāiki e!”

Te Kawerau ā Maki, kai ngā karanga rua tēnei te tū ake o Ngāti Te Ata, te āhuatanga anō hoki ki Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Raukawa, otirā, a Te Arawa e tū nei ki mua i a koutou i tēnei rā. Kua raruraru katoa a Te Ururoa i te mea i tēnei ata tonu nei e rua ngā tūpāpaku kei te wā kāinga. Ko te ngākau kei te wā kāinga ko te tinana kei Pōneke. Kua tae mai ki te whakanui i tā koutou rā, kai aku rangatira! Wārena, ko koe tērā te kanohi e mōhio nei au, hara mai ki roto i te Whare Pāremata mō tā tātau kaupapa. Te wāhi ki a au, he whaiwhai haere i a Peeni, mema o Te Tai Tokerau, o Tāmaki, taihoa mō Te Tai Tokerau. Kai konei te mema o Te Tai Tokerau! Mō taku hē, mō taku hē! Ēngari ko tāku ko te whakatau i a koutou, he whaiwhai haere i wā rātau kōrero ki a koutou kua tae mai i tēnei ata, haere mai, haere mai, haere mai!

E kī ana te kōrero, ko Te Kawerau ā Maki Te Waonui a Tiriwā mai i Te Korekore ki Ngā Tai-ā-Rakataura, ko Rangihina, ko Whangaparāoa, ko Mahurangi. Nā Maki te mana me te rangatiratanga te wā i a ia. Kua takatakahia tērā mana, ā kāti! Koinei te otinga mai! Nō reira, hara mai koutou me ngā mate huhua kua pā ki a koutou. Tuituia ki ngā mate e kōrerohia ake nei, kia taea ai e tātau te kī atu waiho rātau kia okioki, anei koutou, anei tātau i tēnei rā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau.

E hoa mā e āhua ōrite tā koutou take ki ērā o ngā iwi o te motu mō ngā mahi tūkino a te Kāwanatanga, a ngā momo Kāwanatanga ki a Ngāi Māori i ngā tau kua hipa hāunga ngā kōrero o te mema o Tāmaki. Kai te mihi rā ki te Minita, ko ia tērā e akiaki nei i ngā kerēme kia eke ki tēnei taumata. Ko au tēnei e noho nei ki tana taha ki te āki, ki te tautoko, ki te āwhina i te wā e tika ana, kia taea ai koutou te heri i ngā take ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare Pāremata. Nō reira, koinei te mihi ki a ia, whakatakoto nei i tēnei pire ā, kua eke ki tōna taumata ā taihoa ake nei ko tōna whakatinanatanga kei reira te mahi uaua, te whakatinana i ngā kōrero, ā, kāti, mā tātau katoa tērā e whakatutuki.

Ki taku mōhio ko te tangata nei, ehara i te tangata, he toa! Ko Maki tōna īngoa, ko tana hoa rangatira ko Rotu, ā, i tīmata mai ai i Kāwhia, ā, ka puta ka haere ki Tāmaki-makau-rau te wā i a ia. Ā, nā wai, nā wai ka puta a ia me tana rahi ki Kaipara ki Waitakere, ki Whenuaroa ō Kahu, Kahumatamomoe o Te Arawa tērā e kōrerohia ana, ka mutu ki Mahurangi. Ā, nā wai, nā wai ko ngā tamariki ka puta, ka haere ki Kaipara ki te Tonga, ki Whenuaroa e kōrerohia ake nei, ki Hikurangi, ki Whangaparāoa, ki Mahurangi, ki Matakanakana, ki Pākiri, ki Aotea, ā, tae atu ki Te Hauturu-o-Toi. Nā runga i te haerenga atu, te hokinga mai rānei o ngā tamariki me ngā iwi, te kohikohinga ā Maki, arā, ka puta te kōrero, Te Kawerau ā Maki.

E ai ki taku mōhio, ā, he wā tōna ka tau atu a Maki rāua ko Rotu i Te Korotangi, he pā tawhito tērā e tata atu nei ki te kōngutu awa o Waihī. Nā, i te mea he toa tēnei tangata, i a ia te mana motuhake nei, te tino rangatiratanga e kōrerohia ake nei ki runga i tōna whenua. Nā wai, nā wai, nā wai, ā, ka tae mai te kiritea, ka eke ki Aotearoa nei—he hiakai nōna ki te whenua. Ka heria mai ia i wāna māuiui, ko te rewharewha, ērā āhuatanga katoa i tau mai ki ngā iwi i Aotearoa nei, e pērā anō hoki te āhuatanga, arā, ki te iwi e noho nei.

Āe, i tohe te kotahitanga, Te Kawerau ā Maki ki ētahi, i whakapiri atu ki ētahi ēngari, ā, i tōna mutunga ka hoki ki Waitakere, ki te tonga o Kaipara i raro i te marumaru o Te Kīngi Māori i taua wā, a Te Wherowhero. Koinā tētahi hononga ki Te Kīngi, Te Kīngitanga, arā, tēnei o ngā tuahine e noho nei. Ahakoa te mahi a ēnei māuiui, ka mutu te āhuatanga o te tohe o tētahi ki tētahi, ko ngā pakanga tāku e kōrero nei, ā, ka iti haere te tokomaha o te iwi e kōrerohia ake nei, ēngari, kua noho māia, nā runga i te āhuatanga o tēnei mea o te whakakotahitanga.

E ai ki taku rongo, ēhara i te mea i tino noho piri Te Kawerau ā Maki ki te Kāwanatanga, ki te Karauna. Ēngari, arā anō ngā mahi tūkino a te Tāwanatanga. Pēnei tāku e kī nei, he hiakai nōna ki te whenua, he aha ai? Hei tuku ki te hunga i haramai i tāwāhi kia eke mai ki Aotearoa nei. Ko te mate kē, he tinihanga tāna mahi, he rāwekeweke te mahi, kia taea e te kāwanatanga, e te Karauna, te whiwhi i ngā whenua. Ka mutu he aha te otinga mai? He kore whenua nō Te Ao Māori! Anā, anei te tauira, anei te tauira, ko Te Kawerau ā Maki kua rongo i tērā āhuatanga! Nō reira, koinei te tangi ake! Ahakoa i a ia te mana kōrero o te whenua, ā, i takatakahia ērā āhuatanga e ngā Kāwanatanga! Kai roto i ngā hītori tērā āhuatanga, kai roto i ngā hītori, nō reira, ka waiho ake ki reira e kore au e whakatōroa i ngā kōrero kia roa, ēngari, kai reira tonu ngā kōrero.

Nō reira koinei te tū ake, he paku kōrero nei ki te kī, anei Te Pāti Māori e tautoko nei i tēnei o ngā pire e hoa mā. Mahia te mahi, mahia te mahi! Nō ngā rā tata kua hipa ake i eke atu ki Taranaki ki raro i te maru o Te Maunga Tītōhea, ki reira whakatau atu i te āhuatanga o te kerēme o Taranaki. I pērā anō te āhua, ko te muru me te raupatu, ko te kōhuru i te tangata, ko te patu i te tangata, ā, ka mutu, pai mai, kino mai i noho nei rātau i raro i te korowai o te rangimārie, arā, ko ngā poropiti o Taranaki, ko Te Whiti o Rongomai rāua ko Tohu Kākahi. Hoi anō, pai mai, kino mai ahakoa pēhea te āhuatanga o te kāwanatanga ki a rātau, ko te rangimārie i whakatakoto ki mua i te aroaro o ngā hōia, he tohe, he whānako, he tinihanga te whakamutunga mai. Nō reira, ko te mea pai i tēnei wā, kua oti i a koutou te whiriwhiri i ngā painga mō te iwi.

Nō reira, ko tāku, ko te mihi atu ki a koe kai taku rangatira Te Wārena, ko koe te tiamana, ki taku mōhio, arā anō a Hōri Taua, a Miriama Tamariki, a Hāmuera Taua, ka mutu, ko Mārama Walker, ēhara i te mea kai te mōhio ki a koutou ēngari kai te mōhio tonu ki te taumahatanga o tēnei āhuatanga.

Nō reira kāti ake! Kua tangi te pere me pērā i te kōrero, me whakapoto te kōrero. Hara mai koutou ngā ringa raupā o te iwi kua tata tutuki, ka pāhi te pire i tēnei rā. Taihoa ake nei ka rere ngā rawa ki a koutou! Ko te mahi nui, ā, ka tīmata hei taua rangi! He oranga ngākau kua tae mai koutou i tēnei rā. Haere mai, haere mai! Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa e Te Whare, kai raro!

[Greetings to you this morning, Mr Deputy Speaker of Parliament House. To commence my address, allow me to listen intently to this bird, the tūī, calling and saying: “Stitch, stitch, stitch it securely. Stitch together what is above and below, on the outside and internally. Stitch that which binds mankind together and proclaim it so the void and the world can hear. Stitch it with the fibre of mankind that was borne here from the great, long, and distant Hawaiki, and from the gathering place of the spirits, to the world of enlightenment. And so, it is done, Rongo! Suspend it uppermost, securely and firmly! Secure it! It is! Let us join and intertwine to secure it! And now it is done!”.

Attention, Kawerau ā Maki, my other half, I stand before you today to proclaim a connection to Ngāpuhi through Ngāti Te Ata, to Ngāti Raukawa, but at the same time to Te Arawa. Te Ururoa is in total disarray because at this very moment this morning there are two deaths back home. The heart is back there but physically I am here in Wellington. I have come to extoll you and your day, my esteemed ones! Wārena, you are the one I recognise inside Parliament House for our policy—welcome. My part is to follow up Peeni, the member of Tāmaki Makaurau—excuse my slip of tongue, and allow me to hold off on Te Tai Tokerau! The member for Te Tai Tokerau is here. I apologise for my error, my memory lapse! My responsibility here is to welcome you and to follow up our contributions to you who have arrived here this morning, so welcome, come hither, welcome!

The saying goes that Te Kawerau ā Maki is the Great Forest of Tiriwā, from the Nothingness to Ngā Tai ā Rakataura, Rangihina, Whangaparāoa, and Mahurangi. In his time Maki held the power and authority. That authority was trampled upon. Enough said; this is the end of it. So welcome to you, with the very many deaths that are upon you. Stitch them to the deaths mentioned here, so that we can say: allow them to rest. Here you are then with us today, so greetings, salutations, and acknowledgments to you and to us collectively.

Visitors, your experiences reflect somewhat those of other tribes of the country, in regard to the Government or the forms of Government acts of ill-treatment upon Māori at large in years past, and, yes, as reiterated in the comments by the member for Tāmaki Makaurau. I commend the Minister, as he in particular is the one urging claims along to reach this stage of the settlement process. My part has been merely to sit alongside him and encourage, support and give assistance, at a time that is appropriate, and in a way that will enable you to bring issues before the House of Parliament. Thus I make this acknowledgment to him for presenting this bill that has made it to its pinnacle. Its implementation will occur in due time, and that is where the difficult work is, in terms of implementing what is inside it. But, enough, we will all be involved in that part of the process.

My understanding is that this person was not an ordinary man but a warrior. Maki was his name, his wife was Rotu, and Kāwhia was where they settled first. From there they migrated to Auckland, and over a period of time he and his people moved around, settling at places like Kaipara, Waitakere, Whenuaroa ō Kahu, Kahumatamomoe of Te Arawa, and finally Mahurangi. Eventually, when the children were born and grew up, they moved to southern Kaipara, to Whenuaroa, which was referred to earlier on, and to Hikurangi, Whangaparāoa, Mahurangi, Matakanakana, Pakiri, Aotea, and eventually to Te Hautūru-o-Toi. As a consequence of the journeying of the tribe or the returning of the children, the saying “the collections of Maki”—that is, Te Kawerau ā Maki—emerged.

According to my information, there was a time when Maki and Rotu ended up Te Korotangi. That was an ancient fortified settlement close to the mouth of the Waihi River. Now, because this man was a warrior, as mentioned previously, he had sovereignty and autonomy over his land. Eventually and over a very long period of time, the white man arrived here in New Zealand—he wanted the land. He brought his sickness with him. The influenza and all those kinds of ailments arrived here and were inflicted upon the tribes here in New Zealand; that is how the situation was, in other words, with the tribe assembled here now.

Yes, the collections, Te Kawerau ā Maki, some protested. They linked up with others, but eventually went back to Waitakere, to the south of Kaipara under the protection of the Māori King, who was Te Wherowhero at the time. That is one connection to the King and the King movement. Indeed there is another connection, through one of the sister parliamentarians sitting over there. Despite the impact of illnesses like these and the circumstances that led to where a tribe persisted against another—I am alluding to the land wars here, when numbers in this tribe alluded to, were severely reduced. But they remained resilient, because of the nature of this collective thing.

According to what I have heard, the relationship that Te Kawerau ā Maki had with the Government and the Crown was not very close. But there were other acts of Government ill-treatment as well. As I have been alluding to, it wanted the land, and why? So that it could relinquish it to those coming here to live in New Zealand. The problem really was it acted in a deceptive and a manipulative manner, to enable the Government and the Crown to acquire lands. So what eventually was the consequence? Māoridom became landless. And Te Kawerau ā Maki here is the classic example of that! It impacted on them. And this, therefore, is why the process has been so tearful. Even though Maki held mandate over the land, Governments walked all over that mandate. That circumstance is historical, but I leave it there; I will not prolong my sentiments and drag it out.

And so, I stand here with a simple message that the Māori Party endorses this bill, colleagues. Do what has to be done! In days just past, I was present in Taranaki, under the shadow of that barren mountain, as part of a settlement process there. The situation was the same there: plundering, confiscation, murder, and violation of people. Regardless of the circumstances, the good and the bad, they lived beneath a cloak of peacefulness, under the leadership of the Taranaki prophets, Te Whiti of Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi. And so, regardless of how the Government treated them, whether it was good or bad, they remained passive to acts of persistence, robbery, and deception by the militia.

So the positive thing at this point is that you have negotiated benefits for the tribe. I commend you, my leader Wārena, as you are the chairman. I understand there are others as well who should be recognised: Hōri Taua, Miriama Tamariki, Hāmuera Taua, and Mārama Walker. It is not that I do not know you, but I am aware just how difficult this situation is that you work in.

So enough! The bell has rung and one should take the hint and end the contribution here. Welcome to you, the workers of the tribe! It is almost done, the bill will pass today. The resources will fly to you collectively soon enough. The important work will commence on that day. How heartening it is that you have arrived here today; welcome, welcome. Congratulations, well done to you collectively, and thank you to us all in the House. I resume my seat.]

Tēnei e tū ana ki te tāpiri atu aku mihi ki ērā i waihotia ki a koutou o Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kei o Te Waka o Tainui. Ka nui te aroha ki tēnei tū āhuatanga kua tutuki i a koutou ā koutou kerēme, arā, kia mōhio pai mai te take i Tāmaki-makau-rau, nō reira i roto i tērā tū āhuatanga e tika ana me mihi atu ki a koutou katoa i tae mai nei.

[I stand to add my acknowledgments to those that were left with you, Te Kawerau ā Maki, the stern of the Tainui waka. There is much empathy to this manner of approach taken by you collectively to settle your claims—that is, documenting the matter relating to Auckland, so that it is understood well. So in that kind of situation, it is apt indeed that we commend all you who have arrived here.]

To the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, can I first thank you for the opportunity to recognise in this particular instance your officials at the Office of Treaty Settlements who played a key and constructive role for the Māori Affairs Committee. What they were able to achieve in a very delicate situation where there were some omissions were, I think, useful improvements to enable the relationship of Te Kawerau ā Maki with some local landowners there, but, more important, they were a testament of their leadership and their place within west Auckland. Can I acknowledge too Sir Bob Harvey. The relationship with Te Kawerau ā Maki goes way back, but of more recent times, to my knowledge, the relationship that you had accorded with Te Kawerau ā Maki under the former council certainly cemented a useful way of working with mana whenua in west Auckland under the new bigger council. I also acknowledge Alf Filipaina, the councillor for the Auckland Council, and your presence here today because that is a continuation of a relationship.

Minister, when I grew up as young spring chicken we had wānanga and, in fact, they were hosted by leaders of Te Kawerau ā Maki. We grew up with the knowledge that Te Kawerau ā Maki held the northern boundary of Waikato-Tainui. We grew up listening to the rich histories and about the culture and whakapapa connections through Te Kawerau ā Maki and extensively to the northern part of the country. We grew up learning karakia that were held by people in Te Kawerau ā Maki. Te Wārena Taua is here, and so I have to acknowledge his role in being a vessel of historical knowledge, traditional knowledge, in our particular iwi. However, that said, vehemently Te Kawerau ā Maki held on to their own sense of identity. Recognising whakapapa connections, the history of the land, and the migration of ancestors, they were able to not only share the broader knowledge within the iwi but hold the specific knowledge within their own particular rohe.

I heard in the opening of your speech, Minister, that you made reference to the matter that Te Kawerau ā Maki neither had a marae nor a urupā within their rohe, but when we were in the Māori Affairs Committee we heard their evidence that there were matters yet to be resolved in relation to Te Kōpironui, and I want to take from a submission the representation that we had, word for word, so that it is in the Hansard and recorded as a notable point before the select committee. Although we could not determine the outcome—which I think, in some vain hope, might have been the prospect that people were seeking—that was not our role and, unfortunately, we could not do that.

Here, as the select committee heard it, was the particular interest in relation to Te Kōpironui: “Te Kawerau a Maki have longstanding interests in the Woodhill Forest area and in particular interest the land blocks commonly referred to as Kopironui. Our founding ancestor Tawhiakiterangi lived at Kopironui and is buried at the Kawerau waahi tapu Hautu, an urupa which is situated on Kopironui B2E2. Many others of our ancestors are also buried there. Kopironui contained important cultivations, several significant pa and waahi tapu. These lands were occupied by our ancestors right down to the time when the Crown began to take the land from us in 1920. Kopironui is an old kainga of our people and it is of immense cultural significance to Te Kawerau a Maki that our tupuna buried our dead on the land. This is land we have always regarded as our own and which we regularly frequent to pay our respects. The 1934 and 1951 taking of these lands from my grandmother and other of our old people by the Crown meant that Te Kawerau a Maki were unable to access resources or the West Coast to collect seafood. Under the Agreement in Principle signed by the Crown and Te Kawerau a Maki, the Kopironui lands were to be transferred as part of our settlement. Following an objection, this redress was removed from Te Kawerau a Maki’s settlement package and was ultimately replaced with the process set out in Part 2 of the Bill. The objection to the inclusion of the Kopironui lands in the settlement package was disappointing given the good faith agreements we had reached with the Crown and neighbouring iwi.”

I read this out as an extract from the submission that the select committee heard from Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority simply to act as a pou. Because this matter is yet to be determined, it will rely on numerous amounts of evidence and statements, but the select committee heard this evidence. I make reference to it because within the context of the Treaty settlement process and the principles by which the Minister applies that process, it was not able to be resolved by a particular select committee.

The second point I would like to make reference to is one of the constructive outcomes to allow vehicle access to the Harre family, in particular, on Te Hēnga site. This was a matter that was considered very carefully by the select committee. The family were indeed asking for permanent easement rights. The select committee considered that, but on weight believed that the nature of the enduring relationship between the Harre whānau and their land, and also with Te Kawerau ā Maki, to negotiate after 30 years another access provision, would be a way of cementing the relationship. That was seen, in terms of the spirit of Treaty settlements, to be a more sustainable way to achieve an outcome. It was not what the Harre family asked for, but the select committee, I believe, in good conscience, wanted to balance the interests of Te Kawerau ā Maki and the Harre whānau, and I am so pleased, with the good grace of consideration, that an outcome here was able to be determined. For Mr Bellamy, his submission was a little bit more straightforward as he did have a legal easement agreement with the Department of Conservation. It was a simple omission, which—the select committee had heard—had not been included within the context of the settlement. Again, with the good grace of consideration by Te Kawerau ā Maki, that was able to be affirmed as well.

The third point that I would like to comment on before I finish is the nature of Te Kawerau ā Maki’s interests in the Auckland isthmus. With the brief time available to me, it is useful to make reference to the way in which the city is developing but also to the relationship with the Auckland Council, the largest council of our country. I hope that these types of settlements in particular, because we are talking about Te Kawerau ā Maki today, provide useful, strong, and enduring relationships at a political level and at a more functional level with the Auckland Council, because as that city continues to grow and mana whenua are affirming what their interests are in our largest city, we cannot but help to hope that the vibrant nature of Auckland will be reflected in the future development of that city, which is our largest Polynesian city in the South Pacific. That is what a settlement such as this affords us: the opportunity to identify now who can legitimately have those interests reflected within the Tāmaki isthmus.

Nō reira kāti rā! He nui ngā kōrero ēngari he poto te wā. Ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa i raro i te tuanui o tēnei o tō koutou Whare, tō tātou Whare nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Therefore, enough! There is much to talk about, but, oh, so little time to do it in. We appreciate you all greatly under the roof of this House of yours and ours, so congratulations to you and to us all collectively.]

Ā, tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. I mua i te tīmata o taku kōrero, ka huri au ki ngā whānau me ngā hoa o te iwi o Te Kawerau ā Maki, ā, nau mai, haere mai i tēnei rā, i tēnei rā whakahira, kia ora.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. And so before I commence my address I turn to welcome the families and friends of Te Kawerau ā Maki; come hither on this day of significance; welcome, and congratulations.]

Before I start my contribution, I just want to set a few things straight—things that have been said in this House this morning. I want to refer to the korero from Mr Henare, when he mentioned the signing of Treaty negotiations by our Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. That member was so wrong in so many ways in that statement.

I can tell this House that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Chris Finlayson, is far from slowing down when it comes to Treaty negotiations. Just on Saturday I attended, along with Minister Finlayson and Minister Flavell, the signing of the deed of settlement for Taranaki iwi. That was an amazing experience and a very emotional and moving experience, and I am so privileged to have been present.

I also want to talk a little bit about the Minister having recently spent the day with Ngāti Rehua and being in continuing discussions with Ngāti Tamaoho and Ngāti Takutai. It is not so much about the Crown slowing down the process; it is about allowing iwi to have the time to have the process to do their internal deliberations, because that is what it is all about. It is about making sure everybody is happy and moving forward in the process. That being said, I am privileged to stand to take a call in the final reading of Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill.

As with other settlement bills that have traversed this House in the past, many who have been instrumental in the start of the process are no longer with us today, but I am sure that they are here in spirit—that they are looking down on this House, looking down on the whānau and friends who are here today, and are very proud of where we have got to in this final reading, before the bill traverses to its Royal assent.

I have heard many times in this House also that perhaps the amounts from these negotiations are like a drop in a bucket. But we all know that drops turn into rivers that turn into oceans. As I look up into the gallery, I look at the very wise heads, the very influential heads, that sit up in the gallery for Te Kawerau ā Maki. As a member of the Government I am very happy, very satisfied, that that little drop that people talk about will be turned into an ocean in time to come. I know that there are the skills and the wise heads up there to make that happen for this iwi.

I want to congratulate all the workers and everybody, all the whanau of Te Kawerau ā Maki, on your perseverance in this process. It has been one that I cannot even fathom—the pain that you have felt through the loss of your lands for the expansion of Auckland. I stand here and I am humbled—I am absolutely humbled—to be able to set into the record the perseverance that you have endured over time, which has brought the conclusion to your bill today. And so, without any further ado, I say congratulations from us—congratulations. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

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 me ngā tāngata o Te Kawerau ā Maki, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker and the House. To you esteemed ones, I applaud you collectively in regard to the matter of the day; so greetings to you, the leaders and people of Te Kawerau ā Maki. Welcome, acknowledgments, and congratulations to you all.]

It is my privilege to take this call for the Greens, to speak on this final part of the Treaty settlement bill for Te Kawerau ā Maki. It is a historic day, and I want to acknowledge all the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki who are here with us in the House and those who are at home watching the proceedings. I recognise that these proceedings today represent decades and decades of struggle over generations to get to a point where Te Kawerau ā Maki can finally start on a future with a better economic footing and an apology from the Crown, which will help them to heal from the past injustices.

I want to acknowledge those who signed the deed of settlement on behalf of Te Kawerau Iwi Settlement Trust—Te Wārena Taua, or George Taua; Hāmuera Taua; Miriama Tamaariki; Ngārama Walker—while also acknowledging that there are many who have worked on this settlement for years and years. I would like to acknowledge the negotiation teams from both sides. I will also take this opportunity to acknowledge those who have passed away during the time that this settlement was negotiated and settled. Tēnā koutou i ā koutou tini mate, nō reira, haere e ngā mate, haere ki te kāinga tūturu o Te Matua i Te Rangi, haere, haere, haere!

[I acknowledge you and the myriads of your dead. So farewell the dead; go forth to the true home of the Heavenly Father; travel on, depart, and goodbye!]

And so to return to the issue before us: te hunga mate ki te hunga mate, te hunga ora ki te hunga ora [the dead to the dead and the living to the living]. This settlement and legislation represent an act of enormous generosity by the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki. It is some compensation for the huge losses of land and the economic bases of the people, going right back to just after Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. Those losses were sustained through the dodgy actions of the Crown, which created laws to disenfranchise people from their land and from their economic base.

We have to acknowledge that the financial redress comes nowhere near compensating for the huge land losses. This includes vast Crown purchases in the 19th century, in places like Mahurangi and Ōmaha; Mangatawhiri and Tāwharanui in west Auckland, including the beautiful wild beaches; south Kaipara; and the upper Waitematā Harbour. These are just some of the areas where Te Kawerau ā Maki were alienated from their land.

The cultural, financial, and commercial redress amounts to $6.5 million and a contribution to the establishment of a marae for Te Kawerau ā Maki. That is the compensation for the hundreds of thousands of acres lost, and we have to acknowledge that by any measure it comes nowhere near a full recompense for what was lost. But we also acknowledge that this was the best deal that Te Kawerau ā Maki could negotiate at this time. I think it behoves us to remember that the priority of this Government is sometimes somewhat skewed, as $6.5 million is a quarter of what this Government will spend on a referendum for a new flag.

I come back to the settlement. Further cultural redress includes the vesting of nine significant cultural sites to iwi, the right of first refusal over some land, and it re-establishes in this legislation and reinforces the kaitiaki status of the iwi in their rohe. I just want to acknowledge, like others have before me, the relationship that Te Kawerau ā Maki have had with the Waitakere City Council and the councils before that. So I would like to acknowledge, up in the gallery, Sir Bob Harvey, the former Mayor of Waitakere city; and also the former Mayor of Rodney District Penny Webster, who is now an Auckland councillor; and, of course, Councillor Alf Filipaina. It is great to see them here, actually, as a representation of the genuineness of that relationship on both sides.

I said earlier that it is a privilege to be involved in the select committee and to speak on this settlement bill in the House, and I maintain that. I am an Aucklander. I have the rare privilege of reading the history that was outlined in the settlement deed of Te Kawerau ā Maki. I was born into Te Kawerau ā Maki rohe—I was born in Helensville—but until this deed of settlement came to the House with the legislation, this was the first time I was aware of the full history of the people of the area, and I regret that that is the case for many in New Zealand who are unaware of the losses suffered by iwi in the area where they now live all over Aotearoa.

Worse, there are some who resent the settlement process and, unfortunately, there are still those racists—there are racists—who would refer to that $6.5 million in financial redress as a gravy train. Any reasonable person would not agree with that. Clearly there is more effort needed to educate the citizens of Aotearoa, tangata Tiriti, who need to understand what went before and how they fit into the full picture and the full history of Aotearoa New Zealand.

It is my duty to place on the record that the Greens do not believe that this settlement is a full and final settlement. We have looked at the compensation; it is clearly not a full compensation. Future generations of Te Kawerau ā Maki would be bound by this agreement and we have no way of knowing how these historical injustices will affect those future generations, so we reject that claim.

Having said that, it is important to acknowledge that this is a day of celebration. But we are also concerned that sometimes the Treaty settlement process pits Māori against Māori, iwi against iwi, and that the Crown has a huge role in determining with whom it will negotiate—who is in; who is out—and that is of concern, because there we may see further breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I just needed to get that on the record.

I will finish up by going back to the settlement deed and the legislation and looking at the apology. The final paragraph in the apology says: “The Crown unreservedly apologises for not having honoured its obligations to Te Kawerau ā Maki under the Treaty of Waitangi. Through this apology and this settlement the Crown seeks to atone for its wrongs and lift the burden of grievance so that the process of healing can begin. By the same means the Crown hopes to form a new relationship with the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki based on mutual trust, co-operation, and respect for the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.” We wish that too. We celebrate with Te Kawerau ā Maki for reaching this part of the process of the settlement. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ā, tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker, tēnā hoki tātou e noho nei i roto i te Whare i te wā nei. E tū ana tēnei ki te tautoko i ngā mihi i mihingia e tōku tuakana ki a koutou ngā uri a Te Kawerau ā Maki. E ai ki te kōrero, nau mai, haere mai, piki mai, kake mai i runga i te kaupapa i karangahia i a tātou kia ‘hakahuihui tahi hoki tātou i te rā nei, nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. Tēnā hoki koutou i ngā tini mate kei waenganui i a koutou, ka nui taku mihi ki a rātou, kahore kau kē i waenganui i a rātou ā-tinana, ēngari, e mōhio nei i a au kei konei rātou ā-wairua. Nā reira, wēnā te take i maumahara i a au tētahi a Eru Thompson, tana hingatanga i mua i te urunga mai o tēnei pire ki te Whare, nā reira, e tika ana ki te mihi atu ki a ia me ērā atu o ngā hunga ahakoa kahore kau kē i waenganui i a tātou ā-tinana mai i te rā nei, ēngari nā rātou i tīmata mai tēnei hīkoitanga. Nā reira, ka nui ngā mihi ki a rātou! Ka hoki mai ki a tātou te hunga ora, nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou.

Tēnā hoki kōrua, e Bob, kōrua me Penny, ā, ki a koe hoki e te whanaunga e Alf! Ka nui taku hari kei konei koutou nā te mea, i raro i te kaupapa o tēnei pire, kei konei tētahi kaupapa, mēnā e hiahia ana tātou me te iwi kia ‘hakatau, kei konei i a koutou ki te āwhina te kaupapa nei ēngari, waihotia i muri nei! Māku e ‘hakamarama te āhuatanga o ēnā tū momo kōrero.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and also greetings to us all seated in the House at this moment. I stand to endorse the tributes accorded to you by my elder kin to you, the descendants of Te Kawerau ā Maki. As the saying goes, welcome, come hither, climb, and mount up upon the matter that has beckoned us here to gather together today; so acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively. Acknowledgments to you in regard to the myriad of deaths in your midst; huge condolences to them, even though they are not amongst us physically, but I do know they are here spiritually. That is the reason why I reminisce over one of them, Eru Thompson, who passed away just before this bill was introduced into the House, so it is only fitting that I acknowledge him and the rest of them who are not here in person amongst us today, but they who started this journey. And so I have much respect for them! I come back to us, the living; therefore, welcome, acknowledgments, and greetings to you all.

Salutations to you Bob, you and Penny, and also to you, my relative, Alf. My happiness is huge that you are here collectively, because here under the purpose of this bill is a proposal, if we and the tribe desire to adjudicate over it, we are here to help this proposal along—but leave it here for later. I will explain the ramifications of that sort of detail.]

Nā reira, I stand on behalf of New Zealand First to lend our support to this bill. I want to say that this bill is the culmination of a great deal of cooperation between a number of parties. It is also the culmination of a long journey that the iwi have taken to have their claims settled and to have this bill come to this stage today. The bill helps to confirm the iwi’s mana whenua status, and I know that there has been some difficulty in doing that. Although, in their minds, they have had no doubt as to the mana in which they stand within the rohe that this bill covers, to have it confirmed in legislation will assist those coming generations to establish and to continue to maintain what mana whenua means to them.

The bill also makes comment about the lack of a marae in the area. I made special mention in my mihi to a former mayor of Waitakere City; and to Penny Hulse, who is still involved in local body politics; and the current councillor Alf Filipaina, who sits on the Auckland Council. I know that when the iwi begin—[Interruption] Sorry, Penny Webster. My apologies; that is why I have a leader. But the point I want to make is that when the iwi commence their marae-building project, they will need all the assistance that they can get from the local body, and to have former representatives of the local body present today—I hope that they go back and take this message with them when Te Kawerau ā Maki are ready to start their marae project.

The bill also includes, amongst the quantum, $6.5 million. For some iwi, that is but a mere drop in a very big pool. For Te Kawerau ā Maki, although it may be an amount that, obviously, they have signed up to, it reflects, like all claims, the contribution that iwi who settle their Treaty claims make to this nation by accepting a settlement that really does not reflect 100 percent compensation, to which they are entitled.

I also want to make a comment about the term of access for certain parties to the block known as Te Henga. I make this reference to it because it is an example of the generosity that this iwi are displaying to their neighbours. Within the bill, it gives access to an equivalent period of two generations, with the right of renewal of a further two generations. Although the affected parties may have wanted access for time immemorial, I think the fact that they have come to this point shows they have realised just how generous the iwi have been, and quite clearly they have accepted it. But I must say that during the Māori Affairs Committee hearing process, we were certainly alarmed that that particular party had not been aware of this settlement until its members read about it in a local newspaper.

Another thing that the bill actually records—and I want to contribute to the discussion to ensure that it is in the Hansard—is that within a generation of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, this iwi became landless due to the actions, and I am going to be polite here, that the Crown had been involved in. The settlement is a credit to the negotiators. The team that made up that group of negotiators has been named, and I want to lend my support to them. But it is really a credit to their tenacity and their ability to negotiate such a settlement.

I want to conclude by saying that negotiations in the whole Tāmaki area have been somewhat difficult for all parties, not least for the Crown. One of the difficulties is the reluctance on the part of the Crown to allow access to information about the terms of settlement with other iwi when negotiating, particularly with Te Kawerau ā Maki. Again, I want to acknowledge the tenacity of the iwi.

I just want to conclude by acknowledging Te Kawerau ā Maki. Although they may have felt that the journey so far has been an onerous and burdensome one, can I just assure them that as leaders the real challenge is still ahead of them. As my father always said to me, if you purport to lead your people, never forget to look behind to see whether or not they are there, because if they are not, then you have to ask the question: who are you leading?

Nā reira, e tātou mā, Mr Assistant Speaker, koutou e Wārena, koutou e te rōpū nei, ngā mihi hoki mō ngā rā kei te heke mai, nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou huri noa ki tēnei o tātou Whare, kia ora mai tātou.

[So to us collectively throughout the House, to you Mr Assistant Speaker, to Wārena, and this group, congratulations, accolades, and good tidings also for the future, and my appreciation to us all.]

Ā, kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker. Tuatahi kei te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou kua tae ā-tinana mai ki te Whare nei. E tautoko ana ngā whakatau kua tuku e āku hoa me taku parata nei a Te Ururoa ki a koutou. Anō nā ki te karakia i whakatau nei i a tātou ahakoa, pēnei te hanga o tēnei Whare, āhua rerekē i ētahi wā, ā, kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koe e te parata i whakatau i a tātou i te karakia i te ata nei, nā reira tēnā koutou, nau mai! Nau mau, haere mai ki tēnei Whare, Te Ana o Te Raiona, e kī mai ētah. Ētahi o koutou kāre pea e mōhio mai ki tēnei Johnny come lately ēngari, ka tū ake au hei māngai mā tātou, mā tātou Te Iwi Māori i roto i tēnei Whare, nā reira, kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Karanga mai, karanga mai ko Te Kawerau ā Maki, ko Te Wao Nui ā Tiriwa, mai i te korekore ki ngā tai ā Rakataura, ko Rangihina, ko Whangaparāoa, ko Mahurangi. Nā Maki te mana me te rangatiratanga!

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge you all who have arrived here in person to this House. I endorse the words of welcome extended to you all by my colleagues, and in particular my parliamentarian brother, Te Ururoa. Now, regardless of the prayer that welcomed us today, the procedure of this House can be somewhat different at times, but I do want to acknowledge you brother in welcoming us with a prayer this morning; so salutations to you collectively and welcome. Welcome, come hither into this House, the Den of the Lion, as some would call it. Some of you may not know this Johnny come lately, but I stand as a representative for us, the Māori people in this House, so consequently I want to extend this greeting to you collectively; welcome to you and to us all collectively.

Hark the call, listen to the call, it is the call of Te Kawerau ā Maki, it is the Great Forest of Tiriwā from not a thing and from the shores of Rakataura, Rangihina, Whangaparāoa and Mahurangi. The control and autonomy is with Maki.]

Close to 18 months ago an esteemed group gathered at Makaurau Marae in Māngere to witness the signing of the deed of settlement for all outstanding historical Treaty claims. There was the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Christopher Finlayson; the Minister Responsible for Whānau Ora and former Māori Party co-leader, the Hon Dame Tariana Turia; and the Minister for Pacific Peoples, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.

The signing was witnessed by members of Parliament Claudette Hauiti and Tau Henare, and Te Kīngi Tuheitia and representatives of other iwi also attended. But of all the dignitaries present and all the historic kōrero laid down, one stood out from the rest, and it was the message from Te Wārena Taua, the chairman of Te Kawerau ā Maki Iwi Authority, who said: “There were many elders who fought hard to retain our ancestral taonga. They fought hard to see our grievances brought before the Crown, and now, today, it is all about them and our grandchildren to come. I am happy.” Today we remember those elders and we reflect on the opportunities ahead for all our mokopuna. That five-letter word “happy” is all the more remarkable when one looks through the litany of lies and deception, of mistruths and inappropriate actions, that have been laid bare before the House.

Te Kawerau ā Maki’s claims are based on the Crown’s actions and omissions, including extensive Crown purchases, in the three decades following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. In other words, it started badly, long before there was any sight of a Treaty to sign. The Crown recognises that it breached the Treaty of Waitangi through the pre-Treaty land transactions and pre-emption waiver purchases for lands in which Te Kawerau ā Maki had an interest. This includes land in west Auckland, in the Upper Waitematā Harbour. It also relates to the purchase in 1841 of an extensive area called Mahurangi and Ōmaha. Less than a year after signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Crown failed to conduct an adequate investigation of customary rights when it purchased the land.

The way in which the land was surveyed, the way in which the transactions were approved, the way in which regulations were overlooked, and the process whereby the Crown granted land to settlers within the Mahurangi and Ōmaha purchase area—all of this—caused confusion and uncertainty for Te Kawerau ā Maki. This was land that had been set aside as Te Kawerau ā Maki land, and land that was never protected, leaving the people alienated from tribal control.

In effect, Te Kawerau ā Maki were rendered virtually landless. This has had a severe impact on the health and well-being of its people. The effects on the community continue to be felt today. Indeed, step by step, decade by decade, the circumstances of Te Kawerau ā Maki are in themselves a riveting example of how not to express a genuine and meaningful partnership.

The 1853 and 1854 purchase deeds for Hikurangi, Paeōterangi, and Puatainga are other fascinating examples of what not to do. In each of these cases the deeds contained provisions that 10 percent of the proceeds of sale were to be expended for the benefit of Māori and for specific payments to be made to the vendors. Yes, one could even say that 10 percent was, at best, tokenistic, but it gets worse. The Crown failed to keep adequate records after 1874, and the vendors, including Te Kawerau ā Maki, received no further identifiable benefit under that 10-percent provision.

The Crown went on, on its sorry way, to purchase a large amount of land in the Waitakere region between 1853 and 1856, failing to actively protect Te Kawerau ā Maki by ensuring adequate lands were reserved from the purchase and protected from alienation. To add insult to injury, the Crown then introduced native land laws without consulting Te Kawerau ā Maki. The individualisation of title imposed by these laws was inconsistent with tikanga. Te Kawerau ā Maki had no choice but to participate in the Native Land Court system, but the title determination process carried significant costs, including survey and hearing costs that, at times, contributed again to the alienation of Te Kawerau ā Maki land.

As we have seen with so many other iwi, the introduction of native land laws simply made the land more susceptible to partition, fragmentation, and alienation, contributing further to the erosion of tribal structures, which were based on collective ownership of lands. There was no form of collective title enabling Te Kawerau ā Maki to administer and utilise their lands until 1894, by which time far too much had already been taken.

Then there were the lands of Kōpironui acquired by the Crown for sand dune reclamation between 1920 and 1951, including compulsory taking of land. The loss of these lands has been a major grievance for Te Kawerau ā Maki, hindering their access to urupā, kaimoana, and other resources. The wholesale taking of land, the failure to provide adequate compensation and reserves, and the loss of Te Kawerau ā Maki wāhi tapu has drastically and dramatically hindered the social, economic, and cultural development of Te Kawerau ā Maki as a tribe.

I have taken the time to trace the Crown’s pattern of destruction over subsequent decades for a specific purpose today, and it brings us back to the meaning of happiness. How humbling it is to think of the words of the kaumātua Te Wārena Taua when we traverse the breakdown of trust and honour in terms of the Crown’s actions—actions that undermined the ability for Te Kawerau ā Maki to protect and manage their taonga, their wāhi tapu, and to maintain spiritual connections to their lands.

Financial redress will see the tribe receive $6.5 million, which will help to buy back 85 percent of the Riverhead Forest, but how can any amount of financial recompense ever address the impact felt on the well-being of Te Kawerau ā Maki today? Te Kawerau ā Maki has waited a long time to reach this day, and I do believe the $300,000 contribution towards supporting them to achieve their dream of creating their own marae is a really important starting point for a new future. Although no contribution or fiscal address will ever rectify the wrongs of the past, perhaps the aspiration for their own marae will enable the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki to focus full steam ahead on developing a strong cultural and economic future, and that, fellow members, will be a commitment that we can all feel happy about supporting. I am sure even koro Eru would be smiling down today, happy to move forward.

Yes, last year was the time when I came and first listened to this claim, with a box of tissues, just overwhelmed by the utter destruction that came to our people, but today we put that five-letter word into practice—“h-a-p-p-y”—despite all of that, so that we can move forward. I commend you, and I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.

Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Waitakere te maunga, ko Kaipara, ko Waitematā, ko Manukau ngā moana, ko Te Kawerau ā Maki te iwi o ngā mana whenua, ko One Kiritia te marae. Kia ora.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings, acknowledgments, and congratulations to you all. Waitakere is the mountain, Kaipara, Waitematā and Manukau are the seas, Te Kawerau ā Maki are the mandated locals, and One Kiriata is the marae.]

It has been said that Te Kawerau ā Maki’s settlement is significant because it is a lesson for all of us in what the Crown should not have done, and yet it is an opportunity for us to now face forward and say, as a reunited community, what we can do. I wish to begin by acknowledging some of the rangatira who have brought us to this point. I will then briefly recount, although others have done so in more detail, some of the historical factors that have brought us to this point, and acknowledge the terms of cultural and material redress that bring us to this day, where mana whenua is restored and where a new mana-based relationship can carry us into the future.

In doing so, I wish to, firstly, acknowledge ngā mate, rātou ki a rātou, tātou ki a tātou [the dead—they to themselves, and we to ourselves], and in particular Eru Thompson, who, as much as anyone, worked to bring this day to fruition. It is a sadness that he is not here with us physically on this day, but I am sure we can all feel his spirit, and that of other tipuna, fluttering around, taking more than a little quiet satisfaction.

Can I acknowledge also Te Wārena Taua, who has worked tirelessly with others to bring this to fruition, and also Rewi Spraggon, my old friend, and the broader team from Te Kawerau ā Maki who grace the Chamber today. Thank you for coming. It is a delight to acknowledge my old friend Sir Robert Harvey, and with him former mayor Penny Webster and councillor Alf Filipaina. In respect of Sir Bob, as a new west Auckland MP I speak today on behalf of my westie colleagues, Phil Twyford and Carmel Sepuloni. We wish to acknowledge the proactive work that the former Waitakere City Council did across multiple fronts, not only on the eco-city and not only on the revival of the arts community. Central to its mission was the acknowledgment and restoration of a mana-based relationship with iwi.

The city that Sir Bob led was, in my view, not just another local body. It has been my deep privilege as an MP for the area to see and to be part of a living, breathing process of restoration of mana to the tangata whenua and to the whenua itself, and for me it remains, and always will remain, an example of what good visionary and progressive governance at local level can be. I wish to pay my respects on this occasion to Sir Robert for his personal commitment to that over many years. I would go so far as to say that I am not sure we would be here today without his efforts, alongside those of the various kaumātua, kuia, and rangatira who grace the Chamber.

The history does not read well. I wish to acknowledge the Attorney-General for his very, I think, honest recounting of that history in his various speeches on this subject and the work with the officials that he has led. There is no politics in this between the sides of the House. We are joined together as New Zealanders to wish Te Kawerau well.

The Crown negotiated with Ngāti Whātua in ignorance of the claims and the history of Te Kawerau ā Maki. They were a small iwi. To say they were overlooked is to put it generously. Run over might be a more accurate piece of common parlance. Their land was sold out from under them. To mention but one area, as Kelvin Davis my colleague did in an earlier speech, they lost 100,000 acres in central Waitakere—100,000 acres. Today we mark a partial redress in the return of several dozen acres. And yet Te Kawerau has not asked for the return of that land, nor rent, nor back rent, nor any other form of redress that, in the strict letter of Pākehā law, if the claim was validated, they may have had a case for. So on behalf of the west Auckland group of MPs, and acknowledging Peeni Henare and Kelvin Davis whose rohe also, as our tangata whenua MPs, covers that rohe, I wish to acknowledge the generosity of Te Kawerau ā Maki in the spirit of this settlement, liberating us all to move forward as colleagues, as Kiwis, in a mana-based relationship.

We would not be here today if it had not been for the work of successive Governments, of local government, and, critically, the generosity of spirit of this iwi, who are prepared to forgive what are the most grievous and ignorant of practices by the Crown in days gone by. Those of us gathered in this Chamber today, as members of Parliament, carry the mantle of the Crown. Even though we were not there then, we, on both sides of this House, are part of this process to acknowledge the return of mana to you and to say that the Crown did wrong—multiple times, wilfully, sometimes ignorantly—and the effects on your forebears were devastating.

The Crown and we are sorry, and that is such an inadequate, pathetic word in the light of that history. None the less, it is true. Out of that sorrow, out of that acknowledgment, out of the restoration of that mana comes a token settlement that can never adequately redress the loss or the wrong that has been sustained. Others have mentioned it in more detail, and I will not repeat all of the detail. I will acknowledge that the $6.5 million that represents 85 percent of the Woodhill Forest does provide the opportunity for a sustainable economic base for the iwi, and I think that is a very important part of the package. The iwi must have pūtea in order to provide for future generations.

The settlement provides cultural redress in title to a range of sites of historical significance, and first right of refusal on a number of others, which are important. I well know the hope and the passion that has lain behind the aspiration of Te Kawerau to once again have its own home marae. I think the settlement of $300,000 towards that, I say to the Attorney-General, is probably not the greatest amount that I could have imagined, and I hope that the Crown will continue in this spirit of partnership alongside Auckland Council to regard itself as being on a journey with the iwi, to make sure that that dream is realised. But I look forward to seeing a working marae for Te Kawerau ā Maki at Te Onekiritea Point, or exactly wherever they choose to erect it.

It has been an absolute privilege, on behalf of my west Auckland colleagues, to take this call. I can only hope that my ill-formed words can, in some small way, convey the depth of affection, of respect, of hope, and of gratitude to all of us who wear the cloak of the Crown and the representation of the people of the rohe. To all of you who have worked, dreamt, hoped, and aspired to the fact that today would come, can I acknowledge that you are both Māori and Pākehā, that you are of the past. We are here today, and together we face the future with renewed hope. Thank you.

Tēnā koe e te Mana Whakawā, tēnā koutou katoa e ngā mema o te Whare Pāremata o Aotearoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. To all of you members of the House of Parliament of New Zealand, I acknowledge you.]

I rise to take a brief call on Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill, because the members who have spoken before me have covered the key elements, such as the financial redress of $6.5 million, the restoration of lands, and the contribution being made—the grant of $300,000—towards the establishment of a marae. But it is apposite to observe on this day, when we are celebrating and commemorating Her Majesty the Queen of New Zealand achieving the longest reign in the history of any of her realms, that this bill does more than simply restore mana to those who were mistreated through the actions of the Crown. It also helps to restore honour to that Crown, which committed those acts that led to the deprivation of rightful property and also to the loss of mana in the past by this iwi. So I would like to congratulate the Minister, the Hon Chris Finlayson, on his efforts in this regard and also the rangatira of the iwi, who have engaged fruitfully and have come to a settlement that does set the iwi up to go forward with, hopefully, I think, a sense of optimism. I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā rā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Tuatahi māku ka huria ōku kanohi ki a koutou kua tae mai ki raro i te tuanui o tēnei Whare, koutou nō Te Kawerau ā Maki, nau mau, haere mai ki tēnei tō koutou Whare, ēhara hei whakarongo noa iho ki te pānuitanga tuatoru o tēnei pire ēngari, hei kite ā-tinana i te whakatutukitanga o tēnei moemoeā, arā, te whakataunga o ngā kerēme kia taea ai e Te Kawerau ā Maki te anga whakamua, he aha ai? Hei painga, hei hauora mō ngā uri whakatipu nā reira, tēnā rā koutou! Kua rongo ake nei wētahi o ngā ingoa i ‘hakahuatia i waenganui i a koutou, kore au e pērā rawa ai i te mea, kei mahue e ahau wētahi, kei pukuriri rawa koutou ki ahau. Ēngari tēnei te mihi ki tēnā, ki tēnā, ki tēnā ō koutou huri rauna kia ora!

Hei mua i te titiro whakamua me titiro whakamuri tātou katoa nā te aha tēnei pire i tae mai ki waenganui i a tātou? Ka kite ahau i ngā hē o te Karauna i meinga atu ai ki Te Kawerau ā Maki me te whakaaro ko tō rātou kōrero, te kōrero ka pāngia ki ngā iwi katoa puta noa i Aotearoa, ngā kikinotanga, ngā raupatutanga, ngā murua whenua, te tāhaetanga o ngā tikanga ērā mea katoa! I meangia ai ki a Te Kawerau ā Maki, kia ngāi tātou katoa ngā iwi puta noa i Aotearoa.

Kua rongo ake nei i ngā kōrero a Rāwiri Cunliffe mō te murunga o tētahi 100,000 eka o ngā whenua i roto i te pae maunga o Waitakere. E kore e taea i ēnei rangi kia murua ngā whenua pērā te rahi ēngari i aua rā, rite tonu ngā mahi a te Karauna, te tāhae whenua, te raupatu whenua, kia noho whenua kore ō tātou iwi! Nā te Karauna i ‘hakawehewehengia i te whenua, i ‘hakakongakongatia i te whenua kia kore e taea e ō tātou whanaunga kia whai oranga kei runga i ō rātou ake whenua! Pukuriri rawa ana ahau te kitea horekau he marae, horekau he urupā a Te Kawerau ā Maki! E hia rā ngā tau rātou noho marae, noho urupā kore ana, mōhio rātou e nehua ō rātou whanaunga, mōhio rātou me tangihia ō rātou tūpāpaku ki wāhi kē, ki marae kē ēngari, horekau kei runga i tō rātou ake marae. Nā reira, koia te kino o ngā mahi a te Karauna!

Ēhara ahau e mea atu ana nā tērā taha o te Whare ahakoa te kara he kikorangi, he whero, he aha atu rānei te kara o te tōrangapū, ko tātou te whakatinanatanga i ēnei rangi ō rātou i ērā rangi o te Karauna. Nā reirā, mahara ake ahau te kōrero o tētahi o ōku kaumātua, “mehemea ka hē koe me whakatikangia”! Nā reira mā tātou o tēnei Whare e whakatikangia ngā hē kua meangia atu ki Te Kawerau ā Maki. Nā reira, koia tāku e tautokongia ana i tēnei pire, kia whakatikangia ngā hē, kia āwhinatia rātou, kia hāpai i ō rātou uri whakatupu, kia anga whakamua rātou, kia hāpai rātou i ā rātou anō, me kī, kia hāpai rātou i a tātou anō. Mō ia iwi ka hāpaingia i a rātou anō, ka whakapaingia Te Iwi Māori whānui.

Nā reira, mihi kau ana ki a koutou kua roa e tatari ana mō tēnei rangi. Hari koa ana ahau te kite ka tupu tētahi paku pūtea hei hanga i tētahi marae mō Te Kawerau ā Maki, $300,000 noa iho! Waimāria nā rātou, mehemea ko tēnā te utu o ngā whenua nā te mea, mōhio ana tātou ki te nui o te utu mō ngā whenua kei roto i Tāmaki-makau-rau i ēnei rangi. Ēngari, he tīmatanga noa iho tērā!

Hari koa ana ahau ki te kite hoki, e 17 ngā wāhi whenua ka whakaingoatia, ka whakahokia ngā ingoa ki ngā ingoa tika, ngā ingoa tūturu. Tae mai a ngāi Pākehā mā ki koneke, ki tēnei motu ka hurihia ngā ingoa o ngā wāhi whenua. Mā tēnei pire e whakatikangia tērā āhuatanga mō Te Kawerau ā Maki. Kore rawa ahau e whakarārangitia ngā wāhi katoa ēngari, he mea iti noa iho tēnā kia tahuringia ki ngā ingoa tika, kia mōhiotia whānuitia ngā ingoa tika o ō tātou whenua. Mahara ake ahau ki te raruraru i roto o Taranaki i te tahuritanga, i te hokitanga o te maunga a Egmont ki a Taranaki—pīki raruraru! Ēnei rangi mōhio ana tātou i taua maunga ko Taranaki—horekau he raruraru i āianei! Ka pērā rawa ai ki ngā wāhi whenua o Te Kawerau ā Maki, ka whakatikangia ngā ingoa, ā tōna wā ka mōhiotia whānuitia, horekau he raruraru!

E $6.5 miriona te paku pūtea ka riro i a Te Kawerau ā Maki. Ahakoa e hia rau mano ngā eka, ngā heketea kua murua atu, kua raupatungia, ko te utu e $6.5 miriona noa iho! Tangi ana te ngākau mō tēnā paku pūtea ēngari, e mahara ake ana ahau i ngā kōrero a Matiu Rata, “mehemea ka whiwhi tātou i te nui o te wāriu o ngā mea kua murua, ka pakaru te pēke o te motu”. Nā reira, kauaka ahau i te tino mōhio i te kupu i roto i Te Reo Māori mō te “compromise” ēngari, ko tērā te mahi o ngāi Māori mā, e “compromising” ana mō te wāriu tika. Pukuriri ana ahau ki ngā kaikiri e mea atu ana “Ō koutou ngā Māori e toro atu ana ō koutou ringaringa, e pātai ana, e īnoi ana mō te pūtea.”, ēngari e meangia ana ahau, Te Kawerau ā Maki e toro atu ana i ō rātou ringaringa horekau hei rapu pūtea ēngari, e tākoha ngā mea kua “murua” ki te motu.

Nā reira, tēnei tāku mihi atu ki a koutou Te Kawerau ā Maki. Kore au e tōroangia tēnei tū ēngari tū anō ahau ki te mihi ki a koutou, ki te mea atu e harikoa ana te ngākau kua oti tēnei wāhanga ēngari, kua tae te wā kia tīmata tētahi wāhanga anō hei painga mō Te Kawerau ā Maki, nā reira, e te Whare, huri rauna tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you very much, Mr Assistant Speaker. Firstly, I turn my eyes to you who have arrived here beneath the roof of this House, you of Te Kawerau ā Maki. Welcome, come hither to this House of yours, not just to listen to the third reading of this bill but to witness in person the realisation of this dream—in other words, the settlement of the claims that will enable Te Kawerau ā Maki to move forward. And for what reason? As a benefit and well-being for future generations, and so good on you all. I have heard some names mentioned among you, but I will not do that, in case I leave some out, and you will then get really annoyed with me. But I acknowledge each and every one of you throughout; congratulations.

Before looking ahead, let us all look back. What prompted this bill to arrive here in our midst? I note the misdeeds that the Crown imposed upon Te Kawerau ā Maki, and I take into account that what it advocated impacted on all tribes throughout New Zealand: ill-treatments, confiscations, and fraudulent acquisition of all forms of rights that were imposed on Te Kawerau ā Maki and on all of us tribes throughout New Zealand.

I heard the assertions by David Cunliffe about the confiscation of 100,000 acres of land in the Waitakere Ranges. It is not possible these days to confiscate that amount of land like how the Crown did in those days, stealing and confiscating land, so that our tribes were left landless. The Crown alienated and scorched the land so that our relatives were not able to sustain themselves on their own lands. It really makes me very angry to see that Te Kawerau ā Maki has no marae, cemetery—absolutely none at all! They have been without a marae and cemetery for many years, and they must bury and mourn their dead elsewhere, at other marae, but never their own. So that has resulted from the evil actions of the Crown.

I am not saying that the other side of the House is at fault here. Regardless of political colour—be it blue, red, or whatever other colour—we are the embodiment these days of those people, the Crown, in those days back then. So I recall a statement by one of my elders. He said: “If you err, you must put it right!”. We of this House must rectify the misdeeds imposed upon Te Kawerau ā Maki. So that is why I am supporting this bill: to rectify the wrongs, to help them, to support their relatives of the next generation, to progress them forward, and to support them in their endeavours to assist each other—and, let us say, us as well. For each tribe that helps themselves, Māoridom at large will benefit as well.

So I pay tribute to you who have waited a long time for this day. I am pleased to see that the small fund of just $300,000 to build a marae for Te Kawerau ā Maki will grow. They are lucky if that is the cost of the lands, because we know how expensive properties are in Auckland these days. But that is just a beginning.

I am happy as well to see that 17 areas of land have been named to have the names changed back to the correct and original Māori names. When non-Māori arrived here in this country the names of land areas were changed. This bill will rectify that situation for Te Kawerau ā Maki. I will not list all the places, but changing the names back to the proper ones, so that the proper names of our lands are known widely, is only a small matter. I remember the problem in Taranaki when the mountain was changed back from Egmont to Taranaki. A big problem! These days we know that mountain as Taranaki. There are no problems now. The land areas of Te Kawerau ā Maki will be like that: the names will be changed and eventually they will be widely known, and there will not be any problems.

Te Kawerau ā Maki will receive a tidy sum of $6.5 million. Despite the many hundred thousand acres and hectares that have been confiscated and dispossessed, the compensation is but a meagre $6.5 million! I lament such a paltry amount, but I recall the words uttered by Matiu Rata: “If we got the full value of the things that were confiscated, the country’s bank would go bankrupt.” However, I do not really know what the Māori word for “compromise” is, but that is what Māoridom has been doing: compromising the correct value. I get angry at racists saying: “You Māori are holding out your hands, asking and begging for the money.” I assert that Te Kawerau ā Maki are holding out their hands, not to seek money but the things that were confiscated and were “gifted” to the country.

So this is my tribute to you, Te Kawerau ā Maki. I will not prolong this address, but I stand once again to commend you and to say how happy I am that it is done. This part is completed, but the time has arrived to begin another phase again, as a benefit for Te Kawerau ā Maki. So to you in the House throughout, greetings and salutations to you and to us all the House.]

Kia ora, e te Mana Whakawā. Kia ora e te Whare. Tēnā koutou e te iwi. I am going to take a very short call, but I want to just say that it is on occasions such as this when I feel that not only do we see Parliament at its best, but, in fact, we as members are deeply humbled by what we are doing today. I am always moved by these occasions and I learn a great deal. I want, as others have done, to acknowledge the great generosity of the iwi in bringing us to this point, and the admirable resolve of the Minister and the work that he and his team have done. As somebody who grew up in Auckland and who loves the Waitakere Ranges, I am interested in noting many of the comments that have been made today. I simply want to say that it is a wonderful day when we can reach this point, given the history that has led us to this point. I again thank the iwi for the generosity. It is wonderful to see so many of you here today, and I warmly commend this bill to the House.

Bill read a third time.

Waiata