Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. In so doing, can I welcome all our friends from Rangitāne to the gallery this morning.

This bill gives effect to a deed of settlement between the Crown and Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tāmaki-nui-ā-Rua, and the deed was signed on 6 August 2016—almost a year ago. The deed of settlement settles all the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to Rangitāne in the Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua regions. The settlement comprises historical redress, which records the breaches and the past injustices caused by failures of the Crown; cultural redress, reconnecting the people of Rangitāne with a number of their most culturally significant sites; and financial and commercial redress, providing Rangitāne with a strong economic base for them to grow.

Can I acknowledge the work of the negotiators, my ministerial colleagues, local government, and other agencies that have contributed to the development of this legislation. I also thank the chair and members of the Māori Affairs Committee, which has once again done an excellent job of progressing this bill as quickly as possible.

The bill was referred to the committee on 22 September 2016. Twelve written submissions were received from interested groups and individuals, and the committee heard six of these at a hearing in Masterton on 14 December 2016. The committee reported the bill back to the House on 20 March this year and recommended that it be passed without amendment. This is a testament to the hard work and the careful consideration that went into the negotiation of the settlement package and the drafting of the bill. Some of the submissions related to longstanding concerns that have been raised many times before, including in the Waitangi Tribunal, and I want to take a moment to address them.

Mandate and representation are recurring issues in Treaty settlements. Committee members, and Crown officials before them, took the submissions of Te Hika o Pāpāuma, the Wai 420 claimants, and the hapū of Ehetere Kawemata Rautahi, the Wai 1950 claimants, very seriously indeed. Both claimant groups asserted a distinct identity from Rangitāne and sought either to be represented as a separate entity or to be excluded altogether from the settlement. Although the Crown’s policy is to negotiate comprehensive settlements covering all the historical claims of a large natural group of tribal interests, this does not mean that the distinct identity of iwi, hapū, and any other groups that form part of the larger groups disappears or is subsumed within the wider group.

All members of Te Hika o Pāpāuma, in so far as their claims relate to Rangitāne, will benefit from the settlement. The settlement of Rangitāne historical Treaty claims will not preclude this group from asserting mana and its identity within its rohe. I think this is a key point that needs to be stressed—the Crown does not, and cannot, involve itself in matters of mana whenua or tribal identity. These matters are for iwi and hapū to decide. What we are trying to achieve here is to address the wrongs of the past and provide the means for members of Rangitāne to move forward. Our approach to settling the claim of Te Hika o Pāpāuma within the large natural groups of Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua has been endorsed by the Tribunal.

As part of the committee’s consideration, it looked at whether Te Hika o Pāpāuma could be specifically referred to in the historical account. A suggestion was to attach an index to the deed of settlement that would refer to instances where they are mentioned in the deed of settlement. The Te Hika o Pāpāuma - mandated iwi authority said that would not satisfy it. Therefore, the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust and the Crown agreed not to have an index to the deed, as it was not requested either by the Crown or by Rangitāne. The committee concluded that it did not think it appropriate to remove the Wai 1950 claimants from the bill, because they are a hapū of Rangitāne and their claim should be contained within Rangitāne’s final settlement.

This second reading brings us closer to the concluding stages of settling the historical claims of Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, and what I would like to do is talk in more detail at the third reading, when we will be able to celebrate the settlement fully. Until then, I commend the bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare, otirā, e te whānau, kia tuku mihi atu ki a koe Tutehounuku e tuku atu Te Reo Whakamoemiti i te ata nei, nō reira, “mā Te Māngai e tautoko mai, aia nei, āke nei, āe!” E tika ana ki te mihi ki a rātou mā i te wāhi ngaro, nō reira, kei te mi’i atu anō i te ā’uatanga ki ō tātou tini mate, rātou katoa e hinga mai nā puta noa i ngā moutere nei. Nō reira, e ngā mate ma’a o te wā, hoki wairua atu ki a rātou mā, te tini me te mano, hoki wairua atu ki te ringa kaha o Ihowā o ngā mano, tūāuriuri, whaiōiō, kī tonu te rangi me te whenua i te nui o tōna korōria, kāti mō tēnā!

Tika hoki kia tuku mihi atu ki ngā whānau me ngā hapū kua tae mai ki Te Ana Raiona i tēnei rā. Nō reira, e mihi ana ahau ki a rātou katoa! E kī ana te kōrero, “Tini whetū ki te rangi, Rangitāne ki te whenua”. E mihi ana ahau ki te pae maunga o Ruahine, ki te awa o Manawatū. E mihi hoki ahau ki te maunga Rangitūmau, ki te awa o Ruamahanga, ki Rangitāne o Tamaki nui ā Rua, ki Rangitāne o Wairarapa, ki Kurahaupō waka, ki Rangitāne iwi, nau mai! Haere mai ki Te Whare Pāremata nei, tēnā koutou! Tēnā koutou e ngā uri o Whātonga, tēnā koutou ngā uri o Tautoki rāua ko Waipuna me tā rāua tamaiti a Tāne-nui-ā-rangi! Koutou, tātou anei au e tuku mi’i atu ana ki a koutou katoa, koutou e whakamau ana ki te tupuna nei, e whakamau ana ki te whakapapa o te rangatira nei. Me mau tonu ki ngā hononga o ngā karanga maha ō roto rā, nō reira, Rangitāne mā tū mai rā, tū mai rā, tēnā koutou katoa!

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, but at the same time to you the family, bear with me as I express my appreciation to you, Tutehounuku, for the prayer you gave this morning. And so “the Mouthpiece endorses it right now and forever more, yes!” It is apt to pay a tribute to them and the others in the unseen place. Therefore, I pay homage once again in the circumstance of our innumerable deaths, to all of them that have fallen throughout these islands here. So to the deaths of the moment, return spiritually to them and the others, to the countless, the numerous, go back in spirit to the powerful hand of Jehovah of the thousands, of the pitch-black, of the very numerous. Heaven and Earth are filled with the greatness of His glory, enough!

It is right also to extend a tribute to the families and subtribes who have arrived today at the lion’s den. And so I pay homage to all of them. The proverb states: “Like the multitude of the stars in the sky, so is Rangitāne on the Earth”. I acknowledge the Ruahine mountain range, the Manawatū river. I also acknowledge the Rangitūmau mountain, the Ruamahanga river, Rangitāne of Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, Rangitāne of Wairarapa, the Kurahaupō canoe and the Rangitāne tribe, welcome! Welcome to this House here, greetings to you collectively! Salutations to you the descendants of Whātonga, of Tautoki and Waipuna, and their child Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi! To you and us collectively, here I am acknowledging you all; you the ones attaching yourselves to this ancestor and to the genealogy of this chief. Hold fast to the connections of the many callings within it, and so Rangitāne and others, stand and rise up. My appreciation to us all!]

As always, it is a great pleasure to stand to speak on claims settlement bills. Here we are today for the second reading of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill. It has been a long journey and, I suspect, an arduous journey, and I want to acknowledge, first of all, those who are still with us but those who have passed on who had the vision to ensure that the stories and the kōrero of the past are being told in the context of what has happened to Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā.

I always enjoy it when iwi bring their rangatahi for these occasions. So I want to acknowledge those who have the vision from the past and today, and those who will carry on the legacy into the future. It is without a doubt that moving forward with claims settlements is really about the future. I will come to that later on in my speech, but I do want to acknowledge that rangata’i are present, because—if I can speak directly to the rangatahi here—this settlement is for you and all uri of Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā in the future.

There are a number of parts to this bill, and I want to touch on the very first part, first of all. It is the part that I think is most important, because in Part 1 there is the historical account, the Crown acknowledgment, and the apology. The historical account is an agreed account between the iwi and the Crown, so it is a negotiated one. As always, I always think “I wonder what’s not in there?”, but we know what is. I want to just acknowledge that—the historical account, or the interaction between the Crown and the iwi since 1840, forms the basis for the acknowledgments that follow. The acknowledgments talk about how the Crown has breached the Treaty, and then there is an apology.

In the acknowledgment you have things like “The Crown acknowledges that the Rangitāne experience of large-scale land loss in the nineteenth century, urbanisation in the twentieth century, and the State education system that discouraged the use of te reo Māori, contributed significantly to Rangitāne struggling to maintain their traditional marae communities and becoming alienated from their own cultural traditions and language.” I wanted to mention that particular one—and there are several acknowledgments—because the actions that have happened to hapū, w’ānau, and iwi since 1840 have created a legacy that, through this process, we are trying to leave behind. The historical and intergenerational trauma that is transferred from one generation to another at some point needs to stop. So I wanted to talk about that particular one because of the clear impact on Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā.

The next part, of course, is the formal apology from the Crown. The apology says things like “The Crown is deeply sorry for its many breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles,” and “The Crown profoundly regrets that it failed to actively protect the tribal structures of Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua …”, which is very good. It is great to have the historical account, the acknowledgment of what went wrong, and then the apology. But that apology needs to be real, and I am not talking about just the current Government but from all Governments, now and in the future. We must always remember that the Crown has breached the Treaty and it apologises and it says it must never do that again—never. So in the instance where legislation comes to this House, it must never ever not consult properly with Rangitāne—ever. That is what the Crown is undertaking to do. That is Part 1.

I agree with Minister Finlayson that, moving forward, there is a lot in this settlement. I want to just briefly touch on the cultural redress, as well. I was interested to see that there are statutory acknowledgments and deeds of recognition, and that there were five properties that have both. I think having those two layers over those five properties gives a huge opportunity for the reconnection of Rangitāne to the w’enua—back to the land. I remember, when I was a negotiator for Ngāti Apa, that was one of the key things that our people always talked about—the loss of land and reconnecting with the land. So that is one part of it. Another part is, of course, the commercial redress, because reconnecting to the land in a cultural sense is fine, but we also need to have an economic base—the economic base that we lost.

I just want, in the remaining few seconds that I have, to recognise Mavis Mullins, the chair of Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust, and all of the officers of that trust, and I wish them all the best in going forward into a new direction through this settlement. Nō reira, e Te Māngai o Te Whare, tēnā koe. Otirā, tēnā tātou.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai tuarua o Te Whare, e mihi atu ana ki a koe, ā, tēnei te mihi ki ngā uri o Kurahaupō waka, ngā uri o Kupe, o Whātonga, nō reira, nau mai, haere mai ki Te Whare Pāremata. Mauria mai ō whakaako ki te kaupapa nunui, nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and acknowledgments to you. Acknowledgments to you, relatives of the Kurahaupō canoe, and of Kupe and Whātonga. Therefore, welcome; come hither to Parliament. Bring forth your teachings in regards to the proposal of huge significance. So congratulations and well done to you collectively. My appreciation to all of us.]

I rise in support of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill’s second reading. It is indeed my pleasure to be able to do this also as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee.

Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā is a significant iwi hailing from the central North Island, but, despite being small in number, the Rangitāne tribal rohe covers a huge area. For too many years, as a result of the Crown’s actions, Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā went without recognition. In an early Crown consensus, their identity was subsumed into other local iwi of the area, despite claimants to the Native Land Court making claims on the basis of their Rangitāne identity. Even today it is believed that many Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā do not realise that they are descendants of the iwi. Despite being small in number, Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā has the second-largest land area covered in a settlement, behind only the vast areas covered by Kai Tahu. It is good to hear that there has been a recent resurgence, actually, in Rangitāne identity, which I am sure can only be boosted by the passing of this bill.

I want to turn to some of the things that we discussed in the select committee process of this particular bill, particularly during the submission stages and the hīkoi, or the journey, to this second reading here today. One issue that was raised was the place of Te Hika o Pāpāuma, which is recognised in the settlement as a hapū of Rangitāne. Te Hika o Pāpāuma submitted that they should be recognised separately as a large natural grouping for the purposes of settlement regulations. When looking at this situation, though, we saw there was actually a distinct identity separate from both Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu. The Crown prefers not to negotiate at individual hapū or whānau level, preferring the large natural groupings, but believed that to do so in this case would have actually been appropriate. This is something that the committee considered very, very seriously. We have no desire to undermine the basis on which the Crown negotiates with large natural groupings. However, we recognise that Te Hika o Pāpāuma does have a distinct identity within Rāngitane. Our conclusion was that the most appropriate way to recognise this distinct identity would be to attach an index to the deed of settlement that refers to instances where Te Hika o Pāpāuma is mentioned in the deed.

We also had similar issues raised by the Wai 1950 claimants, the hapū of Ehetere Kawemata Rautahi. This hapū affiliates to Rangiwhaka-ewa and is therefore included in the claimant definition of this settlement. Again, we considered this issue very, very seriously. We considered this issue very seriously. However, in the end we had to conclude that because of the Wai 195 claimants, which were recognised there as a hapū of Rangitāne, it was appropriate that they be included in this final settlement.

Moving on to the redress included in the deed of settlement, we had submitters suggest that the redress including the Ngaumu Crown forest land and the former Lansdowne School should be reclassified from cultural redress to commercial redress. These submitters have a point, which was made very, very well. However, I do not think it is the role of the Māori Affairs Committee to change the specifics of redress that have already been negotiated, agreed, and, ultimately, approved by the claimant community.

We were also asked to give Rangitāne one further seat on the Pūkaha board, where they currently hold one. This would ensure that Rangitāne’s cultural footprint in Pūkaha / Mt Bruce would never be lost. This issue was not raised in the negotiations with the Crown prior to the bill’s introduction, and it is not something that would be appropriate for us to now insert at this stage. We did encourage Rangitāne to take this up with the Pūkaha board.

I want to thank everyone here from Rangitāne who submitted to the select committee, and also for the manaaki that was shown to our committee when we went for the kanohi ki te kanohi submissions hearings. I want to acknowledge that there was indeed a very, very—we believe, compared with a number of other Treaty settlements, the manaaki that was shown reflected in some ways the kotahitaka that has taken place with Rangitāne in regard to this bill.

It was an honour to be involved in the process, and I look forward to speaking again on the remaining stages of this particular bill. I wish Rangitāne well, and I assure you that we do have a very, very succinct and direct process and that every settlement bill that comes before us has, in some ways, a lot of commonality with others but in some ways is quite different. On that note, I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe, otirā, e Te Iwi mai i Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua tae atu ki Te Wairarapa, e tū ana ki te mihi ki a koutou katoa, ōku rau rangatira mā, kui mā, koro mā, mokopuna, tamariki hoki, tēnā koutou, nau mai, tēnā koutou, nau mai, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you, and at the same to you the people from Dannevirke, and across to the Wairarapa, I rise to acknowledge you, all my esteemed ones and others, elderly women and menfolk, grandchildren and children also, salutations and accolades to you collectively, welcome, come hither, my appreciation to us all.]

It is indeed an honour to support the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill at the second reading. Can I acknowledge the iwi who have turned up here in the gallery today. Like my colleague Adrian Rurawhe, I acknowledge that it is always exciting and promising for the future when we have our rangatahi in the gallery. So, again, I offer my warm, warm greetings to you all here today.

There are a couple of people I want to also acknowledge who have been previously acknowledged by other speakers, and they are the original claimants—the individuals, the whānau, and the hapū—who have really set the Rangitāne settlement in chain. For those who are here and those who are not here, I mihi to them. I mihi to our negotiators, who have brought this to the House today, and also to the current chair, Mavis Mullins—it is lovely to see you out at the front there, Mavis—and, of course, to the other trustees of the Tū Mai Rā post-settlement entity group: Warwick Gernhoefer, the deputy chair; Jason Kerehi; Yvette Grace; and Edward Pearse. For your stewardship in terms of where we are at this second reading, kei te mihi ki a koutou katoa.

Particularly for the rangatahi who are in the House today, by way of explanation of what we are actually doing here, this is the second reading. Every piece of legislation that becomes law in this House has three readings: the first reading, when we all come into the House and explain what we are trying to pass; the second reading, which we are doing right now; and then the third reading, which is the third and final reading before the bill becomes law. Like many in this House, we want to do this in the most timely and quick manner so that we can acknowledge Rangitāne’s full and final Treaty settlement, and then the iwi is left to continue on its way. I just wanted to take the time to explain that for our rangatahi in the House.

I too want to acknowledge the work of the Māori Affairs Committee. I want to acknowledge the submitters who came before the select committee to raise the issues. I do not want to traverse what Minister Finlayson and committee chairman, Nuk Korako, have, particularly on Te Hika o Pāpāuma or any other claimant groups—I think you have acknowledged that—but there are some issues unique to this particular settlement that I do want to talk about.

When I read both the report from the select committee and, of course, the submission from Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust, there are a couple of unique characteristics that I just want to comment on. One is to acknowledge the vast, overlapping interests of Rangitāne’s settlement. Normally when you are settling Treaty claims, you have got an iwi north of you and you have got an iwi south of you, or you might have an iwi west of you, or you might have an iwi east of you, and these are really important because you are obviously going to have what are called shared interest areas. When I look at Rangitāne’s, I have got to acknowledge the vast number of cross-claims and iwi that you have had to navigate yourself through to get to where we are today. I just want to acknowledge that, because not everyone is going to be happy. Rangitāne is not going to be happy, and nor are those surrounding iwi going to be happy.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Treaty settlements, that is one of the fallouts that happen when you are surrounded with so many iwi—they will say that they have shared interests in the areas that Rangitāne have. That we are here today indicates the work and the negotiation that has gone on to bring us here. So I just want to acknowledge the overlapping interests of the vast number of iwi that surround Rangitāne.

The other characteristic that I want to raise—and it was not addressed in the Māori Affairs Committee—is the shared redress bill that was identified in the Tū Mai Rā submission to the Māori Affairs Committee. Specifically, in its submission where it talks about—in paragraph 17, it says: “In that regard, the Bill does not give effect to redress relating to the following: (a) Joint vesting of the Mataikona property; (b) Joint vesting of the Mākirikiri Gravel Reserve; (c) Joint vesting of the bed of Lake Wairarapa; (d) the Statutory Board for the management of Wairarapa Moana; (e) The vesting of the Mākirikiri Recreation Reserve and Mākirikiri Scenic reserve in the tupuna, Te Rangiwhaka-ewa.” In the next paragraph in the Tū Mai Rā submission to the select committee, it goes on to talk about how: “The Shared Redress Bill is to be introduced to the House of Representatives following the introduction of the Bill and before the introduction of the Ngāti Kahungunu Settlement Bill. There are currently negotiations and further discussions needed to finalise the redress to be included in the Shared Redress Bill.”

I guess, to the Minister who is here and, obviously, the chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee—just to give, I guess, some clarity to Rangitāne, given that we are debating and supporting their settlement bill at second reading, it is really, as I read it, premised on these outstanding areas in terms of the shared redress bill. I think the House, or this side particularly—OK. I would be really interested to know what time lines we can expect around this shared redress bill, and I am pretty sure Rangitāne would want some clarity of when that is actually going to happen, given we are passing their Treaty bill, which is very much dependent on these outstanding issues, as I read it. Perhaps somebody from the committee, or the Minister, may take that up and give some assurances to the House and Rangitāne, particularly, as to when we are going to get to the shared redress bill. Are we going to do it before the House lifts, or is that something for when Labour takes the Government benches in September, later this year? You will miss that one. [Interruption] It is OK, we will take care of it. We will take care of it.

Hopefully, by the third reading we will have some clarity around that particular issue. But I think it is important that it is raised in this House, particularly as we are doing the Rangitāne settlement bill.

Can I just say, in closing, that the Minister did acknowledge the mandate and representation challenges of Treaty settlements. I absolutely agree. I absolutely agree that we are always going to have mandate and representation challenges through Treaty settlements, and I absolutely believe that it is not the role of the Crown to determine who is mana whenua or who has tribal identity.

One of the issues—in response to the Minister’s statements—is the fact that when we do set up these entities and we do acknowledge the role of the Crown and try to make up for what has been taken off our people, there are always going to be issues around those who feel left out. When I look at this particular settlement—and I just note, for the House, that we have 3,000 members of Rangitāne. In terms of the ratification of the deed of settlement in the report, 23.1 percent of eligible voting members actually participated in the deed of settlement, and 23.1 percent of 3,000 eligible voting members is actually 690 people. But I do note that we got a 10 percent gain when it came to the post-settlement governance entity, where 33 percent of eligible Rangitāne members voted, which is 990 out of 3,000.

Absolutely, Minister, there are some mandating issues, but it is also a valid question to remind our iwi authorities that we need to lift participation for those who are eligible and feel that they have some skin in this game, because that is what we are trying to do in terms of passing legislation for all descendants of Rangitāne. I know, with Mavis, who is the Māori woman who is winner of Business Woman of the Year—ngā mihi to you, Mavis—that, well, it is in good stead and that Rangitāne will be able to take this forth once we get to the third reading. But it is just an issue that I want to leave on the table for Rangitāne, to ensure we get wider participation for the people in the uri of Rangitāne. That is where we are starting to get real. I think, particularly when I look at those mokopuna, that the benefits will be realised. I commend this bill to the House.

It is with great pleasure that I am here today to speak in support of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill in its second reading. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge all those in the gallery, and also those who are not in the gallery—those who have passed before us. It is really nice to see you here. I always have a very positive experience when I am with the people of Rangitāne. I will come back to the rangatahi who are sitting on my left-hand side—a very important group of people. But I will come back to them in a moment.

The detail of how far we have come has been traversed very well across the House. I am not going to go into detail on that, but only to say that I have a huge amount of empathy for the struggle that has occurred over generations in respect of all the settlements that come into this House. These people were, essentially, ripped off. They were ripped off for over 100-plus years, and this is only a small, in some ways, settlement or recompense for the crimes, the deeds, that were done in the past.

But it takes a big man—to use the term—or a big person, to accept the apology. That is my point here today. It takes a big person to say: “I accept the apology that you are offering.” Without that acceptance, there is no point in us being here. There is no point in saying there is a settlement when, in fact, an aggrieved person continues to be angry, continues to be aggrieved, and continues to be dissociated from the community because of that anger.

I commend the Rangitāne people for doing exactly that—for burying the hatchet—because it is important that it is buried. The people, the rangatahi on the left of my view, and the people in the middle—the people who are more my age—have the attitude that things will get better, not because of the settlement per se, but because they have the attitude that they can bury the hatchet and get on with things.

This is very symbolic, but it is not going to solve the issues that we all face when we get out of bed every morning at 6.30 or 7, or even 9 o’clock in the morning, for some people—I will not name any names. It is important for those rangatahi here, who are taking up the mantle, and taking on the task of telling the story. Part of the issue that I have with the whole process is that the stories are not told. We, out there in the real world, do not get to hear about some of the issues that have faced iwi. There are some who just do not accept these settlements should be taking place. They do not accept that there are—well, they just choose to ignore it, actually—aggrieved parties.

I say that we, on both sides of the House, need to continue to tell the story, and that is part of the reason we are here today. Also, it is the responsibility of iwi to tell their own stories to the general public, not just to the young folk in the iwi.

So I commend the people, the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā, to take this forward and to move forward, and I particularly want to note the gifting back of the Pūkaha / Mount Bruce conservation area—a fantastic gift. I go there regularly, and I am always very pleased to see someone there from Rangitāne. I look forward to the third reading of this bill, and I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the people who are here today in the gallery and the people who are watching at home: the people of Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, and the people of Rangitāne o Wairarapa.

It is a privilege to speak on a Treaty settlement bill, and so it is with great pleasure that I rise to speak on the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill. I was not part of the select committee hearings process that resulted after the first reading, so I did not get to listen to the submissions that were conducted in the Hawke’s Bay. However, I have read through the submissions as they appear on the website and as they were sent in. There were 12 submissions in all, and there were six that were heard.

The submissions themselves are really interesting and, having read the settlement deed and having read the legislation as well, I am left with some sympathy and concern for some of those submitters. Other people, including Minister Finlayson, have said that it is not the role of the Crown to determine who makes up the iwi in terms of dealing with the settlements. However, we do have some concern about the fact that hapū are left in or out of settlement deeds. The role of the select committee is not to determine that at all, and we acknowledge that.

The role of the select committee is fairly limited in some ways. We cannot go back and negotiate the settlement because it has already been done. However, for the record, I need to state that the Greens do have a concern about Treaty settlements in that they may, in fact, continue to breach the Treaty of Waitangi because the Crown determines the large natural groupings to some extent. It decides whom it will negotiate with and when it will negotiate, and so there is no balance of power there. So we definitely do have some sympathy for Te Hika o Pāpāuma and also for the hapū of Ehetere Kawemata Rautahi, who are the Wai 1950 claimants.

In every Treaty settlement bill, the Greens always want to state and to get it on the record that we do not actually believe that these settlements are full and final. The reason we do not think that they are full and final is that even though these claims deal with grievances before 1992, we do not know the impact that the historical grievances will have on future generations. That is why we do not think it is final. In no way is this settlement full either, when you consider the losses that are outlined in the settlement deed and also in the bill itself. When you look at the losses, it is not a full settlement at all, and in order for us to move forward with this bill, I think we need to acknowledge that. That is why it is actually outlined in detail in the agreed historical record in the legislation itself.

We have to acknowledge that even though it is not a full settlement—and in no way is it—it is actually the best negotiation that could happen up to this point, because it is not to undermine the negotiations that have already occurred and the generations who have actually participated in trying to get these grievances recognised, either on the side of Rangitāne or on the Crown’s side. So I just want to assure the House that, actually, that is not our intention to undermine the negotiations that have happened, because this settlement is very hard-won.

We also state that it is not full and final, basically, because we need to recognise the generosity of the people in accepting this settlement, and we are concerned that the generosity that these people are showing will lead to further claims. One of my colleagues on this side of the House has already talked about the issue of cross-claimants, and so I also just want to acknowledge the work that has gone on, particularly with the iwi, to determine the way forward and the pathway forward for this. I also want to recognise that the cultural redress and the relationships that this iwi will be having, particularly with councils, are relationships for the future that are not always easy, so I want to wish them well in how that unfolds as well.

The financial redress is $32.5 million plus interest. Like Alastair Scott, the previous speaker, we acknowledge that there will be people out there who do not know the history of this settlement and who have not read the settlement deed or the legislation, and they will be saying the things that they always say, which are pretty racist, really—you know, they will be saying that this is the Treaty gravy train. That offends me to my soul because it is not, and anybody who has had a passing look at this legislation would understand that. Yes, I believe that there is a requirement for us to teach the history of the people of this land to a much wider audience so that we can combat that.

The $32.5 million is a drop in a hat when we compare it with some of the other payments that this Government has made, like the bailout of South Canterbury Finance, which was $1.2 billion. This is a very small amount. It did not even lose its land.

But, anyway, this bill is about the future. In the third reading we will talk more about the future, but for today’s reading—the second reading—we just need to acknowledge all that has happened during the select committee process. We also want to restate that we should be congratulating the iwi on accepting this deal as well, because it is the best they can get. It does put Rangitāne on a more secure economic footing. We acknowledge that. We acknowledge that it is time to celebrate that, and so we will be supporting this to the final reading, which will be the next one.

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker. Ēngari, i mua o te haere tonu ō ōku kōrero, e mihi kau ana ki a koe e Nuk, nāu i whakarite i ā tātou ki Te Runga Rawa, kia īnoi atu ki a ia kia hōmai wana korowai aroha ki runga i a mātou i roto i Te Whare nei, i ēnei o ngā manuhiri kua tae mai nei i waenganui i ā tātou i te rā nei nā reira, tēnā koe! Ā, tēnā hoki koutou ngā whānau i haramai ki konei ki te tautoko i te pire nei. Ka nui ngā mihi ki a rātou i ngāro atu i te tirohanga kanohi! Ētahi atu o rātou i tū kaha nei ki te hāpai i tēnei kaupapa. Nā koutou te hunga ora, nā tātou hoki, ka kite ai i te taenga mai o tēnei pire ki mua i te aroaro o Te Whare Pāremata, nā reira, nau mai, haere mai!

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. Before I continue with my comments, I truly acknowledge you, Nuk. You are the one who led the prayer for us to the Almighty Above and asked Him to place His loving cloak over us in this House and upon these of the visitors who have arrived here amongst us today, and so thank you. So salutations to you the families as well, who came here in support of this bill. The tributes to them who are lost from view are enormous. Some of them stood resolute in support of this matter, and consequently you collectively, the living, and we as well witnessed the arrival of this bill before the House. Therefore, welcome; come hither!]

I just want to acknowledge Nuk Korako, our minister, our priest, for today’s session, and to acknowledge those of our visitors who have come to witness this second reading of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill.

I want to acknowledge particularly those who have been to the forefront of this claim and who are with us today. I understand that Mavis Mullins, Ron Karaitiana, and Jason Kerehi are present in the House. I just want to acknowledge them, because I know that it has not been an easy task for them or for anyone who has chosen to carry this kaupapa for their iwi, for their hapū, and for their whānau, because invariably there will be members of their iwi, of their whānau, and of their hapū who are not happy with the final settlement. But be that as it may, in the face of all that adversity, they have been responsible for bringing this bill to this House for its second reading.

While I am acknowledging people I also want to acknowledge my colleague Ron Mark. Reference was made to a number of cross-claims. Ron was a negotiator for one of those cross-claimants, but he also acknowledges his Rangitāne side and his connection with Hurunui o Rangi Marae. He is in the House to make sure that I support this bill. I say it with some jest, in that being cross-claimants you are actually trying to get more than the other claimant, yet when one group is ready to settle, all of a sudden we are part of that whānau, and so we see that with Ron today.

But I just want to say that this bill is seen to be a full and final settlement of this claim, and I can recall when we heard submissions that one claimant said that “While we are not happy, we must move on.” What we see today is an example of an iwi group knowing that they will not be fully compensated for the loss that they have experienced, but wanting to move on and to look to the future.

One of those things when we talk about loss and the breaches by the Crown under the Treaty of Waitangi is that invariably it is about land and resources, but included in this claim are culture and the loss of language, and is it not ironic that in this day and age this very House has been passing legislation to ensure the survival of Te Reo Māori? I think that this claim, this bill, gives an example as to why we should be doing that.

So I want to acknowledge the members of the Māori Affairs Committee—even though I was one—in that we accepted the submissions that were made, to the extent that we could and were permitted to do so, and so we reported back to the House that the bill should proceed without amendment.

One speaker talked about the need to tell stories. I agree with that because, unfortunately, there seems to be a growing level of discontent by those who are not aware of the actual history surrounding these claims, and so that is leading to discontent amongst the wider community. I want to say also that while we have that opportunity to tell this history, there is also the option for claimants to go into direct negotiations. While that might be encouraged by the Crown, I want to say that for those who are contemplating settlement or have yet to settle, they should go through the process of telling their history so that it is recorded, and so that it is not left to certain people alone within the iwi to be responsible for ensuring that those stories are told.

Further, this particular claim is an example of the multiple cross-claimants who pervade in this area. I think it is important that we acknowledge the tenacity of those negotiators on behalf of this iwi to make its way through that minefield of cross-claims and to reach this stage.

I want to conclude by saying that while—as has already been stated—this is not full compensation, it does give rise to the need for our country to recognise the contribution and the sacrifice that such claimants make and give in order, first of all, to complete their claims but also to recognise the contribution that they make for the wider good. I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Otirā, koutou e hui nei i tēnei rangi ātaahua. Rawe te kite atu i a koutou me te hunga rangatahi kei ō koutou taha, ōku kui, ōku pou, ōku rahi, koutou katoa ngā kuia mōrehu kei waenganui i a koutou, koutou i whakamana nei i tēnei hui, tēnei Whare, ēhara nā tēnei taha, nā koutou! Nā reira, kai te pīrangi au te mihi atu ki a koutou, i whakapau werawera, i whakapau kaha i ngā tau kua hipa atu kia tae mai ki tēnei rangi, nei te mihi atu ki a koutou! Kai te mōhio koutou ko wai ō koutou e mahi kaha nei, e hāpai kaha nei, i tēnei o ngā whakatau. Kua rangona koutou ki te kōrero o ōku hoa, ōku hoamahi. He koha nui tēnei ki a Aotearoa! Me whakanuia tēnei whenua i a koutou mō ō koutou kaha ki te koha atu i ngā hara i waiho ki te taha, ngā mamae ka waiho ki te taha. Ko koutou tēnei e hāpai ana i ngā tikanga o ō tātau tūpuna o Rangitāne, o Kurahaupō, o Whātonga. Ko koutou tēnā, ahakoa te mamae, ahakoa te taumaha, kua tau tēnei pire, kua tau te raru nui kai waenganui i Te Karauna me te tangata whenua. Ka haere tonu ngā mamae me ngā nawe, hoi anō kua tae ki tēnei rangi kai te mihi atu ki a koutou!

Ā tēnei me Te Reo Māori, mōhio pai tātau o Te Wairarapa kua ngaro atu tō tātau Reo ēngari anō kai roto i ō tātau tamariki, mokopuna, ka whai oranga anō! Koirā te kōrero o tērā o ngā poropiti, a Paora Pōtangaroa! Nāna te kī mai, ka ngaro tō tāua Reo ēngari, kai te pai mā ngā tamariki Te Reo e whakahokia mai. Ēngari, kai runga i te pokohiwi ō koutou ngā kaiako o tēnei o ngā kura, Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, tēnā koutou, me ngā taura here i ngā tau kua hipa atu, ko rātau ngā mea hāpai i tō tāua Reo tae noa ki tēnei wā. Mōhio pai tātau i nāianei ki te pānui i tēnei, me Te Reo Māori, ka whai rongoā ko ngā kōrero o ō tātau tūpuna kua kitea i roto i ō rātau tuhinga. I nāianei kei a tātau Te Reo Māori hei pānui kia mōhio pai nō hea tātau, ā, taua hononga o Ngāti Hāmua ki a wai? Ki Ngāti Kahungunu, karekau, ki Rangitāne! Mōhio pai ana tātau i nāianei, kei runga i ō koutou pokohiwi tēnei kaupapa e hāpai nui nei, nā reira tēnā koutou! I tuku whakaaro au ki tērā o tātau whanaunga a Uncle Jim i tēnei wā, me tana hoa rangatira a Auntie Marg, Uncle Cookie, and Auntie Helen, mō Te Reo te take, mō Te Reo te take! I roto i Te Wairarapa kia mōhio pai tātau, ko Uncle Jim noa iho te koroua e mau nei i tō tāua Reo, mai i te wā he tamaiti a ia. Ko ia anake kai roto i Te Wairarapa!

Whai muri i a ia, ko tō tāua parata a Mike, kai te hāpai i te paepae o Te Oreore. Mean, you know! Ēngari i ako hoki ia i Te Reo i roto i Te Kuratini. Maumahara au ki taua wā, kāre i paku mōhio tātau ki Te Reo Māori! Hika! Kāre i taea te tautoko i te paepae me ngā waiata cos, kāre mātau i te mōhio i ngā waiata nā te ngarohanga o Te Reo, me ngā kōrero hōhonu o ō tātau tūpuna kai roto i aua waiata. I nāianei, ko koutou ēnā e hāpai kaha nei i te paepae me ō koutou waiata! I runga i tēnei, e whakaaro ana au ki tēnei o ngā waiata, mēnā kai te haramai koutou, tēhea atu? Mōhio au kai a koutou ā koutou rakuraku ēngari, kai te pīrangi au ki te waiata i tēnei o ngā waiata ki tō koutou taha! Āwhina mai, mōhio pai koutou ki tēnei o ngā waiata rongonui a Rangitāne.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, but at the same time, all of you gathered here on this beautiful day. It is wonderful to see you with the young ones at your side, my elderly women and menfolk, my numerous, and all of you surviving elderly matriarchs amongst you. Your presence legitimises this gathering, this House which does not belong to this side. It is yours. Therefore I want to acknowledge you collectively for the sweat and energy expended by you in the years gone by right up to this day. Salutations to you. You know who among you worked hard and supported this one of the settlements. You have heard what my fellow members and colleagues said. This indeed is a significant offering to New Zealand! This country must celebrate you on your efforts to gift the transgressions and hurts that were left to one side. You are indeed this lot that are supporting the customs of our ancestors of Rangitāne, Kurahaupō, and Whātonga. That is you then; despite the hurt and seriousness, this bill and the big problem between the Crown and the indigenous people has been settled. The hurts and imperfections continue, and as a result this day has been reached and so I congratulate you collectively!

Now, in regards to this and the Māori language, we of the Wairarapa know all too well that our language is lost but it lives on in our children and grandchildren. That is what one of the prophets, Paora Pōtangaroa alluded to. He said that our language will be lost but that is fine, the children will bring it back. But the responsibility will be on your shoulders. Teachers of this one of the schools in Dannevirke, I commend you collectively, and the kinship links in the years past. They were the ones who supported our language right this moment. We know now how to read this and the Māori language, the stories of our ancestors, as seen in their writings receives a tonic. Right now we have the Māori language to read so that we really know where we are from and that connection of Ngāti Hāmua to whom? To Ngāti Kahungunu, no, to Rangitāne! We know that this matter, which is supported greatly now, is on your shoulders. So congratulations to you collectively!

At this moment, I give a thought to that one of our relations, Uncle Jim and his wife Auntie Marg, Uncle Cookie and Auntie Helen, the reason being for the language, for the language! In the Wairarapa we need to understand well that Uncle Jim is the only elderly man that has our language from the time he was a child. He is the only one in the Wairarapa. After him it is that brother of yours and mine, Mike, he supports the speechmakers’ bench at Te Oreore. Mean, you know! But he learnt the language at polytech. I recall that time we did not know a thing about the Māori language! Heck! We weren’t able to support the speechmakers’ bench with the songs cos we did not know the songs due to the language loss, and we did not know the esoteric stories of our ancestors that were in those songs. Right now, there you are supporting the speechmakers’ bench strongly with your songs! As a consequence of this I am thinking about this one of the songs and whether you or someone else will come forward. I know you have your guitars with you but I want to sing this one of the songs with you! Come and help, you know this one of the famous Rangitāne songs really well!]

Tini whetū ki te rangi, Rangitāne ki te whenua.

I kī ai he iwi hūmārie, maranga, tū mai rā.

Tū mai rā, tū mai rā, ngā uri o Rangitāne.

Whakamau i ō tūpuna, tō whakapapa rangatira.

Me mau tonu ki ngā hononga o ngā karanga maha ō roto rā.

Nā reira, Rangitāne mā, tū mai rā, tū mai rā e.

Oh beautiful! Nā, rangatahi mā, mokopuna mā kua whānau mai koutou i roto i Te Reo, kua tupu mai koutou i roto i Te Reo, me mau kaha koutou ki tō koutou Reo Māori. Ēhara tēnā i te kōrero mō ō koutou mātua, ō koutou koroua, kuia. Karekau tō tāua Reo i ahau e tipu ake, karekau he kura pēnā i a koutou te whakaako ki a au i ngā kōrero me ngā hītori o ō tātau tūpuna, Mīriaha, Mīriaha Vern! Kei tērā paku wāhi i nāianei tata ki Eketāhuna, ki Pūkaha, Mīriaha, tēnā tangata rongonui i haere atu ki Te Privy Council, ki tāwāhi ki te whawhai kaha nei mō te whenua, Mīriaha, mea mai ia.

[Now, you young ones, grandchildren, and others, you have been born within the language. You grew up in it. You must hold on to your Māori language strongly. That instruction is not for your elderly parents, elderly men, and womenfolk. I did not have your Māori language as I grew up. I did not have a school like yours to teach me the stories and histories of our ancestors; Mīriaha, Mīriaha Vern, that small place now close to Eketāhuna and Pūkaha. Mīriaha, that famous person who went to the Privy Council, who went overseas, who fought hard for the land; Mīriaha he said to me: “Hey mate, I don’t need you to come and survey my land. I’ll tell you where my land is.”]

It cost him only a pound. They wanted to charge him £1 to survey his own land. He said: “Excuse you, it’s not about the money.” He had money coming out of his ears, Nireaha. He owned a hotel. Everybody stopped there, right in the old tai-ā-pure nui a Whātonga. They had chopped those forests down, and now they had to come down on a coach, so he built a hotel—of course he did.

He took his case to the Privy Council and taught himself Latin. Nireaha taught himself Latin. English—that was easy. Māori he got in a heartbeat. He taught himself Latin so that he could take his case to the Privy Council, and he won. Excuse you, everybody else—excuse them, excuse us.

Tino harikoa au mō tēnei rangi. I roto i tēnei tō koutou pire tētahi paku wāhanga e whakatikahia ngā ingoa Māori o ngā wāhi, Remutaka tēnā koutou! Kai roto i tō koutou pire, kua whakatikahia ngā ingoa o te kāinga, Remutaka, Haukōpuapua, Pūkaha. He mea nui tēnā ki a tātau aua ingoa! I nāianei kai te mōhio tātau ki Te Reo Māori me hāpai i ngā ingoa tika o te takiwā. Nā reira, kai te tuku mihi ki a koutou anō rā! Whakatikatika i ngā raru me ngā mahi hē o ngā tau kua hipa atu! Hoi anō, kai roto i te tekau hēkona, kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi ki a koutou, haere tonu rā! Tū mai, maranga mai, Rangitāne mā! “Tini whetū ki te rangi, Rangitāne ki te whenua”, tēnā tātau katoa!

[I am very delighted about this day. Within this bill of yours is a small part that amends Māori place names, Remutaka. Well done! The place names Remutaka, Haukōpuapua, and Pūkaha have been corrected in your bill. Those names are important to us. We know the Māori language now must support the correct names of the region. And so I extend an appreciation to you collectively once again. Amend the problems and faulty tasks of years gone by. And so within the 10 seconds I have left, I want to congratulate you collectively. Continue to go forward. Arise, stand up Rangitāne and others! “Like the many stars in the sky, so too is Rangitāne upon Earth.” My appreciation to us all!]

Tēnā koe. Tēnā koe, aku whānau whānui o Rangitāne rāua ko Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, ā, nau mai, haere mai! Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Whare Pāremata i tēnei rā, i te rā whakahirahira, nau mai, haere mai! Ngā mokopuna, nau mai, haere mai!

[Thank you, and to you my extended family of Rangitāne and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, welcome, come hither! Welcome, come hither to Parliament on this day of significance; welcome, come hither! Welcome grandchildren, come hither!]

I want to say welcome to you, mokopuna. I heard what Meka said about this being a historic day, and, as I look up into the gallery, I see some of you are a little bit asleep. You have had to wake up early because your kuia and koroua got you up early, but kei te pai, kei te pai. I understand that. When I was a little girl, my Uncle Kuki said to me that it does not matter if you go to sleep when they are reciting whakapapa on the marae, because you are hearing and you are absorbing. You are absorbing, so kei te pai. Kei te pai.

I want to acknowledge my Mum, who is sitting up in the gallery today—she is 85 years old; she is in her 86th year—and I want to acknowledge Mum’s sister, Auntie Hoagy, who was married to Uncle Kuki. They worked really hard to get to this place today. While Mum has spent most of her adult years out of Masterton, Mum always kept connected, and Uncle Kuki always made sure that Mum was connected, to the goings on of the whānau in the Wairarapa. So that is why I stand and I acknowledge Mum.

When Mum came here last year to first put a signature on the deed, I said to her: “Come on up and sign—put your signature against this deed.”, and my Mum said: “Oh no, no, no, no, no.” I say to you now, Mum, that I told you a little bit of a tiko that day, because I said to you: “Come on, Mum. The Minister said he wants to see you up here.” So Mum turned around and said to our whānau sitting there: “The Minister wants me to sign it.” So, Mum, it was a little bit of a tiko, but I got you up there. I am so pleased that I did get you up there, because we have photos and your daughter and your son, who are overseas, saw it, and we are very proud of you, Mum. So I just want to acknowledge you, Mum.

I want to acknowledge our lead negotiators for our iwi. Jason Kerehi, you did a great job in getting the bill to where it is now, in its second reading. You have worked hard. I know that you will have had a lot of people in your ear, going “Rrr, rrr, rrr.”, but you held your ground, and that is why we are here today. I want to acknowledge my cousin Ronald, who is sitting up in the gallery as well, for some of his advice—I am sure that he was one of the many voices in your ear, as well—and Tīpene Crisp, who is sitting up in the gallery also.

I want to acknowledge Mavis Mullins, the chair of Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā. Mavis, you have done some wonderful things in your life. I want to acknowledge the fact that you are one of our wāhine toa for Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua, and you continue to do that and lead the light for wāhine in our area. So I just want to acknowledge and thank you, Mavis, for all the great work that you do in shining a light on our whānau of Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua.

Most of my colleagues will have spoken about what is in the bill for you today. It is our second reading. There are only a couple more things to go and we can watch this bill reach Royal assent, and you can start moving on in your economic development, which is something that I have been waiting to see for many years for Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua.

I am really proud to be part of an iwi that gives back a reserve, Pūkaha. I noted in a comment that you made, Mavis, that the gifting back of Pūkaha from the iwi is a very great thing, but also that some of the iwi may wish to go and roll around down there when they want to. I hope to see our people down there as well.

My kōrero is not going to be long because it is only just the second reading, but in closing I want to say that it is good to see everybody here. I want to also mention that in the House today we heard a member talk about the completion of Māori bills. I can positively say that on the side of the House we do not talk, talk, talk, but we deliver, and that is our mantra. Leading into this—and I did not want to do this—next election, this side will be delivering for all New Zealanders. With that I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.

Ka noho tonu ahau ki roto i Te Reo Māori mō te roanga o taku kōrero, hei. Hei tīmatanga kōrero māku “Ko te amorangi ki mua, ko te hāpai ō ki muri”, tāku e mihi atu nei ki a koe e Tutehounuku. Kua whai wāhi te whakaaro o tēnā, o tēnā o tātau ki Te Kaihanga, hei whakarite i tō tātau nohoanga i te rā nei me te haumaru i ngā manuhiri kua tae mai ki roto i Te Whare Pāremata i te rā nei. Tēnei ka mihi atu ki a koe me te wehi tonu ki tō tātau Kaihanga kia toro mai tana ringa manaaki, tana ringa atawhai ki runga i a tātau e koropiko atu nei. “He tātai whetū ki te rangi mau tonu, mau tonu, mau tonu, he tātai tangata ki te whenua ka ngaro noa, ngaro noa, ngaro noa.”

Ka kohikohi haere ahau i ngā aituā maha kua wahaina e Te Whare i te rā nei, ka tāpae atu ki te tāhūhū o tō tātau Whare. Ka tangi atu, ka mihi atu ki ngā mate, haere, haere, haere!

Ka whakanuia e tātau Te Iwi Māori i te wahanga o te tau e kīia nei ko Matariki. Ko te whetū, ko Puanga ka whakairihia ake rā ki runga i a Ranginui e tū nei ahakoa ka pānui ahau i ngā pukapuka o te nāianei me te kī atu, e hia nei ngā whetū o Matariki. Ka whakaaro ake, he wā mō te pai, he wā anō mō te pōuri, nō reira, rātau ki a rātau, ka whakahokia mai ngā rārangi kōrero ki a tātau e Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnā koe, kāti rā tēnā tātau katoa.

Ka tautoko atu ahau i ngā kōrero a Te Minita i te tīmatanga o tēnei wahanga i te ata nei. Kua kōrero mai a ia mō ētahi o ngā āhuatanga e pā ana ki tēnei pire, e pā ana ki ngā nekehanga katoa o ngā pire pēnei nā e tatū ana i ngā take Tiriti o te wā, e tatū ana i ngā nawe o Te Iwi Māori mai i te taenga o Te Pākehā tae noa mai ki tēnei wā. Kua kōrero mai Te Minita mō ētahi o aua āhuatanga, hei tīmatanga ake, ka whakakao ake i ētahi o ngā kōrero kua kōrerohia mai e Te Minita e pā ana ki ngā mea nei te kōrero, ki ngā whakapapa o tātau Te Māori.

Kua roa rawa atu ahau e mea atu ana, ē, ko te mate o te ture ka whakataiapangia Te Māori. Koinā te mate o te ture. Ka kī atu anei ko tetahi Māori me tana taiapa, anei ko tetahi Māori me tana taiapa, me kaua koe, koutou e harirū, e whakawhanaunga ana i a kōrua, nē? Otirā, ki roto i Te Reo Pākehā “overlapping interests”. E hoa, ko te āhuatanga tērā o Te Māori, me kaua koe e kī mai “Aww, nō tēnei iwi anahe koe, me karo atu koe i te mana me te whakapapa o tō māmā, o tō whāea hoki.” nē? He raruraru tēnā.

Nō reira, hāunga rā ko ngā raruraru e pā ana ki te whakapapa o Te Māori, me kaua tātau e whakaaro ko te whakapapa o te Māori, ko te toto anake, kāhore; ko te whakapapa ki te whenua, ko te whakapapa ki te moana, ko te whakapapa ki ngā wai, ki ngā maunga. Me kaua te tangata e pōhēhē, ko te whakapapa e pā kau atu ana ki te tangata anake, kāhore! Koinā te āhuatanga o Te Māori. Ka kite atu ahau ki roto i te tini o ngā pire pēnei nā, ki roto i Te Whare nei, tērā raruraru ka piua tonu mai, ka piua tonu mai, ka piua tonu mai.

Nō reira, ka mihi atu ahau ki Te Minita me Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri i ngā Take Māori, tā te mea, ka riro ki Te Minita me taua Komiti Whiriwhiri i ngā Take Māori te mahi nunui ki te āta wetewete i ngā kōrero, ki te whiriwhiri ko wai mā ka whai pānga ki tēnei pire, ko wai mā ka whai hua ki roto i tēnei pire. Nā, he mahi uaua tēnā, he mahi uaua tēnā. Ēngari ka whakaaro ake ahau ki ngā kōrero i wahaina mai e Rangitāne ki roto i ngā wā i tū koutou ki mua i te aroaro o Te Taraipiunara. Ko reira tātau kite atu ai i te mana o te whakapapa me te rongoā mō te take e kōrerotia ana e au i tēnei wā. Kai roto katoa i ngā kōrero a ngā mātua, a ngā tūpuna i whakakanohi ai i ngā kōrero me ngā mātauranga o ngā mātua tūpuna ki mua i te aroaro o Te Taraipiunara i ō rātau wā.

Nō reira kāti ake, ko tēnā te kōrero a Te Minita. Hoi anō tāku ki a koutou e ōku rangatira, otirā, ki a tātau e Te Whare hei whakamāori ake i tērā āhuatanga kia kite atu ai koutou i te rerekētanga o te tū o Te Māori me ngā pire, me ngā ture a Te Pākehā. Koinā te rerekētanga. Kāti, e ōrite ana tēnei pire ki te nuinga o ngā pire pēnei nā kua kite atu ki roto i tēnei Whare.

Ō kāti, ko tetahi atu kōrero a te Minita e pā ana ki te “mandate”, nē? Te “mana whakahaere”— koinā tetahi kupu mō tērā tūāhuatanga—ā, ko reira ka kite atu anō i ētahi o ngā raruraru ka pā ki tēnei kaupapa. He raruraru nui tēnā. Ka kite atu mehemea ka whakaae Te Karauna, ka kōrero atu ki tēnei rōpū, ēngari kaua ki tēnei rōpū. Ka kōrero atu ki tēnei hapū, ēngari kaua ki tēnei hapū. He raruraru tēnā. Ka hoki atu anō au ki tērā kōrero āku e pā ana ki te whakapapa o tāua Te Māori, nē? He mea rerekē anō tēnā, kāti, ki te wahanga tuatahi o te pire.

Ka kōrero mai te pire mō ngā whakapapa me te hītori, me ngā tūkinotanga a Te Karauna ki a Rangitāne i roto i ngā tau maha kua pahure ake nei. Me kaua tātau e pōhēhē ko aua tūkinotanga, ko te patu tangata anake, kāhore, engari ko te patu mana, ko te patu wairua, ko te patu i te mauri o ngā iwi, o ngā hapū o te rohe rā. Nō reira, i roto i te wahanga tuatahi, ka kōrero mai rā te pire mō tērā tūāhuatanga. I kite atu ahau i ngā pire katoa e pēnei nā, e ōrite ana ki tēnei. I roto i te wahanga tuatahi, ka whakairihia ake rā tēnei pire ki roto i te ture, i te tāpiritanga tuatoru o te Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. I kōrero tahi māua ko tōku tuakana mō tērā āhuatanga. Ka whakairihia ake rā koutou ki roto i te tāpiritanga tuatoru o taua pire, he mea whakahirahira tēnā. Nō reira, e mihi atu ana au ki tērā tūāhuatanga.

Kua tata pau hoki te wā ki a au, i āianei nā ka tahuri atu ahau ki te wahanga tuarua o te pire. E mea nei tēnei wahanga o te pire, ko te “cultural redress”, nē? Ko taua wahanga, ko ngā mea pai ki a au nei, ka taea e koutou te whiriwhiri me pēhea ngā rawa, me pēhea ngā taonga kōhuke kei raro i te whenua, kei runga anō hoki i te whenua; ko te kōhuke, ko ngā minerals, nē? Kei raro i te whenua, ko ngā mea kei runga i te whenua anō hoki. Ka kite atu ahau ki roto i taua wahanga, ka whakahokia atu. Ka taea e koutou te noho ki runga i te poari ki te whakahaere i ngā taonga kei roto i a koutou, arā, ko Te Awa o Manawatū. Ko ngā rawa, kua kōrero atu ahau mō ngā kōhuke me te kī atu, he mea pai te mahi ngātahi me ngā poari ā-rohe, ngā poari ā-motu, me Te Karauna anō hoki mō ngā āhuatanga nei.

Ko te mea pai ake ki a au i roto i tēnei āhuatanga, e tāpae atu ana ki te kōrero a Alastair Scott ka panoni e koutou. Ka taea e koutou te panoni i ngā ingoa Pākehā o tō koutou ake rohe, kia mārama pai ai te katoa ki te whakapapa, ki te hītori me te ingoa tika o taua rohe, he mea nui tēnā. Nō reira, ka mihi atu ahau ki tērā tūāhuatanga.

Ko te wahanga whakamutunga o te pire, hoi anō, ko tētahi atu o ngā raruraru ka puia ake nei ki roto i ngā pire, ko te mana hoko tuatahi, ko te right of first refusal tērā. Aini tātau, koutou, ka āta wetewete ka pēhea koutou ki roto i tērā tūāhuatanga. I roto i ngā hēkona whakamutunga o taku tū i te rā nei, e mihi atu ana au ki a tātau, me te pai hoki ki te kite atu i ēnei tūāhuatanga e tutuki ana e tātau, e Te Whare ki mua i te aroaro me te kanohi o ngā kaumātua, whānau, tamariki, mokopuna o Rangitāne. Nō reira, ka tū au ki te tautoko i tēnei pire me te āhuatanga o tō tātau noho i te rā nei. Kāti ake rā e Te Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa!

[I will remain in the Māori language for the duration of my contribution. As a commencement point for me “The leader to the front and workers at the back”, that is my tribute to you, Tutehounuku. Each one of us has given a thought to our Creator in his considerations of our being seated here today and, furthermore, to make it safe for the visitors who have arrived within Parliament on this day. I truly acknowledge you, and will remain in awe of our Creator and that He extends his hand of care and kindness over us as we bow here. “The starry hosts of heaven abide there forever, immutable.”

I gather up the myriad of the deceased that the House bore here upon its back this day and place them before the ridgepole of our House. I mourn and pay a tribute to the dead, depart, return, farewell!

We of Māoridom celebrate the part of the year called Matariki. It is the star Puanga that has been hung up on Sky Father standing before us, even though I have read the modern publications and have stated, Pleiades is made up of innumerable stars. I reflect and consider that there are good times and there are bad ones, so they, the dead, to themselves and I bring the lines of the contribution back to us; my appreciation to you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and to us all, enough.

I endorse the Minister’s comments at the beginning of this part this morning. He has spoken to us about some aspects concerning this bill and about all the movements of bills, like this one, that settle Treaty matters of the moment and Māoridom’s grievances from the time Europeans arrived here right up to the present moment. The Minister has mentioned some of those situations to us and, as a starting point, I gather up some of the contributions he talked to us about, these things that relate to our Māori whakapapa.

I have been saying for a long time that the problem with the law is that it fences off the Māori. That is the trouble with the law. It will say that here is a Māori with his fence, and here is another Māori with his fence, and you, as an individual and collectively, must never shake hands, must never get friendly with each other, OK? But at the same, in English, you have “overlapping interests”. Mate, that is the situation in Māoridom, and do not say to me “Aww, this belongs solely to this iwi, you must avoid the mana and whakapapa of your mother and of your auntie as well.”, OK? That is a worry.

So despite the problems about Māori whakapapa, we must never think that it is solely to the blood, not at all; whakapapa is to the land, sea, waters, and mountains. One should never mistakenly think that it relates solely to humanity only, not at all! That indeed is a Māori attribute. I see that problem in the countless bills like this one, being thrown into this House again and again and again.

Therefore, I really commend the Minister and the Māori Affairs Committee, because the onerous task is left to the Minister and the Māori Affairs Committee to critique the commentaries and to determine who indeed has an interest in this bill, who gains from the benefits within this bill. Now that is a difficult job, a tough one. But I really think about the talk that Rangitāne bore with them on their backs in those times you collectively came before the Tribunal. It was there that we saw the mana of the whakapapa and the remedy for the matter we are discussing at this moment. It is in all the contributions by the parents and grandparents who gave a face to the contributions and knowledge of the ancestral forefathers before the Tribunal in their times.

So enough, that then is the Minister’s statement. Accordingly, mine to you, my esteemed ones, but at the same time to us the House, is to put a Māori perspective to that situation so that you can see the difference between how Māori view the situation and Pākehā bills and laws. That is the difference. And so this bill is similar to the majority of bills like this seen in this House.

Hold on, another statement by the Minister referred to the “mandate”, OK? The “mana whakahaere”—another word indeed for that situation—and therein will some of the other problems that relate to this matter be seen. That is a big problem. It can be seen whether the Crown agrees to talk to this group but not to this group. It talks to this hapū but not to this hapū. That is a big problem. And I go back again to that statement of mine about the whakapapa of ours, the Māori, OK? That is a different thing again, so enough, and now to the first part of the bill.

The bill talks to us about whakapapa and the history and about the violations by the Crown to Rangitāne over the many years that have gone by. We must not think mistakenly that it was just those violations and the killing of a person, not at all, but rather the assault on the authority, spirit, and life force of the iwi and hapū of that territory. Therefore in the first part, the bill talks about that situation. I have seen in all the bills like this that it is the same. In the first part, this bill is elevated in law, in schedule 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. My elder colleague and I discussed that situation. You were indeed elevated in schedule 3 of that Act, that is just wonderful. Therefore I commend you in that circumstance.

The time for me has nearly expired, and right now I turn to the second part of the bill. This part of the bill says “cultural redress”, OK? The thing in that part that is good for me is the fact that you collectively will be able to determine how to deal with the resources and the treasured minerals under the land, and above it as well; the kōhuke, the minerals, OK? The ones under the land and the ones above it too. I note in that part that the minerals will be returned to you. You will be able to sit on the board to administer properties within your area, namely the Manawatū River. In terms of the resources, I have spoken to you about the minerals and advocate that working collaboratively with regional and national boards and with the Government, as well, in regard to these circumstances is a good thing.

The aspect in this situation that is far better to me is that it is a provision to the contribution by Alastair Scott that you will amend. You will be able to adapt the English names to your very own region so that the entire whakapapa, history is much clearer, and the name to that region is the right one, that is an important thing. And so I commend that kind of thing.

The final part of the bill, and indeed one of the problems thrown up in the bills, is the right of first refusal, te mana hoko tuatahi. Shortly you collectively and us will carefully analyse that kind of situation. In the closing seconds of my rising today, I congratulate us and how nice it is to see these kinds of situations being completed by us, the House, before the faces of elderly ones, family, children, and grandchildren of Rangitāne. Therefore, I stand in support of this bill and for the manner of our sitting here today. Salutations and acknowledgments to you collectively, and my appreciation to us all!]

Bill read a second time.