Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill

I move, That Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill.

E ai ki te kōrero a te koroua, “Kotahi te ture mō ngā iwi e rua”. Kua mana ana kupu i tēnei rā. E te mana nui, e te tohunga, e te rangatira, Rua Kēnana Hepetipa, moe mai rā, e moe.

Kāti, huri noa i tō tātou Whare, tēnā koutou. Tuatahi, ki ngā uri o Rua, ngā kaiwhakapono o Te Iharaira, tae rawa ake ki ngā uri o Tama Kaimoana, o Maungapōhatu. Koutou kua puta i ngā whārua o Te Urewera, nā koutou i pīkau i tēnei kaupapa i roto i ngā tau me āna piki, me āna heke hoki. Ahakoa ērā, kei kōnei tātou i tēnei rā mō te pānui tuatahi a tēnei pire. Nā koutou, nā tō koutou māia, kaha hoki, kua tae tātou ki tēnei rā. Nō reira, kei ngā uri o Rua Kēnana, tēnei te mokopuna o Piupiu Te Wherowhero e mihi kau atu nei.

Ka tangi ki ngā tini aituā i roto i te wā. Tēnei mātou e tangi tonu nei i tērā o ngā taniwha hiku roa, a Pita Paraone. Otirā, kei ngā mate o tēnā marae, o tēnā hapū, o tēnā iwi puta noa i te motu, haere, haere, hoki atu rā. Rātou ki a rātou, ko tātou ngā kanohi ora o te tau nei, ngā mahuetanga iho o rātou mā, tēnā rā koutou, tātou, katoa.

[The male elder once said, “One rule for two peoples”. His words are true on this day. The authority, the spiritual intermediary, the leader of people, Rua Kēnana Hepetipa, rest in peace.

Turning to those in the House, greetings. Firstly, to the descendants of Rua, the believers of Iharaira, to the descendants of Tama Kaimona, of Maungapōhatu. To those of you who have come from the valley of the Ureweras, it was you who have carried this cause forward through its ups and downs. Regardless, we are here today for the first reading of this bill. It was because of you, because of your courage, your strength, we are here today. Therefore, to the descendants of Rua Kēnana, I, the descendent of Piupiu Te Wherowhero, acknowledge you.

We mourn the many who have passed. We continue to mourn the passing of that man of great influence, Pita Paraone. To those who have passed of the marae, the hapū, and the iwi throughout the country, rest in peace. The spirit realm to the spirit realm, and to us who have been left behind in the realm of the living, thank you all.]

In August 1916, Rua Kēnana—Tūhoe rangatira, community leader, and leader of the Iharaira faith—was convicted of moral resistance to a police attempt to arrest him earlier that year. The arrest had its origins in an earlier conviction for the illicit sale of liquor; however, Rua believed he had already been punished for those crimes. Rua had, in fact, served time in prison in 1915 on such charges dating back to 1911, before he had returned to Maungapōhatu in 1915.

In January 1916, Rua was summoned to appear before a magistrate in relation to a batch of 1915 charges also relating to the sale of alcohol without a licence. Rua advised police that he was busy with harvesting and requested that his case be adjourned until the next court session. The magistrate treated this as a contempt of court and imposed a prison sentence in Rua’s absence.

A first attempt to arrest Rua was made in February 1916. Rua told the constables that he would not accompany them and that he had already served a prison sentence. The constables were not prepared to use force and did not compel him to come with them; however, this led to further charges against Rua for resisting arrest and using seditious language. In the midst of the First World War, the authorities undoubtedly saw the autonomy claimed by the community led by Rua at Maungapōhatu as subversive.

For the next attempt at arrest, in April 1916, 70 armed police set out. During the arrest there was an exchange of gunfire in which Rua’s son Toko Rua and another young man, Te Maipi, were killed. Three other Maungapōhatu residents and four police officers were wounded. Thirty-one Maungapōhatu men were arrested and held up for three days. This incident has been described by some historians as the last shooting of the New Zealand Wars. It is an incident that has dwelt long in Tūhoe memories and has continued to cast its shadow over more recent events in our history.

Rua’s 47-day trial was the longest in our history until 1977. He was acquitted on the charge of using seditious language. Four other charges were thrown out by the judge, and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on two others. The police attempted to arrest Rua due to the reactivation of his suspended sentence imposed in May 1915. It’s unclear why this sentence was reactivated, as Rua was not charged with any new offence between the imposition of the suspended sentence in May 1915 and its later reactivation. Rua spent 18 months in prison because of his conviction for morally resisting arrest in February 1916. The severity of his sentence was the subject of protest in a letter to the Auckland Star by eight members of the jury which convicted Rua. The Iharaira faith went into a serious, long decline after the events arising from Rua’s arrest. In regard to the Maungapōhatu invasion, the Crown’s treatment of Rua was unreasonable.

This legislation will give effect to the 9 September 2017 agreement to provide a statutory pardon for Rua Kēnana between the Crown and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira me Ngā Uri o Maungapōhatu Charitable Trust to provide a statutory pardon for Rua Kēnana. The evidence relating to this instance has been thoroughly researched through the Waitangi Tribunal’s Te Urewera inquiry. The Waitangi Tribunal report concluded that the police used excessive force in arresting Rua at Maungapōhatu. It is not clear that there was good reason to reactivate the suspended sentence for liquor charges, which were used in large part to justify the arrest. Rua has borne a lasting stigma because of the Crown’s treatment of him. The final form of this stigma was a guilty verdict for moral resistance.

There are precedents in this House for pardoning individuals from our history. An example is the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character, Mana, and Reputation) Act 2013. There are also criteria for assessing whether a statutory pardon is an appropriate vehicle to achieve reconciliation. These were developed during the consideration of a pardon for Kereopa Te Rau, as part of the Ngāti Rangiwewehi settlement.

Let me test the circumstances, briefly, against those criteria. First, the person for whom the pardon is sought has been convicted of offence. This is obviously the case for Rua Kēnana. The second criterion is that the whānau wish the pardon to be granted, and understand its nature and effect. This criterion also clearly applies here. The trusts have been clear that they wish to pursue a statutory pardon. Third, the pardon will achieve the intended effect of promoting reconciliation. The trust considers this is necessary to restore the character, mana, and reputation of Rua, and promote reconciliation with the Crown. We have much work to do there. Fourth, no other response from the Crown will sufficiently meet whānau concerns. Let me be clear that there are no other options available to meet the concerns expressed by the trust, except through this bill. Fifth, it is appropriate for Parliament to formally express forgiveness, via legislation, for the conduct that resulted in the convictions. The Crown has acknowledged, in the Tūhoe settlement, the manner in which it acted towards Rua and the Maungapōhatu community, causing them serious prejudice, and was a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.

The uri of Rua Kēnana and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki o Iharaira are still affected by the stigma that has resulted from the conviction of their tupuna and the resulting hardships for the community caused by that conviction. We cannot begin to understand what that feels like. In terms of the Crown acknowledgment, this bill is required in order to provide an appropriate Crown response to these matters. It seeks to affirm and restore the character, mana, and reputation of Rua and his descendants. It is important that the Crown acknowledges that its actions, which I have already talked about, caused lasting damage to his character, mana, and reputation, and carried by his descendants. It acknowledges that Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira, including the descendants of Rua Kēnana, have suffered ongoing hurt, shame, stigma as a result of the Maungapōhatu invasion. The Crown will, through this legislation, apologise to the descendants of Rua Kēnana and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira for the lasting damage to the character, the mana, the reputation of Rua Kēnana and his uri. It will also apologise for the deep hurt, shame, and stigma caused as a result of the invasion of Maungapōhatu.

The bill concludes with the pardon for the conviction for the moral resistance to arrest. It declares the restoration of the character, mana, and reputation of Rua Kēnana, his uri, and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira. This bill is outside the Treaty settlement process. It will have no impact on existing Treaty settlements and involves no financial or cultural redress. However, I consider that the bill will go a long way to restoring the reputation and mana of the Crown. We heard, earlier this morning, from Dr Taiarahia Black, that this is a millennial moment. The first reading of Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill, in my mind, affirms the teachings of our prophets.

Te koroua Rua Kēnana, Te Whiti o Rongomai, Tohu Kākahi, Āperehama Taonui, Tāwhiao, me rekereke rātou katoa.

[The elder Rua Kēnana, Te Whiti o Rongomai, Tohu Kākahi, Aperehama Taonui, Tāwhiao, they must all be pardoned.]

This is the millennial moment recognised so that we can be alert to the teachings of those tohunga, our tūpuna, to navigate our way ahead.

Nō reira, tēnei te whakaaro ake ki a koutou katoa. Te Ururoa, i kite i a koutou i waenganui i a tātou. Tēnā tātou.

[Therefore, I am thinking of all of you. Te Ururoa, I saw you amongst us. Thank you.]

Tēnā koe koro mā, e kui mā, rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou. E te whānau o te poropiti o Rua Kēnana, kei te mihi mahana ki a koutou. Nau mai, haere mai i tēnei Whare i te rā whakahirahira.

[Greetings, elders and distinguished guests, greetings. To the family of the prophet Rua Kēnana, warm greetings to you all. Welcome, welcome to this House on this important day.]

I stand humbled again to speak on such an emotional bill, Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill, on the first reading. This morning, I was privileged to be part of the rōpū pāremata for the plaque, as we see under the doorway, and I too, as the Minister Nanaia Mahuta has laid out, was privileged to listen to a number of speeches today.

But the one that I do want to make mention of is the one of a previous lecturer of mine, and an uri of Tūhoe, Professor Taiarahia Black. His speech around the waiata of Rua Kēnana, when Rua Kēnana was imprisoned, brought a lot of—it was almost like it was real for me. I could see it all happening in my mind’s eye. Those words around “Kāore te whakamā i ahau ki te taura whiu kau” [“The void of shame to use a cow lasso”] when Rua Kēnana—when the colonial Crown went in and arrested him, wrapping around a cowhide lasso to bring him down, “I kitea e au he karauna kīngi” [“Pervading my sight is the symbol of the King”], where he could see the badge of the King coming through, “Ka ū ki Maungapōhatu” [“Ascending Maunga Pōhatu”].

As Professor Black went on to say so eloquently—I could never do it as eloquently as him, where he talked about the time when Rua Kēnana’s hands were locked in handcuffs: “Mekameka i aku ringa ka pai e te iwi ka rite ngā karaipiture” [“My hands are chained. It does not matter, my people, for the scriptures have spoken”], where he was saying, “Even though my hands have been handcuffed”, he will take the role, and the people will take the role of the scriptures. This was a man who did nothing. He did absolutely nothing wrong, and yet he had to pay a price, a price that the whānau of Rua Kēnana sit in this House today—as they listen to us speak about and apologise on behalf of the history of this country for the wrong that was beset upon this man, upon this poropiti.

They’re only the first four lines of this waiata. It goes on into the treatment of the people of his whānau and of his wahine from the Crown invaders—the disgusting things that these people had to endure during their time while their leader was sitting in Mt Eden Prison. For many times, I stand in this House on a number of Māori bills, and it does—I listened to Minister Nanaia Mahuta, with the tears coming down her face. I know the pain, I can feel the pain, that many of the whānau that have sat in that gallery—I have felt your pain. If this is just one little thing that I can help to address and soothe that pain, then I am humbled to be able to do that.

So we are here today, over a hundred years later, with this acknowledgment and with this apology for the horrific history that started so long ago and carried on, right through. National worked with the Māori Party, with the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell—I acknowledge you, Te Ururoa—in starting this whole process, and this Government, the Labour-led coalition Government, has carried this bill through to today, and I am humbled. I am humbled again.

As I said, it’s a very emotional time as I stand here, but I just want to say that my day today started in a humble way, at 5.30 a.m., with a solemn and respectful start, and today—right now—my day, at this point in the Parliament, ends with an honouring of a tupuna of Maungapōhatu. There is so much that Minister Nanaia Mahuta relayed in this House around atrocities and the treatment of the poropiti Rua Kēnana. On this side of the House, we cry with you and we mourn with you. Therefore, without any further ado, I commend this bill to the House. Tēnā koe.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. E tū ana ki te tautoko i tēnei pire. Ki a koutou ngā uri o Rua Kēnana, ngā uri o Maungapōhatu, Te Hāhi Iharaira, nau mai, nau mai, whakatau mai ki Te Whare Pāremata i takatū nei. He tino hōnore tēnei ki te tū ki te tautoko i tēnei, tō koutou pire.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker. I stand to support this bill. To you, the descendants of Rua Kēnana, the descendants of Maungapōhatu, the Church of Iharaira, welcome, welcome, welcome to Parliament. It is a great honour to stand to support this, your bill.]

I am delighted, and it is a privilege, to stand and speak in the first reading of this bill, Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / the Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill. I want to acknowledge all the descendants of Rua Kēnana who have travelled from far and wide to be here on this occasion. I want to acknowledge all of the whānau, wherever they may be, who might be tuning in for this historic occasion. It’s sort of hard—there are a lot of emotions that are going on at the moment, and I just want to acknowledge our guests.

It’s been a really significant week, and a significant day, when I look to see the unveiling of the New Zealand Wars memorial that we’ve done this morning and hear the kōrero by Professor Taiarahia Black, as well, around it being a millennium moment, and the announcement that we made today, as a Government, that we will be ensuring that all schools—all kura—will be teaching our New Zealand histories by the year 2022. Then, to top it all off, we have the first reading of this bill, because if there is one person in the history of our country that should be taught in our schools—and will be taught in our schools—it is Rua Kēnana.

Mr Black referred today to research and scholarship, and I’ve really enjoyed—I went to the library and pulled out the book and read up on Rua Kēnana, just myself, on my own. And I’m struck by such a visionary leader that he was—a visionary leader for Tūhoe, for his people of Maungapōhatu, and the amazing works that he did—amazing—all grounded in scripture. A deep knowledge of scripture, and then the application of that in terms of everyday life to encourage the building of settlements and thriving communities—and that’s exactly what Rua Kēnana did in terms of his ministry to his people and the drawing that he had from far and wide. Also, with that, there came suspicion by the Pākehā, as there always was. As soon as there was someone of great influence and charisma in Māoridom—particularly, in the 19th and 20th centuries—unfortunately, the settlers’ Governments of the time saw that as a threat.

We have heard the history, and I want to acknowledge my tuahine, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, who gave us the full, beautiful history of what occurred at Maungapōhatu. But I want to focus on the great visionary that Rua Kēnana was, not only in the construction of these settlements and the inspiration that he provided to his followers and to his people but the vision that he had for Tūhoe and for the whole motu. I’m really thrilled that, through this bill, we will be seeing it is part of helping to bring healing, the restoration of the mana, the pardon, the acknowledgments, but it’s also about revitalising te hāhi Iharaira, as well. So I want to acknowledge all of those wonderful works that Rua Kēnana is famous for—famous. This is a real honour to be standing here.

I want to acknowledge all the work that’s gone on in terms of the research, in terms of the work through Te Puni Kōkiri in bringing this bill to the House and the agreement that was reached and that was signed to mark the centenary of that terrible, terrible police invasion that occurred in April 1916—just over a hundred years ago these things were going on. I want to acknowledge the loss that occurred, the mamae, but also I’m really thrilled that even though the Pākehā Government of that day used the criminal justice system and used the laws of the time to try and put out the aspirations of Rua Kēnana and ultimately led to detrimental damage and decline for the Maungapōhatu community and its people, here we are today passing legislation that will restore that mana and restore the character, as has always been known, but we are doing it through laws today. So that’s the wonderful thing that we can do in this House of Parliament.

So it has been quite a day. I am delighted that, as chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, we will be conducting our hearings into this bill. I certainly—not for wont to intrude—would welcome an invitation that we could travel up as a committee. I’ve never been up there. I’d love an invitation for our committee to come and conduct our hearings on this bill up in Maungapōhatu, or wherever—or wherever. So, wherever—whatever are the wishes of the hau kāinga.

So this is a really momentous day. I know that, as we do in these Treaty settlement speeches, we’re Māori, so it’s all about our connections and whakapapa and the like. I hail from the South, and also connect up to the North on my mum’s side. So I don’t quite have a connection to Maungapōhatu. However, I am pleased that I do have a wee kōrero here, because of taku hono ki Maungapōhatu [my connection to Maungapōhatu]. Nā taku tūpuna, nā Eruera Tirikātene i huaki te rori ki Maungapōhatu. Mō tēnei mahi āna ka takohatia mai e Tūhoe tētahi tokotoko ki taku tūpuna. Kei taku whānau tonu te tokotoko nei. Ko te rākau mō tēnei tokotoko nō te taiapa tonu o te kāinga o Rua Kēnana, and so he tino tāonga tēnei o taku whānau.

[My ancestor Eruera Tirikātene opened up the road to Maungapōhatu. For this work, my grandfather was gifted a walking stick by Tūhoe. My family still have this walking stick to this day. The wood for the walking stick was from a fence post from the home of Rua Kēnana, and so it is a real treasure to my family.]

I want to acknowledge that when my grandfather opened the road to Maungapōhatu back in the day, it was a wonderful occasion. He was very spoilt. He was given some amazing gifts. This is one of them: this wonderful tokotoko, which is carved. It came from the palisades of one of Rua’s whare at Maungapōhatu, made from the palisades. So it’s wonderful to be able to make that connection to the whānau of Rua Kēnana today. So I understand there was also a cloak, and I believe that’s in Te Papa for safekeeping as well. But I want to acknowledge the whānau of Rua Kēnana for those connections that we have.

Also, just to conclude, again, this is all about the restoration of character, mana, and reputation, and pardon. I know that we’ve done this for Mokomoko. We’ve given acknowledgments for Te Kooti Rikirangi. And I’m really delighted that we are now, today, being able to put through this legislation for Rua Kēnana. So, with that, I just want to mihi again to the whānau that have travelled today. I’m certainly looking forward to further mahi that we will be doing in respect of this bill.

Nō reira, rau rangatira mā, huri noa i tō tātou Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātau katoa.

[Therefore, to everyone in the House, thank you, thank you, thank you one and all.]

Tihei mauri ora! Te Whare e tū nei, tēnā koe. Te papa e takoto nei, tēnā koe. Ngā mate, haere, haere, haere. Ngā reo, ngā mana, tēnā koutou katoa. Kei te kōrero ahau mō te pānuitanga tuatahi o Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill.

[I stand. The House that stands before us, greetings. The ground that lays before us, greetings. Those who have passed, rest in peace. The spokespeople, the people of authority, greetings to you all. I am speaking to the first reading of Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill.]

I’m very pleased to be able to see this bill being introduced today during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Also today we celebrated, as has been noted, te huranga o te tohu whakamahara ki ngā pakanga i Aotearoa—the unveiling of the New Zealand Wars commemorative plaque. It’s of great significance that we now recognise the New Zealand Wars and the men and women who fought in them, here in Pāremata Aotearoa. I particularly like the fact that the plaque is in a very prominent position above the doorways, and I think it’s looking really good.

That we now very keenly and actively celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori—the Māori Language Week—when in the past young Māori speakers were chastised by their teachers for speaking Te Reo, that we prominently commemorate the New Zealand Wars, and, of course, even the name of those wars has changed over the years in our Parliament, and that this bill to pardon Rua Kēnana, the Tūhoe prophet, is being introduced into the House today shows just how far we have come and how much has changed in New Zealand over the years. In the 21st century we are a far more understanding, inclusive, diverse, and tolerant society. We expect a better, fairer, and culturally richer quality of life, and that is to the benefit of all of us—this generation and the generation to come.

In fact, New Zealanders reading the story of Rua Kēnana from over a century ago find it very difficult to understand how he could have been so badly treated by the Crown, and that they could have used such force to arrest him. Bringing 70—70—armed policemen to invade Maungapōhatu and, in the process, killing his son Toko Rua and Te Maipi Te Whiu, and wounding other Māori, and that four policemen were also injured, just seems incredible and all wrong to us today. Indeed, the Waitangi Tribunal in 2012 determined that the Crown used excessive force in arresting Rua Kēnana and that that arrest was unlawful because it happened on a Sunday.

There’s no doubt that 2 April 1916 was a dark day in New Zealand’s history and had terrible consequences for Rua Kēnana and his whānau, and beyond that the followers of the Iharaira faith he founded. All suffered that day, and all their descendants have suffered from the consequences ever since. I think all New Zealanders were supportive when the Crown, represented by the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell and the Hon Christopher Finlayson, went to Maungapōhatu marae in September 2017 to sign an agreement with the trust, representing the whānau and the followers of the faith, to progress the pardon of Rua Kēnana—a pardon promised 101 years late, a pardon long overdue. For all that time, Rua Kēnana was, in the eyes of the law, a criminal.

But now is the time to change that. Today, we introduce a bill that will ensure him a statutory pardon. Nothing, of course, will erase the violence and the horror of the Maungapōhatu invasion that April Sunday in 1916, but at least now the Crown has apologised, and within the bill is a declaration to restore the character, to restore the mana, to restore the reputation of Rua Kēnana, his descendants, and the followers of the Iharaira faith that he founded.

New Zealand will be a better place now that this miscarriage of justice, this historic wrong, has been recognised and an apology made. Many things have gone wrong in our country over the years and people have suffered, but I know that New Zealanders today are keen to right those wrongs. Hopefully, as they are recognised, we can find ways to make amends, to apologise, and to heal some of the hurt so that we can move forward together. I commend this bill to the House during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori.

“Te roa, te whenua e tāwhai atu rā. E noho ana hoki au ki Pōneke rā hia. E awhi ana hoki au. Ko koe rā Te Karauna. Hei whakairitanga mō te mate o taku tinana nei e.”—e ai ki te kōrero o Rua, ā muri i tōna haerenga kei kōnei ki Pōneke i te tau 1909. Me maumahara tātou.

Ka huri ake au ki a koutou ngā mōrehu. Ki a koutou ngā uri o Rua Kēnana, te poropiti, ki a koutou ngā toenga o ngā tamariki a Iharaira me ngā uri o Maungapōhatu. Ānei oku mihi ki a koutou. Ko koutou e kawea ngā tino hiahia o te poropiti. Ko koutou e kawea te taumahatanga o ngā kaupapa i ngā wā ia tau, ia tau, ia tau, ia rā, ia rā, ia rā. E ngā pakanga o muri ki ngā pakanga o ēnei rā.

Ka nui ōku mihi ki a koutou e ōku nei rangatira kua haramai nei i tēnei rā whakahirahira. Mai i te maunga o Maungapōhatu, kei kōnei ki tō tātou nei Whare o Te Pāremata. Tēnā koutou.

[“The long, the country that stretches long and wide. I am in Wellington indefinitely. I also embrace you. You are the Crown. There will be relief for the illness within me.”—according to Rua, after travelling here to Wellington in the year 1909. We must remember.

I turn to you, the descendants. To you, the descendants of Rua Kēnana, the prophet; to you, the leftovers of the children of Iharaira and the descendants of Maungapōhatu. Here are my acknowledgments to you. You carry the hopes of the prophet. You carried the burden of this matter every year, every year, every year, every day, every day, every day. The battles of the future to the battles of today.

I give my heartfelt acknowledgments to you, my distinguished leaders, who have made it here on this important day. From the mountain of Maungapōhatu, here we are in Parliament. Greetings.]

It’s not lost upon me that in 1909 the prophet Rua Kēnana travelled down to Wellington. He came down from Maungapōhatu in a time politically wrought. The Crown, just two years prior, had introduced the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, many say as a consequence of watching the movement that Rua Kēnana was leading up in Maungapōhatu. In 1909, also—probably not unlike today, as we all have in our own various homes—there were different views in the ways in which to advance the aspirations of the people in Te Urewera. So the prophet Rua Kēnana took it upon himself to come down here to advocate on behalf of Ngā Iharaira’s aspirations for the whenua, for ngā wawata—the aspirations for development, economic development, for opening up the roads. The words that I shared at the start—and I couldn’t sing it as eloquently as our friends may do at some point—were words that he wrote, as I best understand, on his haerenga back home to Maungapōhatu: the vastness, the voice, declaration of the land connecting part of this land to another. As I contemplate here in Wellington, I am cautious with your means—with you, the Crown. To uphold your process that beset the difficulties and connections to my land connected to my body.

Consequently, as we have come to hear in this House today, but also over many a year and many a fora—whether it’s been through the tribunals or on paepae in warm houses throughout your rohe—we have heard how the prophet was right to be cautious. We have heard from colleagues in this House—the Hon Nanaia Mahuta just prior, and eloquently summarised by colleagues from across the aisle—the actions of the Crown and the consequences thereof for your people which led us here to this moment in time today, where we, on behalf of the Crown, apologise to you, ngā uri o Rua Kēnana, for the wrongful pursuit of and incarceration of and the death of your people and your place. Today marks another step in restoring the balance between the Crown and your people.

My colleagues have acknowledged many of the events that occurred around that time, but, for me, I want to stretch my mind back to 2003, when three women—Tira Tamiana, Tiare Ture Whenua, and Kirituia Tumarae—brought this claim to give voice to Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira in the tribunal.

Ka huri ake au ki a koe e te pāpā, e Richard. Kua kitea koe i waenganui i a tātou me maumahara te wahine a Kirituia, tō hoa tino pūmau.

[I turn to you, my elder, Richard. I have seen you amongst us and must remember Kirituia, your beloved.]

I just want to acknowledge that we feel her here with us today. I recall when you received the Crown up at Maungapōhatu in 2003. Kirituia’s tangi, Kirituia’s kāranga to the Crown, which I have etched in my memory, as she called out to all those that had been lost, as she called out to, it felt like, the stars of several universes far beyond the realms that we were standing within. But that kāranga stretched for nigh on 30 minutes, I would say, unbroken. She brought the pain and the grief—the mamae—of the uri o Rua Kēnana.

Today marks 16-odd years since those stories were shared with the Crown. It’s been a long journey for those that have remained to ensure that justice, in some way, shape, or form, comes and that the balance is restored for ngā uri o Rua Kēnana.

I want to turn to when I was a mere 19-year-old, just finished my second year of law school, and travelled up to the Ureweras—I don’t know what I had in my mind—with your lawyer, who has stuck by you for many years, Jason Pou. I travelled up with Jason, and, actually, we ended up staying about five months up in the Ureweras. We etched your stories into briefs of evidence.

I want to acknowledge my friend Atamira Tumarae, who was 15 years old, as she stood, in 2003, up in Maungapōhatu and shared the kōrero of Rua Kēnana, as she shared the mamae that her generation and all uri carried as a consequence of the pakanga, as a consequence of our actions—the Crown’s actions. And she spoke too then—and I spoke with her again this morning—how all of this is only about ensuring the aspirations, that today marks a shift in the restoration of the relationship that brings about—“transformational change” were the words she used—transformational change for your peoples. So we embark upon this journey together.

I want to acknowledge Te Ururoa Flavell, who, too, formed an instrumental part alongside his colleagues in the previous Government. We acknowledge you, and we thank you, and we’re here to embark together on the next stages of this relationship. Tēnā koutou.

Kia ora e Te Mana Whakawā. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare, e te iwi, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Ko tēnei Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Me whakanuia e tātou.

[Greetings, Madam Speaker. Greetings to the House, to the tribe, greetings to you all. This is Māori Language Week. We must celebrate it.]

It is right that we celebrate Māori Language Week—and I apologise that a Minister, who would have spoken Te Reo much more impressively than I do, has just sat down. Clearly, there’s been a misunderstanding there about the speaking list. It is right that we celebrate Māori Language Week and, for those who have as limited a command of Te Reo as I do, that we try to extend our knowledge and our use of the language. It is fitting—perhaps, even if it’s a happy coincidence—that we mark the first reading of this Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill in Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

The history of the wrong that this bill seeks to put right, or at least to acknowledge, arose in part from cultural ignorance just over a century ago. It is also appropriate to acknowledge descendants of the Ngāi Tūhoe prophet Rua Kēnana, who are present in the gallery today for this historic occasion, because this is a momentous day for them—and we honour them.

I also acknowledge with great respect the presence of the former Minister for Māori Development the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, who’s been acknowledged by others—and rightly so. He is greatly missed by all of us in this House, and, in his absence, the former Attorney-General, the Hon Christopher Finlayson. They were a formidable duo. As previous speakers have noted, this bill gives effect to the agreement between the Crown and Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira me Ngā Uri o Maungapōhatu Charitable Trust. I have a copy of that agreement here in my hand.

I’m speaking, today, in my relatively new capacity as the shadow Attorney-General in the Opposition National Party. I acknowledge the considerable body of work that was undertaken by the Waitangi Tribunal in its Te Ururoa—Te Urewera inquiry. I’m sure there was an inquiry into you at some stage, Te Ururoa, as well! But in this case it was the Te Urewera inquiry which concluded that the police in 1916 used excessive force against the Maungapōhatu community and that the arrest of Rua Kēnana for sedition, for his opposition to Māori conscription in the First World War, was unlawful.

That led to the agreement which this bill is designed to enact—and I, of course, anticipate it soon will be—to provide a statutory pardon in legislation, to provide a summary of the circumstances around the 1916 invasion of Maungapōhatu, Crown acknowledgments to the descendants of Rua Kēnana and the Iharaira faith, a Crown apology to the descendants of Rua Kēnana and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira, a pardon to Rua Kēnana for the conviction that he sustained for moral resistance to arrest, and a declaration to restore the character, mana, and reputation of Rua Kēnana, his uri, and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira—the followers of the Iharaira faith. I apologise for my, at times, inaccurate pronunciation, but this is a sincerely felt endorsement of that agreement.

This apology is issued by the Crown. Although we are now in Opposition, the National Party is proud to be in the House today to confirm our continuing strong support for this bill, for the apology, and for the aims of the agreement signed just over two years ago—in fact, in one of the final acts of the outgoing Government, led by the Rt Hon Sir Bill English, undertaken by the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell and the Hon Christopher Finlayson on behalf of Her Majesty te Kuīni Elizabeth II, and by Dan Hiramana-Rua on behalf of the trust.

So that’s why it is so important to emphasise that this is a bill that enjoys bipartisan support, that reflects the determination of Te Ururoa Flavell and Christopher Finlayson to acknowledge the history and do right by the Crown, and which marks an historic occasion for the descendants of Rua Kēnana and followers of the Iharaira faith. So I endorse the sentiments and the emotions of those who have spoken before me this afternoon in this debate.

A pardon is a significant step for the Crown to take. It acknowledges that a wrong was done in the Crown’s name by Crown agents. It acknowledges, in this instance, that mana was undermined and that suffering occurred, which has continued for more than a century. It signifies a determination to put right the wrong that was done. It is a rare occasion for the Crown to issue an apology, and that, of course, underlines its gravitas and its significance.

I look forward to learning more of the history of an event that, I acknowledge, I learnt nothing about despite growing up and receiving all of my education in this country, as the select committee undertakes its work and, ultimately, reports to this House. So, in conclusion, this is an historic day tinged, of course, with sadness and history that must be acknowledged, but which signals, I sincerely hope, healing, reconciliation, and the restoration of mana. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

E Te Māngai o Te Whare, tēnā koe. Huri noa ki a tātou katoa i roto i tēnei Whare Pāremata. Tēnā koutou. Tuatahi he mihi aroha ki a koutou ngā uri o Maunga Pōhatu me Rua Kēnana, ki a koutou o te hāhi Iharaira.

[Madam Speaker, greetings. Greetings to everyone who is in this Parliament. Greetings. Firstly, I would like to give a heartfelt acknowledgement to the descendants of Maunga Pōhatu and Rua Kēnana and the church of Iharaira.]

I wanted to get further than the start of my speech before I started having a tangi. It’s quite hurtful to be an educated wāhine Māori, political leader in this House and not know this history. I’m happy that today we declared that, in our education, we will gift all our nation’s children the chance to better understand: the chance to better understand this is us, the chance to better understand who we are—not so that we put upon the generations behind us shame and guilt, but so that we have a clearer understanding of what happened and can address justice and harmonious relations for Māori and tauiwi and Pākehā to live in this land of ours in a way that acknowledges the pono and the tika, in a way that hohou te rongo restores the balance for all of us to be able to walk free of the ignorance that far too many of us hold of what happened to our people, to our communities, to our ancestors.

This is the day for Rua Kēnana and his uri and followers to be acknowledged firmly and at the forefront of this kōrero in Parliament—and this is a common story across our lands—and I want my children to know your story. My children are not from your iwi or your maunga or your awa. My children are from Te Tai Tokerau, and Te Tai Rāwhiti, and Scotland, and I want them to know your story because it is our story. And I want to stop feeling inadequate about what we grow up not knowing as a nation.

I wanted my contribution to be focused on the legacy of Rua Kēnana and going right back to before the invasion by the Crown into Maungapōhatu, going right back to the incredible mahi that he led with his people to clear hundreds of acres of dense native bush, to plant orchards and divert a stream of water, and to build whare—and with innovative architecture—and building a community, and a disciplined community, for the purposes of independence and tino rangatiratanga and connecting his people with their whakapapa and the whenua.

He also stood against racial discrimination and actually this, in my understanding, was at the core of what led to the escalated police presence—this is what we might call something similar today: the escalated police presence—which initially came about because he wanted to do what everyone else was doing legally but which for Māori came under a different judgment, and he railed against that racial discrimination. I acknowledge that stand because today in this House this Government is trying to correct that exact same racial discrimination in our system, in our justice system, which is still here today, where two people, from two different communities can do the same thing—the same thing—but come under different laws, different judgments, different penalties, and different apprehension approaches. It’s still happening, and so we are continuing to fix the work that Rua Kēnana stood strong against right back then, 100 years ago.

That led to, I think it was, the first sort of police presence, where, I believe, his response was to offer them a cup of tea and have a kōrero and a sit down. And then a second party of more police from Gisborne arrived some hours later, as you move from the cup of tea and the kai—a big kai is being prepared. And then the third wave of 57 or so police, who had ignored Rua Kēnana’s request for a kōrero—“Let’s have a kōrero.”—and just rode straight on to the marae. That invasion lasted three days—including his son being shot in cold blood; including arrests and being held and detained, and without trial, and a long trial which decimated the funds and the whānau and the connection of the people to the Maungapōhatu community. That trial and that burden are the aspiration, I understand, of the descendants today who want to bring people back to the community, who want to restore that decimation and long-lasting harm that happened as a result of the original hara, the original injustice.

We, as my colleagues have said, all attended the unveiling of the New Zealand Land Wars plaque that sits behind my seat here. And it was announced from the Prime Minister today that our schools will include New Zealand history as a core subject, and now we are here recalling the mana and the tapu of Rua Kēnana and his uri and his followers to restore the reputation and the dignity of everyone who had to face that harm. And it is right and it is right and it is right. It is right also, previous Minister Te Ururoa Flavell, that you are acknowledged today. This is restorative, important, crucial mahi for our nation, for all of us. There is no minimising the importance of this. And it is not finished; this is just one of the important steps and there is ongoing work to do. I acknowledge everyone who has worked to get it into this House, to get the pardon into this House today.

I want to finish with—part of the bill refers to the pardon in a way that suggests that the Crown forgives Rua Kēnana and his people. And I stand here as a representative of the Crown to ask for your forgiveness. Rua Kēnana, Maungapōhatu, Hāhi Iharaira—I stand here as a representative of the Crown asking for your forgiveness. Kia ora.

Kia ahatia ngā manuhiri kua tatū mai ki kōnei, tukuna māku ēnei kōrero ōku e takitaki ki tētahi karakia nō roto i ōku whenua, i a Ngāpuhi. Otirā, ka whakarerekē wētahi kupu kia ōrite ai ki te kaupapa o te rā.

Pū kaukau mai rā te uri pūriri ko Hine noa te mātakitaki, tangi āmiomio te karoro, ko Hine Moana te papaki ki te ākau roa e kui, e kui. Kei taku pīpīwhararoa kōkō tūrou, kei hea koe? Ko tēnei tāu ko te karere a Mahuru, tū mai rā a Maunga Pōhatu. Whakaeke mai te toi, tio mai ai ko ko ko koia. Tē koa ia te Urewera, koia ka tipu whakaritorito ai. Taku pua kōwhai e purotu nei i te ata ki te rau kūmara. Haeata tonu i te maru ahiahi ki te Huiarau. Nau mai ia waewae taitua ki te whenua pongi e tau nei. E whiti, whiti te wanawana, whiti te rearea, whiti ora ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama. Tihē wa mauri ora.

Te tikanga o tēnā kōrero, he tohu kua tae mai taua manu i ngākaunuitia ai e ō tātou weinga, arā, ko te karere a Mahuru. Me pēnā te whakamārama mō te hanga o ngā mahi e oti ana rā roto i ngā kupu kua tuhia ki te kapu o te pepa i runga i te Pire kei tō tātou aroaro i tēnei rā.

Tōna tikanga he maheatanga. Arā noa atu ngā mahi whakahāwea, arā noa atu ngā mahi tūkino i meatia ai ki te hanga nei e meatia ana ko ngā Iharaira. Kātahi ka mauherehere, te Mihaia, ka taotūngia, ka mate ko te tamaiti.

Nā reira ko tā mātou he tautoko i tēnei tau, i tēnei wā, kātahi, te wā o te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Tuarua, tēnei wā e karangahia nei e tātou e te iwi Māori ko te Mahuru, tuatoru, te rangi e whakatairangatia ana tēnei taumata hou hei whai mā wā tātou tamariki, arā, kia ākona whānuitia mārikatia ai ngā ākonga, ngā tauira katoa kei ngā hau e whā o Aotearoa ki te hītoria me ngā tātai kōrero mō Aotearoa hoki rawa ki te wā i tatū mai ai ō tātou tūpuna i Wawauātea ki Aotearoa.

Arā noa atu, māku te kī, ngā mihi e tika ana kia tau ki runga i a koutou ngā uri kua tae mai i tēnei rā. Tētahi kōrero hei tukunga māku, taku mihi atu ki tēnā huanga ōku i tōna taha Ngāpuhi, ki a Te Ururoa. Āhua ongaonga pai ana ngā taringa ki te whakarongo ki ōku hoa Pākehā e whakamōmori ana kia pua i a rātou Te Reo Māori. Tata ana au te mea atu ki a rātou “Ko te Ururoa anō te Ururoa, ko te Urewera anō te Urewera” kei whakapōhēhēngia ēra kupu e rua. Nā reira e kara, nāu tēnei waka i whakatere. Tika ana koe kia hoki mai i tēnei rā, ko tōna otinga, me pēnei te kōrero. E tata pae mai ana ki uta.

Nā reira, koutou katoa, ngā uri o te hunga nā rātou tērā kāinga i whakamarae, nā rātou tērā kāinga i whakatū ki te whare i whakamātautau ai kia puta he kai, ahakoa te anuanu o tērā kai, ēnā mea katoa me te whakamīharo te kaumātua nei, ehara i te mea he punarua, tahi, rua, toru, whā, rima, ono, whitu ka hia noa atu ngā wāhine mā koutou anō e whakariterite pēnei i heke te wahine tuatahi, tuarua, tuatoru kei a koutou anō tērā. Nā reira, tēnā anō koutou katoa.

[What can I do for those visitors who have arrived here? Allow me to deliver these words, an incantation from my region, from Ngāpuhi. I will tailor some words to fit today’s occasion.

The driftwood washes ashore, only Hine bears witness. The seagull squawks and it is the waves of Hine Moana crashing to the shore, my deity, oh my deity. Shining cuckoo, the call welcomed by all, where are you? Yours is to signal the arrival of Mahuru, Maunga Pōhatu stands tall before me. Descend from the summit, sing to me, sing to me. The Urewera rejoices, for its growth will be bountiful. My kōwhai blooms beautifully in the morning at the endless kūmara. Dawn still rises on the shadows of Huiarau. Welcome, rays of sunlight to this boundless land. Shine, bring warmth, shine upon the bellbird, shine on the world of light. Tihe wa mauri ora.

The meaning of what I’ve just recited is that it is a sign that the bird our elders eagerly awaited has just arrived to signal the beginning of Mahuru. That is how you could also explain the effort that has been expended to get us to the point where those words on the paper are written to indicate the bill that is before us today.

It is meant to be a clearing away. There were the many criticisms, there were the many nasty words directed to those who believed in Iharaira. Then, the messiah was imprisoned, then the son was wounded and eventually died.

Therefore, ours is to support. On this day we support, firstly, Māori Language Week; secondly, the time of the year we Māori call Mahuru; thirdly, today we set a new purpose for our children, that they, as students, learn the full width and breadth of the histories of our country, going right back to the events since the great migration of our ancestors to New Zealand.

And so, I will say, it is only right to acknowledge you, the descendants who have arrived here today. I have one thing say: I would like to acknowledge my relation on my Ngāpuhi side, Te Ururoa. I am pleased to hear my Pākehā colleagues attempting to speak Māori. I was close to pointing out to them “Te Ururoa is Te Ururoa, te Urewera is te Urewera” lest those two words be mixed up. My friend, you are responsible for getting this off the ground, so it is only fitting that you return here on this day. I would put it this way: the boat is almost ashore.

Therefore, to you, the descendants of those who fashioned a home in that place, who fashioned somewhere to grow food, however distasteful the food, and the wonder of this elder, I do not have multiple wives—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, or however many wives. I will leave it to you to work out if you descend from the first, second, third. Thank you, one and all.]

I stand on behalf of the New Zealand First Party and, obviously, as a Minister to acknowledge what we are doing here today with Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill. Rua Kēnana’s father, Tumoana, was a casualty of those wars in the times of the originator of the Ringatū faith, Te Kooti.

I also said in Te Reo Māori that Mr Flavell and I went to St Stephen’s School. We had a fellow student there who probably was the best student of Te Reo Māori—other than, of course, Wassie Shortland and my good self, but he certainly was the most able in my time there—and his name was Barna Heremia. I recall him regaling the boys from Ngāpuhi and other such places with somewhat mystical stories about Maungapōhatu and te taimana huna, the hidden diamond. Naturally, we were half-Tararā and we were more interested in gum-digging than fanciful tales about diamonds. But this is a story that has lived amongst the families of the Tūhoe and the way they have treasured the memories of not only their tūrangawaewae but what happened to this particular individual.

The media treated it in quite a scandalous fashion, and they used the fact that he was reputedly calling himself the kaiser as a basis for initiating further legal action, causing him to spend a protracted period of time in jail. I’ve said with some humour that he turned and answered a calling up on Maungapōhatu, right in the interior of Te Urewera—a spiritual calling—but that is the tradition, and that tradition was conceived to be antagonistic to good order by the colonial Governments of the time.

As it transpired, when Rua Kēnana went through his various court cases, it was a Ngāpuhi who was the interpreter, the kaiwhakamāori, kaiwhakapākehā. He āhuatanga o tēnā Ngāpuhi he ōrite ki ahau. Ko te nuinga o ngā tūpuna he Pākehā, he Tararāhake rānei engari he mea whakatupu e tana kuia Māori.

[One of the traits of that Ngāpuhi is similar to my own. Most ancestors were Pākehā, or Dalmatian, but he was brought up by a Māori grandmother.]

The name of that interpreter was Hare Hongi, otherwise known as Henry Stowell, who wrote a book, a vade mecum about the Māori grammar, around about the time of the First World War. His grandmother, whom he was reared by, was called Mo-mo, and Mo-mo was given that name by her old people, because in those days, if you did not have a strong, powerful—certainly in the Ngāpuhis anyway—male figure, then when the woman was married off, and in this case to the Pākehā, it weakened their hold on the land.

Ko te kaumātua nei ka heke mai te kuia e karangahia nei ko “Mo-mo”, nā ko koutou ko Tūhoe he maumau anō hoki engari he rerekē te whakamāoritanga ki a koutou.

[This elder was descended from a woman who was known as “Mo-mo”. You, Tūhoe, are “maumau” as well, but it has a different meaning to you.]

So I stand, as I wrap this speech up, to acknowledge that what we do today is to revisit part of history and, at the highest court in the land, put on the pages, on the legislative record of our nation’s history, an apology and an explanation as to what really happened at that particular point in time. It adds to the legacy, it adds to the tradition, and, given what I’ve said in our Māori language, it happens at a propitious time. This is what the Māori call Mahuru, the springtime, and it’s the arrival of the pīpīwharauroa, the chant that I offered at the beginning of my speech. It’s also, as the Speaker said earlier today, the time when we have unveiled a plaque acknowledging those who fought and fell in the Māori wars, and also the day and the week that we have announced that all children will be taught the proper history of Aotearoa New Zealand, and in the week that we are celebrating and encouraging all New Zealanders to strip away the cringe factor and enjoy a higher level of enthusiasm and give Te Reo Māori a go.

So I say to all of my friends in the House: tell your sons and daughters, “Don’t go to London, get pissed, and have the bravery to do kapa haka and ka mate, ka mate; learn a bit of language before you go away.” Thank you very much.

It’s a pleasure to speak on this bill, Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill. Nau mai, haere mai. I’d like to acknowledge the Hon Nanaia Mahuta for her heartfelt contribution earlier on, and also Marama Davidson for hers, and my colleague Rino Tirikatene as well for his contribution. I’d also like to acknowledge Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori and to let you know that I am a rank amateur when it comes to Te Reo, so I apologise in advance.

Rua Kēnana was a Tūhoe prophet who set up a community at the Maungapōhatu, in the Urewera mountains. In 1916, he was arrested for sedition for his opposition to Māori conscription in the First World War—sad times indeed. I understand that his trial was one of the longest in New Zealand history. So I’m proud to be in the House today speaking in support of this bill, and it is long overdue.

I’d like to acknowledge the work of the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell, and the Hon Chris Finlayson. I know from the previous speakers that he has been mentioned many times, and both men are sorely missed, and I would go so far as to say that your work is unfinished and you’d be welcome back any time, and I would love you to put your name back in the hat.

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

I thank them for their efforts when in Government. I know that for Te Ururoa Flavell, he was a slave master in the gym, and our colleagues the Hon Mark Mitchell and the Hon Alfred Ngaro miss him, and it’s testament to their extended pukus that they’d like to see him back.

So this is an appropriate response to a specific set of circumstances focused on the criminal convictions of Rua Kēnana. I might add that since I have been in Parliament—only two years—as a result of being on the Māori Affairs Committee and also of being involved in these bills, I’ve actually had a lot more understanding of our history than I ever got when I went to school. I learnt a little bit about the American Civil War and a bunch of other things, but I didn’t really know a huge amount of history about New Zealand, and I’ve had to learn it because, being part of this process, you have to research your material and you have to understand what went on; so it’s a real bonus for me.

The bill seeks to restore the character, the mana, and the reputation of Rua Kēnana and his descendants. We acknowledge that mana and the preservation of reputation is very important in the Māori community. This bill adheres to the Crown’s objective to promote reconciliation in the wake of historical wrongs. This pardon is provided to Rua Kēnana for the conviction he sustained for moral resistance to arrest. This is a historic occasion for the descendants of Rua Kēnana and the followers of the Iharaira faith.

The statutory pardon and apology will go some way to healing the wounds caused by the events of 1916 and alleviating the stigma associated with Rua Kēnana’s descendants and followers of the faith. It is part of New Zealand. We have to own up to what happened. The agreement and pardon is about moving towards reconciliation. The historic agreement brought closure to 101 years of conflict between Tūhoe and the Crown. What happened to Rua Kēnana has a very long-lasting, intergenerational effect on whānau. It is now up to the descendants of Rua Kēnana to help the next generation move forward and rebuild a prosperous community. It is important for whānau to reconnect those disconnected back to their land, identity, faith, and whānau.

Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. I commend this bill to the House.

Rua Kēnana,

Tūhoe prophet from the Urewera,

Oh Rua, Rua Kēnana.

Āe, e tika te mihi ki a koe e Te Māngai Te Whare: tēnā koe. E ngā mema katoa i tērā taha, i tēnei taha, tēnā tātou katoa. Anei ngā mihi, mihi pōwhiri i ngā uri o Rua Kēnana, me ngā uri o Maunga Pōhatu, me ngā uri o te Hāhi Iharaira. Nō reira, nau mai, nau mai, haramai.

[Yes, it is only right to acknowledge you, Mr Speaker: greetings. To the members on that side, this side, greetings to you all. Here are the acknowledgments, the welcome acknowledgments, to the descendants of Rua Kēnana and the descendants of Maunga Pōhatu and the descendants of the Church of Iharaira. Therefore, welcome, welcome, welcome.]

I’m proud to take a call in support of the first reading of this very important bill. As the member of Te Rohe Pōtae, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, he uri o Te Tai Rāwhiti, Ngāti Kahungunu hoki, I stand in support of this bill. I want to acknowledge what we are doing here in pardoning a prophet, a visionary leader of the Tūhoe people, at the hands of the Crown’s omissions and acts in breaching the Treaty that saw Rua Kēnana wrongfully arrested—who served an imprisonment term wrongfully. So this bill absolutely tries and corrects a wrong, and I want to acknowledge the mamae that his uri have carried for many decades, and the small part that the Crown should be addressing to get the relationship back on the road and the reconciliation between his people and the Government back on a positive note.

I want to acknowledge the Minister for Māori Development, who has introduced the bill. I also want to acknowledge the former Minister for Māori Development the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell for his work in the signing of this agreement between the people and the Crown.

When we are contributing to important pieces of legislation such as this, we do—it’s a Māori custom—try and draw some linkages, or some hononga, between where you come from and the kaupapa that we are addressing here today. I want to acknowledge, as an uri of Te Kooti Rikirangi of Ngāti Maru of Rongowhakaata, even though we are acknowledging Rua Kēnana, the similarities in parts between Te Kooti, also unfairly and unlawfully imprisoned in the Chathams, but also, when he returned—similar to the small research I’ve done on Rua Kēnana—back from Gisborne in his 20s as a labourer, he had a vision, very similar to Te Kooti when he returned from Wharekauri. Then we see the absolute commitment to their faith. Te Kooti, obviously, Ringatū, and we’ve got Rua Kēnana with the Iharaira faith. I wanted to acknowledge the similarities between our tipuna, our visionary, and the Rua Kēnana prophet himself around looking after their people, particularly in the hāhi.

I also want to acknowledge that Te Ureweras—in my small research—was under enormous siege of people trying to mine it and mill it, which is why Rua set up Maungapōhatu, to protect the whenua for their people. So again we will see in this House, when we come to acknowledging the wrongs of the past, similarities of our tīpuna, our visionary leaders like Rua was, in protecting what whenua we had.

So I’m really pleased to take this small call, and, of course, this is the first reading of three. I look forward, as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee said, in travelling—at the invitation of the haukāinga—to have the hearings up there. I just want to finish with acknowledging Professor Taiarahia Black’s kōrero this morning, when he shared—and, of course, Jo Hayes talked about the mekameka. I want to proudly say that my name is actually not Meka; it’s actually Mekameka. I wanted to share, when I heard the story this morning, again, that hononga between your tipuna and a small part of myself in that my actual name is Mekameka Whaitiri.

Nō reira, I’m pleased to stand and support this bill. It is a very honourable time—it’s a special occasion for this House. I commend it to the House.

Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Today I stand to take a call on this very special bill, Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana, the Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill. This House and our guests in the gallery may wonder why I, a very obviously Pākehā woman who is pretty bad at Te Reo Māori, is standing to take a call. Well, I’m standing today because my daughter is a daughter of Tūhoe, and Mihiroa Te Kaawa was her great-great-grandmother, and Rua Kēnana was her great-great-grandfather.

So I’m standing today because I know for once what it is like to stand with the Crown but also to stand with my people at a time of healing and at a time where we have to recognise the history. I have been greatly honoured by our grandmother Rāwina Te Rupe Rāwina Rua, who talked to me at times. I was little bit afraid of her because she was tūturu Māori and she would scare me at times, but she would talk to me about Maungapōhatu and her time there when she lived there, and I’m greatly honoured to carry that. May she rest in peace. I feel so deeply honoured to be here today, and I feel so deeply honoured to be able to say that this is important to my whānau as well as to the Crown.

I have here the agreement to provide a statutory pardon for Rua Kēnana. I read it and I looked for the names that I knew, and I want to read some of that again today, because even though we have heard from other people, for me it’s important to put into Hansard the effects of the agreement on 9 September between the Crown and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira me Ngā Uri o Maungapōhatu Charitable Trust, providing a statutory pardon for Rua Kēnana.

The preamble states that “the Waitangi Tribunal concluded in its Te Urewera inquiry that the police used excessive force against the Maungapōhatu community” and “the arrest of Rua Kēnana was unlawful [as it was] a Sunday”—and I note today it is also the 12th. “The [community of Maungapōhatu] went into decline after these events and … never recovered. Ngā Toenga …, the Maungapōhatu Community, and the descendants of Rua Kēnana have carried the deep hurt, shame, and stigma of this invasion and its resulting economic [and] social [and] spiritual impacts” for more than 100 years. We know that the deaths, the violence, the theft, and the rape occurred at the time that Rua was arrested, and we know that Rua Kēnana was held in Mount Eden and the trial was long and that the community of Maungapōhatu fell into disarray.

The bill summarises the circumstances of that invasion to Maungapōhatu. The bill provides an apology to the uri. The bill provides a pardon from the Crown to Rua Kēnana for the conviction he sustained for the moral resistance to arrest. The pardon contains a declaration to restore the character, mana, and reputation of Rua Kēnana, his uri, and followers of the faith.

It is the beginning, not the end, of the process, and I look forward to our final reading. I look forward to the day that we all stand together at Maungapōhatu as one. Kia ora.

Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. I am the last speaker on the National Party side this afternoon as we reflect on the Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill. As I was listening and have been listening over the last half an hour, I have become increasingly daunted. How can I put words into this Chamber that can amplify the power of those who have spoken before me and acknowledge and assuage the pain that has so obviously been expressed here by my parliamentary colleagues? It is very humbling to be asked to say a few words.

I have to acknowledge, firstly, a good friend, Te Ururoa Flavell, who I’ve known for a number of years. He has committed so much of his political and professional life to advancing this, and it was so appropriate that he did represent the Crown in September 2017.

We have heard very eloquent speeches this afternoon about what this bill is seeking to do in pardoning Rua Kēnana. I am struck when I listen to the conversation, when the purpose of our speeches is to acknowledge this bill and its purpose, to give effect to the pardon to Rua Kēnana “for the conviction he sustained for moral resistance to arrest. The restoration of the character, mana, and reputation of Rua Kēnana, his uri, and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki o Iharaira Faith”.

The last part of that is the bit that I have struggled with, because as I listen to the speeches and reflect on the story and the history, it strikes me that the descendants’ mana has been immeasurably enhanced over the years by your courage and your persistence and your willingness to welcome the Crown back to facilitate this pardon. Yes, this pardon is enhancing the mana of Rua Kēnana and descendants, but in my view, your collective actions over many years have enhanced it even more than the power of this, and I want to acknowledge that. I find it extraordinary—absolutely extraordinary.

I then look at these signatures and cannot imagine what that must have been like that day when you, on behalf of your people, are putting your name to the Crown’s apology and pardon—an extraordinary moment for all of you. Again, when I look at this, I am overwhelmed at your grace in allowing and facilitating that conversation in such a remarkable way as you did.

I guess my only last comment, speaking as directly to you as I can, is that I wonder what Rua Kēnana would reflect on today: what his advice and deep spiritual reflection and perspective would be—for you, for us, for Aotearoa, and what he would say lies in front of us. I am sure that you know that more than I could ever put words to. All I ask is: continue to lead and demonstrate for us what that means and we all collectively will benefit. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. He hōnore, he kororia ki Te Atua, he maungārongo ki runga i te mata o te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa. Āmine.

Tuatahi, ka huri ngā whakaaro ki ngā mate o te motu tae noa ki te koroua o Ngāti Tarāwhai, o Te Arawa whānui, ko Te Poroa Malcolm. E koro, e moe, e moe, e oki. Ka tangihia a Te Arawa e ngā mate o Mataatua, ka tangihia a Mataatua e ngā mate o Te Arawa. Nō reira, Mataatua, anei a Te Arawa e mihi atu nei. E aku rangatira. Ngā tamariki o te kohu. A Tūhoe, moumou kai, moumou taonga, moumou tāngata ki te pō. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā huihui mai tātou katoa.

[Honour, glory, and peace on the land. May good thoughts come to all men. Amen.

Firstly, I turn my thoughts to those who have passed on from throughout the country all the way to the elder of Ngāti Tarawhai and wider Te Arawa, Te Poroa Malcolm. Rest in peace. Te Arawa is mourned by Mataatua’s dead; Mataatua is mourned by Te Arawa’s dead. Therefore, Mataatua, Te Arawa acknowledges you. To the distinguished. The children of the mist. Tūhoe, wasteful of food, wasteful of treasures, wasteful of people to the night. Greetings, greetings, welcome together one and all.]

Firstly, I pay respects to our Ngāti Tarawhai koroua who we lost this week, and we had at Waikōhatu marae at Ruato. He will be missed by us, his iwi. Secondly, I stand to greet our manuhiri from the Mātaatua canoe who have travelled to be here today. I acknowledge our tears for their dead and their tears for our dead.

Today is a very special day that has been a long time coming. I want to acknowledge that the start of this journey happened under the previous Government and under the Minister for Māori Development, and also the previous member for the Waiariki, the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell. Tēnā koe, Matua Te Ururoa.

It was a very wet day in September 2017 when I travelled for the first time to Maungapōhatu to witness the signing of the agreement between the Crown and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira me Ngā Uri o Maungapōhatu. I remember that the roads were pretty gnarly and that the torrential rain was coming down and it made one part of the road to Maungapōhatu kind of like a rollercoaster ride. I can remember the brother Nika standing there telling me, “Ah, bro, just plant your foot down and go!” Thankfully, I made it up the hill and was there to witness what a significant event actually unfolded.

As a newcomer, it was enlightening to be there, to feel the wairua of Maungapōhatu, to experience the ruggedness of the Urewera, and to get lost in the famous maiden of the mist, Hine-pūkohu-rangi. What you couldn’t physically see, though, was the hurt and the pain of the people of the land over the assault and the humiliation at Maungapōhatu in 1916 when police rolled into town and with an excessive force of 70 armed men killed two, with one of them being Rua Kēnana’s son. Some were wounded, 31 were arrested, and Rua Kēnana himself was taken off for trial, ending up in Mt Eden prison for 18 months for morally resisting arrest. Cut to modern day: the Waitangi Tribunal, who concluded in its Te Urewera inquiry, that the police used excessive force against the Maungapōhatu community that day. They also found that the arrest of Rua Kēnana was unlawful, being effected on a Sunday. The Maungapōhatu community, it noted, went into decline after those events and has never quite recovered.

Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira, the Maungapōhatu community, and the descendants of Rua Kēnana have carried the deep hurt, the shame, and the stigma of that invasion and its resulting economic and social and spiritual impacts. It’s obviously their aspiration to restore their character, their mana, and the reputation of their tīpuna and also of themselves.

The tragic situation behind that story is well documented in the bill, and I actually encourage everybody in this House to read it. Many have worked hard these past two years, with humility, grace, and wisdom, but it’s still a sad and very harrowing story of the colonial Government and the people of that land. “Kotahi Te Ture Mo Nga Iwi e Rua”: let there be one law for two peoples. Can I say that it has been acted on today, as we speak. The multiple meanings of that statement on the famous flag represents the rising up of the people to seek equality in our society, and today, his descendants rise to put to rest the balance of justice with the ability to highlight what is not just. But it’s by no means an end, but a continuation of a movement that started a very long time ago for Ngā Toenga a Iharaira and the rising up of Rua, through his thousand-plus descendants today.

Let this document, the bill, be a resource for all of those New Zealand children—those tamariki—in our kura, to learn from the mistakes of the past, including the mistakes of this Government and the way that it treats its citizens. Serendipitously, this coincides with the decision today to ensure that New Zealand history is in fact taught in our schools—the good, the bad, and the really ugly. Hopefully, they will also learn about the other prophets who’ve been part of our history: Mere Rikiriki, nō Taihape; Paora Te Pōtangaroa me Aperahama Taonu, nō te Nōta; Te Whatahoro, nō Kahungunu ki Wairarapa; Te Kooti; Rātana; Pauro Mareikura, me ērā atu poropiti [and those other prophets].

Maybe the children will also learn about the Tohunga Suppression Act. Maybe they’ll also learn about the Suppression of Rebellion Act and the impact that those Acts had on our prophets, and all of the other laws that the Government enacted, asserting the colonial domination over Māori here in New Zealand. Wai ka tohu, wai ka hua?

[Who can know? Who can say?]

This bill is an apology, but the words on the page aren’t as sweet as words to the ear. So, Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira me Ngā Uri o Maungapōhatu here is your apology and I’m going to do it nice and slow for you. From the Crown: “The Crown acknowledges that—(a) the arrest, detention, conviction, and sentence of Rua Kēnana have caused lasting damage to his character, mana, and reputation and to the character, mana, and reputation of Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki a Iharaira: [you and all] descendants of Rua Kēnana, have suffered deep hurt, shame, and stigma as a result of the Maungapōhatu invasion. … The Crown unreservedly apologises to [you] the descendants … for—(a) the lasting damage to the character, mana, and reputation of Rua Kēnana, his uri, and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki o Iharaira: (b) the deep hurt, shame, and stigma suffered by them as a result of the invasion of Maungapōhatu. … This pardon is provided to Rua Kēnana for the conviction [that] he sustained for moral resistance to arrest. The restoration of the character, [the] mana, and [the] reputation of [the man] …, his uri, and Ngā Toenga o Ngā Tamariki o Iharaira Faith is declared.”

But it’s not the end. This is an apology—let’s face it—and an apology doesn’t cost a lot. So we’ve got some work to do, in terms of working with you, to find out what else we can do—because an apology is nice, but it’s just a first step. So I look forward to working closely with you a lot as we decide what it is that we can add to this bill, add to the future of our relationship.

I’ve got one minute and 30 seconds left on the clock, Mr Speaker, and I think about all of those uri that aren’t here, that are sitting there watching, maybe in Maungapōhatu, maybe in Waimana, maybe in Whakatāne, Rotorua, or Auckland—wherever they are around the world—and I figured now’s a really good time to sing his song, because it’s famous and if we were ever going to do it in the House, the first reading of his bill is the time to do it. So can I call on my colleagues to join me, for exactly one minute, in this song?

Rua Kēnana, Tūhoe prophet from the Urewera

O Rua, Rua Kēnana

Rua Kēnana, Tūhoe prophet from the Urewera

O Rua, Rua Kēnana

He told his people not to go to war

Let the white man fight the white man’s war

O Rua, Rua Kēnana.

Kia ora. I commend this bill to the House.

Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.

I think there’s a request from down here for another song.

Waiata

Haka

Can I, on behalf of the members of Parliament, thank our visitors for concluding a part of the day which started very well and has ended up being exceptionally special, and for sharing with us something which is, clearly, so important to our country. Thank you.

And I just want to say that, on occasion, the Parliament peaks and then it sometimes changes a little, and on that note I call on Government Order of the Day No. 2!