Ngāti Pūkenga Claims Settlement Bill

I need to say something about Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 354, because it does not deal with just technical matters so I will take honourable members through it. In my second reading speech I noted that the committee reported the bill back to this House on 5 July, and said that the committee recommended that it be passed without amendment. But then we have this SOP. This is a substantive amendment, and it is proposed in order to achieve a partial settlement of Ngāti Pūkenga’s claims in relation to Tauranga Moana.

Ngāti Pūkenga’s settlement, along with other Tauranga iwi and what is known as TMIC, the Tauranga Moana Iwi Collective redress deed, was a package to comprehensively settle Treaty claims in the Tauranga region. The SOP is proposed because there are still unresolved overlapping claims issues with neighbouring iwi over the moana, and that has made it impossible for Ngāti Pūkenga to progress with all their claims settled relating to Tauranga Moana. So what this SOP does is it excludes claims relating only to Tauranga Moana. It is an exception to Treaty policy but it is one I am comfortable with because the settlement has been delayed by actions of other parties, particularly in the Waitangi Tribunal, and I am very eager to support Ngāti Pūkenga’s aspiration to settle.

People always ask me, “Will this create a precedent?”, but I am confident that it is unlikely that a precedent will be set, because this is a very complex, and I would go so far as to use that much overused word “unique”, situation. Other iwi with harbour claims, such as Tāmaki Collective iwi have agreed to settle their harbour claims as part of their comprehensive settlement, but the redress will be negotiated at a later date. My intention is to settle claims to Tauranga Moana, including those of other Tauranga Moana and Hauraki iwi, in a stand-alone Tauranga Moana framework bill, once the various disputes between the parties are resolved.

Also, there are a couple of minor points. The SOP also proposes the following: first, to amend the 5-year sunset clause for the transfer of the joint Te Tihi o Hauturu redress to the alternative approach to transfer this property on the settlement date of the last iwi to settle. This change is proposed in order to align this transfer with the approach agreed with Hauraki iwi to the joint vesting of cultural redress. Secondly, the SOP makes a technical amendment to one legal description and there are other consequential changes, including consequential changes following the enactment of the Land Transfer Act 2017.

Ā, tēnā koe e Te Heamana o Te Whare, hoi anō tāku i tēnei wā e tuku mihi atu ana au ki Te Minita, mō tana whakamārama mai i te nekehanga o tēnei pepa tāpiri ki te pire, kei mua i te aroaro o Te Whare i te ata nei. Hoi anō, ko tā mātou i tēnei taha o Te Whare e mihi atu ana au, otirā, mātou ki te tū o Te Minita kia anga whakamua ai i ngā take a Ngāti Pūkenga ki roto i ngā take Tiriti, ki runga i Te Moana o Tauranga. Kua kite atu mātou ki roto i ngā wiki kua pahure ake nei, i ngā marama, i ngā tau kua pahure ake nei i te āhuatanga o ngā raruraru, ka pā ki ngā iwi ki ngā hapū o taua wāhi rā, nō reira, ka mihi atu ahau ki ngā panonitanga ki ngā kōrero kua tīnihia e Te Minita.

Kua tāpiri anō hoki e Te Minita ki te pire kei mua i te aroaro o Te Whare, me te kī atu ki Te Minita, tā te mea, kua kī mai ia, ēhara tēnei i te wā tuatahi, arā, he precedence, nē, ka whakaaro ake ahau mō te āhuatanga mō ngā tatūnga kerēme ki mua i te aroaro, kaua ko Tauranga Moana anake, engari, ka whakaaro ake mātou ko Kelvin Davis, ko Adrian Rurawhe, me ngā take e pā ana ki a Ngāpuhi, nē, tā te mea, ka whātoro atu ngā ringaringa o Ngāpuhi ki roto o Tāmaki-makau-rau? Hoi ano koinei tāku e mea atu ana, āe, he wā tuatahi tēnei mō tēnei tūāhuatanga, ā, ka mihi atu ahau kua whaiwhakaaro Te Minita kia āhua pēnei te haere o te pire e pā ana ki a Ngāti Pūkenga. Hoi anō, ko tā mātau hei kōrero mō te tautoko i tēnei tūāhuatanga ki runga i te rīpoata o Te Hansard i te rā nei, kāti e Te Heamana tēnā koe!

[My appreciation to you, Mr Chairman, and accordingly I acknowledge the Minister for his explanation about the movement of this Supplementary Order Paper to the bill that is before the Committee this morning. Accordingly, we on this side of the Chamber acknowledge him and indeed the stance taken by the Minister to progress matters pertaining to Ngāti Pūkenga with Treaty matters that are upon Tauranga. We have seen in weeks just gone by, and in the months and years just passed, the circumstance of the problems that have affected the tribes and subtribes of that place. Therefore I commend the changes to the comments made by the Minster.

The Minister has also added to the bill that is before the Committee, and I say to the Minister at the same time, because he said to us, this not the first time; in other words, it is not a precedent, OK? I think about the circumstance relating to claim settlements in the future, not just one solely for Tauranga but we and Kelvin Davis and Adrian Rurawhe think about matters relating to Ngāpuhi, OK, because Ngāpuhi’s hands reach out and right into Auckland. And so this indeed is why I have been saying, yes, this is a first time for this kind of thing, and I do commend the Minister’s thoughtfulness that this bill relating to Ngāti Pūkenga should go somewhat like this. And accordingly, we should be talking about supporting this kind of thing in the Hansard report on this day, and so enough, and thank you.]

In English, I would like to endorse what my colleague Peeni Henare has said in acknowledging the Supplementary Order Paper that Minister Finlayson has spoken about and acknowledging the complexities of overlapping claims and interests. As Peeni did say, up north, where he and I both come from, as well as Adrian Rurawhe and Pita Paraone—

💬 Peeni Henare: And everyone else.

—and everyone else, indeed—we are going to have similar issues when Ngāpuhi settle, and, in terms of the precedent, I agree entirely with the sentiments of the Minister. So with that, we will not drag this part of the Committee stage out any further, other than just to say that we acknowledge what the Minister has said.

It is a privilege and an honour to be able to stand here in the Chamber and to be able to endorse and support the passing of the Committee stage of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tamaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims—[Interruption] Sorry?

💬 Hon Members: It’s Ngāti Pūkenga.

Oh, Ngāti Pūkenga—you have moved on from there.

The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): Yes, we are on the second bill.

Well, I just wanted to do that anyway, mainly because all my whanaunga are up there in the gallery. I would just blend into that, then, the endorsement of comments that have already been made, because those same comments for this bill are reflected in the bill that, clearly, has just progressed before I walked in the door.

The issues that arise from those negotiations—having been the lead negotiator in a Treaty settlement—are very difficult and can be quite vexed. I would hope that for all the settlements that are progressing through the Committee today, and particularly those that relate to myself, those issues that stressed and troubled respective negotiations—not just those overlapping with other iwi, but internally, within the hapū, that took so long to be negotiated through—are finally resolved and settled between them. From here, once the bill goes through its third reading and is passed and is enacted, I hope that all involved through those very difficult negotiations are then able to look at it with new eyes as an opportunity now to work together and work collaboratively for the betterment of all and to maximise the strength that the settlement brings to them all.

I want to acknowledge the work that goes on behind, and I see Rick Barker sitting over there as a Crown negotiator, a former MP whom I worked very, very closely with. My experiences on the Rangitāne settlement, I have no doubt, will be the same experiences as for those who are negotiating on this settlement, as well. I just want to put on the record that I acknowledge that work, acknowledge the difficulty under which it was done, acknowledge the commitment of all those who were involved, including the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and the Office of Treaty Settlements staff. I am looking forward to seeing these bills progress through the third reading and on to enactment.

Kia ora, Mr Chair, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. I would just like to take a brief call in support of the Minister’s Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) 354. I live in the Hauraki and have many friends in Ngāti Pūkenga ki Manaia, and I often think, when I stand on these bills, that fools rush in where angels fear to tread, as a Pākehā.

I can make no judgment about many of these issues, except to say that time is an important aspect of settlements, and Ngāti Pūkenga have waited a long time, as have many others. We are here in this House to try to do justice, and part of doing justice is to expedite the settlement so that the people can have at least some redress; it is never full, it is never final, from the Green Party point of view. But we want to support the SOP and recognise that there are other issues that need to be worked through and played out in the rohe of Tauranga Moana.

We are really here just to support what the people want, and that is not a simple thing. It is not simple for them, because of the history of this country and what has been done through colonisation, but we recognise that the Minister is always looking for creative solutions, and this is a way in which these people who have come so far today—both literally and in terms of time—want to see this go ahead, so we support them. Kia ora.

The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 354 in the name of the Hon Christopher Finlayson, and the following amendments in his name to clauses 13A and 106, be agreed to:

in clause 13A(1)(a)(i), delete “Framework”; and

in clause 106(1), replace “register” with “record of title”.

Amendments agreed to.

Parts 1 to 3, schedules 1 to 4, and clauses 1 and 2 as amended agreed to.

House resumed.

The Chairperson reported the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tamaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill with amendment and the Ngāti Pūkenga Claims Settlement Bill with amendment.

Report adopted.