Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time. Today we are here to consider, debate, and address matters of great importance. Today is a great day for our nation and for Rangitāne o Manawatu. Very few things can be more defining than a third reading of settlement legislation, as we found last week when we debated the third readings of three settlement bills.

I can see a number of visitors in the gallery who have led the journey to settlement for Rangitāne o Manawatu. This iwi have had to overcome very many obstacles to get to this point, and I am so very, very pleased to see you here today. After so many years of negotiations with the Crown, I am pleased that the people of Rangitāne o Manawatu do not have to wait any longer to see the third reading of their bill. So I extend a warm welcome to members of Rangitāne o Manawatu who have travelled from the Manawatū area and from further afield to be here in Parliament today to listen to this, the third reading of their legislation.

I acknowledge—as I always do, and always should—those negotiators who passed away during the course of the negotiations, namely, Rangihararu Fitzgerald, Tānenuiārangi Te Aweawe, Kura Te Rangi-Baker, Ruth Harris, and Kararaina Tait.

To those of you who have worked so hard to make today possible, I offer my most sincere thanks. This settlement represents the culmination of several generations of work, beginning with the late, great Ruth Harris—who lodged the Wai 182 claim with the tribunal in 1990, and whose hard work and vision has been carried on by her daughter Danielle Harris—by Maurice Takarangi, and by a number of other fine people. As I said during the second reading, the commitment, dedication, and high standards of the negotiators are truly outstanding.

This day has been a long time coming for Rangitāne o Manawatu. As I said, they have faced many challenges since the 1990s, including a long, long pause in negotiations. I want to acknowledge other members of Rangitāne who contributed to the claims process and who have passed on, including Inia Te Rangi, Winnie Smith, Lorene Fitzgerald, and Yvonne Marshall.

Since signing the terms of negotiation in 1998—1998—Rangitāne o Manawatu have dealt with five Ministers for Treaty settlements and countless Crown officials. The Crown recognises the long and heavy burden Rangitāne o Manawatu have carried in pursuing justice over so many years, and I congratulate you on reaching this milestone. Lesser people would have said “It’s all too hard. I am giving up. I’ll go back to something else.”, but you have hung in there and you have achieved your settlement.

There are many people who have contributed to this legislation, both within the iwi and Crown agencies. Can I acknowledge the chief Crown negotiators whom I have used: Ross Philipson and, more recently, Glenn Webber. Their efforts and persistence have been very helpful to me as I have come to settle this claim.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge all the tūpuna of Rangitāne o Manawatu, who began the search for justice once land acquisitions began in the 1850s, as it is many of their descendants who have driven the claims process in the modern era. There are so many people to acknowledge, but it is appropriate in the third reading debate to acknowledge those who have contributed. Their names deserve to be written into the permanent record of Parliament.

The loss that Rangitāne o Manawatu suffered can never be fully compensated by the Crown, and much of what was lost simply cannot be returned. I say that every third reading. It never makes me pleased to say it, but say it I must because it is a reality. However, the people of Rangitāne o Manawatu have graciously accepted the redress contained in their settlement, and in doing so, I acknowledge their generosity.

Rangitāne o Manawatu is an iwi that lost most of its land through extensive Crown purchases in the mid-19th century, with very limited—some would say pitiful—reserves set aside. By the end of the 1880s, Rangitāne o Manawatu held approximately 20,000 acres of land, including reserves from Crown purchases that they had been awarded by the Native Land Court and land that they had repurchased in the Te Ahuaturanga block. From the 19th century, much of the remaining iwi land was partitioned by the Native Land Court and subsequently purchased by private interests. By 1930 Rangitāne o Manawatu land holdings had been reduced to a meagre 2,903 acres. What remained of the land was then eroded by further sales and, as an iwi, Rangitāne o Manawatu became virtually landless. This has had, obviously, a severe impact on the health of the people of Rangitāne o Manawatu.

Put simply, the Crown failed to ensure that the iwi were left with sufficient land for their present and future needs. Over many generations, the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty have simply undermined the social and traditional structures of Rangitāne and compromised the autonomy and ability of the iwi to exercise their customary rights and responsibilities.

This is such a familiar account of the past relationship between the Crown and its Treaty partner. We have heard it so many times of late. As I said, we had three bills last week—situations where the Crown repeatedly failed to fulfil the undertakings it made under the Treaty. Every time a settlement bill comes through Parliament, the same stories of land loss, of dispossession, and of economic and cultural alienation are heard. Every time it cuts deep, to the core of our nation. Māori across this country have legitimate Treaty grievances, and they need to be addressed. Today the time has come for the Crown to acknowledge the errors of the past and make amends for its actions or omissions.

One critical aspect of this settlement is the apology. I cannot stress enough the importance of the Crown recognising the struggles of the ancestors of Rangitāne o Manawatu in pursuit of redress and justice, and the relevance of a Crown apology to Rangitāne o Manawatu, to their ancestors, and to their descendants. The apology states that “by this settlement, the Crown seeks to atone for its wrongs and begin the process of healing.” Not only is the Crown apology an acknowledgment of long-held grievances but, hopefully, it heralds the re-establishment of a partnership based on that mutual trust, cooperation, and respect for the Treaty, and it is the right thing to do.

I hope that the redress package in this settlement will go a long way to reconnect Rangitāne o Manawatu with its environment and to acknowledge the mana and the rangatiratanga of Rangitāne o Manawatu. The settlement will also contribute to restoring the honour of the Crown and will mark the dawn of a new era in the relationship between Treaty partners. It has been such a long journey for Rangitāne, and I am so delighted that we have finally reached this stage.

I want to conclude by again paying tribute to Danielle Harris and simply say what a classy negotiator she has been. She has worked so very hard for the iwi. It has not been easy. We think this place is adversarial, but sometimes the attacks—the personalised attacks—on negotiators can really cut to the core. But she is one tough cookie, and she accepted those attacks and soldiered on, so, personally, I acknowledge you, Danielle. Thank you for your wonderful contribution to the iwi and to Manawatū, and I wish you all the very best for the future. I commend the bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare, otirā, e tika ana kia huri atu anō ki a rātau mā te wāhi ngaro, nō reira, ka tukuna atu anō te reo whakamoemiti ki a rātau mā, tēnei mātau e tono atu ki a koutou kia manaakitia mātau i roto i tēnei āhuatanga, te kōrero atu i roto i te Whare nei. Nō reira mā Te Māngai hei tautoko mai āianei ake nei, āe!

Oti noa kei te mihi atu anō ki te āhuatanga e pā ana ki ō tātau tini mate. Nō reira mai i Te Rakiura ki te tonga, whiti atu ki Te Wharekauri ki te rāwhiti, toro atu ki Manawatū, ki te uru, piki atu ki Te Reinga ki Te Tai Tokerau, ā, ki ngā kokonga e whā o Te Motu o Aotearoa, ngā whānau i raro i te kapua pōuri kei te hīkoi i roto i te ātārangi o ngā whārua o te mate, mauria mai ō koutou pare kawakawa kia tangihia i te wā iti nei. Tēnei te tangi apakura e aku parepare, e aku whakaruruhau: “E te mūrau o te tini, e te wenerau o te mano kua maunu ki te waka o aituā, kua huri, kua wehe ki ngā rangi.” Nō reira, koutou mā e ngā mate maha o te wā, hoki wairua atu ki a rātau mā, nō reira e oki, e moe, e moe. Ā kāti mō tēnā!

He tino hōnore tēnei ki te tū ake i tēnei rā, tuatahi, e tika ana kia tuku mihi atu ki a rātau mā ngā whānau me ngā hapū o Rangitāne o Manawatū kua tae mai ki te pānuitanga whakamutunga o tēnei tō rātau pire. Nō reira, kei te mihi ake ki a koutou ngā whānau me ngā hapū kua tae mai i tēnei rā, nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. E kī ana te korero: “Tini whetū ki te rangi, Rangitāne ki te whenua.” Nō reira, tihei mauri ora!

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, but at the same time it is apt that I turn once again to them of the place unseen, and so we thank them collectively. Therefore, we ask you to look after us in this situation as we make a contribution in this House. And so may the Mouthpiece support us now and forever, yes!

Furthermore, we pay a tribute once again in regard to the circumstances of our many deaths. So from Stewart Island to the south and across to the East Coast, extending to Manawatū in the west, and up to the North Cape to Northland, to the four corners of the country of New Zealand, and to the families under the cloud of darkness walking in the shadow of the valleys of death, bring forth your adornments of death to be mourned for this brief moment of time. This indeed is a dirge of lament to you, my protective wall and mentors: “We indeed are the dread of the many and the envy of the multitude, who have migrated to the vessel of calamity that has turned and departed to the heavens.” And so, to you and others, to the many deaths of the moment, return spiritually to them, rest, sleep, and slumber. And so, enough of that!

This is a real honour to stand up today, firstly and quite aptly so, to extend a welcome to them, to the families, and to the hapū of Rangitāne o Manawatu who have arrived here for the final reading of this their bill. Therefore, I extend a welcome to you collectively, the families and hapū who have arrived here today, so acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively. As the aphorism states: “Like the many stars in the sky, so are there many of Rangitāne upon the land.” Behold the breath of life!]

It is a great privilege and honour to stand here today to speak to the third reading of the Rangitāne o Manuwatu Claims Settlement Bill. At long last we have arrived at this day, and I endorse the words of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in that respect. Today, for me, is a big celebration. It is a celebration of an iwi who have had the tenacity to navigate the treacherous pathway of Treaty settlement and to actually come out the other end of it with their integrity intact.

I mihi to all of those who have been involved in bringing this settlement to a conclusion. Today is not the end, really; it is just the beginning. It is a beginning of a new legacy, and I am reminded of the words I said at the second reading. Today is a great occasion to remember that this is the completion of a legacy. I think I will remember that it is the day that we know that the completion of the tohu in Tūturu Pūmau can now take place. That signifies a significant conclusion for this legacy. But I say also that this is the beginning of a new legacy, and it is a time for us to look to the future.

I think that this settlement, like all settlements, will give Rangitāne o Manuwatu the opportunity to take this settlement asset and provide a better future for the next and coming generations. So I congratulate the settlement trust on the work that it has done so far, and I acknowledge that it will not be easy. There will be challenges still to come. But as I have already said, Rangitāne o Manuwatu have navigated the Treaty settlement process with honour and dignity, and I do not see that there will be any challenges that will not be met. So I congratulate the settlement trust.

I congratulate all of the hapū as well, because it is actually the hapū who are the major beneficiaries of the settlement, and so they should be. I look to all of the redress items—particularly, for me, the cultural redress items, and my mind also goes to Pukepuke Lagoon, the vesting of land at the lagoon, the statutory acknowledgment, and the deed of recognition. I think that those three significant items all together mean that Rangitāne will have a significant part to play in the conservation and the future of Pukepuke. I look forward, as a member, an uri, of Ngāti Tauira to participating in everything that that piece of land, that lagoon, has for the future of all of our family.

I also look forward to seeing the economic development. I think that is something I probably do not speak about often enough, but this settlement provides an enormous opportunity for Rangitāne o Manuwatu to take its rightful place within the Manuwatū. Alongside the relationship mechanisms that are in the settlement, Rangitāne o Manuwatu will be able to be at the forefront of the decision making within their own rohe. I have to say that Rangitāne o Manuwatu, despite not having this settlement up to this day, are already significant players and have a significant voice within the Manuwatū. I am not going to prolong this kōrero. I am just excited and happy for Rangitāne o Manuwatu.

Nō reira, i taku kōrero whakamutunga atu ki a koutou kua tae mai ki Te Whare nei, e kī ana ahau i roto i tēnei kōrero nei, kua tae mai te wā ki te whakaoti, ki te whakahoki mai i te tohu ki roto i Te Whare kia tūturu pūmau ai. Nō reira, i runga i tērā ka tukuna atu tēnei korōria, hareruia ki a Īhowa o ngā mano. E Te Māngai o Te Whare, tēnā koe, otirā, tēnā tātau katoa.

[Therefore, in this, my closing address to you who have arrived here at this House, I said in this contribution that the moment has come to hand to bring the symbolic landmark back within the House to enshrine it permanently. And so, on that point, I offer this glory and euphoria to Jehovah of the thousands. Mr Assistant Speaker, I thank you, but, at the same time, all of us.]

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā, tēnā rā koutou ngā puāwaitaka o tō tātau matua tipuna. Tēnei te mihi o ngā uri o Whātonga, Kurahaupō waka, Rangitāne-ki-Manawatū; nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai, ki Te Whare Pāremata, e mihi nei, e tangi nei i a koutou ngā taoka whakahirahira e tūmanako ake nei, e hāpai ake nei, ka mihi, ka mihi! Rātau ki a rātau, tātau ki a tātau, nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and acknowledgments to you, the blossoms of our ancestral forefather. I acknowledge you, the relatives of Whātonga, of the Kurahaupō canoe, and of Rangitāne at Manawatū; welcome, come forth, and pay homage to Parliament here, which acknowledges and grieves for you treasured ones, with your aspirations and support, I commend and congratulate you collectively! Leave the dead there amongst themselves, and we, the living, amongst ourselves, and so I acknowledge and congratulate you collectively, and commend all of you.]

Thank you for the opportunity to once again be able to speak on the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill. As the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, I want to acknowledge my committee on this journey in the passage of this very, very important bill. This journey began from the first part when it was introduced to the House, to the first reading, to the hearing of submissions down to the second reading, to the Committee of the whole House, and now to the final part of the journey of this bill here today, the third reading, and, once that is concluded, then to the Royal assent. Then, under an Act of Parliament, the real journey actually begins for your people.

Before I get into the bill, I also want to acknowledge the incredible work of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations—ki a koe e Te Minita Finlayson. The other thing is that I want to pay tribute to the Rt Hon John Key, because it has been not only the Hon Christopher Finlayson who has personally progressed the many, many Treaty settlements during the last 8 years. Minister Finlayson deserves credit for the inclusive way that he has worked to achieve these settlements, and you all know how the Minister has actually worked through this. I am sure the Minister would join me in acknowledging that this would not have been possible without the support of Prime Minister John Key. He has been a National Party leader and a Prime Minister who has been a great supporter of the aspirations of Māori to improve the outcomes of our people.

This also would not have been possible without a supportive Minister of Finance, the person who holds the purse strings. Without the support of the Hon Bill English this would actually be quite difficult, particularly when we look at the commercial redress. As the Minister of Finance, he ensured that the funding for Treaty settlements was available, and his Better Public Services programme also has ensured that Māori are better served by our public services. It is thanks to Bill English in no small part that we are seeing better outcomes for Māori in education, health, and in the job market itself. That will definitely continue.

Let us come back now to the third reading, and particularly to where Rangitāne ki Manawatū is actually concerned—and it is all about that. It is actually all about that, but this is the beginning of that next journey that I was talking about. We know because the first speaker, the honourable Minister—he has gone through a lot of the historical aspects of this Treaty settlement. What I want to just concentrate on, particularly during that journey through the select committee, is actually around the submissions process. One submission that really did catch my attention was from the Ngāti Hineaute hapū of Ngāti Rangitāne. Their written submission was very clear and succinct in the fact that they laid out three principles that are the real essence, or the hallmark, of this Treaty settlement.

The first one highlighted the importance and the acknowledgment of the apology. Like my own iwi, Kai Tahu, it was not actually about the money or anything like that. One of the things that our people really thought was the most important was actually the fact of the apology. It is about the apology, which the Minister actually mentioned this morning. Having spoken to many members of iwi around Treaty settlements, they have reiterated the fact of the apology. That was the first part of that submission. The apology, as we know, does not undo the wrongs of the past, but what it highlights is the fact that we, as a Government and as a nation, actually understand the pain that was caused in the past. It is a commitment, too, around honouring the Treaty.

The second part of the submission highlighted the fact that the redress provided to the iwi does not and cannot actively reflect the value of the loss sustained by Rangitāne. That was something that was also acknowledged in that submission, and it is acknowledged here today.

Thirdly are the benefits of the settlement, particularly the benefits that are made possible by the commercial redress. What will really make a difference, as we have actually known in Kai Tahu, is the commercial redress that forms part of the continual development of Rangitāne o Manawatu.

The settlement provides the apology that Rangitāne is owed. It provides cultural and commercial redress, including a financial redress of $13.5 million. It has been said that the amount does not reflect what was taken—absolutely, but it goes a long way to assist the future of Rangitāne o Manawatu. On that note, I wish the leaders, the rakatira, of Rangitāne o Manawatu every success in the next part of their huge journey towards the success of their people. I wish them all the vision and wisdom and financial nous that they will need to achieve those goals for the future. On that note, I have great pleasure in commending this bill to the House. E mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora.

It is a privilege and honour to be able to speak in this third reading of the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill. As others have said before me, this is one step on an incredibly long journey for Rangitāne o Manawatu, a long journey that started—well, this phase started back in 1998; of course, really, it started all the way back in the 19th century. Others have spoken of the dignity and tenacity that the leaders of Rangitāne have shown.

I particularly want to acknowledge Danielle Harris and her team, and everyone who has gone before, in bringing this claim before the tribunal and, ultimately, allowing us to share in this journey for this brief period when we have been dealing with the legislation, which is such a vital component of the redress and the ability to move forward from the wrongs that have been committed in the past.

I want to acknowledge that Rangitāne o Manawatu has suffered just about every breach of the Treaty that was possible: unreasonable deals that you were forced to accept, unreasonable acquisitions of land, and pitiful attempts at redress that were never going to be enough to acknowledge the loss that was suffered. I want to acknowledge today that this redress, this apology, and this compensation of course does not in any way totally compensate the loss that Rangitāne has suffered. No Treaty settlement does.

I want to acknowledge all iwi for being prepared to settle these claims with a settlement that is acceptable to the Crown—that can be met by the Crown—but that, obviously, in no way meets in financial terms the loss that any iwi has suffered. I think that is important for the people of New Zealand to know, because, although we have much more consensus today around the Treaty settlement process—we have a lot more consensus in this House, and it certainly helps us to make progress when it is not a political football in this House; we no longer have talk of fiscal envelopes or restrictions on how we will achieve settlement of Treaty claims. But there is still the occasional person out there who thinks that somehow everybody should just move on and pretend that nothing ever happened. I think that those people need to understand that, actually, the people who are giving up the most in this are the iwi, who are prepared to settle for what are tiny proportions of what they had lost in financial terms. So thank you for doing that.

I am looking forward to the next phase. We have been able to join you on this little bit of it, and at this point we hand it back to you now to take what you receive out of this settlement, to take the opportunities that are created by this settlement, and to build a future for your youngsters and for your iwi. I hope to be able to participate even more—even more—than you currently do in the Palmerston North community and in the wider Manawatū community. I am looking forward to the relationships—the special relationships—that are formed in this legislation, but also the way in which you will be able to manage your own assets and forge your own path into the future, and how important that is going to be to our wider community.

I do not think people actually appreciate just how important that is going to be to our region and to our community, but it is exciting, and we are looking forward to seeing what you can achieve and how you can further your involvement and your ability to drive our community and our economy forward. That is exciting and incredibly important for us, not just for you and for your own people but for the whole community in Palmerston North and Manawatū.

Thank you for letting us be part of your story. I am so looking forward to the future. Thank you for your tenacity, for your dignity, and for sticking with what can be a challenging process when there are people from all sides challenging the leadership and challenging the process. You have held your heads high. You have come to a settlement, and it is an awesome opportunity for the iwi to go forward, and I am looking forward to us all being able to be a part of that. Thank you.

This is a pretty significant day for a large part of the lower Rangitīkei electorate and, of course, for the people who live there. I live on the line—I supposed you could say; if there is such a line in these sort of things—between Ngāti Apa and Rangitāne, and my family have been intertwined with them since the 1840s. Pukepuke Lagoon, for instance, was a part of a piece of land that we leased off the Crown for some hundred-odd years. So it is really quite an exciting opportunity, I think, both for my family to see what goes on with Rangitāne, but, particularly, for the people of Rangitāne. I think that is progress.

If you think about the early days of the Manawatū, the lower Manawatū was covered in flax, and if you think about Foxton, Foxton was built on flax. Much of the industry of the lower Manawatū and the history of the lower Manawatū was intertwined with flax. So the fact that that area is now part of an agreement and a lot of work that has been undertaken by the people of Rangitāne and by their cousins from Ngāti Kauwhata around the Ōroua River and the work that was undertaken on the Manawatū River, it is really a forerunner in New Zealand, I think, to what we are going to see in the future with many partnerships in this kind of environmental management and the management of things that are very important to us. I think that the Manawatū River Leaders’ Accord, and the way in which that has been dealt with by all parties concerned, is a significant example of how things can work extremely well.

I just want to acknowledge one or two people, and I know Minister Finlayson has acknowledged all of the important people of Rangitāne, but I want to speak about a couple in particular, and one was the late Ruth Harris. It would be fair to say that I did not always agree with Ruth, and she did not always agree with me. But that was just how she was, and I am sure that many other people have experienced that in her. I also want to acknowledge Danielle, who I think has held the vision of her mother and her family together and built an organisation that has achieved this outcome today. I know, as many have said earlier, that it was extremely hard work for them all.

None of these things happen easily, none of them happen easily in Parliament, and none of them happen easily in the land of Rangitāne. I want to acknowledge a couple of other people whom I have had a lot to do with in my life. Wīremu and Trieste Te Awe Awe, who live on the banks of the Ōroua River at their home marae, Te Rangimārie, have had their house flooded twice—completely demolished, in fact—in the last 12 years by that river. You have got to wonder what would have happened in the early days, because those rivers must have flooded in the same way. Although, of course, as we play around with the environment, we do cause different effects, and I guess it is a really interesting example as to what has happened in the lower Manawatū, because it is a massive scheme to try to manage that river. It is very different land than it ever used to be.

I want to congratulate Rangitāne. I want to also congratulate Nuk and the Māori Affairs Committee on getting this bill through the House. I want to congratulate the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and all the work that he has done to get to this point, and I look forward to the next few—well, I suppose it might only be a few, in my case—years watching what happens with Rangitāne and, particularly, in respect of the fact that we are liable to be neighbours, as the Tangimoana Forest was also part of land that my family leased in the early days, and so we will see where we get to. I want to congratulate you. I think it is fantastic progress for us. I commend the bill to the House and look forward to the progress that we make in the future. Thank you.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker, ki a koutou huri noa i Te Whare, tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Tararua me Ruapehu ōku maunga, ko Tākitimu me Aotea ōku waka, nō Rangitāne, Kahungunu-ki-Wairarapa, me Ātihaunui-a-Paparangi au, kia ora koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and acknowledgments to you all throughout the House. Tararua and Ruapehu are my mountains, Tākitimu and Aotea are my canoes, and I belong to Rangitāne, Kahungunu at Wairarapa, and Ātihaunui-ā-Pāpārangi, so greetings to you all.]

I am very pleased to stand on behalf of the Green Party and support the final reading of this legislation. I am actually a bit sad that we were not able to do it at the time when everybody had come down from Palmy for the second—and what was supposed to be the third—reading, but we are here now and that is really good.

The completion of this settlement is a real celebration for the iwi who have been working for decades to achieve this. I also would lend my support to those who have congratulated Danielle Harris, in particular, and the whole team that has been working on this settlement for many years, and, of course, Danielle’s mum, Ruth Harris. It is always good to keep saying the names of those whom we have lost over the years, and it is great that Ruth has been acknowledged so well in the debate on this bill.

I am not going to delay the reading this morning, but I do want to acknowledge the concessions that Rangitāne o Manawatu have made in the process of this settlement. As we have talked about often here, the concessions that iwi make are absolutely enormous. There are two kinds of concessions: the first is in the relationships with other iwi and hapū whom they have to negotiate with over the boundaries of the settlement, and the second is the concessions that are forced on them by the Crown.

Although we often, in this House, apologise for the fact that the reparations that are made are so minor, I do not think that that is enough anymore, and we really need to be looking at how to transform the settlement process, to make sure that it is actually fairer. It is not enough just to say “Thanks for giving up what you lost. Thanks for your contribution and concession to the New Zealand public as a whole.”, because we actually owe them a great deal more.

First, to the concessions with other claimants: Rangitāne o Manawatu have had to give up a number of interests that they held for a very long time over many, many years in order to manage their relationships with other iwi who had other claims in the similar area. That means that it is only a very tiny fraction of what was lost that has been returned. So there was about half a million acres that was lost, and just a tiny fraction of that land, let alone the value of that land, has been returned to them. Some of that is because they have, as other iwi have also, made concessions to make sure that there are adequate settlement packages for the other iwi around them.

So their generosity goes beyond just the general generosity to the Crown as a whole and to the New Zealand public as a whole for not demanding full reparation of what was lost. But their generosity also extends to those iwi, who are also often smaller and do not have much in the way of resources and power, but who also need to have some kind of economic base on which they can continue to build a future for their whānau. Every iwi who makes a settlement is being enormously generous to those around them, as well, and I think we need to recognise that.

This brings me directly to the concessions that Rangitāne o Manawatu, and all iwi, have to make in relation to the Crown, because it is a feature of the Treaty settlements that creates this conflict between iwi and iwi and iwi. It is the very nature of the settlement itself that does that. We have to remember it was the Crown that committed the crimes. It was the Crown that committed the initial crimes. It has also been the Crown that has decided the process by which it will make reparation for those crimes committed. There is not a similar process, I do not think, anywhere in the justice system or in the legal system, where the perpetrator decides both the process and, in effect, the quantum of the reparation made for the crimes that they have committed. That is what the settlement process is.

It has been like that from the start. Iwi Māori have had very little to do with the creation of that process. Yes, there have been some changes over time to make it slightly more effective for those who are negotiating—for iwi who are negotiating—but the fundamentals are still there. It is still the Crown that decides the rules. It is the Crown that decides whom it negotiates with. It is the Crown that decides the quantum of the reparation, and anybody who has dealt with settlements in detail, as a number of us in this House have, knows that it is very rare for the Crown to shift the value of that quantum in the process of a settlement. So, really, it is not really that much of a negotiation on the fundamentals. It is a negotiation around the edges. So the concessions that iwi make in the Treaty settlement process are actually about those fundamentals, because they have no choice but to agree to the Crown’s construction of how the settlement should go. That is absolutely an enormous concession by a victim of a crime. Let us not forget that that is fundamental, and it can change. It does not have to be like that for ever.

This is one of the reasons that the Green Party does not accept settlements as full and final. We support them because we support the work that iwi and hapū do to get to this point. It can take decades and decades, and no way are we going to undermine their work and effort over that time and the loss that they incur over those many years in the negotiations process. But it also means that we are honour-bound not to accept these as full and final. They are a deal; they are a negotiation about an economic resource.

There is a requirement from the Crown to apologise and to accept the crimes that the Crown committed in the past—that is good. We think that is the right thing to do. The reparation that is made is a tiny fraction of what was lost, and we accept that that is the way the process is now. But these settlements are about providing an economic base and the return of some land in order to enable iwi to develop some economic independence. We accept that too, but that is not Treaty justice. That is not the same thing as justice.

What it is, then, is that settlements are a step on the journey towards Treaty justice, because Treaty justice is rangatiratanga. Treaty justice is genuine partnership, and the settlement process is not that. It enables iwi to be able to develop some resources, to grow in economic power and resources, and to help build their whānau so that their whānau are doing more and better in terms of being stronger and more resourced, with more agency and more independence over some of the decisions that they are making about themselves, but that is not full and final settlement of the colonisation process that did so much damage after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed and in contravention of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

We are really pleased to be able to support this legislation. We are really pleased that Rangitāne o Manawatu are going to get some of their economic resource back and control over their whenua taonga tuku iho. Of course they should have that. It is unspeakable to think that they should not. But neither do we accept that this is the end of the process for Treaty justice for them or for us, as members of the House of Representatives; nor is it for any Government, now or in the future, the end of the process. There will come a time when the next stages of rangatiratanga need to be part of this process. We are up for it in the Green Party. We are up for this conversation about what this looks like. We want to see Treaty justice in this country, and we are committed to working alongside iwi to achieve that. In the meantime, until we get to that point, we welcome the settlement and we welcome the reparation that is being made for their settlement. We look forward to Rangitāne o Manawatu being able to celebrate at the conclusion of this bill. Thank you.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker, tēnā hoki tātau i roto i Te Whare, koutou Rangitāne o Manawatu kua tae mai nei i waenganui i a tātau i te rā nei. Kei te tautoko i ngā mihi a te tuakana mai i Te Tai Hauāuru ki te whakatau i a koutou kei waenganui i a tātau i te rā nei. E tika ana, nāna i whakahuangia ētahi o koutou i ngaro atu i te tirohanga kanohi. Nā reira, kei te mihi hoki ki a rātau, ki a rātau i takahia te ara whānui a Tāne i rūpeke ki tua-o-Paerau. Nā reira, ko rātau ki a rātau, hoki mai ki a tātau i mahuengia mai e rātau: tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou.

Tēnā hoki i a tātau i whakatakoto kōrero e pā ana ki te pire i mua i a tātau i te rā nei. I a mātau i roto o Aotearoa Tuatahi karekau kē he raru ki te pire. Kei te tautoko ngā kōrero i kōrerohia i a rātau i tū ake i mua i a au i te ata nei; kore he kōrero i tua atu i tēnā. Nā reira, kei mōhio mai Te Whare, kei te tautoko i a mātau i te pire nei.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and greetings to us in the House, and to Rangitāne o Manawatu who have arrived amongst us on this day. I endorse the sentiments expressed by the senior colleague from Te Tai Hauāuru in paying homage to you collectively amongst us on this day. It is fitting that he should mention some of you who are no longer seen and whose faces are lost from view. And so I pay a tribute to those, as well, who have traversed the broad highway of Tāne and have gathered beyond the meeting place of the dead. So leave them there with each other, let us come back to us, the ones that they left behind them: acknowledgments, accolades, and salutations to you collectively.

Congratulations also to those of you who made a contribution on this day about the bill before us. We of New Zealand First do not have any issue at all about the bill. I endorse the contributions that were made before I rose this morning; there is nothing further to say. And so the House should note that we are supporting this bill.]

I want to join with those who have already spoken in this debate in support of this bill, which culminates the end of a journey for those who have been responsible for bringing this matter first of all before the tribunal and now into legislation. As previous speakers have stated, it has been a long journey, and that journey has been led by a number of people, some of whom have already been acknowledged.

Of course, mentioned not once but several times has been one Danielle Harris. I just want to join with the acknowledgment of her, but also remind her of her Ngāpuhitanga. Given the state of our claims in the North and given the description by those who have acknowledged you of your tenacity, your strength, and all that, perhaps—well, not perhaps; we could certainly use that sort of approach back in the North. I just want to acknowledge that, but more importantly to acknowledge her father, as well. I knew her grandmother and her mother very well, so it does not come as any surprise. The description that my colleagues in the House have given of you, Danielle, as I said, is no surprise, but I hope that your people of Rangitāne o Manawatu might consider sharing you with us in the North. Mā te wā.

[See you later.]

This bill culminates the work and sacrifice of those people who took up the challenge to redress their claim. As people have said, the signing of the agreement back in 1998 certainly indicates just how long their battle has been to get it to this stage today. I think that that ought to be acknowledged. As we well know, the loss that they have suffered is not fully compensated for by this bill. I think that, as with all settlements, the nation needs to acknowledge the contribution that those iwi who have settled are making to our nation in order that these issues can be put aside and acknowledged, and in order that each of the respective iwi can now look forward with anticipation.

Of course, the settlement is all about addressing land loss and the alienation of lands and properties once owned by the iwi. This bill goes some way to addressing that issue. The apology, of course, is an acknowledgment of the wrongs on the part of the Crown, and, as someone said, it does not undo that wrong. This generation and future generations will benefit from this settlement. It will also provide an economic and cultural base for this generation and coming generations of Rangitāne o Manawatu.

Some people in this House were probably surprised by the support that New Zealand First is giving to this bill, unlike to previous bills. However, I just want to make the point that clause 42 of this bill acknowledges the establishment of an advisory board that allows its members to give advice to the local body in terms of the management of the Manawatū River. It does not make it compulsory for the local body to, first of all, accept the advice that the advisory board will give, but it must give due regard to any advice that that board may give. It is on that basis, together with the quantum that has been agreed to by the iwi, that New Zealand First will be supporting this bill.

I must say that I have some sympathy for the negotiators, because there will always be some people within their own tribe who will have a contrary view regarding what has been reached today. History will record who those negotiators were and who was responsible for making the decisions, but that is an indication of what leadership is all about. Sometimes the decisions that are made are not always accepted by all, but they do give an indication of, and give some support for, the thinking at the time. Therefore, those who have made those decisions need to be acknowledged, and that has already been done in this House today.

I do not want to go on too much further, other than to acknowledge the iwi, to acknowledge the people who helped carry this kaupapa to this stage, and to commend the bill to the House. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Anei te mihi atu ki a koutou e hui nei i tēnei wā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou kua tae ā-tinana mai, ā-kanohi nei ki te whakarongo, ā, kia kite anō i te tutukitanga o ō wawata, tautohetohe, pukumahi, nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, te uri o Rangitāne, o Kurahaupō, o Whātonga. Nei te mihi atu ki a koutou ōku whanaunga; tēnā koutou, nau mai, haramai ki tō tātau Whare.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Here is my tribute to you collectively who have gathered physically and visibly here at this time to listen and to see once again the completion of your aspirations, contentions, and hard work, therefore greetings and salutations to you collectively, congratulations and well done to you, the offspring of Rangitāne, Kurahaupō, and Whātonga. I pay a tribute to you, my relatives; congratulations, welcome, and come hither to our House.]

In recent days I have been reminded of the importance of these things. Last week we had the Taranaki bills come, and many of the people who came wore the raukura in their hair. Yesterday I was at Papawai Marae, and their patu was returned from overseas, from a museum in California. It was gifted to Lord Ranfurly at the time, and it was a symbol that connected us to our old people and to our ancestors, because it was handled, touched, and gifted by Mahupuku of the Māori Parliament to Lord Ranfurly. I was reminded of that, and I wondered at the time: “Why didn’t I know about these things when I went to school?”

Many of you may or may not know that I went to Queen Elizabeth College for a time in Palmerston North.

💬 Hon Members: Hey!

That is right—there are many things you fullas do not know about me. I lived in Highbury with my mum. [Interruption] Boom! See? Or “ping!”—which is like “boom!”, but with treble. Anyway—ping! So I lived in Highbury and went to Queen Elizabeth College. We learnt, in the education of my father’s whakapapa, that Elizabeth I and II were great queens. We learnt about the settling of Aotearoa—how it was “discovered” by Cook. We learnt about how Māori came to Aotearoa on a waka, starving and bereft, and accidentally ran into it. These are the things that I learnt in the education of my father’s whakapapa.

While I was there I joined my first ever kapa haka group, and I started to realise that there was another knowledge that had been withheld from me through a lack of language. As I started to learn those things, I realised: “Oh my goodness! These people that I’m going to school with, they’re my cousins.” How did I know that? Well, when I started to learn the mātauranga Māori of my mother’s whakapapa—that came with language—I realised that that place that I grew up in called “Tee Wit” was actually “Te Whiti”. I went “Oh my goodness—who knew?”, and I thought “Jingos! I’m related to those fullas from Taranaki. Te Whiti o Rongomai—must be, because it says ‘Te Whiti’. Wow!”.

As I learnt more knowledge in the mātauranga Māori of my mother’s whakapapa, I realised: “No, silly, it means Te Whiti o Tūtewake, who himself has whakapapa to Rangitāne, but from Wairarapa.” Tūtewake was known in the Māori Land Court records as a great warrior. It says: “he whakatō tāne nō Tūtewake, he toa” [“a male conceived from Tūtewake, a champion”]. I went: “Oh my goodness—the making of a man is in Tūtewake, the warrior.” And then I read the story. He was not “the man” because he was a warrior, and he was not “the man” because he was a great chief—and he was—or descended from Rangitāne, and actually from Kahungunu as well.

Koro Kuki always said to us: “You’ve got a leg in each waka, and you can’t separate them.” I went: “All right then. Ko tāua tēnā! [That’s you and me!]”. Anyway, I learned that Te Whiti o Tūtewake reminded us of the place where Tūtewake crossed the river to save his sister, Tauraharakeke, who had taken herself away to die because she did not want to be married off to some koroheke. It was a thing—we have let it go. Ha, ha! But he went to save her.

So when I learnt the whakapapa and the mātauranga of my father’s whakapapa—the English schooling—I heard that I was greedy. People said to me: “Marama, why do you Māori people have to be so greedy? Why can’t you just accept what you have?”. When did they ask me that question? It was after Waitangi Day every year, when all they saw was Māori people protesting, saying: “Give us back our land.”

So in the education of my father’s whakapapa I was told I was greedy. I had a good education, but I was still told I was greedy. But in the education of my mother’s whakapapa, I was told that we were great—that our people were great. We were born of greatness—descended from Whātonga, who traversed the land and named the places, who was an explorer and discoverer, who travelled across the oceans on Kurahaupō waka, following the stars, navigating by the phosphorus of the ocean and the tides along the Hikurangi Trench.

💬 Adrian Rurawhe: Sounds like you’re talking about Samoans.

I might be; there might be some connection. Ha, ha! But I digress. You know, we come here today to acknowledge your history, our history, and the fight that has come to this point, where, all of a sudden, when I go back to Palmerston North and the Manawatū, I find that there are kura kaupapa Māori, that there are kura that raised our children in the knowledge that they were great, and that they have aspirations for their future. Your Treaty settlement today reminds us of that.

I acknowledge those who have passed on. I had a whole speech and I have not followed it, and I am supposed to shorten my time. I acknowledge Rangihararu Fitzgerald, Tānenuiārangi Te Aweawe, Kura Terangi Baker, Ruth Harris, and Kararaina Tait. Those are not all the people whom we have lost along the way, but they are a reminder that in the years—the generations—that we have lost coming to this point, we cannot waste more generations going forward to put to good use the benefits of the things that you have fought for and struggled for, and to remind our children forevermore that they were born of greatness, not greed. Nā reira, e Te Iwi, nei te mihi atu ki a koutou.

[And so to you, the tribe, I acknowledge you collectively.]

The last thing I just want to mention is the awa. You are going to have restored to you co-management or advice about how to restore the awa—one of the reportedly most polluted rivers in the whole of the country. What was pristine when our people lived next to it is no longer pristine. The mauri that we sought from it has been disturbed, and the decision making is now in your hands, to give advice. It would have been great if that advice could flow on to real decision-making power at the table, so that even though you give advice, it cannot be ignored, as has been done around the country for years and years. We still continue to fight for that. Nō reira, e aku whanaunga, nei te mihi atu ki a koutou: “Tini whetū ki Te Rangi, Rangitāne ki Te Whenua.” Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora mai tātau katoa!

[And so to you, my kin, I salute you collectively: “Like the innumerable stars in the sky, so is Rangitāne on the land.” Congratulations and well done to you collectively, my appreciation to us all!]

E ngā whānau whānui o Rangitāne o Manawatu, tēnā koutou, nau mai, haere mai ki te rā whakahirahira. Ki ngā mokopuna i tēnei rā, ko te tīmatanga o te heke mai kanapa nā tēnei rā, ka whakawhetai ahau. Ka whakahōnore i te hunga mahi pakeke ki te whakarite i te heke mai ā tōna wā hoki ki a koutou katoa.

[To the extended family of Rangitāne o Manawatu, salutations to you collectively, welcome and come forth to the wonderful day! To the grandchildren of this day, as a consequence of this day glisten will begin to come down, which I am grateful for. I honour the ones who worked in a mature manner to determine what totally should come down to all of you eventually.]

I stand proud to take this call, to record just how proud I am of Rangitāne o Manawatu getting to this stage today in the House. I used to work in Palmerston North. Many years ago, someone said to me: “Because of all the raruraru, Jo, Rangitāne would be lucky to actually get to conclude their claims settlement.” Oh, how wrong they were. I said nothing at the time, because I had lots of faith that you would get here. I knew, Danielle, that you would get here because of the determination of your mother, Ruth Harris, and all the kaumātua who sat around her at the time, to bring this to fruition today.

To think that there are people out there who think today is a nothing day—that what the Crown is resolving and concluding today with Rangitāne is nothing. Well, they are very wrong. It is, as I have said many times in this House, the beginning of the economic development for iwi. This is going to be for Rangitāne o Manawatu as well. So many things can happen and go forward now for Rangitāne. All the arguments, all the discussions, all the agreements and disagreements have all come to a conclusion, and today is the day that you go forward, and with you you take not just your past but all your mokopuna of today and in the future.

I want to acknowledge Danielle—Danielle and her team. Wow! As the Minister said, your determination to get here today, to bring the whānau together, from the three strands of Rangitāne o Manawatu, is an accomplishment that will go down in the history books of Rangitāne o Manawatu, and it has its rightful place there, Danielle. I am very proud today of what you have done for all of us in Rangitāne.

The Rangitāne o Manawatu deed of settlement could best be described as a fine cheese, but it has taken time to mature, and today we unwrap it and take a slice—only a slice—to go on our cracker, to celebrate the coming of your deed of settlement, as it moves to receive the Royal assent.

I look forward, as a member of Rangitāne, to witnessing what the future will hold for our people in Manawatū. I am proud that many, many plans and a future will happen for our young people in Manawatū and wider afield. I know that with the leadership of your post-settlement governance entity, led by Danielle, only good things will come for you, and I look forward to witnessing that in the future. So, without any further ado, I congratulate you. I say go forth, be successful, be very successful, be at the top of your game, and I will be there to stand and say: “Yes, these are my people, Rangitāne o Manawatu.” Tēnā koutou katoa. Kia ora.

Ā, e Te Māngai o Te Whare, tēnā koe, e ngā mema o Te Whare nei, tēnā tātau katoa. Ko koutou o Rangitāne o Manawatu, tēnā koutou, hara mai, tēnā koutou, hara mai, tēnā koutou hoki mai! Tēnā koutou i haramai i runga i te kaupapa whakahirahira, tō rā, tō tātau rā, kai te mihi, kai te mihi, kai te mihi!

[And so thank you indeed, Mr Deputy Speaker, and acknowledgments to us all, members of this House. So it is you, Rangitāne o Manawatu, accolades to you collectively, welcome, greetings, come hither, and welcome back! Congratulations to you as a consequence of the matter of great significance. It is your day and ours, so I commend, extol, and salute you!]

It is indeed my honour and privilege to rise and contribute to the third and final reading of the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill. When most Māori meet one another, they generally try to get a relationship going. While I have been sitting here listening to all the previous speeches, thoughts came to my mind, and I want to share a couple of connections with the Manawatū. I used to play netball many, many years ago. We often used to go to the Manawatū. It was one of our stomping grounds many years ago when I played for Wellington. So I immediately thought about the very windy, windy conditions of the Manawatū netball courts.

💬 Jono Naylor: It’s not often.

You know, we did really well there, Jono, in the Manawatū. So that thought came to mind. Whenever I came to the Manawatū, to Palmerston North, the home of my late uncle and auntie, Judy and Boy, to us, or Bill Nīkora, was often the first home we visited. And then I thought about the story, not specifically related to Rangitāne but Rangitāne Tāmaki-nui-ā-rua and Rangitāne ki Wairarapa, when my grandmother, the late Ruruhira Robin, was picked up, often to go to iwi hui. It was often either Kahungunu on one side, or Rangitāne on the other side. Anyway, the story got relayed to me that she got collected by the Kahungunu side of her, to go to an iwi hui, to go and vote, and when it came to the voting on some particular kaupapa, my grandmother voted for the Rangitāne side. It caused quite a stir for my Kahungunu side. When they asked my grandmother “Why did you vote against the very people who picked up?”, she said that she was Rangitāne and she was Kahungunu, and at the end of the day she made the best choice at that particular hui. These are just some stories that I am trying to share in this House that have some relevance to the people who are in our gallery to hear the third and final reading.

Every Treaty settlement is unique—every Treaty settlement is unique. I want to acknowledge the leader of the Green Party because she picked up a lot of the kōrero that I wanted to talk about, and that is the concessions done by the Rangitāne people. I want to briefly talk about the compromises that Rangitāne made in relation to the cross-claims. When I look at their particular settlement, there are a number of cross-claim issues that they dealt with and I want to acknowledge the way in which they dealt with them.

I just want to quickly mention what these issues were that were raised through their particular settlement, and that is the eastern boundary of the Rangitāne o Manawatu area of interest. Clearly, that is with their whanaunga of Rangitāne ki Wairarapa, Rangitāne ki Tāmaki-nui-ā-rua. It is pleasing to know that they worked out a settle position where they amended the shape of the area to be invested in Rangitāne o Manawatu in relation to the Tararua ranges and by excluding areas in the Ruahine Forest Park included in the proposed Rangitāne o Tāmaki-nui-ā-rua settlement from the Rangitāne o Manawatu statutory acknowledgment for the park.

Issue No. 2 was the inclusion of Tangimoana Crown forest licence land in the Rangitāne o Manawatu settlement, obviously cross-claimed by Wai 972, which is the Ngāti Kauwhata people. Of course, there was some interest expressed by the Ngāti Raukawa ki Te Tonga in relation to the Tangimoana Crown forest licence land. I am pleased to say that Rangitāne absolutely put up the proposition, rightfully so, using the principle of ahi kā in the region since the 1600s—nearly 250 years. So I want to acknowledge that on the basis of using what is a natural tikanga in Māoridom, the principle of ahi kā, the Tangimoana Crown forest licence was then included in the Rangitāne o Manawatu settlement.

I want to note that the Crown has offered commercial redress and it seeks to balance 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. Essentially, I take that as saying, for Ngāti Kauwhata and Ngāti Raukawa ki Te Tonga: “Don’t worry, the Crown has got you covered.”

💬 Hon Christopher Finlayson: Correct.

That is right. Thank you for endorsing that sentiment, Minister.

The other key point was the effect of the Rangitāne o Manawatu exclusion redress on other groups. Similar to the first issue around Ngāti Kauwhata and, obviously, Ngāti Raukawa, it is good that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Minister of Conservation, and the Minister for Māori Development have agreed to a package to modify one of the key aspects in regard to the Himatangi Bush Scientific Reserve so that the right of first refusal be removed and the overlay classification be reduced to only 50 percent of the reserve.

Lastly, the point I want to pick up that is unique in this particular settlement is the inclusion of Ngāti Tauira hapū in the Rangitāne o Manawatu claims, just to acknowledge that in Rangitāne’s own submission, they acknowledge that Ngāti Tauira is a hapū of Ngāti Apa. They do not profess to be an exclusive association with Ngāti Tauira. I also acknowledge the rangatira to rangatira marriages between Ngāti Tauira and, obviously, Rangitāne o Manawatu.

The point of why I raise these is that this is the principle of negotiating when we come to Treaty settlement, and that is manaaki tangata, manaaki kaupapa, manaaki whakapapa—if you get the people at the table, if you give them the right information and enough time, I am convinced that iwi will come to the right conclusion, particularly when it comes to Treaty settlements. No better has this been demonstrated than through the Rangitāne o Manawatu settlement. They have shown, like others have said, absolute compassion, patience, and an absolute belief that through our own processes of negotiation—our tikanga process of negotiation, based on those principles of manaaki tangata, manaaki kaupapa, manaaki whakapapa—I think that we have got to a very, very just conclusion.

That is my contribution for the third reading of this bill. I thank the Rangitāne people, of course, for your patience. I definitely want to acknowledge those who are no longer here. To Danielle, and Maurice Takarangi, who has been mentioned, thank you very much for the leadership you have shown in getting your people to this final place. I want to thank the Minister and, obviously, the Māori Affairs Committee for the work that you have done.

Finally, my closing remark: there has been some point said that more MPs should be in the House when we have Treaty settlement readings. I concur with that. I want to acknowledge my colleague Peeni Henare for raising this issue. It is something that all members of this House should be part of in the passage of any Treaty bills, but particularly last week with Taranaki, and, of course, we have got Rangitāne here today. It is important that we remind ourselves why we come to this House, and when we pass important legislation like Treaty bills we should be here to celebrate the successful passage of this. Nō reira, e Te Māngai o Te Whare, e ngā mema o Te Whare, e ngā iwi motu o Rangitāne-o-Manawatū, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau katoa!

[And so to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and members of the House, and to the Rangitāne people from Manawatū who were cut off, congratulations and well done to you collectively and to us all!]

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā, ngā mihi ki a koutou ki Rangitāne, e Te Iwi, nau mai, haere mai ki Te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mate, haere, haere, haere atu rā.

[Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and acknowledgments to you collectively, Rangitāne, welcome to you, the tribe, and come forth to the House of Parliament. To you, the deaths, go forth, depart, and journey on indeed.]

It seems entirely appropriate to me to particularly acknowledge, at the beginning of this speech, those who have passed on. There has been a lot of talk about that this morning, but I specifically do this as something quite poignant reminded me this morning: Ruth Harris, who started this process, has passed on. Then I think, also, of Pōtaka Tāite, who was to be a part of the final part of this process on the post-settlement board, who has also passed on, and, of course, many others in between. I just want to acknowledge them.

Much has been said already with regard to this bill and this settlement, and I do not want to dwell on that further, but I feel incredibly privileged to have received a letter in the last week or so from Danielle Harris, who has been the principal negotiator on behalf of Rangitāne in this settlement. She has asked me whether I could read out this short message, because they wanted their views to be able to be noted in this House. So, Mr Deputy Speaker, with your indulgence and the indulgence of the House, I will now read this, in terms of an acknowledgment to Mr Finlayson and his work here.

These are the words of Danielle Harris: “Minister Finlayson, as you are aware, Rangitāne o Manawatu, over their 19 years of negotiations, have worked with a number of Treaty Ministers from both sides of the House. Without doubt, you have been by far the most genuine, committed, reliable, and focused Minister we have dealt with. We are aware from time to time you have faced challenges with progressing our claim, but you always honoured your words and persevered over the many obstacles to enable us to be here today. New Zealand and iwidom are extremely fortunate to have such a person of your calibre in this crucial role as we settle our past to move forward as a nation. On a personal level, it has been a true pleasure and honour to work with you, and you shall always be held in very high regard by all the people of Rangitāne, as it has been under your stewardship we have all settled our Treaty claims. We sincerely wish you well for the future, wherever your path takes you.”

I would just like to now quickly raise a point of order in order to table this letter in the House. I seek the leave of the House to table this letter from Danielle Harris.

💬 Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leave is put for that purpose. Is there any objection? There appears to be none.

Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. With that, I would like to conclude my speech on this, and to say congratulations to Rangitāne. I look forward to continuing to work with you. I have always enjoyed working with you in the various roles that I have had in our community, and I now look forward to seeing Rangitāne prosper even further within their rohe. Thank you.

Bill read a third time.

Waiata