Te Atiawa Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Te Atiawa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. This bill gives effect to a deed of settlement between the Crown and Te Atiawa that was signed on a beautiful late winter’s day in August 2014 in New Plymouth. 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 association of the people of Te Atiawa with a number of their most culturally significant sites; and financial and commercial redress, reasserting the role of Te Atiawa in the region.

For me, I want to acknowledge the excellent work of Te Atiawa negotiators, and I was so pleased, Mr Deputy Speaker, that you mentioned Wikitōria Keenan. The last time that I saw her was at the signing of the deed. She was unwell but made every effort to be there. I acknowledge my ministerial colleagues and Government and other agencies that have contributed to the bill, and I also want to acknowledge the work of the Māori Affairs Committee and its commitment to exploring very comprehensively the matters raised by submitters.

The committee began its consideration of the bill in April this year, and it considered eight submissions from interested groups and individuals. The committee also heard oral evidence from five submitters at hearings in New Plymouth and Wellington. The committee has recommended that the bill be passed with a number of amendments, which include changes to clauses relating to fines for offences under regulations and by-laws; the addition of a subclause to ensure that nominations for iwi representation align with those in the Ngāruahine Claims Settlement Bill and the Taranaki Iwi Claims Settlement Bill; an amendment of the definition of “Taranaki Iwi” to include hapū to the extent that they are composed of individuals who no longer form distinct communities within Taranaki iwi; a self-repealing clause over the Waitara lands clause of the bill so that it is repealed on the same day that the Waitara Harbour Act and the Waitara Borough Reserves Vesting Act are repealed; and other minor technical amendments that are not specifically referred to in the committee’s commentary on the bill.

I want to say something about the Waitara lands, as well as other issues that the committee raised in its report. No one is in any doubt at all—especially after last night’s debate—that the Waitara endowment lands are of huge cultural and spiritual importance to the people of Te Atiawa. The lands have been the subject of very intense negotiations between Te Atiawa and the Crown and the council over a number of years. In its commentary on the bill, the committee provided a useful summary of these negotiations and the resulting recommended amendments to the bill. The committee also notes its concern that the bill does not address all of the issues raised to it regarding the lands.

During the final stages of the settlement bill, the New Plymouth District Council proposed a Waitara lands local bill. The local bill will, if enacted, render one aspect of the Treaty bill redundant. In light of the proposed local bill the committee recommended including a self-repealing clause within the settlement legislation to account for the local bill. My officials are going to take an active part in the select committee work on that local bill, which, as we know, was sent to the Māori Affairs Committee last night, and we look forward to working with the council and Te Atiawa to reach a durable outcome for all parties.

Can I pay credit to the negotiators who have had to make some difficult decisions and significant concessions during settlement talks. This pragmatic approach and willingness to work with both the Crown and the local council has enabled a pathway forward that provides a realistic opportunity for the people of Te Atiawa to be involved in future consultation and negotiations that recognise their aspirations in relation to these lands.

In its consideration of the bill the committee addressed the right-of-first-refusal land. Although the committee is not recommending any amendments to the bill in relation to the right-of-first-refusal list, it notes that some committee members considered there should be a mechanism in settlement legislation for land that becomes available at a future date to be offered back as a right of first refusal, even if it does not appear on the list. The difficulty here is that once a list is agreed and the deed signed it is subject to the overlapping claims process and being ratified by the claimant community. The Crown’s objective is to achieve fair and durable settlements with groups. Ratification and the overlapping claims process ensures a balance is maintained between addressing the grievances of one group without creating further grievances for another group. To undo either of these key aspects of settlement negotiations risks unsettling the balance that is achieved at the negotiating table.

This bill brings to an end many, many long years of negotiation between Te Atiawa and the Crown. The settlement is the end of a long journey that signals the beginning of a new journey into the settlement area, which I sincerely hope will be a new and improved relationship with the Crown and a time for peace and a time for looking to the future, and I believe it can be, if the Crown honours its undertakings and acts in accordance with Treaty principles.

Before I commend the bill to the House I need to just say a few things about the events of the last few days. I will make these comments once only, rather than in each of today’s second readings, because I am very disappointed it was not possible for these bills and the Ngāruahine Claims Settlement Bill to proceed to a third reading tomorrow. I was particularly looking forward to tomorrow for the iwi of Taranaki.

I remember very well—and perhaps my good friend Mr Okeroa was there as well—Māui Pōmare Day of 2009 at Ōwae Marae. I think I startled a few of the Office of Treaty Settlements officials for going off message when I suggested that it would be great to enter into negotiations with the iwi of Taranaki. And I remember very well March 2010, when we signed the terms of negotiation in the morning at Puke Ariki with Te Atiawa, and then we went round to Taranaki’s principal marae round the coast to sign the terms of negotiation in the afternoon. Ngāruahine came a little bit later. But since that time I have come to know these iwi very, very well, and I have huge respect and affection for these iwi and their leaders. They have some of the best iwi leaders in the country. I have also come to know their history. It really has been the education of a public man, learning about the Land Wars, learning about the horrors of Parihaka, and the sadness that so many people have experienced for far too long.

There is much I could say, but I choose not to. These are very dignified occasions and it is not appropriate to descend into verbal slanging matches, particularly when we have guests in the gallery. What I do want to say to the iwi present today is that I am going to do my utmost to see that we have a third reading of these bills as soon as possible, and, as I have already communicated to the iwi, anyone who has suffered a loss as a result of the parliamentary actions over the last few days should contact the Office of Treaty Settlements. I am very disappointed, but to quote the line from that song in Life of Brian, “Always look on the bright side of life.”—it was when those three were all being crucified, I think. We will get through a lot of work today and hopefully it is not going to be too long before we progress to third readings. I welcome our friends in the gallery, and I commend the bill to the House.

Ā, tēnā koe, e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Te mea tuatahi e tū tautoko ana ahau i te karakia ka tukuna atu e te hōnore mema a Te Ururoa Flavell i tēnei ata. Nō reira, e Te Minita, tēnei ahau tuku mihi atu ki a koe roto i te korōriatanga o Ihowa o ngā mano, Matua, Tama, Wairua tapu, ngā anaherea pono, Te Māngai hei tautoko mai, āianei, ake nei, āe! Oti noa, tēnei ahau e tuku mihi atu ki a Te Ati Awa i tēnei wā, ki ngā hapū katoa o Te Ati Awa, oti noa ngā uri katoa o Awanuiārangi, te tamaiti o Tamarau-te-heketanga-ā-Rangi rāua ko Rongoueroa, nō reira ki a koutou Manu Kōrihi, Ngāti Rāhira, Ngāti Tāwhitikura, Ngāti Tūparikino, Ngāti Te Whiti, Ōtaraua, Pukerangiora, me Puketapu anō hoki, a Te Ati Awa nui tonu, tēnei ahau e tuku mihi atu ki a koutou, nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai ki Te Whare Pāremata nei. E tuku mihi hoki ahau ki Te Minita mō tōna kōrero mai ki Te Whare i tēnei ata, ngā kōrero whakamārama e pā ana ki ētehi o ngā take kei roto i te pire nei. Nō reira e tika ana kia tuku atu i te mihi ki tōna kōrero.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The first thing is that I endorse the prayer accorded by the honourable member Te Ururoa Flavell this morning. Therefore, I thank you, Minister, in the glory of Jehovah of the thousands, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and the Blessed Angels, and for the Mouthpiece to support now and for ever, yes! I extend a welcome indeed to Te Ati Awa and all its hapū at this time, suffice to say to all the descendants of Awanuiārangi, the child of Tamarau-te-heketanga-ā-Rangi and Rongoueroa, and to you collectively, therefore, Manu Kōrihi, Ngāti Rāhira, Ngāti Tāwhitikura, Ngāti Tuparikino, Ngāti Te Whiti, Ōtaraua, Pukerangiora, and Puketapu, and to all of you at large Te Ati Awa as well, I welcome you all, come hither to this Parliament House. I also commend the Minister for his address to the House this morning, in terms of his explanations in relation to some matters in this bill. Therefore it is appropriate that I acknowledge his contribution.]

I want to go straight into some specific issues within the Te Atiawa Claims Settlement Bill. I want to, first of all, take a couple of quotes from the bill itself around the acknowledgment and the apology. Within the settlement bill: “The Crown acknowledges that—(a) it unfairly treated Te Atiawa as being in rebellion; and (b) the confiscations of 1865 were indiscriminate in extent and application and had a devastating effect on the welfare, economy, culture, and social development of Te Atiawa;”. It goes on, in the apology, to say: “The Crown is sorry for the immense prejudice it caused by confiscating the lands of Te Atiawa. The raupatu was indiscriminate, unjust, and unconscionable. The Crown deeply regrets the damage this caused to the economy and society of Te Atiawa.” It is important that we remember that, in the context of the overall bill.

Last night I spoke on the New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill in its first reading. One of the things that I spoke about too was the Waitara lands. I want to restate what I said in relation to that bill, here today on this bill. It is important that we acknowledge that this process of settlement is one that is flawed. It does not deliver everything that iwi would want it to deliver—it does not even pretend to do that. It is a negotiated settlement. It is not compensation; it is redress. It is incumbent upon each and every settlement group, each and every iwi that goes through this process, that it fully understands what the process can deliver and what it cannot deliver. And it is also incumbent on each settlement group to ask the big question: “Can we live with that?”. In this instance I am absolutely certain that the negotiators would have asked themselves that question

I refer to the Waitara lands—the confiscation of the Pekapeka Block—and the pain and anguish that people still carry today around that. The hapū of that area, that Manukorihiōtaraua—members of those hapū still bear the burden of that trauma that happened in 1865. It is important also to note that the negotiators came up with an agreement with the Crown and signed that deed of settlement—the deed of settlement that is a binding document; the deed of settlement that outlines how Te Atiawa, on behalf of all of its hapū, wants to move forward.

The clause within the bill, which is basically a voluntary clause around the ability for Te Atiawa to purchase the endowment lands at Waitara—that is a voluntary clause that is in the bill that gives the opportunity for Te Atiawa to purchase the lands from the district council. The bill that was introduced and read a first time last night will, as the Minister acknowledged, effectively, remove that. Within the bill, the recommendation from the Māori Affairs Committee was that there be an automatic repeal of that clause. Based on the bill that was read a first time last night, that basically makes those clauses redundant. So I think that it is important that that is in the mix in this discussion.

I think that it is really important—taking in context the acknowledgment and the apology—that we do not add another layer of breach upon this current bill. That is a big question, and my challenge to all of the participating interests within this bill and the bill that was read a first time last night—it is absolutely, critically important that your compelling evidence is presented to the Māori Affairs Committee for it to be considered. I know that there are many people who are hurting about one or both of these bills.

This is a process that needs to be inclusive. It needs to ensure that everyone, as much as possible, is on board with this settlement. The settlement needs to be enduring; it needs to last beyond several generations, for each generation that comes into the future. The reason why you would accept a redress that is considerably less than the total value of the loss—you would do it for the future generations. It is very important for this House to be confident that this settlement will endure, and to have a bill read for the first time that the entire Parliament agreed to. I think the important thing there is that it agreed to it so that everyone could have their say. From what I can tell from what everyone has said in this House about that bill: beyond select committee, there are no deals on this particular legislation. I think it should be noted that everyone should be clear about the process before us.

There are a number of other issues that I do want to discuss. I know that the Committee stage is coming and there are a couple of areas that I do want to speak about, particularly on the right of first refusal and other matters. For this time, ka mutu taku kōrero mō tēnei wā, kei te haere tonu mai ētehi atu kōrero i roto i te whakahaerenga o tēnei pire, kei roto i Te Whare nei, nō reira, ki a Te Atiawa tēnei ahau e tuku mi’i atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora mai tātou katoa.

[I end my contribution for now as other contributions relating to the administration of this bill continue in this House, so I commend you, Te Atiawa, congratulations to you and to us all.]

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā, ka tū ake au ki te mihi atu ki Te Whare, ki a koutou e hui nei i tēnei wā, te whakarongo ki te nekehanga o tēnei o ngā pire. Nāu tēnei pire, nā koutou tēnei pire! I ngā marama, i ngā tau kua hipa atu nā koutou tēnei pire i kawe, i tautohetohe, ki a wai? Ki Te Karauna! Nā reira, kai te mihi atu ki a koutou me ō koutou kaha ki te whakapau werawera, te tutuki i ngā kōrero katoa o te pire nei, koirā te mea tuatahi ki a au. Nā reira e Te Whare, me ōku hoa mahi o Te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori, kai te mihi atu ki a koutou, me ō koutou kaha, te āta wānanga i ngā take kai roto i te pire, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I rise to acknowledge the House and you who are gathered here and listening to the progress of this one of the bills. This bill belongs to you; it is yours. You bore this bill in the months and years past. You debated it, and with whom? With the Crown. And so I salute you collectively in terms of your efforts and the sweat shed to complete all the talk about this bill, which is indeed foremost to me. Therefore I commend you, the House and my colleagues of the Māori Affairs Committee, for your efforts and diligent considerations of the issues in this bill. Well done; I commend you all.]

You know, I am not sure that I can be as conciliatory as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations this morning.

💬 Hon Member: Really?

I know it is a hard thing, and I have thought about this long, and I am not sure that I can be as soft-hearted. I have tried. I have tried to chill my pill for the last couple of days, but there are some things in this bill that were well debated during the committee stages. Every single part of this bill has been negotiated by people who know more about it than I do. Every single part of this bill has been negotiated by the members of Te Atiawa and Taranaki with the Office of Treaty Settlements—with their Crown negotiators—and, I tell you, over the years of these settlements, you know, our people have got better at negotiating. We are pretty good at that sort of stuff. We have been negotiating for 175 years over how to have our rights observed in the law.

The Crown has also got pretty good at negotiating, and that is why we have this debate about the right of first refusal (RFR). You know, when you look back at the Kāi Tahu settlement, they got a geographic RFR over practically the whole island—any land in the whole of Te Wai Pounamu that might come up at some time, just maybe. We have got an RFR—yay! The Crown has gotten better at that now, so now you have got to have a list: “Show me which bits of land you want.” And then, when they found out when they went to go and purchase some land that, actually, the title was wrong, and they thought it was the council but it turned out to be the Government—well, we cannot guarantee that any list that is out there is going to be correct.

So we debated long and hard over whether to have a geographic RFR as well as a list RFR, and can I say that the time has probably come for the whole RFR issue to be reviewed—the how and when. We have found out that, actually, there are a whole lot of stages before land gets offered back to iwi, if it is found to be available, and one of them is to offer it to a charity—a charity, any charity. It could be the “Fox Whānau Charity” or the “Looking After All Those Sick Kids in the Fox Whānau House Charity”. It could get offered back to them first, before it is offered back to iwi, and I find that quite despicable. I do not see the point in that at all. So I think it is time to review it completely.

However, all of those things were debated and negotiated by the whānau of Te Atiawa, one of whom you acknowledged this morning, Mr Deputy Speaker. But there is also Peter Moeahu, Wikitōria Keenan, Grant—ah, I am going to say that wrong—

💬 Hon Member: Knuckey.

Knuckey—thank you. I was going to say “Kentucky”, but, no—sorry, Grant. There is also Keith Holswich, Liana Poutū, and Hēmi Sundgren—I am sorry, I am really bad at Pākehā names. People mix me up with Marama Davidson all the time, so I sort of get it.

But, you know, if I echo the words of Te Whiti o Rongomai, he would say that we celebrate the forbearance, the patience, the stout-heartedness of the iwi and their negotiators in getting to this point. If there was an issue, if there was a point to be made, or if there was something that through the first reading, the second reading, or the Committee stage needed to be talked about, then surely it could have gone back to them.

Tomorrow we could have been celebrating a long, hard-fought win that started with the people of Atiawa being accused of treason, which started under the Suppression of Rebellion Act. It started because they did not fight against the Crown or the Crown’s forces, but they simply fought for house and home and refused to sell their lands, and, in doing so, they were accused of treason under the Suppression of Rebellion Act and the soldiers were wheeled in.

That is what we are talking about. All of those lands confiscated and people thrown unjustly into prison and held, killed, and taken, and after all of this time of trying to have that grievance settled, we come to the eleventh hour. This is why I am so upset.

I do not care what little thing you might be pulling out to justify the stunt that was played in this House. Thirty years of negotiations—

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: This is showboating. We know more about this than you do.

Is that right? Tell them that, because this is what I will tell you, Mr Peters. This is straight from the chairperson, Liana Poutū: “We were absolutely angry at the start, but now we are just disappointed.”—[Interruption]—

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

—“More than that, New Zealand First have opposed the bill. What we’re hearing is it’s a technical thing, but we don’t know much about it. The fact is their actions are disingenuous, and to pull not only our bill but five at such a late stage without any explanation to the iwi whose bills they are is really disingenuous and despicable. If they actually have a substantive issue that they are opposed to in the bill, I’d rather know about it, and I’d be happy for it to be pulled to sort that issue out. They’ve pulled it without fronting up to us at all, and the five busloads of people ready to go down there, and that’s not easy—a logistical episode.”

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: Stop showboating. You pulled the bill.

I did not. I objected. I want it known in the Hansard of this House that I objected to that day being cancelled, strongly. And I sent a message with your whip to tell you exactly—

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: So did we.

You did not. Showboating and stunting you know very much about, Mr Peters.

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Take a seat please, I say to the member. Let us just remember what we are doing here today. Members will have a chance to speak. Having a constant barrage across the House and then a response to that does not do anything for the dignity of what we are trying to do here today.

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I respect that view, and so does my party, but this is a debate, and at this stage it cannot be a barrage or a rewriting of history, and abuse of another party, when we will demonstrate—

💬 Hon Members: How is this a point of order?

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: We do not mind them raising it for just one or two sentences, but to turn it into a barrage is not going to be tolerated by us, because it is utterly false.

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I do not need any assistance in respect of that. The point that I made earlier was that the parties concerned will have their own speaking slot in which to state their case. Interjection is something that is part of a robust debate—that is fine—but let us just remember what we are doing here, and let us retain the decorum of the House.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Yes, I take it—it is noted. I am going back to try to chill my pill again, because I do get a little bit upset about this, and I am reading not my words but the words of the chairman, who was also upset: “This potential delay is messing with people’s livelihoods, their ability to move forward, and tantamount to a political party trampling on our mana.” Not my words—their words.

So we come back to the issue of the bill. We are here to support the passage of this bill through the House so that we can move on, so that the whānau of Te Atiawa can finally be able to have that redress recognised, so that they can finally have the opportunity to correct the imbalance that continues to exist, and so that they can finally take hold of the reins of rangatiratanga—supported through the redress of the Crown, both cultural and financial—and move on and move past, and offer back to the country what we have all recognised is one of the biggest koha to this country of Māoridom. It is one of the largest koha to this country of Māoridom to accept such a pittance—to accept such a pittance—for the great injustice that was carried out first here, and then around the rest of the country.

And to our whānau, I feel the weight of it. This is not the made-up, crocodile-tear grandstanding that we are accused of, because we feel the weight of it—the weight of the injustice. Your time is here, and I wish that it could be settled tomorrow, but we will have to wait. But we have waited such a long time, we are resilient and strong people, and we can wait a little bit longer. Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. Tēnā koutou Te Whare Pāremata, he mihi nui ki a Te Atiawa whānui, ki Te Atiawa Te Kotahitanga, ki te whānau katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Acknowledgments to you of the House, and a huge one to Te Atiawa at large, the Kotahitanga, and the entire family.]

I would just like to stand and acknowledge the manuhiri who have come, the importance of this day, and the importance of what we are in the process of doing. I would like to acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and the work of the Māori Affairs Committee on this important day. I am standing here for the first time on this bill, although this is its second reading. As the previous speaker, Marama Fox, said, I also feel a weight—the weight of history that comes from what happened in Te Atiawa, and what that means to our nation. The shame I feel that so many people for so long have not understood the significance of what happened in Taranaki, in Te Atiawa, as the beginning of the total dispossession of tangata whenua across the motu—when the colonial forces decided to take the land. So I think it is very important for us to acknowledge today the weight of history, the importance of trying to do better, and, in many ways, to express to Te Atiawa that Parliament may not yet have grown up, but you grew up a long time ago—you had no choice. We need to honour that. We need to honour your effort and respond to your effort with equal respect.

I just want to talk also about the way in which war, perpetual leases, and other mechanisms have been tools of alienation of land in Te Atiawa rohe, and how profoundly devious, as well as direct, the process of colonisation is. I am using the word “is”, because I do not actually think it is over. I think this is a positive step in the right direction—a controversial and positive and difficult step in the right direction—but it is not over. The Green Party always stands to pay respect to the bill—we will be supporting it—but we also stand to pay respect to the fact that Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which was signed by Te Atiawa tupuna, does not finish. It cannot be full and final; it must be an ongoing relationship. It must be an ongoing dialogue. It does not end this day. I believe, and the Green Party believes, that we would always stand here to hear more from Te Atiawa, from the hapū katoa, about these issues. It is not over for us, because we stand for Te Tiriti, and that is about a permanent, ongoing, negotiated relationship based on justice.

I would like to also acknowledge that part of the loss is in the 20th century—the 1944 Act where the Crown attempted to say that it had compensated and recognised Te Atiawa, without the consent of Te Atiawa. That is what I meant by devious: the ongoing pretence that things have been settled in the past, right through the 20th century.

I acknowledge too that it is not only the physical loss to the people of their whenua but also the pollution issues that have affected Te Atiawa. The Waitara River that has been treated like a drain by a number of industries and by the sewage of the communities—this food source, this taonga, that leads out to a food basket and the struggle that there has been, the intergenerational struggle, to clean up that river. The relationship that Te Atiawa has with the coast and their connection to Ngā Motu is acknowledged in the settlement—yet the Dow Chemical Co. polluted that community, polluted that area with a toxic product that was sprayed over Vietnamese people, that was generated in Taranaki, and where the sick people are still affected and the environment is still affected. I want to acknowledge Te Atiawa’s burden that they have received, through no fault of their own, from the abuse of land, the abuse of the colonisation process, and then the abuse of the environment, which they cannot separate themselves from and would not wish to.

This is not an uncontroversial settlement, and hapū such as Manukōrihi and Ōtaraua are expressing concerns. Unfortunately, when the Crown dictates the terms it puts iwi in a tight box about who is a large natural grouping—who gets heard, who does not—and I acknowledge the best efforts of everyone and the ongoing issues.

Last night I had the privilege of speaking on the New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill, the local bill, and, as others have said, our support for it to go to select committee is extremely constrained. We will not be guaranteeing any further support, because that local bill is not a Treaty settlement but it deals with Te Tiriti issues, and, in many ways, we do not believe that that bill has got there. There are too many voices not heard in that bill. We acknowledge that Te Atiawa, whom we have been seeking advice from on this, were prepared to allow it go ahead, but they acknowledged that there were flaws, and there are. Waitara is symbolic, in a way, of the deeply flawed nature of trying to fix a mess created by my culture, and benefited from—still benefiting, still doing well. Great! Fantastic! But that perpetual lease issue with the Pekapeka Block is a deep stain, and I would love to see a healing through that process that was actually about the generosity of my culture, and not just the generosity of tangata whenua. I would love to see Pākehā katoa support Taranaki Pākehā to stand up and say that these resources need to go directly back to the people. We need to find a way, and that local bill does not do that.

However, this bill that we are here to talk about has many good aspects to it, and it shows that incredible work has been done. But I do want to touch on an issue raised by my colleague Marama Fox about the first right of refusal, or right of first refusal—the more I learn about it, the more fascinated I get. In reference to the leasehold land in Taranaki, it was offered to Te Atiawa for $23 million. I always find it curious if someone has something stolen and then they have to buy it back: $23 million is an interesting response to a thieving—which may be a rude word, but I think we need to speak truth to power every day about what has happened in this country. Especially in the context—and here I want to mihi to Dr Leonie Pīhama—of the Karori campus debacle, whereby the Crown, in 2014, gave the university the right to the whenua that was Te Atiawa’s for 10 bucks—in 2014. How does that work? And then they can sell it for millions of bucks. So there is good work going on here in this bill, but still the iwi have this offer that they cannot afford—23 million bucks—because when you have been robbed you often do not have a lot. And then there is the Karori campus—ten bucks and a few blankets. It is—

💬 Marama Fox: Criminal.

Well, it is contradictory to the stated aspirations of this House that these things are happening in the 21st century. It is a bit like my bill last night, the Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Maōri Land) Amendment Bill, that was voted down by the Government—no more Māori land confiscation. People were saying it is historic; I am interested in history and the way that history is in the present, and I am interested in the fact that this bill shows deep generosity, deep commitment to dialogue, and deep kindness.

I would like to acknowledge that when we walked from New Plymouth—and I only walked the last day of the peace walk to Parihaka with Mayor Andrew Judd—every step was an opportunity to learn about the iwi katoa of the area: of Te Atiawa, who participated in the support of Parihaka, and the suffering that they paid for it. There are people who disappeared and we still do not know what happened to them because they were taken south and never seen again. Just finally, I need to say that that story needs to be taught to every single child in this country, not as an interesting historical artefact but as a passionate call for justice and a recognition of what tangata whenua truly offer this country, which is peace leadership, which is justice leadership, and that the past is in front of us.

Ngā mihi ki a Te Atiawa, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Congratulations to Te Atiawa, and my appreciation to you all.]

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[I acknowledge, commend, and greet you all: the authorities, the voices, and the four winds.]

I am very honoured to be able to stand in support of this Te Atiawa Claims Settlement Bill. I would like to acknowledge the iwi leaders we have here from Taranaki, and it is great to have you here today. I am disappointed that it is only one day and not two, and I do acknowledge the Minister’s comments that he is going to work very, very hard to ensure that the third readings are done as soon as possible, because not only is that going to be very important to bring an end to this process but it is going to be very important to be part of the beginning of what the future is going to be.

I would like to, at this point, also acknowledge those who cannot be here, and I think especially of Wikitōria Keenan and the tremendous hard work that she has done on behalf of her people, Te Atiawa, in progressing this. I would also like to acknowledge the Hon Mahara Okeroa—great to see you, sir. I have very much enjoyed getting to know you over the last number of years, and I know that you have brought a great contribution.

What I would like to say is, really, to support the people of Te Atiawa, Taranaki, and Ngāruahine, because these are some of the finest people I know. It is not just because of 176 years of duress since the pressures came upon them by the Crown to, essentially, forgo their land and they fought and struggled to retain that which was theirs. But there has been an aspect of generosity and inclusion. I think of the words of Wīremu Kīngi, who said: “You have your part, we have our part, and love will bring us together.” Even back in his time, when he led and he spoke, there was this willingness to live together and work together. More than anything else, I hope and trust and pray that these settlements will engender that, and that we will see a future for Te Atiawa that is full of promise, full of hope, full of the ability now—through the resources of this settlement—for you to become who you always have been but in greater measure, and that is a proud and a noble and a generous people.

I am very pleased to stand here. I apologise that I was not here for the first reading. I was overseas at the time and, as you know, matters in terms of the programme of Parliament can change very quickly and sometimes we hear a little bit too late that something is happening. I was in the UK at that particular point in time, but I do know that it was a great occasion.

I am not going to say much more except to say I am thrilled about today. I am thrilled about today, that we are progressing this and, as I said, my great hope and joy will be to see the people of Te Atiawa, Taranaki, and Ngāruahine continue to grow, to develop, and to flourish because of this. This is nothing compared with what you have lost, I know. In fact, somebody said to me: “How much is this going to cost us?”. I said it is costing nothing compared with what it has cost our iwi. We understand what it has cost you, and our hope and prayer is that this will become the beginning of something new. Kia ora.

Ā, tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker, tēnā hoki tātou o Te Whare nei. Te mea tuatahi ka mihi atu ki Te Minita mō ngā Take Māori, nāna i ’hakaritengia tō tātou nohonga i te rā nei, nā reira, e Te Ururoa, ngā mihi hoki ki a koe.

I honongia i a au ki ērā o ngā kaikōrero i tū ake i mua i a au, ki te ’hakatau i wā tātou manuhiri i roto i Te Whare i te rā nei. Nā reira, koutou mā, mai i Te Maunga Tapu o Taranaki e kī nei te korero: “tū te ao, tū te pō”. Nā reira, nau mai, haere mai. Hara mai ki te ’hakarongo, ki te mātakitaki i ngā āhuatanga o Te Whare nei e pā ana ki tā koutou pire, ki te ’hakatau i ngā kerēme o te iwi o Te Atiawa, puta noa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and salutations to us of this House, as well. The first thing for me is to thank the Minister of Māori Affairs for taking due cognisance of our sitting today, and so my acknowledgments to you as well, Te Ururoa.

I add my sentiments of welcome to those accorded by those who spoke before me in welcoming our visitors into the House today. Therefore to you collectively from the sacred mountain of Taranaki, the adage states: “daylight and night stands”. So welcome, welcome. Come forth to listen and to observe the procedures of this House as far as your bill is concerned in terms of settling the claims of Te Atawa throughout.]

I just want to make something quite clear. It seems, given the tenor of discussions today, that my party may be the only party that wishes to see this bill go through to its third reading immediately. I just want to say in front of the people who are gathered here today that we appear to be the only party that is prepared to see the third reading of this bill today. We will even give some leeway to the rest of the parties, particularly the Opposition, in that we will wait until tomorrow morning so that they can gather their troops. I want to make the point, as alluded to by a previous speaker, that we did not pull the bill; they did. The person who made that comment often talks about the value of sitting at the table. Well, they sit at the table, so why did they not take the initiative to say to the Government: “No, we want to proceed.”?

💬 Marama Fox: We did.

Well, then, what happened?

💬 Hon Member: You pulled out.

No, no—anyway, getting back to the bill.

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: You have got a whole basketful of dirty laundry. Let us keep it to ourselves.

Well, I am not too keen about the comment about dirty laundry, because we are pretty clean on this side. However, I want to say, for New Zealand First, that we support this bill. In fact, we support this bill, in particular, because of the tragedy that these people have had to suffer by the colonial forces of the time. I can recall—and it will be always an enduring matter for me—when I saw two young gentlemen representing their iwi of Ngāti Mutunga and doing their settlement process. I was appalled at the level of quantum that was offered to them. I asked those representatives why they were accepting that amount, given the history of that area. However, as alluded to by a number of speakers before me, they recognised, and we certainly do recognise, that any settlement will never ever be a complete compensation—or whatever you might want to call it—given the losses that they have suffered. And yet iwi—and not only the Taranaki iwi but all those who have already settled—have made a contribution to this country that many of our fellow citizens do not understand or even recognise. I want to acknowledge the contribution that Te Atiawa is making under this claims settlement bill.

I do not need to make reference to, or reiterate, the history. It is well known. It certainly is well known by those who are associated with Treaty claims. But it is not well known by the wider community. We saw a leading local body politician who finally understood what the iwi were on about—he was vilified for the stance he took. I think that is a poor commentary on the state of our country. I can recall an earlier discussion regarding a petition made by two young schoolgirls from Waikato, from Tainui. They were asking about the history of our country being taught in schools. The reaction to this particular settlement bill by the wider community is every reason why we should be teaching New Zealand history in our schools. The travesty of the time and the effects of the colonial forces on innocent Māori should not be a reason for not allowing future generations to learn about their history.

So although we have one or two concerns about the bill, we will certainly be supporting it to see it settled. I want to reiterate the point again, as the people in the gallery are my witness, that we want to settle and we are prepared to do that tomorrow morning. We will even do it today if we are allowed to, but we will certainly be here to do it tomorrow morning if there is a will on the part of the Government.

Nā reira, Mr Deputy Speaker, koutou mā e Jamie, ngā mihi hoki ki a koutou. Kia ora mai.

[Therefore, Mr Deputy Speaker, and to you all Jamie, my congratulations to you collectively. Thank you.]

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, rau rangatira mā; tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa, mauri ora Te Atiawa. Tēnā koutou ngā hapū, Ngāti Rāhiri, Ōtaraua, Manukōrihi, Puketapu, Pukerangiora, Ngāti Te Whirikura, Ngati Tapurīkino, Ngāti Te Whiti, nō reira, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. My acknowledgments to the authorities, voices, and esteemed ones of a hundredfold; greetings to you collectively and to us all, and may the force of life be with you, Te Atiawa. Congratulations to you, the subtribes Ngāti Rāhiri, Ōtaraua, Manukōrihi, Puketapu, Pukerangiora, Ngāti Te Whirikura, Ngāti Tapurīkino, Ngāti Te Whiti, and, therefore, to us all.]

Today is a really special day. It is a special day because this is Te Atiawa’s day. It is the day when we as parliamentarians support the iwi in its process of resolving historical Treaty of Waitangi issues. It is when we as parliamentarians tautoko the process. So it is a bit of a sad day when we are not 100 percent focused on the whānau who have travelled so far today because of a Taranaki claim that went to the Waitangi Tribunal initiated by the Taranaki Māori Trust Board in 1987.

So we are here because of the mahi that the tūpuna of Te Atiawa undertook when we opened up the opportunity to investigate Treaty of Waitangi breaches right back to 1840. What happened after the Taranaki Māori Trust Board in 1987 took the first case was that the Waitangi Tribunal released a report on 11 June 1996. That report was called The Taranaki Report—Kaupapa Tuatahi. It took another 14 years for the process to be started again, and so in 2010 the Crown recommended negotiations with Te Atiawa.

The second reading of a bill is about the principles of the bill, and it is also to provide some korero from the submissions. So for us to do that, I just want to focus on what this process is all about. This is about the Treaty of Waitangi Act of 1975, and in the “Purpose” section of that Act it says they wanted to create a tribunal to make “recommendations on claims relating to the practical application of the Treaty and to determine whether certain matters are inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty [of Waitangi]”. The amendment Act of 1985 then enabled us to go back to 1840.

So the bill before the House today, the Te Atiawa Claims Settlement Bill, gives effect to the deed of settlement agreed by the Crown and Te Atiawa that was signed on 9 August 2014. I would like to read from the submission of Liana Poutū: “The settlement of these claims has taken generations to reach this point and we are grateful to our many tūpuna, who worked tirelessly on this kaupapa so that their mokopuna would not have to carry the burden that they carried for so long. I am well aware that this settlement does not even come close to compensating our people for the losses and sacrifices we have endured, but we are still here and intend on being around to see that the work of those before us is not wasted.” So, on behalf of Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa Trust, she says it supports the bill in its entirety.

I think it is really important that we focus on what is in the bill, and I want to take the opportunity to read some sections from The Taranaki Report: “3.6 Waitara”. The context is really interesting because, obviously, when Thomas Browne, who became our Governor, replaced Governor Grey in 1855, he was sent here for a very specific purpose, and that was to secure lands. It says in that report that his resolve to secure the Taranaki lands for settlement was an imperative—an imperative of his appointment. So in 1856 he appointed a board to inquire and to report on the status of Taranaki lands, and I just want to quote from that report about the board’s view. It was: “the ‘tribe’ ”—Taranaki—“that had the only authority to dispose of land, and while the individual had certain possessory rights, ‘there is no such thing as an individual claim, clear and independent of the tribal right’ ”. So it was really clear that any lands that were to be sold had to be agreed to by the tribe and that individuals could not sell land.

Governor Browne then visited Taranaki on 8 March 1859 and he announced a policy, and I would like to read that policy to the House today. First: “any person committing violence or outrage within ‘European boundaries’ would be dealt with under the criminal law;”, but, secondly, he said he “would not buy land with a disputed title and ‘would buy no man’s land without his consent’ ”, and herein, I guess, lie the issues around Pekapeka.

I found it interesting when I went on to the New Zealand in History website, because there is a section called “The New Zealand Wars” and a Taranaki War time line. It starts in 1859, and it says: “Te Atiawa tribe offers to sell land at Waitara. Surveying commences in 1860, but is interrupted by Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake, a Te Atiawa chief who objects to the land sale.” So I found it really interesting that it said that the tribe offered to sell it, but, actually, its rangatira objected to the sale. Obviously, the issue was not about the tribe selling it; it was about land agents at that time finding someone—an individual—who was willing to sell the land.

I want to quote again from the tribunal report. The person who wanted to sell it—his name was Te Teira. Kingi was aware that he had asked for payment and that he had entered into this negotiation with Governor Browne, and this is what he wrote to the Governor: “I will not agree to our bedroom being sold (I mean Waitara here), for this bed belongs to all of us; and do not you be in haste to give the money. If you give the money secretly, you will get no land for it. You may insist, but I will never agree to it … All I have to say to you, O Governor, is that none of this land will be given to you, never, never, till I die. I have heard it is said that I am to be imprisoned because of this land. I am very sad because of this word. Why is it? You should remember that the Maoris and Pakehas are living quietly upon their pieces of land, and therefore do not you disturb them.”

In preparing for my kōrero today, I found a press release dated 10 October 2000. It was by the Hon Parekura Horomia, and it was to mark the 25th anniversary of the Waitangi Tribunal. He quoted from Judge Durie at the time, who, after 20 years of experience, had four things to say: “1. The room for ethnic misunderstanding. Therefore in its reporting the Tribunal has tried to explain Maori cultural views, as it appeared from the evidence, so that Maori and Pakeha might understand one another better in the future. 2. The need to report fully in order to put the past at rest. 3. The need to make practical recommendations so that something positive might happen in the future. 4. And that the process underlined for him how important it is that all people should have access to an appropriate judicial forum to express legitimate concerns.”

So I think what the process has endeavoured to do is to provide that forum, but for some people who are not aware of what is happening around them, they do not engage early enough, and, I think, if we look at what is going to happen in terms of the debate around Waitara and the proposition that the New Plymouth District Council has put to the House, I think it is really important that we focus on the right of first refusal for the whānau of Te Atiawa in Waitara. I just want to highlight article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi, actually, where the Queen confirmed and guaranteed to Māori “the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of [our] Lands” for as long as we “wish and desire to retain” them in our possession. What we agreed, in being guaranteed our full and undisturbed possession, was that the Crown had an exclusive right of pre-emption over that land.

I guess, if we want to look at Waitara and an opportunity for Te Atiawa to have the first right of refusal, actually, we should look no further than the Treaty in enabling that specific provision in the Waitara bill, because from the council position, it is saying: “We are going to give Te Atiawa a monopoly. They will have an exclusive right, an only right, to buy the land.” Well, I guess my challenge to us is: what is wrong with that? Because that is what we said in the Treaty. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Taranaki Maunga tū mai rā, hei whakaruruhau mō te whenu-a,

Taranaki Maunga tū mai rā, hei kāinga mō ngā manu mumu hau tākere tō e,

Tangi nei, kia mau, kia ū ki te maungārongo, hei ruruhau mō te iwi—e, i!

Tēnā koutou. Tēnei te tū ake ki te tāpiri atu i ngā mihi ki Te Minita i te tuatahi, nāu i whakatūwhera tā tātou nei huihuinga i tēnei rāngi, kia puta ai ngā painga mō ngā āhuatanga mō ngā take Tiriti. Te Atiawa Taranaki, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa kua tae mai nei koutou ki te whakarongo ki ngā momo nekehanga kei waenganui i tō mātou nei komiti Māori mō ō koutou kerēme.

Ka tika me whakapuare ētehi ō ōku nei whakaaro mō tēnei tūāhuatanga: he uaua, tino uaua. Ēngari nā koutou te mana hei whakaaetia i ēnei take i mua i te aroaro o Te Pāremata, nā mātou te mahi nunui hei tautoko i a koutou nei hiahia. Ā, nō reira, ka nui, ka nui, ka nui te mihi, ā, me te mōhio anō kei waenganui i a mātou ngā tokorua e tino mōhio i tēnei whāinga: tō koutou nei mema o Te Tai Hauāuru, a Adrian rāua ko Meka Whaitiri. Nā rāua i mōhio taua tūāhuatanga, te noho ki tēnei taha o Te Karauna ki te tukituki i ngā hiahia, ngā wawata e pā ana ki te hau kāinga.

Nō reira, i roto i tērā whakaaro tēnā pea, māku hei whakapuare ētehi o ngā kōrero i puta mai mō tēnei kaupapa. I roto i te uauatanga o ō koutou nei whāinga kia whakahokia mai ngā whenua i raupatutia, me ngā āhuatanga ki te tari o ngā ture. Whakaaro ake au ko te mea tino uaua, kāre mātou i tino kite i tētehi rongoā i te Glasgow leases. I puta mai inapō ngā āhuatanga i waenganui i ā rātou, e hīkoi ana i te rori mō ngā whenua o Pekapeka. Whakaaro ake mātou: “Oh, āe, tino uaua tēnei kaupapa.”

Ahakoa tērā, kei a koutou te mahi nunui hei kawea i te hiahia o ō koutou nei iwi i roto i ētehi o ngā rongoā o te pire nei. Ko te tūmanako, ka noho pūmau Te Karauna ahakoa ko wai, tae ki tētehi wā tēnā pea ka whai rongoā kia whakahokia mai ngā whenua i raupatutia, koinā te tino hiahia. Ahakoa karekau he rongoā i roto i te pire nei, he maha ngā āwangawanga tonu kei waenganui i a mātou katoa mō te kore i kuhu mai ngā whenua o ngā kaunihera ā-rohe mō ngā take Tiriti. Ki a mātou nei, mehemea ka taea e tātou te whakaarohia ki tērā tūāhuatanga tēnā pea, ka whai wāhanga te kite i tētehi, me kī, tētehi rongoā kia mahi ngātahi ngā iwi ki te taha o ngā kaunihera ā-rohe ki te whakahaere i ngā whenua.

Ko tētehi atu anō o ngā kōrero i puta mai i waenganui i a mātou e pā ana ki ngā momo panonitanga o ētehi atu o ngā ture. Ko te hiahia o Te Kāwanatanga kia mau tonu i ngā whenua, kia whakatū i ngā whare. Ana, i tērā atu wiki kua tīni tērā āhuatanga, ngā wāhanga mō Te Housing Legislation Amendment Act, and i roto i tērā, ka whakaarohia e Te Kāwanatanga pēnā e āhei ana rātou ki te mau i ngā whenua kia whakatū whare, māmā noa iho kia panoni i te Public Works Act, māmā noa anō kia mau i ngā whenua ahakoa kua āhei te whakahokia i raro i te right of first refusal. Koinā tētehi o ngā āwangawanga. Ahakoa te tutukitanga o tō kerēme, kei ētehi atu o ngā ture ngā panonitanga, hei whakararu, me kī, hei whakatoimaha i ētahi, hei noho pēhi i ō koutou nei hiahia. Ka tika, me puta i mua i te aroaro o Te Minita nā te mea, me kauwā e waihotia mā taua pire anake e puta mai ngā āwangawanga mō te tutuki pai o ngā kerēme. Nō reira, e Te Minita, kua kite atu mātou katoa i tō hiahia, kia wawe te haere o te tutuki o ngā kerēme. Ko taku hiahia, kia taea e Manaiapoto te haina i ā rātou nei kerēme i mua i te mutunga o te tau. Atu i tērā, ka whakaaro ake mātou mō tērā tūāhuatanga mō ngā kerēme o mua.

Nā, ka titiro atu au ki te whiti 14(3)(a) me te (b), kei roto i tō koutou pire te whakahuatia o ngā momo tangata, ngā kaikerēme i tukuna ō rātou hiahia i raro i Te Taraipiunara. Nā, kua kite whānui ake i te nui o ngā tāngata i raro i tā koutou nei pire. Ka nui te mihi atu ki ā rātou katoa, ki ō rātou whānau, ō rātou uri whakaheke me te mōhio anō, he roa te wā kia kite mai tēnei rangi, ka nui te mihi atu. Kāti!

Ko te kōrero e pā ana ki te whiti 117, ki a mātou nei, i te wā e kōrerohia ana mātou, i tīmata mātou ki te whakaarohia me kaua e tangohia tēnei wāhanga, kia noho tonu, ahakoa kua mōhio mai, ka haria mai e te kaunihere ā-rohe tā rātou pire motuhake. Whakaaro mātou inā ka noho tonu i roto i te pire, hei whakaara mai ki Te Kāwanatanga, ki Te Karauna, ko te hiahia ā tōna wā, ā te wā tika, ka whakahokia mai ēnei whenua ki a koutou a Te Ātiawa. Koinā te take i whakaarohia e mātou, me noho tonu i roto i te pire. Ēngari, kua rongo mai ki te kōrero a te Minita, a taku tungāne a Adrian, ka pāhi ana te pire o te kaunihera ā-rohe, ka whakakorengia tēnei wāhanga o tō pire, me ngā whakamārama ki tēnā. Ēngari, e ū tonu au inā ka noho i roto i tō pire, ka mōhio tūturu Te Karauna, he wā anō pea, he wā anō pea kia whakahokia mai ngā whenua ki a Te Atiawa. He uaua ēngari kia whakaara mai te hiahia.

Nō reira, ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa, ka nui te whakaaro ake ki—te roanga o te kawe i tēnei kaupapa kia tutuki tika. Ka whakaaro ake ki te toimahatanga kei waenganui i a whānau mō te pupū ake o ngā nawe, ā-whānau mō tēnei āhuatanga. Ko tā mātou nei, nō iwi kē ēhara nā mātou te kī atu ki ētehi atu o ngā iwi, me pēnei, me pērā te whakatika i ngā raru kei waenganui i a koutou anō, me waihotia mā koutou hei whakatikatika!

Nō reira, atu i tērā, he poto te wāhanga māku ki te mihi atu ki ngā āpihā o Te Minita. E wero ana mātou ki a rātou, me whakautu pai ō mātou nei pātai i mua i te komiti; e wero ana mātou ki a rātou, kia tika ai te whakatakoto i ngā whakaaro o ngā iwi i mua i te aroaro o te komiti. E pai ana tā rātou nei mahi. Nō reira, atu i tērā, Nuk, te nui o ngā mihi ki a koe. Ahakoa te toimahatanga kei runga i a koe mō ngā kaipētihana i hara mai ki mua i te aroaro o te komiti, kua tūwhera te kuaha kia kuhu mai rātou, kia noho, kia whakapuare i ō rātou nei whakaaro katoa, he mea pai tērā. Nāu taua tū āhuatanga, kia noho marere tō mātou nei komiti i raro i aua piki me ngā heke. Nō reira, ki a koutou katoa Atiawa, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Rise up, Taranaki mountain, as a shelter for the land,

Rise up, Taranaki mountain, as a habitat for the esteemed, boisterous, and risk-taking ones,

Lamenting for peace to be grasped resolutely indeed, as a haven for the people.

Greetings to you collectively. In the first instance, I rise to add my acknowledgments to you, Minister Flavell, who opened our assembly with a prayer so that benefits relating to matters about the Treaty can emerge on this day. I welcome you all, Te Atiawa of Taranaki, who have arrived here to listen to the kinds of deliberations that went on amongst our Māori Affairs Committee in regard to your claims.

It is apt that I express some of my thoughts about this: it is hard. It is very, very difficult. But you have the mandate to pass these matters before Parliament, and we have the enormous task in terms of endorsing your aspirations. And so there is much acknowledgment, massive and huge, knowing full well at the same time that we have in our midst two people who have a good understanding about what is being sought: your member for Te Tai Hauāuru, Adrian, and Meka Whaitiri. They are familiar with that kind of situation of being on this side of the Crown to challenge its needs and aspirations relating to back home.

Therefore, with that thought in mind, perhaps I should reveal some comments that emerged about this matter. Within the difficulties you experienced in seeking that confiscated lands be returned, and in those aspects relating to the office of Acts. I considered that the thing that was really very difficult was that we did not really see any remedy in the Glasgow leases. The circumstances within themselves about the lands of Pekapeka emerged last night as they were marching on the road. That got us thinking: “Oh yes, this matter is a really hard one.”

Regardless of that, you really have a huge task in terms of carrying out the aspirations of your people within some of the remedies relating to this bill. The hope is that the Crown will remain committed, regardless of who it might be, that a point will be reached when a remedy might be found for the lands that were confiscated—to be returned, that is the real wish. Even though there is no remedy in this bill, many concerns remain amongst us all still for the non-inclusion of regional council lands in regard to Treaty issues. In our view, if it is possible for us to give due consideration to that kind of situation, then a way might be found—a remedy, shall we say— for the tribes to work collaboratively with regional councils to manage the lands.

Another comment that emerged from within us related to the kinds of amendments to some of the legislation. The wish of the Government is to retain the lands and to build homes. Just last week some circumstances, some parts, relating to the Housing Legislation Amendment Act were amended, and, as a consequence, the Government considered that if it was able to retain the lands to build houses on them, amending the Public Works Act would be a mere formality—retaining the land would be easy enough, even if they are returned under the right of first refusal. This indeed is one of the concerns. Even if your claim is settled, amendments to other Acts may encumber, weigh down, or put pressure, shall we say, on your aspirations. It is right that these be placed before the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, because drawing out the concerns to settle the claims well should not be left solely to that bill. Therefore, Minister, we have all noted your desire for claims to be settled expeditiously. My hope is that Maniapoto is able to have their claims signed before the year ends. Further to that, we have considered that situation relating to earlier claims.

Now I look at clause 14(3)(a) and (b) in your bill, where all types of people are mentioned, the claimants who submitted their needs under the Tribunal. We note broadly just how many types of people there are under your bill. I commend them all hugely, their families and descendants, knowing full well just how long it has taken to see this day, today; a huge congratulations to them. Enough!

In regard to the commentary relating to clause 117, our considered view during our discussions was that we started by saying that this should not be repealed. It must be retained, even though we understand that local government would bring their own separate bill. We considered that if it is retained in the bill it demonstrates to the Government, to the Crown, the desire—in due course, at the appropriate time—that these lands be returned to you of Te Atiawa. That is the reason why we thought it should be retained within the bill. However, I have heard what the Minister has said and what my colleague Adrian has stated—that when the local government bill is passed, this section of your bill will be repealed—as well as the explanations. However, I am resolute that by it remaining in your bill, the Crown will know emphatically that perhaps at some appropriate time the lands should be returned to Te Atiawa. It is difficult, but the intention needs to be raised.

Therefore, I commend you all greatly. There is much to think about—the length of time this matter has taken for it to be completed properly. Personally, we think it is an iwi issue, and it is not for us to say to other iwi: “This is how problems among you should be dealt with.” It should be left for you alone to resolve.

Therefore, in addition to that, there is a brief opportunity for me to thank the Minister’s officials. We certainly challenged them to respond well to our questions before the select committee; we challenged them to set down iwi perspectives correctly before the select committee, and they did a fine job.

Therefore, Nuk, much of the accolades go to you. Despite the burden imposed upon you in regard to the petitioners that came before the select committee, you opened the door to them to enter and to express their views totally. That was a great thing you did for them and for our committee to be generous and to give freely of each other, regardless of the ups and downs. And so, to all of you Atiawa, I commend you and us all.]

Tēnā koe, Mr Deputy Speaker. I would really like to welcome our people of Te Atiawa here this morning and acknowledge you for being present in the House. It is a pleasure to take a call on this bill. I would also like to acknowledge Maharoa Okeroa, our Minister Finlayson, and also I would like to acknowledge our committee chair, Nuk Korako, who has worked tirelessly not only on this legislation but on a number of pieces of legislation.

I would also like to acknowledge the Te Atiawa iwi, those who have gone before us. I know the work that people such as Wikitōria Keenan put into preparing for this deed of settlement. I would also like to acknowledge the Te Atiawa generosity in accepting what has been offered in terms of this negotiation, because for everything that the iwi has been through over the last 156 years, or whatever it is, it has just been an awful situation, and it has taken a very long time to redress.

By the mid-1850s Crown land purchasing had contributed to hostility and fighting within Te Atiawa, resulting in the loss of life for Te Atiawa people. In March 1860 the Crown’s insistence on completing a land purchase at Waitara, despite the strong opposition of many Te Atiawa, led to the outbreak of the first Taranaki War. Fighting continued until a peace agreement in April 1861 that provided for the Waitara purchase to be investigated. However, the Crown precipitated another war by occupying various blocks before this investigation was completed. Although the Crown renounced the Waitara purchase it was too late to prevent the fighting, which continued into 1864.

The Crown exacerbated the terrible impact of the wars on Taranaki by indiscriminately confiscating the entire rohe of Te Atiawa in 1865. In the 1870s and 1880s the Crown caused great distress to the iwi by the repressive measures it took to suppress the peaceful resistance campaign of Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi who established the settlement of Parihaka. In 1879 and 1880 many Te Atiawa were made political prisoners and detained without trial in the South Island.

Although the lands confiscated made a significant contribution to the wealth and development of this country, in recent years many Te Atiawa people have lived in very poor economic circumstances. The resilience of these people is evident, and today this growing iwi has a vision of the future that moves from raupatu to restoration.

I would like to acknowledge the iwi today. I would like to acknowledge the vision that you have for your people of Taranaki. I would like to help you, and offer to be part of anything that you would like to do going forward. We have a lot of making up to do, and this settlement is only a very small part of that. So thank you very much for the opportunity. Kia ora.

Bill read a second time.

Waiata