Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill. It is a real pleasure to have reached this stage, to present the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill to the House. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is an iwi centred on Clevedon with interests in Tāmaki, Hauraki, and Tīkapa Moana, and is a member of both the Hauraki and the Tāmaki collectives.

Since 1989 Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki have sought to negotiate the full and final settlement of their historic claims. The raupatu claims of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki were settled through the 1995 Waikato Raupatu settlement, but it took until 2010 for comprehensive settlement negotiations to be commenced. The Crown and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki signed an agreement in principle in 2011, and a comprehensive deed of settlement in November 2015. I acknowledge at once that it has taken a while to get to this stage—and I regret that—because of the close interconnectedness with the Hauraki matters that are not quite settled. But I have the impression that Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki are a forgiving lot and are pretty pleased that we have reached this stage now.

To those representatives of the iwi here today, nau mai, haere mai e ngā iwi, e ngā reo, e ngā mana, tēnā rā koutou katoa [welcome, come hither the iwi, voices, and jurisdictions, acknowledgments indeed to you all].

It is a real pleasure to have you in the gallery at last for the first reading of this legislation. It is, obviously, a special day for you and for the iwi as we take the penultimate steps towards resolving this longstanding Treaty grievance. Can I acknowledge those members of the iwi who have passed on during this long journey and could not be here today. There are always those people who have stood behind the claim for many, many years, but when the time comes for the legislation, they have passed on.

I commend the negotiators, the trustees, and all those who work behind the scenes for their tireless work in reaching in this point. I say this at every first reading, but it applies to every settlement: the immense sacrifices that have been made by the people of this iwi to hold the Crown to account for the grievances it has caused should, and will, never be forgotten.

As I do, I will recount the history, because it is important to read into the permanent record of the House just what happened and why we are here today. The Crown has acknowledged, through the deed of settlement, its failure to deal with the longstanding grievances of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in an appropriate way. From 1840 the Crown and the iwi sought to establish mutually beneficial relationships and transacted land that contributed to the development of Auckland and this country as a whole.

The Crown did not always protect the interests in those transactions, and breached its duties towards Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in respect of lands in Tāmaki, eastern Wairoa, Papakura, and the inner Tīkapa Moana islands, including, of course, Motutapu. The Crown broke its promise to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki that it would not confiscate the land of those who did not take up arms against the Crown during the Waikato War. It indiscriminately confiscated a 51,000 acre block in East Wairoa under the New Zealand Settlements Act, in which the iwi had interests.

Around the time the Compensation Court called for Māori to register claims in respect of East Wairoa, a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki rangatira, Ānaru Makiwhara, accompanied the commander of the Waikato native contingent to Tekūiti on business. Prior to his departure, he had not registered a claim for land in the East Wairoa block in which he and his whānau had interests. The commander had obtained an assurance from the Chief Judge that the court would not sit until he and Makiwhara were available to attend the hearing. So what happened? Makiwhara returned to Auckland before the expiry of the 6-month notice period required by the New Zealand Settlements Act to find that the Compensation Court had already sat to hear claims to the East Wairoa block. Despite repeated petitions to Parliament over 44 years, Ānaru Makiwhara did not see the return of his ancestral lands before he passed away in 1927 aged 85. Frankly, in the overall scheme of things, that is a really sad and appalling story.

The remaining lands of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki were alienated to the Crown and private purchasers through the 19th and 20th centuries. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki were left virtually landless with insufficient land for their present and future needs. The loss of communal ancestral lands had a severe impact on the tribal structure, alienating many whānau and their descendants not only from their lands but also from their iwi identity.

The Crown’s apology for these acts and omissions that breach the Treaty of Waitangi will be enshrined in legislation through the proposed bill. I say this every time, and I feel embarrassed to say it but I have to: it is not possible to compensate Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki fully for the loss suffered as a result of the Crown’s acts and omissions, but we hope that the financial and commercial redress provided to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki seeks to recognise those losses.

The settlement will provide financial and commercial redress to the iwi of $12.7 million, including commercial and deferred selection properties. This redress recognises the economic loss suffered by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki arising from breaches by the Crown of its Treaty obligations. The financial and commercial redress is aimed at helping the iwi and providing the iwi with resources to help them develop their economic and social well-being.

The settlement will also provide cultural redress, including the vesting of 16 sites of cultural significance and $50,000 for cultural revitalisation. The cultural redress recognises those traditional, historical, cultural, and spiritual associations of the iwi with places and sites owned by the Crown within the primary area of interest of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

Can I conclude by thanking my ministerial colleagues, the Office of Treaty Settlements officials, and officials from other agencies, particularly parliamentary counsel, for their extensive input in making this settlement possible. Once again I apologise that because of the various complexities associated with the Hauraki Collective settlement, it has not been possible to introduce the legislation as quickly as I would have liked, and I know that the iwi have needed to take various steps.

We are on the right path now. I am sure that the Māori Affairs Committee is really cognisant of the need to resolve the select committee stage of the bill as quickly as possible and get it back to the House, so that it can be passed very quickly in the new Parliament. I want to acknowledge the representatives of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki here today, thank them for being here, thank them for their forbearance—I was going to thank them for their patience, but the response may be “What patience?”, and justifiably so. But I look forward to seeing the bill progress through all its remaining stages as quickly as possible. I commend the bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o Te Whare. Kāti ake rā, tēnā tātau katoa. Whakaaro ake ana au, he aha te take ka noho tonu ahau ki roto i Te Reo Māori mō te pānuitanga o ngā pire pēnei nā? Ko te take, tā te mea, ko tātau anō te Māori i tūkinohia e te Karauna ki roto i ngā tau. Anā kua kōrero mai te Minita mō ngā mahi raupatu whenua ki roto o Ngāi Tai mai i Tāmaki, anga atu ki roto o Hauraki, heke iho ki roto i te wāhi a Tīkapa Moana. Nō reira, koinā te take ka ū tonu ahau ki Te Reo Māori kia rongo i te reo i rangona ai e ngā āpiha o te Karauna ki roto i ngā tau i tāhae e rātau i te whenua.

Kāti ngā mihi nui ki a koutou e Ngāi Tai kua tae mai. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, kua kōrero mai te Minita mō ngā mana me ngā whātoronga o Ngāi Tai ki roto o Tāmaki, anga atu ki roto o Hauraki, nā heke iho ki roto o Tīkapa Moana. Haere mai, haere mai, haere mai. Mauria mai ngā aituā maha kei runga i a koutou. Nō reira koutou e ngā aituā, haere, haere, haere. Nāna i kōwhaki ai i te kauwae o tērā e tangi mai rā, o tērā e tangi ake rā, o tātau e tangi atu nei. Koutou e ngā mate, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai. Ka whakahokia mai ngā rārangi kōrero ki a tātau te hunga ora tēnā koutou katoa.

Tuatahi, kua kōrero mai te Minita mō te āhuatanga o ngā take kerēme ki roto i te wāhi o Hauraki. Puta noa i te rohe o Tāmaki-makau-rau me te kī atu ki tēnei Whare, ā taihoa ake nei ko Te Tai Tokerau ka anga tonga nei ki roto o Tāmaki-makau-rau. Ehara tēnei i te mea ohorere ki a tātau nē? Ehara tēnei i te mea ohorere ki a tātau. Nā te ture i pēnei ai. Nā te ture i tōmuri ai te kerēme a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ki roto i ngā nekehanga o te wā. Ko te ture te take ka kī atu, anei koe me tō taiapa, anei koe me tō taiapa, me kaua kōrua e kōrero atu, me kaua kōrua e mahi ngātahi. Koinā te mate o te ture. Ko te kī atu, anā a Hauraki, anā a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, anā ko Ngāpuhi kei te raki, anā ko Ngāti Whātua ki roto o Tāmaki. Koinā te raru o te ture. Ka kite ake tātau katoa i taua raru ka puāwai mai ki roto i ngā kupu whakapāha a te Minita nei. Koinā te take i tōmuri mai a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ki roto i tō tātau Whare, ki te whakarongo atu ki te pānui tuatahi o tēnei pire.

Ā, e toru ngā wāhanga o tēnei pire. Kua kōrero mai te Minita mō te wāhanga tuatahi e mea nei te kōrero, he rīkoata nei i ngā tūkinotanga a te Karauna ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ki roto i te ture, ki roto anō hoki i ngā pepa nei. Tēnā pea ka whai whakaaro ngā mema Māori o tēnei Whare, i tētahi atu kupu kia kaua e kī a Peeni a “rīkoata” nei. Ka whakaaro ake tēnā ka whakairongia. Ka whakairongia te mana me ngā kōrero o ngā mātua tūpuna ki roto i te ture kāti. Koinā te wāhanga tuatahi o tēnei pire e pā ana ki ngā tūkinotanga a te Karauna ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, me tērā atu wāhanga e whakapāha nei te Karauna mō aua tūkinotanga i a Ngāi Tai ki roto i ngā tau.

Kaua e pōhēhē ko ngā mahi raupatu, nā, ka noho tonu ki ngā tau 1800s kāhore. Kāhore. Ka raupatungia e te Karauna i a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki mai i taua tāima, tae noa mai ki tēnei wā. Kua kōrero mai te Minita mō te tini o ngā eka i raupatungia e te Karauna. Ahakoa i kī mai a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ki te Karauna i taua tāima, rawa mātau e whawhai ngātahi ana ki roto i ngā pakanga i te wā i eke ai a te koti whero ki runga o Waikato. E aku rangatira, i kite atu ahau ki roto i te wāhanga tuarua o te pire, ka whakahokia e te Karauna i ētahi o ngā wāhi tapu, i ngā wāhi motuhake a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Kua kōrero mai te Minita mō ngā wairere ki roto o Hunua. Ka whakahokia atu tētahi wāhanga mana whakahaere nei ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Kia kaua tātau e pōhēhē, ka tukuna atu te katoa ki tētahi, kāhore. Tā te mea kei roto i te pire, ka wāwāhi nei i te mana whakahaere o taua wāhi a Hunua, ngā wairere a Hunua. I kite atu ahau, ko reira a Ngāti Koheriki, anā a Ngāti Tamaoho, a Ngāti Whanaunga anō hoki. Nō reira a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, ka whai mana anō koutou ki roto i tērā kāinga e kīia nei ko Hunua.

Ko ētahi atu o ngā kōrero kei roto i te pire, hei whakatikatika i ngā mea paku nei o te pire, arā ko te administrative detail nē? Ngā wāhi paku nei o te pire. Kite atu ahau, ka tukuna atu te Geography Board o Aotearoa nei, te tīni i te ingoa. Kīia nei, ka whai tohutō te wāhi e karangahia nei ko Mātaitai. Mātaitai. Kia kaua e Matataitai, kia Mātaitai. Ka kite atu ahau i ngā mema Pākehā o te Whare nei e kata ana, he aha te take e pēnei ai? Anei hoki te take. He mea rerekē te keke, ki te kēkē. He keke, a cake. He kēkē, he armpit, nē? He mea rerekē. Nō reira e tika ana ki roto i te pire, kia whakatikangia ngā kupu ingoa tawhito kei roto o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Anā, ko Mātaitai tēnā.

Huri tū atu ki te wāhanga tuatoru o te pire. Anā ko te mana hoko tuatahi, arā ko te right of first refusal. Kua kite atu ahau ki roto i taku tāima poto ki roto i te Whare nei, ngā tau e 3 kua pahure ake, kua raru te kāwanatanga nā runga i tēnei tūāhuatanga te right of first refusal nē? Te mana hoko tuatahi. Koinā te kupu Māori mō te right of first refusal, te mana hoko tuatahi. Ka kite ake tātau i ngā ture pēnei nā, ka kī atu anā, ka tukuna atu tēnei ki a koe, engari, ka tau ētahi atu kerēme e pā ana ki ngā take Tiriti o Waitangi nei. Ā ka kite atu ā kua whai pānga anō tētahi ki tēnei wāhi whenua. Ka whai pānga anō ki ngā mahi hanga whare ki roto o te tonga o Tāmaki, nē? Koinā tētahi o ngā āwangawanga kei roto i te pire nei. Kāre e kore ka tau ki roto i a mātau te rōpū whiriwhiri i ngā take Māori. Ko reira mātau āta wetewete, kia whiriwhiria ka pēhea nei tēnei e anga whakamua ai.

I rongo atu ahau i te Minita ka kī atu ki tēnei Whare, $50,000 ka tukuna atu ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, mō te whakapakari i a rātau anō, wā rātau kōrero, wā rātau tikanga. Torutoru noa iho tēnā. $50,000 nahenahe. Torutoru noa iho. Ka kite atu ahau i te rahi o te pūtea ka kī atu anō anā he torutoru anō tēnā. Nā runga i te mōhio, e mōhio ana tātau katoa ki roto i tēnei Whare, he aha te wāriu o ngā whenua ki roto o Tāmaki, ki roto i ngā kāinga o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Ko te hanga whare iāianei nā kō atu i te kotahi miriona tāra mō tētahi whare iti nei. Nē? Koirā te wāriu o te whenua i raupatungia e te Karauna, mai i a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

Nō reira kāti, ko aua take katoa kāre e kore, ka āta whiriwhiria e mātau—rawa ko te kī atu ko mātau—engari ko te rōpū whiriwhiri i ngā take Māori. Ā muri ake i te Hepetema tēnā pea he rōpū anō tēnā e kawe ake ana i ngā kaupapa o te wā nei. Engari ki roto i tēnei wāhanga te pānuitanga tuatahi ko tāku e kī atu ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, waiho nā atu mā mātau—mā koutou—e āta whiriwhiri ka pēhea nei tēnei e anga whakamua ai. Kāti Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki aku rangatira, tēnei Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātau katoa.

[I greet the Speaker and all of us here. I am just thinking; why am I only speaking Māori for the reading of these bills? The reason is because we Māori have been ill-treated by the Crown over the years. Well, the Minister has talked about land confiscations within Ngāi Tai, from Auckland across into Hauraki and down into the Firth of Thames. So that’s the reason I am sticking to the Māori language, so the language heard by Crown officers during the years they stole land will be heard here.

I extend a heartfelt greeting you, Ngāi Tai. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, the Minister has spoken of the authority of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki that extends into Hauraki and down into the Firth of Thames. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Bring your many dead with you. We greet and farewell them. Death has wrenched the jawbone of that one mourning over there, of this one just mourning here, of us all mourning here. You, the departed, sleep, sleep, sleep. Let’s return the topic of my talk to the living here, greetings to us all.

Firstly, the Minister spoke about aspects of claims issues in the Hauraki region. Throughout the region of Auckland—and let me tell the House: soon Te Tai Tokerau will also focus southwards into Auckland. This should not be a surprise, should it? This is not a surprise to us. It is like that because of the law. It is because of the law that Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki’s claim is late in the scheme of things. It is the law that says, “Here is you and your fence, here is you and your fence, but do not you two talk to each other or work together.” That is the trouble with the law. It says, “There is Hauraki, and there is Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and there is Ngāpuhi to the north, and there is Ngāti Whātua in Auckland.” That is the problem with the law. We all saw the result of that problem in the words of the Minister’s apology. That is the reason Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki are late coming to our House, to listen to the first reading of this bill.

And there are three parts to this bill. The Minister has spoken about the first part of the bill saying that it legally records in these very documents the abuses against Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Perhaps the Māori members of this House are thinking about another word, and that Peeni should not have said “record”. They think that word should have been “carved”. The authority and the history of our ancestors are carved into the bill, that is it. This is the first part of the bill that relates to the abuses of the Crown against Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and the second part is the Crown’s apology for those abuses of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki over the years.

Do not think confiscation is something from the 1800’s only, no. The Crown has made confiscations against Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki from that time right till the present. The Minister spoke of the many acres confiscated by the Crown. This is even though Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki said at the time, we will not take part in the fighting, when the redcoats invaded Waikato. My chiefs—I saw in the first part of the bill that the Crown had returned some sacred sites to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The Minister spoke about the Hunua Falls. Some control was returned to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Do not think full control was given to it, no; because in the bill, the controlling authority of the Hunua Falls has been split up. I saw that Ngāti Koheriki were there, as well as Ngāti Tamaoho, and Ngāti Whanaunga. So Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, you will have authority again in that home of yours called Hunua.

Some of the other words of the bill are about fixing up minor things in the bill, such as the administrative details—the little bits of the bill. I saw the New Zealand Geography Board’s change of name. It says that the place called Mātaitai now has a macron. Mātaitai. It shouldn’t be Matataitai, but Mātaitai. I see Pākehā members of the House laughing. Why is that? Here’s the reason. Keke is different to kēkē. Keke is a cake. Kēkē is an armpit, is it not? They are different. So it is right that the bill corrects old place names in the area of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. So it is Mātaitai then.

I now turn to the third part of the bill. It is the right of first refusal. I have seen in the short time I have been in this House, the past 3 years, that the Government has difficulty with this matter, the right of first refusal, is that not so? The right to buy first—that is how Māori say the right of first refusal. We can see it in bills like this that state this will be given to you, but other Treaty of Waitangi claims occur, and we see that someone else has a share in this bit of land. There is also the building of houses in South Auckland, is there not? That’s one of the concerns about this bill. No doubt it will land on us, the Māori Affairs Committee. There we will carefully analyse and figure out how to progress this.

I heard the Minister say in this House that $50,000 will be given to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to strengthen themselves, their language, and their customs. That’s just a drop in the ocean. Only $50,000! Too few dollars. When I see the size of the grant I reiterate that it is too small, in the certain knowledge of us all in this House of the value of land in Auckland, and of the homes of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. It’s just over a million dollars now to build a small home, is it not? That is the real value of the land confiscated by the Crown from Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

Well, those issues no doubt will be dealt with by us—I should not say by us but by the Maori Affairs Committee. After September, there will probably be another body dealing with Māori matters. But in this, the first reading, this is what I say to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki: leave it for us—for you—to work out how this will progress. So Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, my chiefs, and this House; greetings, greetings to us all.]

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā, e huri noa i Te Whare nei e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa, e ngā uri o Tōrerenui-ā-Rua. Nō reirā, e Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. E mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa. Mauria mai he whakaako ki te kaupapa nunui. Nō reira, e koutou rā, e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, and salutations to you all throughout this House, the relatives of Tōrerenui-ā-Rua. Therefore, acknowledgments and accolades to you collectively, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. I acknowledge you all. Bring forth a teaching to the matter of huge significance. So, I salute you all indeed.]

It is indeed my pleasure as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee to speak on the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill in its first reading. I want to acknowledge Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and its rakatira who are here today along with the members of the iwi. This is a milestone of a journey that has actually been a long time coming. Today marks the beginning of that final stage towards settlement with the Crown—a journey that started in the 19th century.

It is important to note that this is an iwi with interests in both Waikato and Tāmaki-makau-rau. As a Waikato iwi, Ngāi Tai’s claims in the Waikato region were settled through the Waikato raupatu settlement. This bill addresses the claims of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in relation to Tāmaki-makau-rau.

In 2007 the Waitangi Tribunal held an urgent inquiry into the Crown process for offering redress in Tāmaki-makau-rau. The Crown responded with a settlement proposal in 2009, which Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki accepted, and the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Tribal Trust was mandated to negotiate on behalf of the iwi. This in itself was an important step for Ngāi Tai. The actions of the Crown, which I will touch on shortly for the record in this House on the first reading, led to the marginalisation and the invisibility, actually, of Ngāi Tai in their own tribal rohe. The Crown’s acceptance of their status, through this settlement, is indeed of great importance.

Ngāi Tai was an iwi that enjoyed the benefits of early interaction with settlers and who welcomed the arrival of the Crown. Two Ngāi Tai rakatira are believed to have signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Prior to the signing of the Treaty, Ngāi Tai had entered into a land sale with a missionary who had provided that one-third of the block would remain with the iwi for their personal use forever. However, when the Crown got involved it granted a small parcel of land to the missionary and kept the rest as surplus land. Following the protest by Māori in Tāmaki-makau-rau, the Crown paid some compensation to other iwi for the lands that had already been taken from them.

In February 1854 the Crown paid Ngāi Tai £500 to relinquish their claims to any land within Tāmaki. This included the land that the missionary had recorded as being reserved for Māori. As part of that agreement, the Crown promised a reserve for Māori and granted the Umupuia Reserve to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. This reserve was a fraction of the size of the original block and much less than the reserve land that Ngāi Tai was actually expecting. In subsequent land transactions that were allowed by the Crown, the Crown retained approximately 3,000 acres of the Ngāi Tai land, made no assessment of the adequacy of the iwi’s remaining land, and reneged on its promises to reserve a tenth from each transaction for the benefit of Māori. A royal commission of inquiry in 1927 ruled that by spending money on medical and school services for Māori in Auckland, the Crown was fulfilling its tenths obligation, despite not reserving one-tenth of each pre-emption waiver of that land sale. Regardless of the way this differs from what the Crown had agreed, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki assert that subsequent generations have derived very, very little benefit, if any at all, from this.

Around this time Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki’s shared customary interests in Tiritiri Mātangi Island were also extinguished. On the basis that Ngāi Tai had allowed Europeans to occupy Tiritiri Mātangi Island, the Native Land Court awarded ownership of the island to the Crown. Motutapu, an island of great significance to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, was alienated through the awarding of individualised title to the children of a settler, who had purchased the island, and his Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki wife. The interests of the children, who were deceased at the time, were never properly investigated, and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki remained unsatisfied with the outcome for many, many years.

During the New Zealand Wars, the majority of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki expressed loyalty to the Crown—they expressed loyalty to the Crown—while a small number of individuals joined other iwi in fighting against the land confiscations.

When Parliament enabled the Crown to confiscate the lands of those iwi deemed to be rebellious, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki was not included on the list. However, its land in the Waikato was still affected by that confiscation. Subsequent petitions to Parliament, hearings of the compensation court, and the Sim Commission did not result in any satisfactory outcome for those affected by this confiscation.

Alienation of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki continued well into the 20th century. Just one example: in 1946 the Crown purchased a 225 acre block, to be used for a land settlement scheme for Māori returned servicemen. It also assured the iwi that it would be used for the rehabilitation of only one serviceman, and possibly one other. What actually happened was that the Department of Māori Affairs ran a dairy farm on the land, which employed that serviceman, but it never permanently settled him there, and in 1956 the Crown sold the land to a private purchaser.

Over the many years of alienation and landlessness, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki suffered a loss of its tribal structure, its culture, its traditions, and its identity. This story that is now in Hansard, that is now on the record, is the story of another iwi that deserves, through legislation, compensation, and it also deserves—the fact is that this is the first reading, and the journey that the bill will take through this House is to the second reading, the Committee of the whole House, and the third and final reading, when it has the Royal assent and is elevated into legislation and into law.

As chair of the Māori Affairs Committee I say that we look forward to those submissions now. Let us begin the final part of the journey. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. Nō reira, e koutou rā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

[Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, be resolute, bold, and stout of heart. And so, to you collectively, acknowledgments and accolades, I congratulate you all.]

I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.

Debate interrupted.