Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.

This bill represents the culmination of the Crown’s efforts to fulfil its obligation to redress the wrongs of its past actions with respect to the iwi of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. It’s my great pleasure to welcome the members of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to Wellington for this momentous occasion. It was a great pleasure to meet many of you while you were down here during the lunch break—or our lunch break—and it’s good to see so many of you here in what is, I know, the end of a long and difficult journey. Nau mai haere mai, e ngā iwi, e ngā reo, e ngā mana, tēnā rā koutou.

[Welcome to the tribes, to the spokespeople, to the representative entities; greetings to one and all.]

I acknowledge that many of you—when I talk about a long journey, it’s not just the journey of the settlement, but many of you have travelled from far away to attend today, and this is the last step in that much longer journey that your iwi has undertaken to reach a settlement with the Crown. You’ve had to wait far too long, but that wait is now finally over, and it is indeed my great honour to be walking with you in these last few steps. At this time, we remember those who have passed on before seeing this settlement come to fruition.

For those members of this House or any here in the gallery that may not know, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki are an iwi centred at Maraetai, with interests throughout Tāmaki-makau-rau. Seafaring is core to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki’s identity, and their interests also extend throughout the islands and waters of Tīkapa Moana. They are a part of both the Tāmaki and Hauraki Collectives and are included in the settlement of Waikato raupatu and river claims.

Despite these negotiations, the raupatu claims of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to the confiscation block in east Wairoa and other historical claims remained unsettled. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki have sought to negotiate a full and final settlement with the Crown since 1989. In 2010, the Crown recognised the mandate of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Tribal Trust to negotiate the settlement of the remaining historical claims on behalf of the iwi. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and the Crown signed the terms of negotiation in June 2010, entered into an agreement in principle in November 2011, and, finally, signed a deed of settlement on 7 November 2015.

The history of the Crown’s wrongs against Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki have been touched on throughout the passage of this bill. However, it is incumbent upon me today that we do not forget why we are here. The Crown repeatedly failed the people of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and breached its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. The historical grievances of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki primarily relate to alienation of land through the failure to implement the terms of pre-Treaty land transactions and raupatu. The Waitangi Tribunal reported on the claims of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in its Hauraki report.

In the 1830s, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki were involved in several land transactions in Tāmaki, in the Hauraki Gulf islands. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki believe their tūpuna intended the transactions would help foster ongoing mutually beneficial relationships with Europeans rather than permanently alienate their ancestral lands. On 4 March 1840, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki tradition records that two Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Karaka Bay. In 1842, a land claims commissioner investigating the pre-Treaty Tāmaki transactions recommended the Crown leave one-third of the land involved for the undisturbed possession of Māori. The Crown subsequently made an award of land to settlers, but retained much of that land as surplus. The Crown made no assessment of the adequacy of lands remaining in the possession of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. In 1854, the Crown paid Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki £500 to relinquish their claims to land within the Tāmaki Block and granted the iwi the Umupuia Reserve. The reserve was a fraction of the size of the original Tāmaki Block and substantially less than the one-third recommended be set aside for Māori.

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki also had interests in a confiscated 51,000-acre block of land in east Wairoa. Unfortunately, the revered rangatira of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ānaru Makiwhara, was not able to register a claim for this land, and despite repeated petitions to Parliament over 44 years—half his lifetime—he did not see the return of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki’s ancestral lands here before he passed away in 1927, aged 85.

This bill cannot change the past, nor will it be enough to fully compensate the loss incurred by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. However, the redress included in this bill will recognise and acknowledge the loss suffered by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and provide a new future for the iwi and its relationship with the Crown. With the passing of this bill, the Crown’s apology to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is enshrined in legislation, and the full redress contained in the deed of settlement will be released.

The redress items provide a starting point for the restoration of the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki economic base and cultural redress in recognition of sites of paramount significance to the iwi. Sixteen cultural sites will be vested in Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, which will provide the iwi with a more visible presence in their land and a more active role in how that land is cared for.

I now turn to acknowledge the hard work and cooperation of the many parties involved in achieving this settlement. I acknowledge the contribution of the former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Christopher Finlayson, who has walked in the journey of many of the recent settlements that have come to the House and whose herculean workload is bearing fruits for many iwi today.

I acknowledge my officials at the Office of Treaty Settlements, those of other Crown agencies, and the Parliamentary Counsel Office for their service and commitment to the Treaty settlement process. I acknowledge the Māori Affairs Committee and the members of this House for their consideration of this bill. Most importantly, I’d like to acknowledge the leaders and people of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki for their willingness to work with the Crown. You have endured many, many delays to reach the outcome that we now have before us. In particular, to the negotiators from Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, you took on—as negotiators for settlements with the Crown always do—a demanding and difficult role carrying the weight of your tūpuna. You have my absolute respect for the strength, integrity, and dignity with which you have represented your iwi and conducted yourself in negotiations with the Crown.

What has been achieved is a significant investment into the present and future generations of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, a provision for the mokopuna to have a connection to their iwi and customary lands, and what I hope can be the start of a new relationship with the Crown. For the Crown, one of the important values of these Treaty settlements is that while it brings to conclusion a long and difficult and sometimes tortuous path for those who have sought redress for the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty, it is also a new beginning, a chance to build on the relationship now established as a result of the negotiations and the exchanges, and it is now an opportunity to start to build a real partnership—a shared relationship built on a shared vision of the future that will come from your rangatira, your kaumātua, your kuia, and working with the Crown as an equal partner. I am honoured to be in the privileged position of presenting this bill for its third reading, and I commend this bill to the House.

National strongly supports the third reading of the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill. I was at Maraetai on 7 November 2015 to sign the deed of settlement. The Ngāi Tai marae is an absolutely beautiful place by the shore. I don’t know whether it’s the most beautiful marae in the country; it probably is. I always think of Ngāti Mākino’s marae. I don’t know about Ngāti Apa, but certainly Ngāti Manuhiri has a beautiful marae. But the marae at Maraetai is a very special place. It was a wonderful November day, and I was really pleased to be there.

There are three points I want to make. First of all, I acknowledge the very gracious speech of the Minister Andrew Little. I’m not going to repeat the historical matters that he canvassed, because I think he did it very well and I don’t want to repeat it myself. The second point I want to make is that there’s a little bit of ill feeling here about the lapse of time between the signing of the deed of settlement and getting the legislation to the House. In that regard, I want to acknowledge the great efforts of the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO), who had to extract from the Hauraki legislation the relevant parts of the Ngāi Tai settlement so that we could get the legislation into the House and into the Māori Affairs Committee last year. It was a very complex exercise, but PCO needed to do that.

We had hoped it would be possible to have an omnibus bill to deal with all the settlements for Hauraki and Ngāi Tai. It didn’t come to pass, but there was no delay on the part of the Crown, even if there was a lapse of time. That is why it was important to get some of the settlement pūtea to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The bill, since it’s been introduced, has gone to the select committee and is now back in the House, and I am sure it’s going to be signed into law by the Governor-General in the very, very near future.

The second point I want to make—and it picks up on what the Minister has said—deals with the issue of cultural redress. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki are already involved in a very important aspect of cultural redress and Treaty settlements, and that deals with the maunga in Tāmaki. The Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Act was passed in 2014, and that established the Maunga Authority. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki are very important players in administering those maunga, together with Auckland Council. They will be aware that this is very much new territory and there’s a bit of tension out there, and it’s very important to work with other people in the community so that the Maunga Authority doesn’t get offside with the general public. There’s a lot of goodwill out there towards that particular aspect of cultural relief, but that goodwill will evaporate and there will be strife if the Maunga Authority doesn’t go out of its way to communicate its decisions to people and the rationale for those decisions. I’m sure that the good people of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki understand that and are going to be working very closely and hard within the Maunga Authority to ensure that the general community understand why certain things are being done or why certain things are not being done.

Part 2 of this legislation deals with cultural redress. I want to acknowledge the support of the Department of Conservation (DOC) in getting to this stage. I think the Department of Conservation has come a long way in the last decade. In the closing stages of the Clark administration, the approach to cultural redress tended to be that small and discrete parcels of land would be made available for Treaty settlements, and DOC had a very proprietorial approach to all its property and didn’t want to part with any of it. It used to be a very difficult and protracted exercise to persuade them that land should be made available for iwi as cultural redress.

I remember very, very well, for example, in the early stages of my stewardship of this portfolio, that Fran Wilde was my chief Crown negotiator with Ngāti Pāhauwera, in the northern Hawke’s Bay. She rang me and said, “The Department of Conservation is determined that certain lands are not to be made available as cultural redress.”, and she said, “They’re supposed to be pristine lands.” The only problem with these pristine lands that the iwi wanted was that they were covered in gorse and had goats on them. It was a former Lands and Survey farm that had come to the Department of Conservation in 1987. I said I’d pay a visit. By the time I paid the visit, the goats had all been killed and the gorse had been removed, but the land, eventually, was made available to be handed over.

I tell that story because the Department of Conservation tended, I think, to adopt a somewhat selfish approach to dealing with the issue of cultural redress. Under their current director-general, they have come a long way, and they recognise that the principle of “small and discrete” doesn’t work and that iwi—who I think are the best managers of so much land for conservation purposes—should be entitled to the return of cultural lands that reflect their needs, their history, and their aspirations.

So it is here that there are a number of parcels of land that have been returned. Some of that land has been Department of Conservation land, and the fact that the fee simple estate now vests in the trustees and it ceases to be a conservation area under the Conservation Act 1987 shouldn’t upset anyone at all, because—and I come back to my original point—iwi understand the importance of conservation; iwi can be relied on to look after these lands and, where there is a guarantee of continued public access, ensure that that continues; and these lands need not always be held by the Crown. I hope, and I’m sure, under the leadership of this Minister, we won’t go back to that very short-sighted and self-defeating approach of “small and discrete”. We should be able to transfer to iwi cultural redress which befits the particular settlement based on the history, and that’s why Part 2 deals with important issues of cultural redress.

In my experience, there are several parts of a settlement that some people sometimes overlook. People always get fixated on the commercial relief, but that’s only part of it. The history and the apology are extremely important in a Treaty settlement and—as this Minister will see as he signs deeds of settlement over the next little period—people want to know what the history was, they want the general public to know what the history was, and they want an adequate apology. But the second part that’s incredibly important as well is the return of cultural land, and that’s where the Department of Conservation has such a huge role to play. And that is why Part 2 of this legislation is so very important.

They’re the only points I want to make. I want to congratulate Ngāi Tai and wish them all the very best for the future. I very much enjoyed working with them. They have an important role to play in Tāmaki with the Maunga Authority, to ensure that the Maunga Authority continues to work with the general public for the benefit of the maunga. They’ve got important work to do in and around the Maraetai area, and I’m sure, in the years to come, they’re going to discharge their responsibilities very effectively. My thanks to Laurie Beamish and other members of the team for all that they’ve done. On behalf of the National Party, I wish them all the very best for the future and commend the bill to the House.

Kia tia e ngā rangatira, e ngā karangatanga maha, e ngā whānau katoa mai i a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki kua tatū mai ki Te Ūpoko o te Ika, tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnā anō tātou i te āhuatanga o ō tātou mate, ō koutou rawa mātua kua poupou rā. Pūhakehake ana te aroha i roto i te ngākau i te korenga o rātou i toe mai kia kai ā-kanohi mai ai rātou i ngā mahi e oti ana i a mātou, i a koutou, tutuki ana te kaupapa i tēnei rā. Nā reira ko rātou ki a rātou, ko tātou ki a tātou, tēnā anō koutou katoa.

Nōku i te tamariki i mōhio ahau ki tō koutou tupuna a Te Ngehungiu. Ahau he mea whakatupu e taku Karani Māmā, tēnā kuia i whānau mai i te tau 1892, he hoa haere nā Whina, he hoa tūtakitaki nā Te Puea, koia mātou i mōhio ai ki tēnā kuia. Koni atu i tērā he mea kura ahau i te Kura i Tīpene, kitekite mātou i tēnā kuia, ā, kua Pākehā pēnei i ahau, kiritea te titiro, tūturu Māori tana ngākau. Nā reira tēnā anō koutou i te, i a rau mahara mō tēnā reanga kua riro. Nā reira e te Whare, tēnā anō tātou katoa.

[Greetings to the leaders, to the many strands of connection, to all the families from Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki who have descended on Wellington, greetings to you all. Greetings to one and all with the acknowledgment of our deceased, your elders who are now aloft. The love in my heart overflows in the absence of them remaining with us to see with their own eyes what we have completed, what you have completed, achieving this matter today. Therefore, the deceased remain with the deceased, and the living return to the realms of the living, greetings again to you all.

When I was a child, I knew your ancestor Te Ngehungiu. I was brought up by my grandmother, that elderly lady who was born in the year 1892, a compatriot of Whina, a contact of Te Puea; that is how we knew that elderly lady. Furthermore, I was educated at St Stephen’s College, where we regularly saw that elderly lady, and she looked as Pākehā as do I, of pale skin to the eye but she had a genuinely Māori heart. Therefore, greetings again to you all, in remembrance of that generation who have passed. And so, to the House, greetings.]

I have acknowledged the manuhiri in the House today belonging to the Ngāi Tai tribe ki Tāmaki, but, of course, they are part of a broader Ngāi Tai community with a fantastic story that takes us right back to the arrival of the waka of our tūpuna, as the Ngāpuhi say, from Warowaroātea, Tahiti Nui, Tahiti Roa, Tahiti …. They’re descendants of the Tainui waka, descendants also of Mātaatua waka, also occupying a place called Mātaitai, which is of particular significance to me, given it’s the Ngāpuhi word for shellfish. I can only presume that as a consequence of the cultural redress elements of this settlement that we assemble here today to acknowledge and affirm with the sovereign powers of Parliament, these settlements and this particular initiative ensures that the rangatiratanga and also the pride in identity is fulfilled today.

New Zealand’s face is changing. For those of us who grew up in rural New Zealand in a Māori environment, there were only two elements to the countenance of New Zealand: the Queen, and the Māori warrior holding the taiaha—whether it was on the old shilling or, as it still subsists today, in reflecting the Crown relationship. But in Auckland those days are gone. In Auckland, it truly is a mega-city. It truly is a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural city, and it’s absolutely essential that settlements such as this enable the mokopuna, the uri, the descendants of the original tribes to continue to project their identity, protect their rights, and, most importantly, occupy a place of pride when, numerically, their percentage is getting small but, historically, their rights are traceable back to the foundation document of our country, the Treaty of Waitangi.

Our party supports the passage of this bill. We note that there was an ongoing wrangle in so far as the shared competing claims of Ngāti Wai—the tribe of my boss, Winston Peters—and Ngāi Tai, but I support the sentiments of the former Minister Chris Finlayson: the show has to go on. And the important reality that we can never escape from, as the former chairman of the Māori Fisheries Commission, is that there are always overlapping interests; there are always areas where there cannot be a firm line of demarcation. Indeed, I see in the bill that in the northern part of the rohe, the Ngāi Tai connection goes right up to Mangawhai and Te Ārai—I only hope you don’t have a golf course development that you want me to look after, as well.

The point about this particular settlement is that I find that—and I know my leader agrees—it takes a great deal of time to invest, to support, and to encourage leadership. Whilst what we put on the face of the law may have certain legal significance and lead to enforceable rights, after a settlement, the ability to project identity, to project pride, to keep culture alive, and to develop bilingualism comes down to leadership. We believe, rightly or wrongly, that by endowing iwi settlement groups—never with enough; that’s just the nature of this game—with a suitable level of recognition and some pūtea, it can act as something akin to a seedbed, because, without leadership, no tribe in Aotearoa is going to fulfil its potential as our population changes as we speak in this very House. The percentage of Pākehā will slowly drop, the percentage of Māori will slowly rise, and then—unless the younger generation emulates the efforts of matua Shane Jones and his several beautiful kids—that, too, will plateau. Then other immigrant groups will continue to arrive in Aotearoa, but these settlements cement a part of our history, and it must be protected at all times into our future because this is what makes New Zealand distinctive.

New Zealand is located in the South Pacific. Whilst our original immigrants and pioneers were largely of Anglo-Saxon stock—some from Croatia and married the Māori princesses, as is my background—we must cling tenaciously and promote through these settlements not only the rights but the obligations to ensure that we leave a better legacy for the generation that comes after us as Māori. So we move on from the period where people were not only aggrieved—they cannot and must not pass on that grievance from generation to generation, or we will be overwhelmed and eclipsed by new migrants, who do not come to talk about historical grievances but come to make a future for themselves.

So these settlements remind us that the future belongs as much to Māori as everyone else, but us Māori, we’ve got to do it for ourselves as well. Hopefully, this base and this enhanced recognition of Ngāi Tai, eclipsed for a long period of time—as I said in Te Reo, when I was a lad a St Stephen’s College, my schoolteacher was from Ngāi Tai, a Mr Lewis Maxwell. He taught us how to box. His nephew was a good friend of mine—sadly, a better boxer than my good self.

But their kuia—a very Pākehā-looking kuia—was called Ngengeu. She often acted as the representative for Te Pūea, and was a fellow traveller with my grandmother and Whina Cooper, through the Māori Women’s Welfare League. I would say she was probably the most visible or notable member that ordinary Māori ever knew from this particular tribe. So her legacy, hopefully, will live on. This settlement will enable us to cement the presence of Ngāi Tai into the legal landscape, but it’s the spirit, the heart, and the perseverance of Ngāi Tai that will keep them alive. Kia ora tātou katoa.

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Ā ka hokihoki ngā maumahara o te Hōnore e Koro Wetere, he Minita o te Whiriwhiri Take Māori, he rakatira o Ngāti Maniapoto, rakatira o te hapū o Kinohakū, āpotoro o te Hāhi Rātana. Nō reira, e Koro, e haere atu rā, e haere atu rā ki te pā te whakawairua, e takoto mai, takoto mai. Takoto i rangimārie i runga i tō waka; hoea atu tō waka ko tua o te ārai. Haere, haere, e haere atu rā. Nō reira āpiti hono tātai hono, rātou ki te hunga mate, ki te hunga mate ki a rātou. Āpiti hono tātai hono tātou ki te hunga ora, ki te hunga ora ki a tātou.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. My memories return to the honourable Koro Wetere, a Minister of Māori Affairs, a leader of Ngāti Maniapoto, leader of the subtribe of Kinohakū, and apostle of the Rātana Church. Therefore, Koro, farewell, go to connect with the spirit, rest in peace, rest in peace. Rest in peace on your canoe; paddle your canoe to beyond the veil. Go, go, go well. Let the connections be drawn; the deceased should be left to rest in peace, and we turn back to ourselves, the living.]

It is indeed my pleasure to stand and speak in the third reading about the bill—the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill, third reading. Nō reira tuku mihi ki ngā uri o Hui Kai waka, o Tara Te Irirangi, o ngā tīpuna katoa o Ngāi Tai. E noho ana koutou ki tō whenua tapu, tōu whenua ātaahua hoki, Maraetai. Tū mai te whare nunui mā runga te marae Umupuia, nō reira ngā tapuae o nuku, ngā tapuae ariki, ngā tapuae o tai, ngā uri o rātou kia takatakahia te whenua o Maraetai me ngā wāhi katoa o Tāmaki Makaurau. Nō reira, e Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai o te Whare Mīere. He mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.

[Therefore I greet the descendants of Hui Kai waka, of Tara Te Irirangi, of all the ancestors of Ngāi Tai. You remain on your sacred land, on your beautiful land, Maraetai. The large house stands on Umupuia Marae, therefore the footsteps of the past, the aristocratic footsteps, the footsteps of the tide, the descendants of those who walked the lands of Maraetai and all the places around Auckland. Therefore, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, welcome, welcome, welcome to the Beehive. A greeting to you all.]

As we’ve just heard in the last couple of speeches, it has been indeed a long journey for Ngāi Tai, and that third reading has finally arrived. The recognition of the deed of mandate occurred in 2010, and it’s been eight long years of negotiations to get Ngāi Tai today to this historic moment, and we honour that and we acknowledge that.

But, firstly, I want to acknowledge Ngāi Tai as a people. How often have we have driven through the suburbs of South Auckland, seen names such as Ōtara, driven down Te Irirangi Drive and given no thought to the meaning of them, and too often that is to my lament. Let me try to give you the noble whakapapa that, hopefully, leads to a better understanding of what is important to acknowledge: this tattooed land and those of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki tīpuna who originally traversed and named specific areas, particularly like Tara Te Irirangi.

I look forward to the day, and I’m sure Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki do also, when your tapuwae—your sacred footsteps—are recognised properly in the naming conventions of the area of Tāmaki that you hold mana whenua over, and in doing that, without the brunt of political expediency.

To the descendants of Tara Te Irirangi, of Te Haoa, Te Waru, and Nuku, I greet them; the descendants of Te Ngeungeu, and I acknowledge some of those descendants in the gallery today; trustees and negotiators like James Brown, Billy Brown, Laurie Beamish, and Lucy Steel. And for whom your beautiful whare at Te Umupuia is named, it is indeed our humble pleasure to be able to speak in this third reading and to acknowledge that whakapapa and those who have worked tirelessly to bring this bill to this House for the final reading.

I want to make special mention of your tipuna Ngeungeu, who married Thomas Maxwell, also known as Tame Kohe or Tame Makiwhara. In many ways, these two ancestors stand as a testament to what should have happened when Māori and Pākehā actually came together. Your tupuna Tame, through careful dealings with his father-in-law, Tara Te Irirangi, was able to work with Ngāi Tai to develop business opportunities that likely benefited all. Your tupuna came to be known as Pākehā Māori, and such was his knowledge of his whānau by marriage.

Pākehā at the time integrated with Māori. They adopted many of our ways but also introduced many of their ways to an emerging country where Māori were still the majority. Tame is said to have spoken Māori, and his father-in-law, Tara Te Irirangi, was quick to learn English. The relationship not just between the family members but also between the recent arrivals to Auckland benefited both Māori and Pākehā alike, and this should have been the state of affairs of Ngāi Tai and the many other iwi of Tāmaki-makau-rau going forward into the future.

Well, the history books tell us a different story, don’t they—a story of shady land dealings, dishonest land purchases by the Crown, and of recommendations that were made by the commissioners to actually protect the land and to actually set aside land for undisturbed possession. This, of course, never happened, and this is, basically, in a lot of ways the essence of why we are all here today.

Further, the Crown at the time took all too familiar pathways of buying Māori land at the lowest-possible price, and selling it at the highest-possible price. And of course, there was the all too common promise that a tenth of the purchase—for example, the Hunua Block—would be used for Māori schools, medical facilities, and the construction of commercial buildings—a promise that, as we know, did not materialise. Then the second to last nail in the coffin for Ngāī Tai was the theft of their lands by confiscation—this despite the fact that Ngāi Tai declared loyalty to the Crown in a last ditch attempt to stave off an unlawful invasion of their lands by greedy officials on behalf of the Crown. So despite the best efforts of Tame and his whānau and Tara Te Irirangi, Ngāi Tai found themselves soon destitute and almost landless, an all too common occurrence that we saw post-1840.

So I say “the second nail in the coffin” because the last nail never succeeded—it never succeeded—and I acknowledge the likes of Ānaru Makiwhara and his older brother Pātariki, who, even in their old age in 1926, never stopped petitioning Parliament. They never stopped in an effort to get back the land for Ngāi Tai.

So I look up in the gallery and I see those descendants of those battling tīpuna, and I now understand that the final nail was never going to be allowed to be hammered in. You are a fighting people, and you have honoured your ancestors with your tireless work. So today it’s about trying to rebalance the history just a little, so that Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki can actually have a future.

The settlement itself is only a small proportion of what Ngāi Tai really lost—it’s cents in the dollar—but at least it’s a start. So the quantum is not large, but the opportunities available to Ngāi Tai are indeed very, very large. So we have a saying, as you know, “He iti, he pounamu”. We’ve got a lot of “iti” here, but at the end of the day I think that this will be indeed kōhatu pounamu as to your future—as to what you will get from this settlement—and congratulations to you.

So that was a small rendition of a noble history around a whakapapa that indeed needs to be acknowledged and recognised across your tribal rohe. Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, we wish you well in your endeavours now to take this settlement, this legislation, because with that you will then be able to ensure the future of yourselves, your children, and their children after that.

Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa, kia ora.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou e Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, mihi tonu atu ki a koutou. Nau mai, whakatau mai ki roto Te Whare Pāremata e takatū nei. Āe, nō koutou tēnei rā, he rā nui whakahirahira i te whakataunga i ngā kerēme o koutou, ā he hōnore nui tēnei e whakatū ana au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou i tēnei rīti whakamutunga o tō koutou pire.

[Greetings to you, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, I greet you directly. Welcome, welcome here to Parliament House. Yes, this is your day, a very important day that settles your claims, and it is a big honour for me to stand and greet you at this, the final reading of your bill.]

I’m delighted to add my words of support in this third reading of the claims settlement bill for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. I want to acknowledge all of the contributions that have been made thus far—some very eloquent contributions from fellow members around this House. We are all here to tautoko and to support the passage of this bill and to congratulate and mihi Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who have travelled all this way here for this very special and historic occasion.

I am always very humbled to be able to participate not only in the House but also in the legislative process for these Treaty settlement bills, particularly so as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee. We learn a lot about the history of our country and of our respective iwi, and it is very sad in some ways, in terms of the repetition of the grievances that have been created and which are being dealt with through these settlements. But it also is, I believe, one of the most rewarding aspects of being a member in this House, to be able to put these special bills through and to acknowledge and learn more about the people that it concerns.

So I do welcome Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to our House. Yes, this bill deals principally with land loss and, with that land loss, the loss of identity, of traditions, of authority, and of te reo me ōna tikanga that flows from that sense of place on ancestral land. So this bill goes some way to acknowledging that, as the Crown has recorded in their deeds with Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Obviously, it never replaces what was lost, but I do marvel at how vast the tribal estate of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki was. When folks think of Auckland and the Auckland isthmus, it’s incredible that over 80,000 acres, I believe, were ultimately lost to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, and even more through the failure to honour undertakings of promises that were made in pre-Treaty purchases, but also the failure of successive land commissions and commissioners to properly recognise the lands and the mana whenua of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. That succeeded even further to confiscations that occurred during the wars that broke in the 1860s.

So there is that history there, and it must always be recorded and remembered. I’m sure there will be many waiata and haka that will be created and composed by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to reinforce their identity and,—as Mr Jones said—projecting that identity, because as at the last census, in 2013, I think there were 500 recorded members in the census. Now, I’m sure there’s probably many more than that, but that’s the impact that these generations and decades and a couple of centuries of loss have inflicted on Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. What we’re doing is ushering in a new future post this Treaty bill—post the passage of it—so it can not only address the redress aspects within the bill but also help to enliven the cultural identity of this wonderful iwi who have travelled here today.

Now I wanted to just change a little bit of tack in terms of my contribution, because, as my colleague Tutehounuku Korako mentioned, there were some illustrious tūpuna—ancestors—of the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki people, and in particular, as we’ve heard, Ānaru Makiwhara. In addition to the petitions that that gentleman and, I understand, his older brother made to this House about recognition of the grievances and the claims of his people, he also recounted the wonderful stories of the tūpuna of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. As we know, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is Auckland, but Ngāi Tai, in terms of the kōrero—one in particular which I was really spellbound by was “Te Heke-o-Ngā-Tokotoru” [“The Migration of the Three”], which was started in Tōrere. It involved skirmishes and troubles that were going on, and the rangatira, Tamatea-toki-nui, said to his people and to his daughters, “Go to the cuzzies in Hauraki, in Ngāti Maru. Seek some refuge there, because it’s getting a bit troublesome where we are here.”

We need to acknowledge Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, because from that great ariki, there was the famous saying: “Ka mate kāinga tahi, ka ora kāinga rua.” That’s a saying which I’ve uttered in this House a few times in debates as well—“When one house dies, another one emerges”. So we should acknowledge that from the kōrero that was laid down. This was recorded, I believe, around a hundred years ago from the kōrero of Ānaru Makiwhara. Following on from that kōroro, out of Tōrere, when they went into the Ngāti Maru, we should acknowledge Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki for the famous—sorry, I’ll backtrack. There was a chief called Te Whatatau, and Te Whatatau came with his wife by waka to Ngāti Maru and was welcomed there by the sisters that had brought the people from Ngāi Tai. To cut a long story short, they were welcomed by being pulled up to the papa—to the landing—and that’s where we get the famous “Tōia mai, te waka, ki te urunga, te waka” [“Drag it, the canoe, to its resting place, the canoe”].

All of that flows from these wonderful stories of these people. And it doesn’t stop there, because these people, the illustrious tūpuna—they really enjoyed huamanu, which our people from the South can very much identify with, because they’re the chief Te Whatatau and the beautiful chieftainesses of Raukohekohe and Motuitawhiti. They were spellbound by the large gifts of preserved manu that that chief had brought to that occasion.

So these are all the rich kōrero and rich histories of this amazing people of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. I know they’re going to be leaving their imprint all over Tāmaki-makau-rau with what will unfold from the passage of this legislation. It is an exciting future that lies ahead for them all. It’s all been laid down by their tūpuna. They can draw inspiration from those stories and stamp their big footprints right across Tāmaki-makau-rau and into the future, and I wish them all the very best. Kia ora tātou.

Tēnā koe. Ngā mihi ki ngā whānau o te iwi o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki i tēnei rā. He rā motuhake ēnei mō koutou katoa. Ā, kei konei mātou hei whakanui ki a koutou i te mutunga o tā koutou haere roa, i roto i tēnei tukunga whakataunga Tiriti.

[Greetings to the families of the tribe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki on this day. These are special days for you all. And we are here to celebrate you at the end of your long journey, in this Treaty settlement.]

I stand to take a call on the third and final reading of the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill. I’ve stood in the House on many occasions to do this to a number of iwi in their third reading, and every time I stand here I feel humbled that I have been part and parcel of helping to settle a grievance that happened so long ago for all of you. I stand here humbled that your mokopuna will benefit from the mahi that their mātua, that their kaumātua, did years ago to this day and to the future. So I am very, very happy that we’ve come to this conclusion but also sad that some of the kaumātua that started this journey for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki are not able to be here physically, but are here in wairua.

I just want to carry on a little bit more about our select committee, because it did work very hard with the Minister then, the Hon Chris Finlayson, to actually bring forward your bill. But, as you heard in the House previously, there were a few issues there that needed to be ironed out, and I’m pleased that that has happened today. So of the 13 submissions that came to the Māori Affairs Committee, we heard six, and then, from there, we were able to move forward.

I want to acknowledge the iwi negotiators. I think that you’ve done an amazing job, especially with our Crown negotiators. That is not an easy thing to do, to sit there and go through all the bits and pieces that are most dearest to your hearts. However, we have got here, and working through the advisers, and the parliamentary counsel—as the Hon Andrew Little spoke about in his contribution—we have been able to get to a settlement where whilst we might not all be happy about it, at least we’re here and we can move forward.

I want to add thanks to the whānau of Ngāi Tai for your patience—I did say that in my opening—and it has been a patience that I’m sure you would have got quite frustrated about, just as frustrated as we get sometimes. However, I think that today is a celebration for you all, and I know that we’re all very happy that we’ve got to this place.

Along with the cultural redress that was discussed here just before my contribution, and the commercial redress and financial redress, I was pleased to see that half a million dollars had already been received by the iwi to actually support you in wherever it is that you wanted to invest that fund. So I’m really pleased that we were able to do that.

My contribution isn’t going to be long because I want to—and I looked on your website. I looked into your history—my own research—and I wanted to add to my contribution and commit to the Hansard what I found to do with what my colleague Nuk Korako started on about Tapuwae. I want to commit this particular part to Hansard, if you will bear with me as I read it out: “Tapuwae-Onuku. We of the sacred footprint in the earth. Ngāi Tai have a long, unbroken genealogy and occupation of their lands, waters, and seas extending from the aboriginal Polynesian settlers, pre-dating the Hawaiki immigrants. The symbol best describing this is the taonga currently residing in the Auckland Museum, being a fossil human footprint dating from the founding eruption of Rangitoto 600 years ago and discovered on Motutapu island. A place long held sacred to Ngāi Tai for their many waahi tapu and association with the Tupua at that place.

“Tapuwae-Ariki. The footprints of the high-born. Smaller footprints remind us of the many descendants & mokopuna (riki), who have crossed this region over that long period of time. Larger footprints remind us of our high-born chiefly lines (ariki) and ancestors. These remind us how important those leaders were and their value as navigators through our history.

“Tapuwae-Otai. The footprints on our foreshores. Even our tribal name Ngā Tai, resounds as the story of a maritime people unencumbered by any normal sense of boundaries. Where our vision was only limited by our imagination. It was the same vision, honed by thousands of years of exploration, facing the challenge of crossing the world’s greatest ocean for survival. These descendants of Maui today carry his DNA and values into the new world of Ngāi Tai, true inheritors and worthy recipients of a boundless legacy left by the ancients and their numerous descendants.”

I have recited that to go into Hansard for your mokopuna, for when they come to this House, into the future, to research your history and to research this settlement. I wanted this to be something that they would find that they would connect with.

I wish Ngāi Tai the very best for their future. I am proud and I commend the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill to the House. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. I want to acknowledge, straight off the back of all of these incredible speeches by my colleagues in this House, the immense anxiety that I am feeling in addressing the House at the third reading of this bill today. The reason that I want to speak to this anxiety and to sit in this discomfort is because it cannot be anywhere near the magnitude of the experience that Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki have gone through in getting to this point, here, in this settlement. As tangata Tiriti, as a Pākehā member of Parliament, and as somebody who has not known the extent of the history of this land—as I spoke about at the second reading of this bill—up until the point that I was in a privileged position, in law school, to first start to unpack Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to first start to understand how I am so fortunate to be somebody who lives in this country, in Aotearoa New Zealand, on the back of a partnership, until I came to understand those things and really sat in that discomfort and attempted to deal with it and unpack it, I couldn’t quite begin to comprehend the reality of what settlements like this actually meant. So I just want to acknowledge that straight off the bat.

I also want to speak to reading, this morning, about our new Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Andrew Little—the fact that he is taking the plunge and learning Te Reo Māori, which I think is absolutely fantastic and something which all of us, particularly those of us who are tangata Tiriti, should be undertaking as te Tiriti partners. I want to give a shout-out to my Te Reo Māori tutor, Piripi, who’s been taking me on that journey and educating me to the fact that you cannot learn Te Reo Māori without, indeed, learning about Te Ao Māori, without learning about tikanga, or without learning about the history, again, of our land and how we are so fortunate to stand here—particularly, how I am so fortunate to stand here—as a te Tiriti partner.

How I came to speak on this bill today was by virtue of subbing in for our fabulous co-leader Marama Davidson on the Māori Affairs Committee when we realised that the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill was coming before the Māori Affairs Committee. As somebody who was born and raised in Tāmaki-makau-rau and who was not aware of the history of the city that I call home, I found that it was incredibly critical if we were to really walk the talk and live what we say when we say that we are committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of this land.

What we found, as was alluded to by my colleague Jo Hayes—who I was also fortunate to sit on the committee with on 19 February, earlier this year—was that there were 13 submissions. Six of them were heard, and it was an incredibly emotional process, actually. I know that we banter a lot in this place about the politics that we endure, but you guys have a whole other thing on your hands when it comes to iwi politics. I want to recognise the reality of that situation for you.

Going through the Treaty settlement process and, indeed, actually having the opportunity to have a briefing on the settlement process last night, with MPs from all parties being invited, I believe has been one of the most meaningful learning experiences, possibly, that I’ve ever actually had—going through how we are so fortunate to have developed this process, but still how far we have to go to get it anywhere near right; to get it anywhere near being that genuine partnership.

Where the chronology of events starts is with two Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki rangatira signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi at Karaka Bay on 4 March 1840, and tonight, we recognise that their trust was abused and that their lands were stolen by way of shady Crown dealings. I want to acknowledge the incredible mahi of the Hon Chris Finlayson, who started this work under the previous Government and, indeed, signed the deed of settlement with the Crown at the Maraetai Marae in Clevedon on 7 November 2015. I want to acknowledge the pain and hardship that was spoken to throughout the submissions process to get to this point three years later. We recognise that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a living document and the relationship between mana whenua and the Crown outlives any oscillation of Government, as, indeed, it outlives and exists outside of the four walls of this place. It is an intergenerational commitment. It is, indeed, a living document.

I want to acknowledge how big this step right here is. Many speakers before me have touched on the history which is spoken to, which is acknowledged—the pain, which is acknowledged—in this piece of legislation, putting it on the record, finally, as an account of what has happened. I also just want to state, if I can leave with any one thing in summary—because there is no summary here; this is ongoing and this settlement represents something quite meaningful for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki to take and move forward in partnership with the Crown—is that this is just a starting point. This is the new starting point. This is the refresh button. So I want it put on record that this is where you, again, continue to hold us accountable, and, as part of that process, please call us out. Call us to account when we get it wrong, because we have definitely got it wrong in the past.

So I speak to this on behalf of the Green Party tonight, to say that we wholeheartedly support it but that we would like to see a continual ongoing commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Te Reo Māori version of the text, ongoing in this place. Kia ora.

E Te Māngai o tēnei Whare Paremata, kia hiwa rā. E mihi ana ki ngā uri, te iwi o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai, ki te wā o te ao hou.

[Mr Speaker, pay attention. I greet the descendants and the tribe of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Welcome, welcome at the time of the new year.]

It is indeed humbling and a privilege to stand here to address the House and those of you, ngā uri o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, to take a final but a brief call in the final passage and reading of this bill. I stand not only as a National Party MP and an elected MP for Whanganui but also as uri of Whanganui, and I can relate to you up there in the gallery, seated here for the final passage of this bill. This bill is indicative of your kōrero, your whakaaro, your history, your herstories. I traversed through your domain and your territories for many years as a younger woman when I studied up at Auckland University, and I have to hand what has now become your bill and will become your law: Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill.

So I will address significant parts of this, but before I do it’s appropriate to acknowledge those who have had hands-on: the current Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Andrew Little, and my colleague the former Minister the Hon Chris Finlayson. I also acknowledge the members across the House and on this side on the Māori Affairs Committee and all those members of the Office of Treaty Settlements who I’m sure that ngā uri, a ngā tangata o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki [the descendants, the people of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki] have had dealings with.

So with the limited time that I have to address you all, I made reference to te ao hōu. This is a new chapter for you all; it is a new beginning. As I embark on part of that in addressing that new beginning, quite appropriately under clause 9 of your bill is the acknowledgment from the Crown for its failures, for its breaches, for its oversights in relation to the long-standing grievances that you, quite appropriately, have had and the recognition of those. I’ll read a specific clause there, clause 9: “The Crown acknowledges that, by participating in land transactions, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki sought to establish mutually beneficial relationships with Europeans and, from 1840, with the Crown. The Crown further acknowledges that lands transacted by rangatira of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki contributed to the development of Auckland and of New Zealand [Aotearoa] as a whole.”

Clause 10 of the bill outlines the apology that has been extended to you and it is sealed in writing in this bill, the text of the apology set out in your deed of settlement. The Crown did not honour the mutually beneficial relationship that Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki sought with the European settlers. “Instead, its acts and omissions undermined relationships that should have been based on good will and mutual benefit. The Crown broke its promise to protect your interests, confiscated your whenua, and promoted policies which had devastating economic, social, and cultural consequences for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.”

It’s heartening to see you all here today, a blend of the old and the young. We acknowledge those who have gone before and all the efforts that have been part of arriving at where you are today, but, as I look up, seeing your tamariki, this is about focusing into the future and this bill is about enabling, in some part—although not fully acknowledging the total—redress.

My colleague the Hon Christopher Finlayson spoke about Parts 2 and 3: cultural redress, the significance and importance of that; the commercial redress, in terms of the fiscal amounts that have been identified. However, it is up to how you embrace the future going into it, knowing what your past is and what the grievance has been but embracing a way forward. This bill, it is hoped, will enable that to occur.

So, in conclusion, I commend this bill to the House, and say that no amount of redress will ever be enough to compensate for the wrongs of the past. However, it is a first step towards acknowledgment, recognition, and reconciliation. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou ngā uri o te iwi Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Tēnā koe.

E Te Māngai, ka noho tonu ahau ki roto i te reo Māori mō te roanga ake o taku kōrero.

Tuku mauri ora ki te whei ao

ki te ao marama,

tihewa mauri ora.

E ōku rangatira, mauria mai ko ngā tini aituā kei runga i a koutou; i wahaina mai te mema o tērā taha o te Whare, i te kaumātua a Koro Wetere kua riro atu ki te pō. Ka whakatutukihia i te whakataukī o rātou mā, ko Matariki kai tangata. Nō reira rātou kua ngaro atu ki te pō, haere, haere, haere, ka whakahokia mai ngā rārangi kōrero ki a tātou te hunga ora, ko te whakatinanatanga o te whakataukī, ko Matariki puanga hou.

E ōku rangatira, e Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, tēnei ka mihi. Kua kite atu koutou poto rawa te wā kua riro māku hei mihi atu ki a koutou, nō reira me huku tōtika atu ki roto i te kiko o tēnei pire kei mua i te aroaro o te Whare i te rā nei. Engari ka mihi atu ahau ki a koutou i tēnei wā, e ōku rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa.

Ā, ka huri tua atu ngā mihi ki a koe e te tuakana e Dan Bidois, kua uru hou mai, he ihu hūpē ki roto i tēnei Whare, i whakamanahia e te rā pōti inanahi rā ki roto i te Whare nei, tēnei ka mihi. Kāti ki a tātou e te Whare, tēnā tātou katoa.

Ka huri tōtika atu ki te pire, āe, e tika ana ko te wāhanga tuatahi ko te whakapāha a Te Karauna, mō ngā mahi tūkino ki a koutou e Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Ka kōrerohia nei te pire mō ngā mahi tāhae whenua, ka kōrerohia nei te pire mō te mahi tūkino i te mana motuhake o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Āe, e tika ana me whakapāha. Me whakapāha Te Karauna mō aua tūkinotanga katoa i pā ki mua i a koutou.

Engari, i a au e whakaaro atu ana mō tērā tū āhuatanga, ka pēhea nei tātou kite atu i te kino o ngā mahi a te Karauna ka pā ki ngā tūpuna, ka pā ki ngā uri o tēnei rā, ka pā ki ngā uri whakatupu ā taihoa ake nei? He pātai tēnā ka tukuna atu ki mua i te aroaro o tēnei Whare: ka pēhea nei tātou e kite atu he aha nei nā te rahi o te tūkino a Te Karauna ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki? Āe, ka kōrero mai te pire nei mō ngā mahi tūkino ki roto i ngā tau kua pahure ake nei. Ā, ka kōrerohia nei te pire mō ētahi o ngā āhua tūkino ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki o ēnei rangi. Engari ka pēhea nei te tūkino ki ngā rangatahi me ngā mokopuna ki roto i ngā tau kei mua i a tātou? Heoi anō atu tērā pātai kei mua i te aroaro o tēnei Whare.

Āe, ka huri tua atu ki te wāhanga o te pire e pā ana ki te whakahokinga o ngā whenua ki a koutou o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. E mihi atu ana ahau ki tērā tū āhuatanga. Ka kite atu ahau 13 o ngā wā whenua ka whakahoki atu ki a koutou, engari i rongo atu ahau i te kōrero a te Minita Whirireihana, me tana kōrero mō ngā mahi a Te Papa Atawhai. Horekau he take mehemea ka whakahokia te whenua ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, me ngā herehere o te ture, me ngā herehere o Te Karauna. Horekau he take mō tēnā mahi. Nō reira, e harikoa ana kua kite atu ahau ki roto i tēnei pire, āe, ka whakahokia i ētahi wāhi whenua ki a koutou. Ko te manako ka riro ki a koutou te mana motuhake te whakahaere i aua wāhi whenua, mō koutou te take, mō ngā mokopuna ki roto i ngā tau kei mua i a tātou.

E ōku rangatira ka huri tua atu ki te rahi o te pūtea. Āe mārika. Ko te koretake o taua rahi, me te kite atu ko tētahi wāhi pīnati nei ka whakahokia ki a koutou hei whakatupu ake, hei poipoi ake i te reo me ōna tikanga e pā ana ki a Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Āe, mihi atu ana ahau ki tērā tū āhuatanga, nā runga i te mōhio hei roto i ngā kōrero a ō koutou, ō tātou mātua tūpuna te oranga o ngā iwi, o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ki roto i ngā tau kei mua i a tātou.

Kua kite atu koutou, kotahi miniti ka toe mai ki a Peeni i tēnei wā. Nō reira, hei whakakapi ake ka pānui atu ahau i te kōrero a tōku tupuna a Tā Hēmi Hēnare, ki te iwi Māori i te wā o te Māori i roto i ngā tau waru tekau. Nō reira, “E kore e mōnenehu te pū mahara ki ngā momo rangatira o neherā. Nā rātou i tono i te nuku roa o te Moana Nui a Kiwa me Papatūānuku, ko ō rātou tapuae ki runga i te mata o te whenua, he taonga he tapu, he taonga he tapu.”

E ōku rangatira o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, āna kua oti tēnei wahanga ki roto i te Whare nei. Engari, ko te mahi nunui kei mua tonu i te aroaro o Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ki roto i ngā rā e tū nei. Ka nui tēnei māku. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e Te Māngai o Te Whare.

[Mr Speaker, I will remain in the Māori language for the duration of my speech.

Give the breath of life

to the world of light,

the sneeze of life.

My esteemed leaders, bring the many deceased who are with you; the member of the other side of the House was brought here, the elder Koro Wetere, who has passed away. The proverb Matariki eater of people has come to pass. Therefore, to all those who have departed to the night, farewell, the threads of speech are now returned to the living people, those who embody the proverb Matariki of fresh blossom.

My esteemed leaders, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, I greet you. As you have seen, I have been allocated only a short time to greet you. Therefore, I will turn directly to the subject matter of this bill which is before the House today. However, I acknowledge you at this time, my esteemed leaders, greetings, greetings, greetings to one and all.

I also acknowledge you my brother, Dan Bidois, newly arrived, a novice in this House, legitimised in this House by the vote yesterday, greetings. Well, then, to all of the House, greetings to one and all.

To turn immediately to the bill, yes, it is appropriate that the first part is an apology from the Crown for the unjust treatment of you, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The bill speaks of land thefts; the bill speaks of unjust acts to the independence of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Yes, it is right that we should apologise. The Crown should apologise for all the mistreatment that has befallen you.

However, while I was thinking about that feature, how could we possibly realise the harm of the deeds by the Crown that impacted the ancestors, that impacts the descendants of these times, and will impact descendants in the near future? I lay this question in front of this House: how can we imagine the magnitude of the damage done by the Crown to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki? Yes, this bill speaks of the harmful acts throughout previous years. And this bill speaks of some of the injustices for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in current times. But what about the harm to the youth and the grandchildren in the years that are still before us? I leave that question in front of this House.

Yes, I will proceed to the part of the bill that pertains to the return of lands to you, to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. I commend that feature. I see that there are 13 pieces of land being returned to you, but I did hear the speech of Minister Finlayson, and what he said about the work of the Department of Conservation. There is no point if the land is returned to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki with legal restrictions and the restraints imposed by the Crown. There is no point in that. Therefore, I am pleased to see that in this bill, yes, some pieces of land are returned. I hope that you will also acquire independent control of those bits of land for your own ends, for the grandchildren in the years before us.

My esteemed leaders, I now turn to the size of the sum of money. Yes, indeed. What a useless amount, and I see that a handful of peanuts is being returned to you to grow and nurture the language and traditional practices of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. I acknowledge that feature, knowing that the well-being of the tribes, of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, in the coming years will be found in the discourses of your ancestors, of our ancestors.

As you can see, Peeni currently has one minute left. Therefore, to conclude, I will read a speech by my ancestor Sir Hēmi Hēnare to the Māori people in the time of the Māori, in the 80s. Thus, “The remembrances of the type of leader of days gone by will not diminish. They claimed the breadth of the Pacific Ocean and of Mother Earth, their footsteps on the face of the earth, a sacred treasure, a sacred treasure.”

My esteemed leaders of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, indeed this part in the House is now complete. However, the main work is still in front of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki in the coming days. Enough from me. Greetings, greetings to all, and to the Speaker.]

It is a real pleasure to stand and rise to speak on this Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Claims Settlement Bill at the third reading. I notice that—my colleague and friend Peeni Henare, who sat down, the MP for Tāmaki Makaurau; myself the MP for Tāmaki—royalties on that name have not been given as part of the cultural redress. But as one of the Auckland MPs in which your area, your rohe, extends, it’s a pleasure to stand and speak to welcome you, in some ways, to my home as a parliamentarian here, but acknowledging that my home in Tāmaki sits within your rohe, and a great, proud, strong people. And it’s marvellous to see some—ha! [Points to visitors in the gallery] We’ll talk later. We can add in a clause.

I want to, I suppose, address the House, but, in doing so—to those in the gallery—to say thank you for the hard work that you have put in along with the Crown negotiators, to be part of today. These journeys are hard and long, but to reach this place comes, I imagine, with a high degree of pain but also a great sense of the future, as well. And talking to some of you who I know and some who are not here today, the journey has been hard. But we’ve heard from many speakers here of the great pride of this iwi and the great pride that I think has been put forward here today in this settlement.

When I think of that part of your area, your rohe—of course, going right through to Maraetai, but I think of the areas in Glen Innes, obviously Maungarei—there is already some great work developing there as you clear some of those old manky trees and put up some good new native ones. These are great opportunities and, I think, a great sign of the future.

When I look at the history, the most egregious, to me, is when, standing with the Crown, the Crown, ultimately, stabbed you in the back. When we stand and fight together, you expect that those you fight with stand with you, and, for me, reflecting on elements of your history, that is egregious and the saddest part. But if there’s been one word—as I’ve reflected on what I was meant to say here today, or wanted to say here today, the word that came to mind for me was “atonement”, and the best way that I’d translate it in Māori is “rangimārie”.

“Atonement”, by and large, means to make amends, and, I mean, that would make sense to us here today, that this Treaty bill seeks to make amends, to fix things, as far as possible. But another way to look at the word “atonement”—and it comes from the original wording, actually—is to be at one. To atone: at one; to be as one. Of course, in Māori, it is more kotahitanga—to be at one.

I suppose that’s both the opportunity and challenge today in this bill, this moment of atonement; first and foremost to say sorry, to apologise, to try and make amends. But, perhaps more importantly, what these bills seek to do is create an atonement, an “at one”—to be as one. I don’t want to speak, as of course I couldn’t, for your iwi, but these processes are difficult, and I know there have been tensions as these were negotiated—that your iwi, strong and proud, will be, once again, at one and atoned together; that we, those who are not of your iwi, come together as one to atone, to be at one, and to understand the history that we’ve shared with you and to grow a deeper appreciation of that, but that then, together, we can be at one. Not to be the same—that’s not what “at one”, or atonement, means—but to actually stand together as one and move forward.

For me, the atonement, then, is summed up in what my colleague Jo Hayes talked about. Footprints are a big part of your story, and I know you talk about the larger footprints and the smaller footprints. I know now you’re a smaller iwi, but, actually, sometimes the smaller footprints get the furthest. They walk gently, but it’s the gentle, smaller footsteps that often get further than the big, heavy ones, and I look forward to following the journey of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

Can I finish by evoking Matariki. It’s an amazing time of year. It’s about new hope, it’s about planting new seeds, but we know in life too that, sometimes, to get to that point—that journey’s been hard, the soil has not been productive, and you’ve been through difficult times. So I wish and pray, in this time of Matariki, this time, as we atone, as we make amends, as we stand as one, that this settlement may bring new hope to your iwi. I look forward to engaging with you all in my little part of the electorate, in Tāmaki, and we’ll talk about using our electorate name as a royalty in the future. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’m very pleased to be standing here taking a call on this bill, which is actually the first Treaty claims settlement bill that I’ve had the honour of being—

💬 Hon Meka Whaitiri: Hear, hear!

—I know—able to speak on, and I look forward to many of these occasions, because they are happy occasions.

Just this time last week, we were privy to having Heretaunga Tamatea in the House, and at that point in time, they too had finished a very long journey for reparation for past wrongs, and they walked away from here very happy. I look forward to you, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, also following in those footsteps, too.

Tuatahi me mihi atu ki a rātou, ngā mate kua whetūrangihia ki runga i te korowai o Ranginui; haere, haere, haere atu rā ngā mate. Ā, rātou ki a rātou, tātou ki a tātou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ko tēnei te māngai mō te rohe o Te Waiariki e mihi atu nei ki a koutou, mai i ngā iwi, ngā hapū, ngā whānau o Te Waiariki, kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi anō.

[Firstly, I should acknowledge them, the deceased, who have become stars on the cloak of Ranginui; farewell, farewell to the deceased. The deceased should remain with the deceased, while the living return to life. Greetings to you all, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, greetings to one and all.

This is the spokesperson for the electorate of Te Waiariki greeting you all, from the tribes, the subtribes, and the families of Te Waiariki: greetings, greetings to all.]

This is a big day. We in the Waiariki have a lot of Treaty settlements left to go. There are many iwi within our rohe that are yet to fulfil their journey on this path, and as you sit there today, as we stand here celebrating the third reading and the end of your journey on this particular take, I know that many of our iwi back home will be looking to you as examples for what’s possible.

This is a day where we, the Government, get to put right what we, the Government, once upon a time, put wrong. It puts us in a slightly awkward position, that we as the MPs that are standing here in the House are tasked with the job of fixing up some of the problems from the Governments from days gone past. It’s a very awkward situation, actually, but you, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, should actually feel consoled that there is widespread support in this House for the journey that you’ve been on. There is acknowledgment of the hurt that the iwi have suffered in previous years, and there’s also hope for your journey going forward. That’s what we hope to do here today: to actually acknowledge the wrongs and put things right for you, for those from your iwi who haven’t been able to be here as part of this day, for those that have passed on and not been able to be with us here today, and also for your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren and your uri yet to come.

This is a momentous day, and I’m very happy to be here marking the occasion alongside you. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the Minita o Ngā Take Tiriti o mua [the former Minister of Treaty negotiations] Chris Finlayson, who started this journey quite a while ago—of course, you started it well before him. And I also want to acknowledge our Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Andrew Little, who has also been able to stand here and make sure that this goes through the House today.

I understand it’s been a very thorough process. I was looking through the notes and I noted that, although the deed of settlement was signed in November 2015, in 2016 there was a deed to amend, and then again in 2017 there was another deed to amend. So I’m happy that, at this third reading, we’re able to stand here and proudly put this piece of legislation before the House.

I won’t go into detail about the road that you’ve been on, but it’s been well documented. Know that the research and the stories—your kōrero from your iwi—are now down; they’re now documented in this House. And that is a treasure; it’s a taonga that will be looked upon for many years to come. Use that as a foundation as you move forward into the future.

I look forward to being able to stand here and speak on behalf of other iwi, especially some of our iwi back home in the Waiariki, and to be able to celebrate the moment as well, because we still have many iwi that have got a very long road ahead of them. Last week, Heretaunga Tamatea; this week belongs to you, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. Next week, ko wai ka hua, ko wai ka tohu [who knows, who can tell]?

But, on your journey, I wish you the best for your whānau, not just back home but all around the country, and also to those ones that are always in Australia. We’ve always got to acknowledge those ones. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. I wish you all the best from our iwi back home, in the Waiariki. E mihi atu nei ki a koutou katoa. Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.

[Greetings to you all. Be strong, be brave, be patient.]

I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to stand as the last National Party speaker in this debate as it draws to a close. Folks sitting in the galley this afternoon have travelled not only a long way in terms of distance and geography but also in terms of time and history. Unlike the member that has just resumed his seat, Tamati Coffey, I have spoken in previous debates of this sort. I agree with him; it’s a very powerful and significant part of the democratic process of today’s modern Aotearoa New Zealand.

That we have to do it is a blight upon our history, and it’s a blight upon those who have sat in this historic Chamber in the past. It falls to us who have the privilege to serve today to try and put right things that, actually, we can never put right. But to make some kind of attempt, in good faith, in sincerity, in a way that is meant to convey a beginning to a start of things that were not right and were bad. For me, as a parliamentarian who has spent several years in this place now, I’ve come to understand and learn more about the parliamentary process and the power of what is written into legislation—what is written into the material that sits on the Table of the Parliament, and what sits in the words of the bill, soon to become an Act of the Parliament once it’s signed by the Crown’s representative in New Zealand, the Governor-General, very soon.

What it means is that in a document such as this, what this debate is all about is the historic and formal acknowledgment of all that has been agreed in terms of the past, but also what is hoped for the future. For me, when I read through the legislation—and I commend it to each and every one of you to actually sit down, take the time, read the bill. Read it. It is so important, because it sets everything out. It’s a historic document. It’s a future document. It’s of its time and it’s of its place.

But for me, as I go through and read the chronology of things that were bad and were not done properly, that were disingenuous, that were not as we would now have wanted them to be, the most important part of this legislation actually is not the cultural redress. It’s not the financial redress. For me, it is clause 10 of the legislation. A colleague of mine referred to it earlier on. It’s actually the apology—it’s the apology from the Crown. It sets out the words that say: “Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki sought to establish mutually beneficial relationships with European settlers and the Crown by welcoming them into your rohe and offering land, but the Crown did not honour this gesture. Instead, its acts and omissions undermined relationships that should have been based on good will and mutual benefit. The Crown broke its promise to protect your interests, confiscated your whenua, and promoted policies which had devastating economic, social, and cultural consequences for Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.” Then it goes on to say: “For its breaches of … the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles and for the prejudice its acts and omissions have caused Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, the Crown unreservedly apologises.”

I’ve had occasion to be with the former Minister the Hon Chris Finlayson when he has spoken on marae around the countryside and issued, on behalf of the Crown, the formal apology. Now that role falls to the new Minister, the Hon Andrew Little, and he picks up that baton of the work that has been commenced under a different administration, but work that this Parliament endorses and accepts and will vote unanimously in favour of this afternoon.

So I want to acknowledge those who are here today, acknowledge the work that they have done, and acknowledge those who are not here today, who have been working and fighting for what is right for so long and did not get here today. The future is all of ours, and it’s what we make it. So my invitation as a humble member of this House is to accept the offer of a future that represents all of us in Aotearoa New Zealand. In closing and on behalf of the National Party as the last speaker, I absolutely, thoroughly, commend this historic piece of legislation to the Parliament of New Zealand.

Koutou Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki kua tae mai nei i tēnei wā, i whakarangatira mātou, i a mātou i tēnei wā, tēnei te tino mihi ki a koutou. Hōnore nui mō mātou ki te tū i mua i a koutou i tēnei wā. Tēnei te tino mihi ki a koutou mō ō koutou kaha ki te kōkiri tēnei kaupapa mai i te tīmata tae noa ki nāianei. Tino rawe, tino rawe, ki te kite i a koutou i tēnei wā, ā, e tika me mihi ki a koutou i runga i tēnei rā, rā nunui mō tātou te iwi Māori.

Heoi anō, ahakoa kua wehea kētia a Koro, kei te tika tonu ka mihia tonutia ngā mihi ki a ia i tēnei wā, nē? Nō te mea nō Tainui ia, koirā tana ingoa, wai tana ingoa, ā muri a Koro, Koro Tainui nē? Koirā tana ingoa, tika me, ki te maumahara tō tātou rangatira i tēnei wā.

Ko tērā pea he ruarua noa iho ngā tāngata e mōhio i te wā he Minita o te Whare Māori, nā Koro i whakatuwhera i taku marae a Ngā Whare Waatea. I tuwhera a ia i taku marae i runga i tōna mōhio ehara i te mea he marae mō mana whenua, he marae kē mō tātou ko te hunga e noho tāone ana. Ko wai ka mōhio ka huri te ao mai i taua wā, ka tae ka puāwaitia te kaupapa o Ngā Whare Waatea i tēnei wā, ki ngā tōpito o Tāmaki Makaurau. Nō reira e te Pāpā, e te whanaunga, Koro, moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā.

Ka nui tēnā. Ki a koutou Te Rōpū Nāhinara i tēnei wā, mō tō mahi i ngā wā o mua ngā mihi ki a koe e hoa, e te hoa, ki a koe Andrew me Te Minita i ngā wā o mua, Chris Finlayson, e tika ki te mihi ki a tātou katoa, tēnā koutou.

[You of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki who have come here at this time, your presence ennobles us; greetings to you all. It is an honour for us to stand before you at this time. I acknowledge you for your strength in leading this cause right from the beginning through until now. It is great, great to see you at this time, and it is only right to acknowledge you on this day, this big day for us, the Māori people.

However, although Koro has already departed, it is still right to address acknowledgments to him at this time, isn’t it? Because he is from Tainui, that is his name—what’s his name, after Koro? Koro Tainui isn’t it? That’s his name; it’s right to remember our leader at this time.

Perhaps not many people realise that at the time he was the Minister of the Māori office, Koro opened my marae, Ngā Whare Waatea. He opened my marae in the knowledge that it wasn’t a marae for those with territorial rights, but instead it was a marae for those of us who were urban dwellers. Who would have known that things would evolve from there to the point at which Ngā Whare Waatea initiative now flourishes right to the extremities of Auckland? Therefore, Uncle, kinsman, Koro, rest in peace.

That is enough. To you, the National Party, at this time, for your work in the past, I acknowledge you, my friend; you, Andrew, and the former Minister, Chris Finlayson. It is right to acknowledge one and all; salutations.]

In this week, a big week for all of us in Te Ao Māori in this Parliament, it was pleasing to see the attendance at the former Minister of Māori Affairs Koro Wētere’s tangi. One that you attended, Mr Speaker—rightfully so; he was an old friend and colleague of yours. And it was good to see members of the National Party there, obviously, and a great turnout from our own people.

I think that our whanaunga there, Koro, would have been very proud about what he saw, about what’s happening today. He wasn’t the out-front, sort of X Factor show-off type of MP, like Shane Jones. He was more like Nuk over there on the other side. He had his own style, eh, Nuk? Very like my mate Nuk over there. And I was looking at you too, Ronnie, but, no, I can’t put you in that category! Ha, ha!

He was a relation to my mother, June Jackson—June Batley. The whānau both married each other, the Batley and Wētere whānau. But this is the type of kaupapa he dreamed about—this is the type of kaupapa he dreamed about. In his own way, he had his own style. A relation of mine, but can’t say we saw things the same way in terms of economics. He was quite a Rogernomics supporter in his day, the old whanaunga. Yes, the Speaker’s aware of that. But, within that, first and foremost, he believed in Māori development. So he was different from other Māori politicians from the left, going down the Douglas side but believing in Treaty settlements, believing that groups should have their own way, their own tino rangatiratanga—and so what a mover, in terms of his own language and his own culture.

And at the tangi the other day, which we all enjoyed, it was pointed out by Rāhui Papa from the other side that whilst we owe Koro Wētere a lot of gratitude in terms of the Māori language, it was ironic that the man who led us on to the marae the other day, Winston Peters, could take some credit too, because when Koro decided one day to speak in Māori in the House, who did the point of order? Winston Peters. He asked him to explain what on earth he was talking about, and Koro, of course, refused at the time. We didn’t have our flash communicators here, who translate straight away, and because of a lot of that work done by our matua, we are where we are today, and so we thank Koro. Of course, we have to thank him—I have to say this to the National Party—our Acting Prime Minister, Winston Peters, because if he hadn’t have said “Translate.”, we wouldn’t have what we have today. So, well done, Winston—without doubt.

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

Thank you, Mr Speaker. But I bring our matua in because this legacy is an important legacy, and one thing our matua Koro talked about, and I do recall this at different hui, was alienation. We all know about alienation, don’t we? Because if you don’t know about alienation, then you don’t know about Treaty settlements. And if any tribe has been done over in terms of alienation, it’s this tribe—it’s this tribe.

How do you explain to Pākehā people today what alienation means? Because, you see, if you can’t access your language, if you can’t access your history, if you can’t access your whakapapa, then you have no identity. You have no identity. And what chance, what opportunity do your children have, do your mokopunas have? What chance does that tribe have? It’s one of the saddest parts, I believe, of Treaty settlements, Māori alienation, and it’s a part that all New Zealanders should try to understand. The loss of communal ancestral lands had a huge impact on this tribe. They were left landless, and that’s been said today, with uneconomic blocks and insufficient means to support themselves.

So what happens to the tribe? The tribe is almost no more, and the tribe disperses and goes in all and every direction—into the different areas of Auckland, into the different parts of the country, into South Auckland, into West Auckland—and only a few people are left to carry the identity and the life of that tribe. I mihi to you today, those people who carried the kaupapa—carried the kaupapa through all those traumas.

When people talk about the impacts of colonisation, look what happened to our people—look what happened to our people. I know, having had different kōrero with different Ministers, particularly this Minister sitting by me, Minister Little, when we talk about impacts and we talk about our people, sadly, in a dysfunctional way—because we fill all the worst statistics, sadly, in terms of domestic violence and abuse and all that, and we’re trying to change that. The previous Government tried to change that; we’re trying to change that.

I know one thing: you get your people to know their culture, their language, their identity, and you will have a change and you will have a future. This is what this tribe now has, because they know who they are, they know who their tribe is, they know what they’re going to say to their children, and they know what they’re going to say to their mokopuna. They’re all going to speak—well, they’re not all going to speak Māori, but our kids are speaking Māori, our mokopuna are speaking Māori. That’s how important the culture is—that’s how important the culture is. And I know from my work within my organisation that when we have had families who know their reo, who know their whakapapa, who know their history, those are families that do well.

So my hope from this settlement is that the progress that is going on within this tribe continues, and that they benefit from the hard work and the history and the trauma that the tribe has gone through, and you carry on as you have for the last few years. The money is nothing. What you have done in terms of working through this settlement and in terms of what we overcome as Māori should shine through to your children and your mokopuna.

So I mihi to you all today, and to the House. It’s always an honour to speak on these settlements. And I mihi to our Minister here, one of the—I was going to say one of the best Pākehās around, but there’s plenty of good Pākehā, eh, Mr Little? But he’s one of our best Ministers that you could have, along with Minister Finlayson—what a job he’s done. I thank you all for your attendance today.

Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā tēnā anō tātou.

Bill read a third time.

Waiata