Māori Purposes Bill

Ā, tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Kia ora tātau katoa e hoa mā, tātau kua whakawhāiti mai nei ki te whakaoti i te kaupapa i whakairia ki mua i te aroaro o Te Whare Pāremata i ngā tau kua hipa ake, ā, anei kua eke, kua eke i tēnei rā.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and acknowledgments to us all fellow colleagues, we compressed here to complete the matter that was hung before Parliament in the years that have passed, and now this day has finally arrived.]

I move, That the Māori Purposes Bill be now read a third time.

Tuatahi, me whai wāhi au ki te mihi ki te tangata nei, ki te nanakia, ki te tipua nei, ki a Wī Pere, tētahi o te hunga e noho nei i tēnei Whare Pāremata i ōna rā. Ko ia he tangata tohe nā mō ngā āhuatanga o te Ao Māori. He tangata e iri nei i roto i te āhuatanga o te rārangi whakaahua o te hunga e noho nei hei mema Māori i roto i te Whare Pāremata. Nōna te whakaaro kia whakarite i tētahi rūnanga ā-rōpū na ki te tiaki i te āhuatanga o te whenua nei. Ka mihi, ka tangi ake me te kī atu, e Koro, hoki wairua mai ki roto i tō Whare Pāremata i tēnei rangi tonu nei!

Ka rua, me whai wāhi au ki te mihi ki te poari, e Alan tēnā koe e whakakanohi nei i te poari, ōtirā, koutou e noho nā ki reira ko Hēnare Lardelli, Trudy Meredith, Kīngi Smiler, and Hector Pere. Koutou nei e tiaki nei i te rawa i waihotia mai ai e Wī Pere i te wā i a ia. Ka mutu, ki taku mōhio ko tō rōia kei tō taha a Angela, tēnā koe kua hoki mai ki te kaupapa nei. Te āhua nei nāu anō rā i kōkiri i ngā tau kua hipa ake. Mēnā kei te whakarongo ētahi o te hunga e whai pānga ki tēnei o ngā kaupapa, ka mihi ki a koutou katoa i tēnei rangi, me te whakaaro ake, ē, kua eke tēnei kaupapa ki tōna taumata.

Mr Assistant Speaker, tēnei o ngā kaupapa, ā, i wānangatia e Te Rōpū Whāiti nei o te Whare Pāremata, arā, ko te Māori Affairs Committee. Me whai wāhi au ki te mihi ki tēnā, ki tēnā o ngā mema. Otirā, ki tā rātau Tiamana e noho nei ki muri nei. Tutehounuku Korako, ka nui te mihi ki a koe e ārahi nei i tēnei o ngā kaupapa. Ka mutu, me mihi anō rā ki ngā āpiha, ki ngā ringaringa, ki ngā rā waewae, ki ngā ringa raupā o te kaupapa nei, ngā mea pēnei i a Tāria Tāhana e noho nā, ki a Greg Reilly, ki ētahi atu anō hoki o te hunga e noho nei ki runga ake nei, ka nui te mihi ki a koutou! Tēnā koutou i whakapau werawera ki te whakatutuki i tēnei kaupapa.

Ka mutu, ki ngā tari i āwhina anō hoki i Te Puni Kōkiri, ka mihi rā, tae atu ki Te Parliamentary Counsel Office. Nā koutou anō rā te kaupapa i tuhi kia tika i raro i te korowai o Te Whare Pāremata. Otirā Te Tari o Te Leader of the House, ka mihi rā ki a ia.

Mr Assistant Speaker, ko te ōrokohanga mai o tēnei o ngā poari. Tīmata mai ai i te tau 1899. Nā, ka mutu i whai wāhi tūturu nei, arā, ko Te Statutory Trust i te tau 1938. E ai ki ngā kōrero, tata eke ki te 460 te hunga whai pānga ki tēnei whenua, ka mutu, e 5,500 heketea te rahi o te whenua e tiakina nei e rātau. E ai ki ngā kōrero ko te wāriu o te whenua nei, tata eke ki te $65 miriona tāra. Arā anō ngā painga ō runga i te whenua – ko te mahi ahuwhenua, ko te mahi wāina, ko te mahi keri i te whenua. Ēnei kaupapa katoa, kei te whakahaeretia e tēnei o ngā poari.

Nō reira, ka mihi i ēnei āhuatanga katoa i Te Reo Māori, hei whaiwhai haere i te oati a Wī Pere i te wā i a ia. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa.

[Firstly, I need to take time to acknowledge this person, this not too bad a person, this deity, this Wī Pere, one of those who was a member of Parliament in his day. He was a persistent person in regard to aspects pertaining to Māoridom. His photo hangs among those who sat as a Māori member in Parliament. It was his proposal to consider establishing a corporate body to look after aspects relating to this land. I acknowledge, lament, and say, oh old one, come back in spirit to the House of Parliament today at this very moment.

Secondly, I need to take time to accord a tribute to the board, and to commend you in particular Alan, its face, but at the same I acknowledge you, Hēnare Lardelli, Trudy Meredith, Kīngi Smiler, and Hector Pere seated there. You indeed are the ones who looked after the assets that Wī Pere left behind in his time at the helm. Furthermore, and to my understanding, your lawyer Angela is sitting there beside you. Salutations to you who have come back to this matter. It appears that you championed it over the past years. Should some with interests in this matter be listening in, I acknowledge you all on this day, and I am thinking at the same time, hey, this matter has reached its pinnacle.

Mr Assistant Speaker, this is a matter that has indeed been critically analysed by one of the select committees of Parliament—namely, the Māori Affairs Committee. I need to take time to thank each committee member and furthermore, acknowledge their chair seated at the back here, Tutehounuku Korako, I acknowledge you greatly in your lead role in regard to this one of the matters. And what is more, I must acknowledge the officials once again and all those of this matter who worked on it—ones like Tāria Tāhana seated there, Greg Reilly, and others as well, sitting above in the gallery, I you appreciate greatly. My appreciation to you for the perspiration expended to complete this matter.

As well as that, I extend my gratitude as well to the departments that provided assistance, the Ministry of Māori Development and Parliamentary Counsel Office. You drafted the matter to ensure that it was correct under the cloak of Parliament. But at the same time, I acknowledge the office of the Leader of the House.

Mr Assistant Speaker, the origin of this one of the boards began in the year 1899. Eventually it became mandated under the Statutory Trust in 1938. According to the commentary, this land reached approximately 460 beneficiaries and furthermore, 5,500 hectares was the size of the land that they administered with a value of nearly $65 million. The benefits on the land are endless—agriculture, winemaking, and mining. All these initiatives are administered by this one of the boards.

And so I commend all these aspects in the Māori language as a means of following up Wī Pere’s oath in his time. Congratulations and accolades to you collectively and my appreciation to us all. ]

Māori purposes bills, by their nature, can bring together a number of different shapes and parts of legislation that sometimes actually have no connection whatsoever to one another. It is pretty much the case with this one. At the heart of this particular Māori Purposes Bill are the activities, and, I suppose, the shape and the function of the Wī Pere Trust, of Te Tai Rāwhiti, sitting alongside Te Rarawa, and sitting alongside other bills that, sort of, all come together in a conglomeration of new pieces of legislation.

I want just to acknowledge those who are in the gallery today: the chair, Alan Hāronga, who is a good Hato Tipene College—St Stephen’s—old boy.

💬 Marama Fox: Ah!

Oh, I am just saying.

💬 Marama Fox: Ah!

He is the chairperson of the trust, I might add. Another St Stephen’s old boy is Tutehounuku Korako, who is a fine—well, I will leave it at that. But he is a fine member of Parliament and a good St Stephen’s old boy.

To draw us back to the bill, this bill establishes a new trust board structure for the Wī Pere Trust, and a constitution, reflecting the trust board’s primary accountabilities to its beneficiaries. The bill strengthens the trust’s accountabilities, and includes a disputes resolution process. There are provisions for increased participation of beneficiaries at general meetings, and beneficiaries can propose changes to the constitution. Under the bill, the trust board will be able to administer its own register of beneficiaries. This actually means that the trust board will be able to manage the unique succession arrangements that secure Wī Pere’s legacy through his whakapapa.

Approximately 29 percent of the trust’s total landholdings, when acquired, was general land. Legislation in place since 1938 deemed all general land acquired by the trust to be Māori freehold land. This land will revert to general land status, restoring a mixed portfolio of land. This will provide a greater range of economic options available to the trust, which they thought-out well before bringing this particular bill under my purview. The remaining Māori freehold land, which comprises two-thirds of the trust’s landholdings, will continue to clear statutory projections. The bill clarifies the jurisdiction of the courts in relation to the trust. The Māori Land Court will be available to resolve disputes about lineal descent related to the trust’s Māori freehold land.

The High Court will be responsible for hearing disputes about the administration of the trust that cannot be resolved through the trust’s disputes resolution procedures as well as matters involving general land. The new arrangements for the Wī Pere Trust are contained in Part 1 of this bill, and the remainder of the bill contains technical amendments to other pieces of legislation, which I referred to earlier.

I just want to say in closing that in respect of the whole way that this bill has come through, all of the recommendations—in fact this whole bill—were provided by the guidance of the trust itself. It has discussed things with the beneficiaries, and I am pleased to say that in our debate that concluded, pretty much, yesterday—the Committee stage—there was an acknowledgment of that.

I will just mention the other parts of the bill. Part 1A of the bill repeals redundant clauses in the Māori Television Service (Te Aratuku Whakaata Irirangi Māori) Act 2003, relating to Te Pūtahi Pāoho, which has now been disestablished. Part 1B of the bill amends the Te Rarawa Claims Settlement Act 2015 to recognise the mandated iwi organisation status of Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa. Part 2 of the bill makes a technical change to the Maori Trust Boards (Transitional Provision) Order 2012 to correctly describe the Tauranga Moana Māori Trust Board. Part 3 amends Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 to remove inequitable financial reporting requirements for Māori incorporations. All of these were pretty non-controversial pieces of legislation—technical amendments—included in this particular bill at the Committee stage.

In closing, it is with real, great pleasure, and, indeed, it is an honour that I have ushered this particular bill through to this point in the House. I do not take these sorts of bills lightly—in particular, when you are dealing with the legacy left by Wī Pere, an honourable member of this House. I am really pleased that we have actually arrived here at the third reading. After all the time that we have put in to get it to here, it seems, sort of, a little bit sad to give it just 10 minutes, but be that as it may, that is how we are.

I wish to thank the Wī Pere Trust for its patience during the time that this bill has been before the House. The trust, I think, has a proud legacy and with this new legislation it can look forward to building on that legacy for the prosperity of all its beneficiaries. I understand that Wī Pere once said in this House that Parliament would never consider a bill that recognised the mana of Māori to manage their own land until all that land is gone. Today we can all be proud that we are enacting a bill that recognises the mana of Wī Pere’s descendants to manage the 5,500 hectares still retained within their ownership. I can say too that the new Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill follows the same pattern. I commend this bill to the House. Congratulations.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Ka haere tonu ngā kōrero, ngā mihimihi atu ki tērā o ngā tūpuna rangatira a Wī Pere, he tangata tino whai moemoeā mō ōna uri. Ahakoa kua whānau ia i roto i Te Ao Kōhatu i te tau toru i mua i te hainatanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, kua whai moemoeā a ia, kua whai whakaaro hoki a ia i roto i Te Ao Hou. Kua taea e ia te kitea, ko te matakite pea, te kupu tika i Te Ao Hou kei mua i a ia me āna tamariki. Koia te take nāna i whakatū i tēnei Tarahiti o Te Wī Pere hei whakahaere, hei whakaū i te mana o ōna whenua, hei whakatōpūngia i ōna whenua mō āna uri.

E tika ana ngā kōrero o Te Minita a Te Ururoa Flavell, mō ōna kaha ki roto i tēnei Whare. Kua pōtingia ia ki roto i tēnei Whare i Te Pāremata Tuaiwa. Kua puta ki waho a ia mō wētahi wā, kua hoki mai ia i Te Pāremata Tekau Mā Rua. I te tau 1899 nāna i whakatū Te Wī Pere Trust hei tiaki i te mana o ngā whenua, o ōna whenua mō āna uri. Kei te haere tonu taua tarahiti—118 tau i muri atu. I roto i tēnā wā kua whakawhānuitia ngā mahi, ngā āhuatanga kei runga i aua whenua kia tae atu te wāriu o taua pakihi ki te 65 miriona taara. Nā reira, koia te raukaha o te moemoeā o Wī Pere. Nā reira, e tika ana mō tātou ki te mihi atu ki a ia. Nāna i tū ai hei tauira mō tātau katoa.

Mehemea ka tirohia whānuitia e tātou Te Motu, ka kite wētahi atu o ngā wāhi whenua Māori horekau e whai ana i ngā hua pērā i Te Wī Pere Trust. Nā reira, kei te mihi atu ahau ki a ia, ka tautoko i ngā mihi ki ngā tarahiti e noho ana ki roto i Te Whare nei, Alan, tēnā rā koe, me tō rōpū i tae mai nei hei kitea i tēnei pire e whakamanahia ana e tēnei Whare.

Te Kāhui Māori o Te Rōpū Reipa i haere i tērā tau, hei tirohia i ngā mahinga o Te Wī Pere Trust. Kei te mihi tonu ki a rātou o te tarahiti mō ngā manaakitanga i ūwhia mai ki runga i a mātou i taua rangi. Kua mīharo te kitea i te pai o ngā whenua, te rahi o te kāhui hipi e whaiwhai haere ana i ngā kaupoai o Te Tai Rāwhiti, te kite i ngā hua whenua e tipu ana, me wērā āhuatanga katoa e whakapakari ana i ngā uri o Wī Pere.

I te wā o tōna matenga, nā Tā Apirana Ngata i mea atu, horekau he tangata i tua atu i a Wī Pere, i whakapau i ōna kaha hei hāpai i tōna iwi. Nā reira, e tika ana kia haere tonu aua mihimihi ki te rangatira rā! Ā, i roto i tēnei Whare nā mātou i wānangahia kua roa e tārewa ana, e whakahaere ana ki roto i tēnei Whare. I te tau 2015 kua uru mai te pire ki roto i Te Whare nei. Nā reira, tata ana ki te rua tau mātou e wānangahia ana i tēnei pire. Kīhai te katoa o ngā kaitono i tautokongia ai i tēnei pire, ēngari, ki tāku nei whakaaro, ki tāku nei titiro ā te mutunga kua ea ngā āwangawanga, he pire pai tēnei! Ahakoa wētahi e whakahē ana, ki te nuinga o ngā uri o Wī Pere, he pire tino kaha, tino pai tēnei!

E tika ana hoki ngā kōrero a Te Minita. Ko wēnei tūmomo pire. pērā i Te Māori Purposes Bill, he rerekē ngā wahanga o te pire. Nā i te kōrero mātou mō Te Wī Pere Trust kai roto i Te Tai Rāwhiti, he wāhanga anō mō ōku whanaunga kei roto Te Rarawa, kei roto i Te Tai Tokerau, he wāhanga anō mō Te Rōpū Pouaka Whakaata ēngari, e pai ana tēnā. Aua wāhanga atu, horekau he raruraru mō aua āwangawanga, ahakoa kua ohorere mātou i te wā o te whiringa o te Whare nei, o Te Komiti o Te Whare nei, i te urutanga mai o te pire, te wahanga mō Te Rarawa. Ēngari, i te pānuitanga o taua wahanga mō Te Rarawa kua kitea he mea pai hei āwhina, hei tautoko i a Te Rarawa ki te whakahaerengia ō rātou pūtea e pā ana ki Te Ture mō Te Hī Ika. Nā reira, kei te tautoko mātou e taea ana e Te Rarawa te whakahaere a rātou mahi ki te whakamanahia i tētahi rōpū hei pupuri i ngā pūtea.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. The comments and tributes continue about that one of the esteemed ancestral forefathers, Wī Pere, a person who really had a dream for his descendants. Although he was born in the stone age, 3 years before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, he had a dream and a thought as well in the new world. He was able to visualise—prophesise is perhaps the correct word—the new world before him and his children. That in particular was the reason for Wī Pere to establish this Wī Pere Trust to administer, reinforce the legality of his lands, and consolidate them for his descendants.

The Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, is right about the efforts Wī Pere expended in this Parliament. He was voted into this Parliament during the ninth Parliament. He went out for a time but returned during the 12th Parliament. In the year 1899 he established the Wī Pere Trust to safeguard the legality of land and of his lands for his descendants. That trust continues to exist—118 years later. During that time operations and functions upon those lands have expanded, and the value of that business has reached $65 million. So that indeed is the capacity of Wī Pere’s dream. Therefore it is only right for us to commend him. He stood as an example for us all.

If we were to look widely at the country, we will note that some parcels of Māori land do not have benefits like those of Wī Pere. And so I acknowledge him and endorse the accolades accorded to the trustees seated here in the House. Alan, I salute you and your group who have arrived here to see the empowering of this bill in this House.

Last year the Māori caucus of the Labour Party went to examine the operations of the Wī Pere Trust, and they continue to applaud the way the trustees hosted us that day. It was wonderful to see how well the lands looked, the sheep numbers in the flocks being shepherded by the cowboys of the East Coast, the crops flourishing, and all aspects relating to the development of Wī Pere’s descendants.

Upon Wī Pere’s death, it was Sir Apirana Ngata who stated that no other person beyond Wī Pere had expended his efforts as he did to help his people. And so it is appropriate that we continue to acknowledge this leader. In this House, we have debated this matter for a long time. In 2015 the bill came before the House and so we have spent nearly 2 years debating it. Not all submitters supported this bill. But in my opinion, and as I perceive it, most of Wī Pere’s descendants are convinced that this is a strong and excellent bill. Therefore it is apt those tributes to that esteemed one should go on. In this House we debated the lengthy time of suspension, and how it was proceeding in this House.

In 2015 the bill arrived and it was introduced into this House. And so for nearly 2 years we debated this bill. Not all of the submitters endorsed this bill, but according to my thinking and in my view the concerns were eventually satisfied. This is a good bill. Although some opposed it, the majority of Wī Pere’s relatives said this was a very good bill and a very strong one.

The Minister’s statements are correct as well. These kinds of bills, like the Māori Purposes Bill, have parts that are different. We have been talking about the Wī Pere Trust in the East Coast but there is a part as well about my relatives from within Te Rarawa in the Far North, and a part that pertains to the Māori Television Service, but that is fine.

As far as those other parts are concerned, there is not a problem about those concerns with those other parts, although we were surprised during the debate time of this House in the Committee stage at the introduction of the bill, the part relating to Te Rarawa. But during the reading of that part it was found to be a good thing, helpful and supportive of Te Rarawa in the administration of their funding concerning the Fisheries Act. And so we endorse the ability of Te Rarawa to conduct their affairs and to empower a group retaining money for funding.]

In the short time I have got left, I would just like to continue the acknowledgments of Wī Pere himself. He was a man who we say was born in the stone age—te ao kōhatu—3 years before the Treaty of Waitangi, but with his vision for his people he could see what was needed in the future for his people, and so he established the Wī Pere Trust in 1899. And, 118 years later, that trust has flourished and grown to the extent that it has some $65 million in assets.

That example that Wī Pere set is an example for everyone. We can look around the country and we can see other bits and pieces of Māori land and groups, and they are sort of not really achieving the same results, and that is really unfortunate because, with the remaining bits of land that Māori do possess, although it is a very small percentage of the total land mass of New Zealand, there is still enough, actually—if we got our acts together collectively, we could actually emulate what the Wī Pere Trust has done and grow the wealth and the capacity of our people and our descendants.

So I really do acknowledge the vision that Wī Pere had all those years ago, and I also have to acknowledge the way the trust in those 118 years since he established it has managed to grow it to the extent it has. So, you know, just big accolades to them.

The Minister for Māori Development is right too in regards to these Māori purposes bills. There are bits and pieces from here, there, and everywhere. The majority of the bill is about the Wī Pere Trust, but a Supplementary Order Paper was introduced regarding helping Te Rarawa manage their business. There is another bit about the television service. Those are non-controversial and, you know, it is just sort of the nature of these Māori purposes bills that we have these disparate bits and pieces attached to them.

But the main part of the bill is about the Wī Pere Trust. The Māori caucus of the Labour Party was fortunate enough to visit Gisborne last year, and we saw the extent of the landholdings and the sheep farms, and there were guys on the horses there rounding up sheep, and we saw the persimmons, the orchards, and all the other interests that are going on at the Wī Pere Trust. It really is quite a magnificent site, and, as I said earlier, it does stand as an example to other whānau, hapū, and iwi groups.

So the Labour Party does support this bill. We wish the Wī Pere Trust all the best with its future endeavours. We hope that the bill serves its purpose and helps it to grow and strengthen itself. I also acknowledge Te Rarawa and hope that the small part that they have in this bill also helps them to grow their interests.

Nā reira e Te Whare huri rauna, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Therefore, to the House throughout, I commend and applaud you collectively and appreciate us all.]

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā, mauri ora. E mihi atu ki a koutou ngā rakatira o Te Wī Pere Trust, ki a koe e Te Kaiwhakahaere, e hoa o Te Kura o Tipene, e Alan, ngā mihi. Nō reira, huri noa i Te Whare nei, piki mai, kake mai, hōmai te wairua.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and wellness to you. I acknowledge you, esteemed ones of the Wī Pere Trust, and to you the director, Alan, and friend of St Stephen’s School, greetings. So ascend and come aboard throughout this House bring forth the spirit.]

I rise in total support of the Māori Purposes Bill. This is a bill that the Māori Affairs Committee has worked very, very hard on. It is also, indeed, a bill that we have worked on in a very, very collegial and cross-party way, which is very, very typical, actually, of the Māori Affairs Committee.

This was, no doubt, helped by the fact that we all agreed on the need for this particular bill. We agreed that it also needed to be relevant in the 21st century. In saying that, about agreement, I said that we agreed to most of it, but there was a part of the bill—and I want to acknowledge this part—that we had disagreement on. It was only one part of it. But I particularly want to acknowledge my colleague from the Labour Party Meka Whaitiri. Meka worked very hard on a provision that she was keen to see changed but that, ultimately, this House, during the Committee of the whole House stage, actually voted down.

Meka Whaitiri’s Supplementary Order Paper 205 was around the jurisdiction of the courts in relation to the Wī Pere Trust. I think the argument that Meka Whaitiri was arguing is, in principle, a good one, and that is that the court that has the expertise in a particular area should be hearing the cases related to that specific area and, secondly, that we should ensure that the court costs are not a barrier to disputes that are actually being resolved. However, our view on this side of the Chamber was, actually, what the bill achieves in its current form—it was about that one: the Māori Land Court does have particular expertise, we acknowledge that, in matters related to Māori freehold land. Under this bill, it has jurisdiction over those matters. However, there is the potential for other types of disputes to arise related to commerce, related to administration, and related to governance. The High Court of New Zealand has the expertise to deal with these issues and has a wider expertise than the Māori Land Court.

I would also like to point out that we could expect to see only very serious cases making it to the High Court. And there is a disputes resolution process, which is contained within the bill, that should prevent most, if not all, cases from making it to the costly stage of a case before the High Court. So we were very comfortable with the form of the bill as it is and the very clear demarcation of jurisdiction between the High Court and the Māori Land Court.

I am not going to go into any more great detail on the provisions of this bill, because I think the Minister for Māori Development, another old boy of Hato Tipene College, has actually covered that very, very well, as previous speakers have. One thing about this bill is that it is good to see that the Wī Pere Trust is thinking about how it can better use its resources to improve the lives of its beneficiaries by making better uses of the assets. This is very much about wealth creation for shareholders within the trust. It is actually not about wealth redistribution. And on this side of the House, that is exactly what we tautoko.

On that note, I actually want to thank again and acknowledge all of the officials, everyone who was involved, but particularly my members of the Māori Affairs Committee, who actually brought this bill all the way through to where it is today. On that note, I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira, e mihi atu ki a koutou, kia ora.

E Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnā koe, otirā, ngā mema o Te Whare nei e huihui mai nei, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, but, at the same time, acknowledgments and accolades to you, the members of this House assembled here. My appreciation to us all.]

I am pleased to rise as the member of Parliament for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and as an uri of Wī Pere. As the great-great-grandniece of Wī Pere, I am proud to stand here in support of this bill. Can I please also offer my warm words of welcome to our trustees who are here in the House, and commend them for their patience in getting to where we are in this third and final reading.

Can I address the point that was raised by the member who just resumed his seat, our very hard-working chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, Nuk Korako. I want to use the time that I have to address the Supplementary Order Paper (SOP)—Supplementary Order Paper 205—that I put to the Committee and give it some context, and I thank that member for acknowledging it.

As my colleague Kelvin Davis expressed, the Wī Pere Trust is a very modern organisation, which we had the privilege to visit last year. We were very impressed with the operations that we were able to visit in terms of farming—in terms of the kiwifruit and the persimmons and all the other exciting ventures that are taking place on the trust’s lands.

I too want to acknowledge Wī Pere’s vision, going back so many years ago—a vision that is very much coming alive some 100-odd years later. What I also know about the man Wī Pere is his absolute love for his people and his work to ensure that the lands he was able to obtain were going to remain in their hands for ever and ever. Here, as we pass this bill and we modernise the instruments available to the trust to take it through the next hundred years—that is what we are talking about here—I want to commend the members of the select committee and, obviously, the trust for modernising its organisation as we head into the 21st century.

One thing I believe Wī Pere was about was ensuring that all his descendants—all his descendants—could participate in the wealth and the opportunities that come from his land. It is to that point that I want to reference one of the submissions that came in, to ensure that the smallest voices of the shareholders, who are linear descendants of Wī Pere, are also heard as we modernise this trust.

This is what they said: “As a whānau, we need to balance our values as a Māori whānau with fulfilling our potential in a modern-day global world. The bill, in my opinion, is a leaning towards the modern with less regard to what makes us as a Māori whānau, or our hapū or our iwi. Our whānau instilled in me the need to look out for and support all of our whānau, including the rawakore and those less privileged. I know she would want me to stand up for our whānau who would not be able to put the upfront costs to filling an application for judicial review in the High Court. More to the point, I know my grandmother and many of my cousins, who played an instrumental part in working and developing our ancestral lands, will be shocked to know that the Māori Land Court is no longer a highly significant instrument for our people if this bill passes. It is my fear that this bill may be perceived to be the start of the end of the Māori Land Court and a signal of support for the reforms of Te Ture Whenua Act. I personally do not want this action with the Wī Pere name associated with it. I ask that the Māori Land Court retains jurisdiction in full, with the administration governance of the Wī Pere Trust.”

That submission was taken by a lawyer based in Gisborne, a linear descendant of Wī Pere who has worked her entire life in the Gisborne area and is currently a chief executive officer of one of the iwi organisations. There is a push from certain descendants of Wī Pere to ensure that we are not leaving behind those smaller shareholdings in the running of the trust, so my SOP, which rightly got voted down by the Committee, was tabled in regard to ensuring the smaller shareholders’ voices in the Wī Pere Trust are not lost.

My Supplementary Order Paper was to amend clause 9 by deleting new sections 5(2) and (3) and by amending the heading to new section 5. The explanatory note says: “The provisions, the removal of which is proposed, seek to establish the jurisdiction of the High Court to determine any dispute relating to the administration and governance of the Wi Pere Trust, and makes explicit that the Māori Land Court has no jurisdiction over any such dispute. The amendment would retain the status quo, with the Māori Land Court having jurisdiction. The Māori Land Court has expertise in Māori customary law that the High Court does not. Also, the costs associated [with] the High Court process are substantially greater than those of the Māori Land Court. This would disadvantage the ability of stakeholders to access justice.”

I want to thank the Committee for considering my Supplementary Order Paper in the manner in which it was given. I was told that in this bill, the Māori Land Court will retain jurisdiction in relation to linear descendants and also in relation to the tribal lands. I am happy with that outcome.

There were some assertions here that the High Court has more commercial expertise over the Māori Land Court. If it pleases the House, I want to read a quote from Garrow and Kelly’s Law of Trusts and Trustees, 7th edition, 2013, chapter 29, entitled “Maori Land Court’s Trust Jurisdiction: Prudent Investment, Directions of the Court”.

The quote goes like this: “Where the Maori Land Court has jurisdiction, trustees may seek directions of the court in the same way that trustees may seek directions from the High Court under s 66 of the Trustee Act 1956. Failure to seek directions where risky or doubtful investments are proposed may constitute grounds for removal of trustees. While it has been noted that the assumption trustees can readily and inexpensively obtain High Court directions under s 66 is no longer realistic, it is fair to say that the directions of the Maori Land Court can usually be obtained more easily and with less expense. In this respect the Maori Land Court is closer to the historic role of the Chancery Court in England as a protector available to supervise trustees when required.”

I want to table that and I want, again, to support the role of the Māori Land Court when it comes to commercial interests, as stated in the quote that I just then gave you. That has been what this House has voted against—voting that the Māori Land Court does not have that ability to rule on commercial matters—so I wanted to explain the reason why I put up the SOP.

I still believe that the Māori Land Court is the best place to look after the interests of all shareholders of the Wī Pere Trust and of all the future descendants. Having said that, I stand with all members of the House to support this progressive bill, so that the vision of the great man Wī Pere continues going forward. But it is important that I put the case to this House—and that it goes on record—as to why I put that SOP up, and I stand by the ability of the Māori Land Court to deliver in a commercial way. Nō reira, I commend this bill and I wish the trust all the very best. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. It is a pleasure to speak to this bill today, and I also would like to acknowledge the Minister, Te Ururoa Flavell, and the Māori Affairs Committee for getting this bill to its final reading today.

For the Wī Pere Trust, this bill clarifies and modernises relationships between the two main actors: the trust and the beneficiaries. The trust has done well—it is not broken—but the trust is seeking the ability to do even better.

For the trust, structurally it changes from a family trust to an incorporated trust board, with a body corporate structure and limited liability company requirements. The benefits of this are the ability to improve economic and management efficiencies in a more corporate structure, including the ability for the trust to hold general land and not just Māori freehold land for investment purposes. For the beneficiaries, there are many benefits, including the expected economic benefits of a corporate structure. There is also clarification of direct lineal succession from Wī Pere. In the middle, between the trust and the beneficiaries, is accountability of the trust to the beneficiaries, and this accountability is maintained and enhanced by recourse to the constitution, the Trustee Act 1956, and Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill, which is in progress.

This is a wonderful footprint that Wī Pere has left. I understand that at its inception—in 1899—it was challenging and yet here it is today, on the basis of what may be valued at around $66 million, advancing the interests of descendants and beneficiaries. This is a very good thing, and it is my pleasure to commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare, huri noa ki ōku hoa kaimahi o Te Whare Pāremata, tēnā tātau katoa, nau mai, nau mai, ngā tanata, ngā uri o Wīremu Pere me te whakanuia! Me whakanuia e mātou koutou o Te Kaitiaki Wī Pere nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora mai tātau katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and turning to my fellow work colleagues of Parliament, acknowledgments to us all. Welcome, come hither to the people and relatives of Wīremu Pere, whom we honour. We must celebrate you, the Wī Pere Trust, so well done, congratulations to you collectively, and my appreciation to us all.]

It is a pleasure and an honour to stand for Te Pāti Kākāriki to support the Māori Purposes Bill, which is allowing and supporting the Wī Pere Trust to have a more modern approach for its workings with its whānau and its uri, to oversee and bear the fruit of the visions of the tupuna Wīremu Pere, to hold and acquire general lands for investment purposes, and to improve and have a bit of a sweep-up and a clean-up of governance practices. Particularly because the bill is consistent with the Green Party principle of giving Māori organisations greater autonomy and removing unnecessary Crown and ministerial involvement in the affairs of Māori, the Green Party absolutely must support this bill. I want to congratulate Minister Te Ururoa Flavell, firstly, but mainly the Wī Pere Trust on all the hard mahi and the conversations and the long waiting as we have gone through this process to arrive at what you want, and on having the legislation arrive here for the third reading of this bill.

The history is important, and I do want to add the Green Party’s acknowledgment and recognition of the tupuna Wīremu Pere. The Wī Pere Trust was set up in 1899, so this has a legacy—a long legacy—to administer the estate of Wīremu Pere for the whānau and for the uri. He was, of course, an MP for Eastern Maori in the late 1800s, and I want to add our acknowledgment of that whakapapa and of the uri and whānau since then.

I want to take a pause to think about the inspiration that the Wī Pere Trust and this legislation are providing as iwi and hapū and whānau around the country are wrestling with, and working through, the ways of finding our own autonomy and affirming our tino rangatiratanga over our own affairs, and this is not a simple process. We have existed and survived through colonisation, and we are now turning to trying to figure out what is the Māori way and what is the way that we come through the commercial and corporate legacy that was put upon us, which was often in direct hostility to our own tikanga and kaupapa and Māori world view. That was foisted upon us, and it is the reality that we live in. The Wī Pere Trust is making an incredible effort to find a way through all of that and arrive at something that is quite specifically Māori.

I have the confidence—I do want to address and acknowledge, as well, the concerns that were raised by the some of the whānau of the trust, of the uri. I think my colleague Meka Whaitiri put it well: how do we ensure that it is all of the descendants who are able to participate in both the decision-making processes and the fruits of trying to work through a different approach of the workings of the trust—upholding the visions of Wīremu Pere, which, of course, would have always been for the benefit of all uri and whānau? For that reason, I acknowledge the whānau concerns that were raised in submissions.

I acknowledge that there was some concern over the instance of the trustees being rolled immediately over to the new organisation, as opposed to having an immediate election. I acknowledge that concern. We talked about it heavily at the Māori Affairs Committee, and I have confidence and hope in the fact that that new organisation will still have the ongoing election processes, and we can take comfort that there is still that level of accountability, if not right at the immediate establishment of the new organisation.

I acknowledge that whānau had concerns about the level of communication. It is certainly not a new instance that comes before the Māori Affairs Committee for any consultation process, as identities and iwi settlements around the country try to work through a process that often is not even ours. I acknowledge those concerns. I acknowledge that there were some concerns with the High Court jurisdiction and the threshold to the High Court being too high or too low. Again, we talked about all of these issues in the select committee and tried to find the best way through.

I acknowledge that there were concerns raised about conflicts of interest, and it was something that I particularly advocated for at the Māori Affairs Committee—that there be a register for people to acknowledge conflicts of interest. I also acknowledge the concern with the status and transfer of freehold lands and how that would impact on corpus lands.

With all of these concerns, we at the Māori Affairs Committee and those working with the Minister tried to make the best out of this process of Crown legislation and arrive at something that we can all support and sleep comfortably with at night. I feel that that is what we have done. I take hope that the whānau can continue to raise their concerns. This is never going to be perfect from the start, and I take hope and say to all whānau and everybody in the trust: we are here—your representatives in Parliament are here to support the raruraru and difficulties, and to celebrate the hua that will come from establishing this new organisation.

I end with again acknowledging the hard work of the trust in trying to get something that was driven by it, envisioned by it, and that brought us here today by working with the Minister. I acknowledge the work of the Māori Affairs Committee. It is an absolute pleasure to be able to genuinely sit down and truly want the best for our people, and to collaborate in that hope. I can stand here with hand on heart and say that we absolutely did want to uphold the visions of the Wī Pere Trust and the visions of its tūpuna. It is difficult to be able to say that in this role as a member of Parliament.

I will end by referring back to one of my original points: the inspiration that trusts like Wī Pere and organisations and processes like the one the Wī Pere Trust has just gone through are part of a nationwide, Aotearoa-wide narrative of Māori organisations large and small wrestling our way through generations of colonial impact on our own systems, structures, and ways of working and relating to each other and to our planet and to our legacy—both our tūpuna and our mokopuna who are not quite in Te Ao Mārama. I acknowledge that we are in that place, and we are trying our best to work through it. I hope that we can continue to work as representatives of the Crown to support Māori, to acknowledge the difficulties and to validate them, to acknowledge that a corporate commercial agenda has not always necessarily fitted with a tikanga Māori world view. I hope we can trust in our own people and arrive at the best way forward for Te Ao Māori to maintain and uphold its own tino rangatiratanga. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker, tēnā hoki tātou e noho tahi i roto Te Whare nei, ā, tēnā koutou ngā kaiwhakahaere o Te Rōpū nei, arā, ko Alan me tō Rōpū i haere mai ki waenganui i a mātou ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero i puta mai, mai i ngā mema Pāremata e pā ana ki tēnei pire.

Ēngari i mua te haere tonu, i rongo au ngā kōrero a Te Minita, kia tū kaha rawa ngā mihi ki a koutou ngā tauira tawhito o Te Kura o Tīpene. Horekau, he raru ki tēnā ēngari, ko taku pātai ki a koutou, kei hea tō koutou Kura i āianei nā? Moumou tāima! Kia ahatia! Ēngari, ā, horekau e hiahia ana kia whakamārama he aha nā tō take i pēnā! Ēngari, Mr Assistant Speaker, hiahia ana au ki te mihi tonu ki tēnā, tetahi o ngā kura māhita o taua kura, a Betty McPherson. Ko ia i rūpeke ki tua o te ārai. Horekau he raru e pā ana ki tēnā mihi ki te pire nei nā te mea i roto i te pire nei, ki tēnei tetahi wāhanga e pā ana ki tōna iwi a Te Rarawa. Nā reira e te whāea haere hoki atu. Karekau kē e mimiti te puna kōrero mōu. Nā reira haere, haere hoki atu! Hoki mai ki a tātou te hunga ora, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora mai anō tātou.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and acknowledgments to us also seated together here in this House, and to you collectively, the administrators of this organisation, namely Alan and your group who came here to be amongst us to listen to the contributions that have emerged from the members in relation to this bill.

But before I go any further, I heard the sentiments by the Minister to be upstanding and to acknowledge you strongly, the former students of St Stephen’s. There is not a problem with that but my question to you is: where is your school now? A sheer waste of time. What can be done about that? Mr Assistant Speaker, I really want to pay a tribute to one of the teachers of that school, Betty McPherson. She has assembled beyond the divide. There is not a concern about paying a tribute to her, because there is a part about her Te Rarawa tribe in this bill. And so to you beloved matriarch, go forth, return; the pool of tributes for you will never diminish. Therefore, depart, travel on, return. I come back to us the living; acknowledgments and accolades to you collectively with my appreciation once again to us all.]

I rise to contribute to the debate in relation to the Māori Purposes Bill before us. Can I just say that when it was originally introduced into the House it should have been called the “Wī Pere Trust Bill”. But because of certain technicalities, and if you want to make a change without introducing a new bill, then this is what the Māori Purposes Bill is all about. Since then the bill has been extended to make technical amendments to three other bills, at least, including my reference to Te Rarawa and creating a particular mandated iwi organisation.

I also want to place on record my acknowledgment to the trustees for the work that they have done in assisting Minister Flavell in bringing this bill to the House, and commend them for their influence in determining what should be included in the bill. People have said that this bill is all about increasing the value of the assets of the Wī Pere Trust. Can I say it is more about streamlining the administration to allow the trustees to do things that they may not have been able to do prior to this bill. People have used the word “corporate”, and I think it is very applicable that, in a real sense, this bill is all about corporatising the trust to a new level.

Having said that, when the bill was first introduced New Zealand First did have a question as to why we needed to make these amendments. Be that as it may, the amendments have been made. One of the concerns that we had was in regard to the involvement of the Māori Land Court. I referred to clause 27 of the proposed constitution, where the wording is that the “Māori Land Court may determine who is lineal descendant of Wi Pere.”

Can I say that New Zealand First took some time to discuss this amongst ourselves, and, in fact, we actually prepared and proposed a Supplementary Order Paper to amend the word “may” to “must”. However, our legal advice was that it would not make any difference, so in regard to that particular concern we felt that we did not need to carry that on any further. Of course, the reference to dispute resolution and the use of the High Court—New Zealand First expressed a view during the committee stages of the bill about the possibility of the trustees making more use of the High Court to settle disputes using trust resources, as opposed to the people who had a differing view and wanted to enter into a dispute having to use their own resources.

Apart from that, we in New Zealand First feel that this bill recognises a former member of this House—someone who has certainly left his mark in the annals of this House and of this country. This bill certainly acknowledges that contribution, in a way.

I also want to acknowledge the efforts of the trustees. While they may draw some criticism from the very beneficiaries whom they represent, at the end of the day they know what their responsibilities are. They know that if they do anything untoward, it is something that they will have to face. Of course, like all corporates, they will probably have liability insurance to cover them.

I also want to acknowledge that from the inception of this trust, to now having an asset base in the region of $66 million, is certainly a testament to the way that this trust has been administered over the years. It contributes to its local community, not only to its beneficiaries but to its local community, in terms of the communal activities. I certainly support that notion.

Also, they have increased their commercial interests, and I think it sets a blueprint for a whole lot of other Māori trusts that are in similar circumstances, but do not have the same opportunity of having a special Act to set up their constitution and how they should operate.

In conclusion, again, we in New Zealand First want to commend the Māori Affairs Committee, the officials who assisted the committee, and all those who made submissions to assist the committee in reaching the decision that it did make in supporting this bill. Kia ora.

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā, ngā mihi ki a koutou ngā Kaitiaki ki Te Wī Pere Trust, nau mai, haere mai ki Te Whare Pāremata.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and acknowledgments to you, the trustees of the Wī Pere Trust. Welcome to Parliament; come hither.]

💬 Peeni Henare: Ka pai, Jono. Ka pai.

💬 Meka Whaitiri: Kia ora. Kia ora. Kia ora.

💬 Peeni Henare: Ka pai. Keep going.

It is a—ha, ha! It is a great day, I believe, when we actually—there are a couple of things that are happening here. Firstly, it is great to see the old boys of St Bede’s College finally outnumbered in the debating Chamber of Parliament. Normally there are so many of them floating around, it is hard for any school to get a look in. So congratulations to those old boys of Tipene.

I particularly wanted to talk about something that is close to my heart with regard to the passing of this legislation. This legislation, while on one level referring to a particular trust, is also symbolic to me of a change that is happening across Aotearoa New Zealand right now. The opportunity for Te Ao Māori to actually take back further control of its own destiny is a positive thing for New Zealand, a positive thing for Māori. As a recent Pōua to my first mokopuna, it is encouraging to me to be able to see that he will be able to walk in his Pākehā world, but he is also going to be able to walk stronger in Te Ao Māori because of this type of legislation, because of these types of things that are going on.

I want to commend the Wī Pere Trust for actually looking to take greater destiny in their own hands, to provide to a greater extent for the beneficiaries of the trust. I want to congratulate the Minister for Māori Development for sponsoring this bill through the House. To my good colleague Nuk Korako and his colleagues on the Māori Affairs Committee, I congratulate them all on bringing this through, and I commend this to the House.

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare, otirā, tēnā tātou katoa. Ko te mea tuatahi i tuku mihi atu atu ki a koutou ngā uri o Wī Pere kua tae mai ki Te Whare Pāremata nei. E whakapiri ana taku mi’i ki ngā mi’i kua mi’ia e ngā rangatira o Te Whare nei, nō reira, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, but at the same time my acknowledgments to us all. The first thing is to acknowledge you, the relatives of Wī Pere who have arrived here at Parliament. I add my tributes to those accorded by esteemed ones of this House. Therefore, well done to you all.]

It is a pleasure to take a call on the third reading of the Māori Purposes Bill, and, of course, the major part of this bill is on the Wī Pere Trust. I want to acknowledge the work of the Māori Affairs Committee and its chair, Tutehounuku Korako, for the work that they did. I had the pleasure of spending a day in Gisborne hearing evidence from submitters, and I want to acknowledge all of the submitters for the information that they provided in a very dignified and straightforward way.

I think that the changes to the governance arrangements of the Wī Pere Trust are very important. I would not characterise them as my colleague Pita Paraone from New Zealand First has characterised them. I would characterise them as empowering—empowering decision-making from a Māori world view. Along with that goes the responsibility on the trustees to continually uphold the legacy that they have inherited, and I believe that that is exactly what will happen.

So I congratulate the trustees, and I should also acknowledge the Minister, the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, as well, for the work on this piece of legislation and for bringing it to the House. I think that the governance arrangements up to now—with certain ministerial involvement—was, shall we say, from a different era and a more paternalistic time, so these new arrangements are far better suited to a modern trust that is operating on behalf of all of its beneficiaries in a modern world.

I do also join with my colleagues who have acknowledged the contributions of the beneficiaries through their submissions around their concerns. I sincerely hope that the changes that we will pass into law today are a mechanism that also empowers the beneficiaries to participate in the arrangements of the trust, in their collective interests. I want to acknowledge the concerns and questions that were raised through that process. I am very satisfied that they have been addressed appropriately, and so I support this legislation.

I also want to turn my attention to the other parts within the Māori Purposes Bill—in particular, to new Part 1B of the Māori Purposes Bill, which was inserted in the bill through Supplementary Order Paper 234 at the Committee stage. Ā, tuku i Te Reo mihi atu ki ngā uri katoa o Te Rarawa i roto i tēnei wāhanga o te pire nei.

[And so a welcoming word to all the descendants of Te Rarawa in this part of this bill here.]

I want to send my greetings to the people of Te Rarawa and acknowledge the significance of this part within this legislation. Having Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, a pre-settlement entity that is a charitable trust with the name Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, which was the mandated iwi organisation for the purposes of the Maori Fisheries Act 2004, and then having their settlement go through—as many of us in the House know, there are certain requirements of the Treaty settlement process that require a certain type of entity to receive settlement assets, and, of course, you end up with two, which are the pre-settlement entity for the iwi and the post-settlement entity for the iwi. One has the settlement assets from the Treaty settlement and one has the settlement assets from the Maori Fisheries Act. They are incompatible, and they have a process that they have to go to for Te Ohu Kaimoana—their own process.

So the insertion of this new Part 1B in the Māori Purposes Bill resolves very tidily and neatly that situation, whereby the settlement assets can be transferred from the charitable trust into the new post-settlement governance entity. Not only does it do that, but it also recognises the new settlement entity as if it had been recognised in the 2004 Act, from the time of 2004. I think that is definitely appropriate in this instance, because it is the same beneficiaries and it is the same governance, but they are two separate settlement arrangements. I think what that does is it highlights the fact that the Treaty settlement process is not wholly consistent with the requirements of the Maori Fisheries Act 2004.

So along with acknowledging all the wonderful things in the part of the bill that relate to Wī Pere, I think it is important that we also recognise that there is a significant change. Nō reira, tēnei ahau e tuku mihi atu anō ki ngā uri o Wī Pere, oti noa, ki a tātou katoa o Te Whare nei, tēnā tātou.

[Therefore, here I am once again acknowledging the descendants of Wī Pere, and, furthermore, to us all of this House, thank you.]

Before I call Marama Fox, I just want to indicate that I have had indications from both sides of the House that there was slight confusion at that point. Also, it is clear that everyone in the House would like this legislation to be passed today and therefore I will manage the times for members, and it might be that some people get a shorter time than they might otherwise think. Marama Fox—for a 5-minute call.

E Te Mana Whakawā, kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou e hui nei i tēnei wā, hei kawe i tēnei pire ki roto i te ture, koutou e hāpai nei i ngā mahi a Wī Pere i te hītori o te whenua, koutou e mau whenua tonu ana kia whiwhi pūtea, kia mahi i ngā mahi, kia tautoko i ngā uri o Wī Pere, kai te mihi atu ki a koutou! Nā, kia rapu au i te kōrero ka haere tōtika au ki tō koutou website, ānei nā tā koutou e kī nei:

[Mr Assistant Speaker, I would like to acknowledge you assembled here at this point in time for the purposes of enacting this bill into law and supporting the work of Wī Pere in the history of the country, and I acknowledge you who still own land that can accrue funding that will assist the work and support Wī Pere’s descendants. I salute you. Now then, to enable me to hunt for the discourse, I will go directly to your website. Here it is, and this is what you stated:]

“Wiremu Pere and his family were owners of the land in their own right and were owners of undivided interests of various land titles.” And as you know, as happened around the entire country, land leases and the ability to earn money off the land for Māori—all of that was stopped when Governor Grey announced: “You can no longer pay your land leases to Māori landowners.” So Wī Pere whānau found themselves with some accumulated debt and went to the bank to try to alleviate that to ensure that the land would not be sold.

This is what happened: “The bank consented with the following conditions: I. That Wi Pere and his family transfer all their estates to a Trust formed under the provisions of the ‘Native Land Laws Amendment Act 1897’.”—the Native Land Laws Amendment Act; I guess that would have been the ancient iteration of what we are trying to do now with Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill—“II. That the Trustee appointed should be consented to by the Governor and that all restrictions should be removed from the land. III. That Walter George Foster of Wellington be appointed Trustee who should have exclusive control, without the interference by any of the beneficiaries, over the management and disposal of the land.”

Wī Pere fought this tooth and nail. He was not going to allow that to happen, but seeing the land under threat of liability to be lost finally consented, took the loan, consented to the conditions under which that loan was got—that is not a flash word, but under which they got the loan—and then set about trying to earn the money required to pay it off as quick as possible and retain the land for all future generations. And now we come today to this trust, which has now a $65 million asset because it has ensured that it is doing the best for its beneficiaries.

Here is a little something that you need to understand about Māori trusts and Māori land. In a normal company, if you do not pay out dividends sufficient enough to your owners and your beneficiaries, they sell your shares, and the value of your company goes into the ground. That does not happen in Māori land because Māori land owners will never sell their shares. They want to keep that for ever and so a dividend is not often paid out; a dividend is reinvested and reinvested and reinvested in the whenua to ensure we can grow the asset, which is a good thing. But what also happens then is you do get some contention and tension within the whānau who do not believe that the asset is being looked after or distributed fairly. And I think that is fair from the comments that came through from the submitters.

So following the hearings that we had in Gisborne—very proud of the whānau who turned up, well-versed in the issues that they may have had, very proud of the trust who turned up well-versed in the running of the Wī Pere Trust and the efforts that they make on behalf of their beneficiaries—it was obvious that there were some communication things that needed to be settled. But I think of the tikanga that we all uphold to: mā te kōrero ka whakatika [change will occur through discussion].

This bill, I commend it to the House, proud of the whānau for the efforts that you make. You all know what is needed, or the whānau know what is needed in the future, and we watch with interest as you continue to grow the asset for the benefit of all your descendants.

Ā, tēnā koe Te Māngai o Te Whare. I a au e pānui ana i tēnei pire ka whakaaro ake ahau ki ōna wāhanga katoa me te kī atu, tā te mea, ko ngā kaupapa katoa kei roto i tēnei pire i tuku mai i te whenua ka noho tonu ahau ki roto i Te Reo Māori, hei whakamana i te ōati i waiho mai e te tupuna a Wī Pere ki Te Motu Whānui, hei whakamana ai te whakawhitinga o te rahi pūtea, mai i Whakaata Māori ki Te Mātāwai, hei whakamana ake i te panonitanga o te ingoa ō ōku ake ki roto o Te Rarawa, e Te Whare, tēnā tātau katoa.

Ka tautoko ahau i ngā mihi kua utaina e Te Minita ki runga i ngā tāngata katoa, ka tīmata mai ki a koe e Te Heamana o Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri i ngā Take Māori, arā, ko Tutehounuku Korako, mihi atu ana au ki a ia mō āna mahi katoa ki te ārahi i tēnei pire ki roto i ōna nekehanga katoa.

Tuarua, ki ngā kaiwhakahaere o te poraka whenua o Wī Pere, e mihi atu ana au ki a rātau, ia tāima ka tū tēnei pire ki roto i Te Whare, ka kite atu ahau ki roto i i ngā tūru ki runga rā, anā ko ngā kanohi o te whānau o Wī Pere, me Te Rōpū Whakahaere i taua poraka whenua, ka mihi atu ahau ki a rātau. Ka mihi anō hoki au ki ngā uri whakatupu, ngā hunga o ēnei rangi, ngā mātātahi o ēnei rangi, me ngā uri whakatupu ka haere ake nei, tā te mea, ko ngā whakaaro katoa kai roto i tēnei pire, mō rātau te take.

Ka huri atu ahau ki te wāhanga o te pire e tīni nei i ngā āhuatanga whakahaere o Te Rōpū Whakahaere o Wī Pere. E Te Māngai o Te Whare mehemea e whakaae ana koe, ka pānui ahau i tētahi kōrero mai i te tuhinga a Apirana Ngata ki tōna hoa pūmau, ki Te Rangi Hīroa i te tau 1932, ko te rā, ko te 17 o Hepetema. Ko tana kōrero ki tōna hoa, e kī pēnei ana:

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. As I was reading this bill I really considered all of its parts and say that because all the matters contained in this bill that released the land, I will remain speaking in the Māori language to empower the oath that the ancestor Wī Pere left behind to the nation at large country to give effect to the transferral of the huge fund from Māori Television to Te Mātāwai, to the name changes that belonged to mine indeed the House within Te Rarawa, salutations to us all!

I endorse the tributes accorded by the Minister upon everyone beginning with the chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee, namely, Tutehounuku Korako. I pay a tribute to him for all his work to guide this bill through all its stages.

Secondly, to the administrators of the Wī Pere block of land, I acknowledge them; each time this bill take place in the House, I see in the chairs up there, the faces of the Wī Pere family and those of the board of that block of land, I pay a tribute to them. I also acknowledge the descendants, those ones of these days, the younger people, and those to come because all the thoughts contained in this bill the purpose is for them.

I turn to the part of the bill that amends the functions of the Wī Pere board. Mr Assistant Speaker, with your indulgence I will read an excerpt from the writings of Apirana Ngata to his dear friend Te Rangi Hīroa in 1932. The day was 17 September. His words to his colleague went like this:]

“Too much has been made in the past of the historical circumstances which have led to diverse systems of control or slight peculiarities in title. However, since these organisations and policies came into existence, there have resulted, broadly, the following facts: (1) all systems purport to act for the benefit of Māori beneficiaries, and (2) Māori land development is equalling the efforts of the Pākehā pioneers, of which this country never ceases to boast.”

Ko aua kupu nā Apirana Ngata, ko te kaupapa o Apirana Ngata i a ia i roto i tēnei Whare, ko Te Ahu whenua, ko te whakamahi whenua, kia kōkiri ngātahi i ngā wawata me ngā moemoeā o Te Iwi Māori nā roto i te mahi, nā roto i Te Ahu Whenua, nō reira, e hāngai ana ngā kupu a Apirana Ngata me te ōati a Wī Pere ki ngā mahi e mahia nei e tātau i te rā nei. Nō reira, ngā mihi nui ki a rātau, nā rātau te whakaaro, i tīmata mai i te kaupapa whakahaere o tēnei poraka whenua, kō atu i te 100 tau kua pahure ake nei. Ki a ia nei na, kai konei tātau i tēnei rangi e whakamana ana i ngā nekehanga e hiahia ana e Te Poari Whakahaere. E kī ana Te Minita ki Te Whare i te rā nei, nā rātau ēnei hiahia, nā rātau te hiahia kia tīni ngā āhuatanga whakahaere e hāpai ana e rātau. Nō reira ka mihi atu ahau ki aua whakaaro nui!

Ēngari, ka kapohia ake ahau i te pepa tāpiri o tōku hoa mahi nei a Meka Whaitiri, te mema Pāremata mō Te Rohe Pōti o Te Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. Ka tautoko ahau i tana pepa hei āhua panoni i tēnei pire, i te wā e haere nei ki roto i Te Whare tā te mea, ka ū tonu ki Te Kōti Whenua Māori, te mana whakahaere i tēnei whenua. Ka tautoko ahau i tēnā ēngari nā runga i te whakaiti, me te hūmārie o tōku hoa mahi nei, anā! Kua whakakorengia e Te Whare taua whakaaro ēngari, ka waiho nā atu hei whakaaroaro mā tātau katoa, i a tātou e hāpai ana i Te Ture Whenua Māori e haere ake nei i tēnei wā.

Ka tahuri atu ahau ki te wāhanga o te pire e hāngai ana ki a Whakaata Māori. I te wā o te komiti ki roto i te Whare nui nei, i pātai atu ahau ki Te Minita, ko te aha te āhua $3 miriona ka kapohia tēnei pire, mai i Te Whakaata Māori, atu ki Te Mātāwai te kaikawe moemoeā mō Te Iwi Māori e pā ana ki Te Reo. Kīhai au i rongo i tetahi whakautu! Kīhai Te Minita i whakautu ki taku pātai tā te mea, kotahi tau i āianei nā, Te Mātāwai ki runga i te mata o te whenua. I haere atu ahau ki ngā hui me te pātai atu, ka aha Te Mātāwai mō tō tātau Reo Māori? Korekau he whakautu ki waku pātai! E pērā ana ki roto i tēnei Whare! Ka waiho na atu tērā whakaaro ki runga i te papa o tō tātou Whare i te rā nei, me te hiahia ā taihoa ake nei tātau ka aro haehae i ngā mahi a Te Mātāwai. Ko reira tātau ka kite mehemea ka whai hua te āhua $3 miriona i roto i tēnei pire i kapohia ake mai i a Whakaata Māori, na, ka whakawhitia atu ki Te Mātāwai. Kāti, ka waiho na atu tērā wāhanga ki reira.

Ka tahuri atu ahau ki te wahanga e pā ana ki ōku ake o Te Rarawa. Ka tīnihia te ingoa o Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa ki tētahi ingoa hou. I taua tāima tonu i pātai atu ahau ki Te Minita mehemea ka huri ngā whakaaro ki te pire e pā ana ki Ngā Hao Ika. Ko reira ka whakaritea i ngā kōrero kei roto i taua pire, he aha nei na te mana o te iwi? I whakamanahia ko ngā iwi ki roto i taua pire! Ko te wāhanga ki roto i Te Māori Purposes Bill i te rā nei, ka tīnihia te ingoa o Te Rarawa! Ka kī atu ahau ki Te Minita, mehemea ka pērā ka āhei ētahi atu iwi ki te tahuri i ngā whakaaro ki tērā atu pire? Panonihia ngā kupu kai roto? Ko reira ka whai mana ngā iwi hou, ngā hapū hou, ki roto i ngā pire o te wā nei. Ka waiho na atu tērā whakaaro ki runga i te papa i te rā nei ēngari ka mihi atu ahau ki Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, i whakaritea nei ki roto i tēnei pire, i tētahi kōnae iti hei tiaki nei i ngā rawa, i ngā pūtea ka whakahokia atu ki Te Rarawa, ā taihoa ake nei.

Nō reira, ngā mihi nui ki a rātau me te whakaaro nui kia tiakina pai e rātau, kia tuku pai e rātau i ngā hua me ngā rawa kei a rātau i tēnei wā.

Hei whakakapi ake i taku kōrero i te rā nei, i a au e pānui ana i ngā āhuatanga katoa ki roto i tēnei pire, he aha nei na ōna ōritetanga? Ko te oati ki ā tātau Te Iwi Māori, ko Te Reo Māori kōrerohia! Ka kite atu ahau ki roto i ngā wāhanga o tēnei pire. He aha tētahi atu oati ki roto i tēnei pire? Ka waiho na atu mō Te Iwi Māori tēnā! Ka whakamahia tō whenua mō ngā uri whakatupu e haere ake nei. Ko reira ahau mutu ai tēnei i kōrero ki mua i te aroaro o tō tātau Whare i te rā nei, kāti! Ngā mihi nui ki a koe, otirā, ki a tātau katoa—tū ake Te Reo Māori, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa!

[Those words of Apirana Ngata was his platform while he was in this House was farming, making the land work and jointly promoting aspirations and dreams of the Māori people through work and farming, so Apirana Ngata’s words and Wī Pere’s oath in regards to the work done by us today are relevant. Therefore, accolades to them whose idea it was to initiate the governance plan of this block of land more than 100 years ago.

At this very moment we are here on this day effecting movements required by the board of trustees. The Minister has said to the House today these aspirations belong to them, they wanted to change aspects of governance supportive of them. Therefore I commend them for those important thoughts.

But I am grabbed by the amendment of my fellow work colleague, Meka Whaitiri, the representative in Parliament for the electorate of Te Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. I endorse her paper as a means of amending this bill somewhat during the stages it goes through the House because it remains committed to the Māori Land Court the entity that administers this land. I support that but upon the humility and unassuming manner of this work colleague of mine, but there you are. The House has abolished that idea but has left it there for us all to mull over as we support the forthcoming land Act at this time.

I turn to the part of the bill relating to Māori Television. During the Committee stage in this great House I asked the Minister which part of what appeared to be $3 million was snatched up from Māori Television for Te Mātāwai the dream-bearer of the Māori people in regards to the Māori language. I did no hear any response at all. The Minister did not reply to my query because Te Mātāwai has been in existence upon the earth for only a year. I went along to the meetings and asked: what will Te Mātāwai do for our Māori language? There was no response at all to my questions. The situation is similar in this House.

I leave that thought upon the floor of our House today with the desire that in due course we will critically analyse the operations of Te Mātāwai. It is at there at that point that we will see whether the somewhat $3 million gains benefits in this bill that was snatched up from Māori Television and transferred to Te Mātāwai. Enough, I will leave that part there.

I turn now to the part that relates to me in particular, to us of Te Rarawa. The name Te Rūnanga of Te Rarawa was changed to a new one. At that very moment I asked the Minister whether thoughts had turned to the bill regarding fisheries. It was there that an arrangement was made as a consequence of the commentary in that bill as to what exactly was the status of the tribe. The tribes were enacted in that bill. The name of Te Rarawa contained in the part of the Māori Purposes today was changed.

Mine to the Minister: if that occurs, will other tribes be able to overturn the thoughts to another bill? Change the words therein? And as a result new tribes and subtribes have the mandate in current bills? I leave that thought upon the floor today but I do acknowledge Te Rūnanga of Te Rarawa who arranged one tiny file in this bill to look after the resources and finances that will be returned to Te Rarawa in due course. So a huge tribute to them and the magnificent thought that they protect the assets and resources well that they hold currently.

So to conclude my speech today, as I was reading all aspects contained in this bill—what, then, are its similarities? Is it the pledge to us the Māori people to speak the Māori language I see that in the parts of this bill? What other pledge is there in this bill? That is left for the Māori people. Make your land work for descendants to come. There, then, is where I end this contribution before this House of ours today. Enough—my thanks to you and indeed to us all. Rise up, Māori language. Acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively and to us all.]

E Te Mana Whakawā, tēnā koe. I cannot possibly hope to display the mastery of Te Reo that the member who has just resumed his seat, Peeni Henare, has done, but I do want to commend this Māori Purposes Bill fulsomely to the House. It is an excellent bill, sponsored by a very fine Minister, the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell. It has been through the Māori Affairs Committee under the chairmanship of a very fine chair, the honourable member Tutehounuku Korako.

I want to pay tribute to the honourable Wī Pere, a five-term member of this House and a great son of Poverty Bay and his area. He was a man who took the seat from James Carroll and was succeeded in it by Sir Apirana Ngata. So he has a place in the pantheon of the great Māori leaders of this country. I want to acknowledge Wī Pere’s descendants and those who have been so instrumental in making sure this is a successful trust worth more than $60 million. The modernisation, including such things as introducing teleconferencing for board meetings, is very sensible. It is an excellent bill, and it is a wonderful thing that it has achieved such widespread support in this House. I commend it.

Bill read a third time.