Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. The bill gives effect to a deed of settlement between the Crown and Rangitāne o Manawatu that was signed in November last year, and that settles all the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to Rangitāne. I remember the signing ceremony very well. It was in front of the beautiful whare of Rangitāne in Palmerston North, and in front of the whare there is this big pou, and there are two people on it, at the very top. One is the Rt Hon Sir Douglas Graham, who was the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and, believe it or not, staring vacantly into space, is the Rt Hon Winston Peters. I do not know whether he knows he is on that pou. I think it is a very good place for him to be, because, basically, he has been up a pou most of the morning.

The settlement comprises historical redress, which records the breaches and the past injustices caused by failures of the Crown; cultural redress, recognising the traditional, historical, cultural, and spiritual associations of the people of Rangitāne with a number of their most special sites; and financial and commercial redress, which reasserts the role of Rangitāne in the region. Rangitāne and the Crown have worked very well together to develop a settlement package that reconnects Rangitāne with its environment and that provides a good, strong economic base for the iwi to grow.

Can I acknowledge the excellent work of the Rangitāne negotiators, particularly Danielle Harris, who worked so very long and hard on this matter; my ministerial colleagues; and Government and other agencies who have contributed to the bill. As always—

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: And her mother.

Oh, that is a fair enough point, actually—and Ruth Harris, who passed away some years ago, who started the matter off and did a very good job. I thank the right honourable member for one constructive contribution this morning.

As always, I want to thank and acknowledge the work of the Māori Affairs Committee, which, once again, has done an excellent job in progressing this bill in a timely manner. The committee began its consideration of the bill only in May and considered nine submissions from interested groups and individuals, and they heard from five submitters at a hearing in Palmerston North. The committee reported the bill back to the House early this month and recommended it be passed with very minor changes—they are of a technical nature, and I am really pleased that that is the case.

Rangitāne has done a great job. They chose a pragmatic approach to the redress they were seeking, focusing on their core area of interest, and they conducted an open and robust overlapping claims resolution process. The bill, with its very limited number of amendments, is a testament to the hard work of the negotiators. In its report, the committee commended how overlapping claims issues were addressed during negotiations and noted that “this settlement seeks to balance the interests of all iwi in the area, with the underpinning rationale that commercial redress is intended to contribute to re-establishing an iwi’s economic base.” This perfectly captures what is intended through each Treaty settlement negotiation. It describes—and indeed it was here, with the discussions that took place—the fine line that has to be walked between addressing the longstanding grievances of one group and giving them the means to move forward, while ensuring that we are not creating further grievances with surrounding groups.

One issue raised in the submissions, and it has confronted the Rangitāne negotiations since the process began, is the inclusion of the Ngāti Tauira hapū in the Rangitāne claimant definition, a very difficult issue. The committee accepted that Ngāti Tauira’s primary affiliation is with Ngāti Apa, but found that “Ngāti Tauira clearly has whakapapa, social, and political links to both groups.” I believe this settles this matter once and for all. Ultimately, members of this particular hapū have the option to benefit from either or both settlements, as long as they descend from the respective tupuna.

Finally, some submitters stated that although the settlement does not fully compensate Rangitāne for the injustices of the past, it provides an opportunity for the iwi to find some peace with the past and a path to the future, and I certainly hope that that is the case. This bill signifies an end point to the long process of negotiation for Rangitāne, and it is now time to find some measure of peace and look to the future.

I am going to leave my final thanks to the Rangitāne negotiating team until the third reading. However, before I end, I want to acknowledge the patience of the negotiators, who must be anxious to reach their settlement of these historical claims after so many, many years in negotiation. I want to assure them—and I am sure that everyone in this House shares this view—that we want to see a just and durable settlement for Rangitāne o Manawatu as soon as possible. So I look forward to the third reading of the bill and commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, e Te Māngai o Te Whare. E kī ana te kōrero, “tini whetū ki te rangi”, Rangitāne ki te whenua, tihei mauri ora! E tika ana ki te tuku mihi atu anō ki Te Iwi Rangitāne o Manawatū, ngā whānau, ngā hapū katoa o Rangitāne, nō reira, koutou mā e whakarongo mai nā, e mātakitaki mai rā, tēnei ahau tuku atu mihi atu ki a koutou katoa, tēnā koutou.

Kei te mihi atu anō ki te āhuatanga ki ō tātou tini mate, rātou katoa kua hinga mai nā puta noa ngā moutere nei, tae atu anō ki te haerenga atu, te wehenga atu o te whaea nei a Ruth Harris. E tika ana kia tuku mihi, poroporoaki anō atu ki a koe e te whaea, nō reira, koutou mā, haere, haere, oti atu te wā ki a koutou, e moe.

Ki a tātou katoa ngā mema Pāremata, tēnei anō au e tuku mihi atu ana ki a tātou.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. The aphorism states, “like the multitude of stars in the sky”, so is Rangtāne upon the land, behold the breath of life! It is right that a tribute is accorded once again to the Rangitāne iwi of Manawatū and to all of its whānau and hapū, so to those of you listening in and watching there, I accord this tribute to you all, greetings.

I acknowledge the circumstances of our numerous dead, all of those who have fallen there throughout these islands, including the departure and loss also of this auntie Ruth Harris. It is fitting that I accord a farewell tribute also to you, the beloved auntie, therefore, to you collectively, I bid you farewell, travel on, the time for you all is at hand, rest.

To all of us, the members of Parliament, I acknowledge us all once again.]

It is a great pleasure to stand to speak to the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill. I acknowledge the contribution of the Minister, the Hon Chris Finlayson. The name of the whare in Palmerston North is Tūturu Pūmau. The pou that stands there has a number of other figures. I want to mention one. I started off during other contributions talking about ngā poropititanga, and on that marae we have a tribute to Mere Rikiriki, a very important poropiti, and Tahupōtiki Wīremu Rātana. I want to acknowledge the contributions that both of them had to the history of Rangitāne. It is important to mention that. It is, of course, a beautiful marae there, and it was a pleasure for me to also attend the signing of the deed of settlement.

I too will acknowledge Danielle Harris and her tenacity, which she, obviously, inherited from her mother, Ruth Harris. I think I mentioned this in the first reading. When I was the chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Apa, we often sat opposite each other at tables on various matters, and both of them are formidable. I want to acknowledge the work that Danielle has done to get this bill into the House.

Also I acknowledge Maurice Takarangi as well and all of the team behind them who have done such wonderful work. It was not easy for them, and it was not easy for Ngāti Apa, but I think that through the select committee process, on the key issue that the Minister has raised, they have come to a happy place. Might I say, it might not be what each individual iwi wanted, but from my view of the world, as an uri of Rangitauira, a descendant of Rangitauira, I am very happy to be part of a hapū that has, basically, got two settlements. It is quite a rarity. And if the Crown wants to do that, that is fine with me.

So within the settlement, of course, like the other settlements that we have discussed and debated in the House today, this particular one also addresses a sad history around the interaction between the iwi and the Crown, and the Crown’s inability at that time to address all of the issues. So we come today with a determination that this bill will move forward. I acknowledge that people were expecting this to be passed into law tomorrow. It is unfortunate that it is not happening now.

Debate interrupted.

The House adjourned at 1 p.m. (Thursday)