Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I stand here today to wish Maniapoto well through the time that is happening in the rohe at the moment with COVID, and particularly since Delta came on stream. It’s been a lovely day for me today to go and share some special moments at Parliament, but there have been a large number—a substantial number—of Maniapoto who have been unable to travel to Parliament today to take part in this reading in person due to what’s been happening around with COVID. I know that is disappointing, but it is also a decision that Maniapoto have made in terms of keeping safe to stay where they are.

It’s been quite a difficult time for me over the last few weeks when at Mōkau the boundary has been at level 3. The top three quarters of my electorate has actually been in level 3 for a long period of time, while the lower end of the electorate has been at level 2, so I haven’t been in that area as much as I would normally be. But it brings back memories of visiting Maniapoto in the early stages of this settlement process with the Hon Chris Finlayson, when we started having conversations. I also remember taking John Key there at one point when he was the Prime Minister, and we went and we listened to some of the hopes and dreams of Maniapoto and what they would like to see when this settlement process had happened.

I’d like to also acknowledge Minister Little in this process. But, even more importantly, I would like to acknowledge Minister Nanaia Mahuta, who I know has had a substantial role in putting this settlement together, and I look forward as it goes through the select committee.

I’ve been the member of Parliament there for seven years, and it actually came up at lunchtime today, when we were having our special event, that most electorates have two MPs. There are the Māori MPs—and acknowledging Nanaia Mahuta and also Adrian Rurawhe, who cover quite a substantial proportion of the King Country area. So this is really important in having the King Country being able to move forward, and I share the sentiments of Minister Andrew Little when he said, “I hope this long overdue settlement provides a foundation for the cultural, social, and economic future of Maniapoto and their descendants”.

I would like to wish Maniapoto well as we go through the next part of the process, because the history is sad. Like with all of these things, there was the terrible losses of life, which are the most important losses—the lives that were lost during the early part of New Zealand’s history—but also the land that has been lost.

So in this redress, not only will there be an apology going forward—and I look forward to being a part of that process as we get on the other side of Delta and COVID, which I’m sure we will at some point. We’re looking forward to not only the money changing hands but there are 36 sites of cultural significance which will be returned, and those are the things that are really meaningful. The money makes a big difference. It will never be enough, and it’s always hard standing here doing these settlements when we know that the money is never enough to make up for what has happened in the past, and there’s a lot of give and take on both sides. There’s generally more give on the side of the accepting party, because a lot of grievances need to be settled.

So, just in supporting this today, I would like to say that as this goes through the select committee, we do have a clarification that we would like in National around clause 124 in Subpart 9, just around the marine interests. It’s a little unclear to us what that means going forward. But, beyond this, we are very happy to be standing here today and supporting the first reading of this settlement to go to select committee. I look forward to the process and I look forward to engaging as we work through. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Tēnā tātou e te Whare. Kei a koutou e ngā hapū o Te Rohe Pōtae, tēnei te mihi o Te Paati Māori ki a koutou, i te pānuitanga tuatahi o tō pire whakataunga. Nāku te whiwhi ki te tū i roto i tēnei W’are kia mihi ki a koutou i tō koutou mahi rangatira.

[Greetings to the House. To the hapū of the King Country, the Māori Party greets you with respect to the first reading of your settlement bill. It is my pleasure to stand here in the House to acknowledge you in your chiefly endeavours.]

It’s with great pleasure that I rise on behalf of Te Paati Māori to speak to this, the first reading of the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. I’d like to first mihi to those that are out there watching this kaupapa today, knowing that you’ve all been out on the ground vaccinating, testing, and supporting your whānau, your hapū, your iwi. I’d like to mihi to all the hauora that are out there. They’ve had to carry this ngāngara. I recognise and see all the mahi that you’re doing. I want to also mihi to all of the kuia, the kaumātua, negotiators, hapū leaders, and whānau who are here, who are not able to also be in the gallery but are here in wairua. I acknowledge those who are no longer with us since this journey started, 30 years ago. The mahi of rangatira is to weave together their people, and that is exactly what you have done to reach this point. Your natural development was interrupted in the most horrible way possible.

Unlike members from other parties, Te Paati Māori is only afforded a five-minute speaking slot at these debates, so I’ll keep my kōrero brief and to the point. But 50 percent of the speaking slots is a whole lot more than the 1 percent of our whenua that is offered to us in these settlements. We all know that iwi generally settle for less than 1 percent of what was confiscated—what was violently stolen from us, not lost—that the Crown-led Treaty settlement process can be re-traumatising and pit whānau, iwi, and hapū against each other. The settlements are unsettling. They create divide and tension. The people of Aotearoa owe you their thanks for your extraordinary generosity and sacrifice in agreeing to the terms of this settlement. We recognise your koha of aroha, for peace to this nation, for bearing the costs of the wars, for bearing the costs of the New Zealand Wars. As an uri of Taranaki, I also acknowledge your manaakitanga in providing a safe haven for our people in the face of our own displacement, in the face of your displacement—the loss of your lives and whenua at the hands of the Crown in the 1860s.

The Crown negotiation policies, which place everyone in the one-size-fits-all model, are cruel. The fiscal envelope is cruel. They have determined and engineered further division, further harm, and, therefore, further breaches of Te Tiriti. I know the damage this process does to our whānau, to our relationships, to our w’anaungatanga. I also know how important it is to never settle for what was achieved in the past—that we must keep striving to get the justice that our tūpuna deserve and to create a future where our mokopuna can thrive as their true selves.

That is why Te Paati Māori does not accept the settlements as full and final. This creates the false impression that our trauma lies in the past, that the inequities, the pollution, the poverty is no more. We all know that, sadly, that just isn’t the case. The Treaty is not settled; it is not honoured. A new Aotearoa is on the rise, an Aotearoa where tangata whenua, tangata moana, and tangata Tiriti unite and work together to create the harmonious, peaceful, and just nation that was envisaged in Te Tiriti—the future that our tūpuna sacrificed to ensure we could continue to strive for.

I look forward to continuing to support Ngāti Maniapoto as this bill passes through the House and to see the inevitable, continued progress of your people as you enter this new era. I also look forward to seeing your mokopuna come from other iwi and hapū to make sure their settlements and their needs are met. No settlement can compensate for the pain, the suffering, and the trauma that your people endured and, far too often, still ensure. But this marks an important step on your road to justice, on your road to prosperity for your people. This is not about dollars; this is about you being able to take the Crown to task, and, despite all the challenges—all the roadblocks that are put up to prevent real justice—nothing can take away from the fact that this is your day, this is your bill, and this is your story. Kia ora koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe, te Māngai o te Whare, and it’s an absolute privilege to be able to talk on the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. Can I just acknowledge Te Rohe Pōtae and the people of Ngāti Maniapoto hapū and whānau, and to those who are watching this today. What a moment it is for those, particularly with their ancestors and their mahi and their pain to finally be put to rest in a way that has some acknowledgment—maybe not full in some people’s view, but some acknowledgement—of restoring their mana as a people, as an iwi.

Can I also acknowledge the role that the Hon Nanaia Mahuta has played—my whanaunga—and her whānau in steering this to where it is today, and notwithstanding the roles of our Treaty negotiations Ministers, the Hon Andrew Little and the former Minister the Hon Christopher Finlayson. I sit on the Māori Affairs Committee, and I look forward to working with the komiti Chair, Tāmati Coffey, and our select committee on the mahi to ensure this gets taken through the parliamentary process.

I look back at the historical background that has underpinned this, right back to 1840, when Maniapoto rangatira who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi at the heads of the Waikato River, at Kāwhia, and I look at the rangatira who were represented from Maniapoto. They were under the leadership of Rewi Maniapoto and others who fought Crown troops at places I know well, like Meremere, Pāterangi, and Ōrākau, and it has a sad, painful history that others have recounted here in the House this afternoon.

There has been talk about the boundary Te Rohe Pōtae. That, in itself, has a deep significance and plays into the naming of the rohe or the area as King Country and the establishment of that aukati, or boundary, around the territory to preserve the rangatiratanga and mana motuhake over the remaining land. I think that was important, and to note, no Pākehā could pass into these lands without permission, and the rangatira, despite everything, continued attempts to have their authority over their rohe recognised by the Crown.

We’re still talking back in the early 1880s, and there were certainly negotiations, a series of agreements, and, I guess, assurances that sought Crown recognition over their mana whakahaere—over their lands and peoples—in return for the agreement to lift the aukati and allow the construction of what’s talked about as Te Ara-o-Tūrongo, or that part of the North Island main trunk railway line to proceed through Te Rohe Pōtae. That continued right through to the current day.

So I at this point acknowledge the chief Crown negotiator, the team from Maniapoto, led by the chair, Keith Ikin, who we’ve talked about from the trust board. It was pleasing to see that earlier this year, they reached the milestone in that three-decade journey to the Treaty settlement and got, I guess, enough—that the Crown accepted that iwi in Te Rohe Pōtae, who make it up, had had enough support to enter a settlement agreement following that tribe-wide vote on resolutions in the Maniapoto deed of settlement, the proposed post-settlement governance entity, and the transfer of those fishery assets from the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board to that new governance entity.

So I acknowledge Keith as the trust board chairman for that significant step, and I know that there’s a lot to be done. I mean, when you look at what is required here, you have to shut down the trust board, you’ve got to set up the new governance entity, get the settlement signed, and—in the words of Keith Ikin, too—set up that five-year plan for an election of trustees for that new governance entity. I make comment about these things because they haven’t been spoken about this afternoon, but they do mean a whole lot of work within a tight time frame within the next 18 months, and so it will be busy.

Can I also acknowledge the Minister for Māori Development, the Hon Willie Jackson, who has said that iwi were happy with the voting process and the robustness of it. So it’s always good to hear the good news from our Minister there. Just in terms of just some of the detail, those three issues that I mentioned garnered more than 80 percent and I know that all parties were pleased and recognise that achievement, really noting that it was the highest voter participation from iwi that they had had. So I think it’s appropriate that we reflect on the efforts of the many generations of Ngāti Maniapoto, the iwi who over that time frame of three decades—30 years—have engaged in, as I say, the Waitangi Tribunal and that process and have brought this contribution to where it is today.

That name of the new settlement entity will be the Te Nehenehenui Trust, and they will take on the board’s current assets, as well as the settlement, which is worth that $178 million, made up of financial redress of $165 million and combined with rentals and interest accrued on Crown forests. Others have detailed what they are and, look, should they get the opportunity on decisions to buy further Crown forest lands, then that’s something that the new entity would do the analysis of. But the key focus—and it’s pleasing to see the trust board chair reiterate this in his kōrero—was to work with iwi to hear their views. We know, when we look at this process, there are plenty of eyes on those iwi who have done well and opinions on those who haven’t done well, and I do wish Ngāti Maniapoto all the very best in the next step in their journey, on their waka, to set the future direction for their iwi.

Can I just acknowledge the fact that this will be a critical stage, particularly in the time frame of the next 18 months. I know that communications with iwi members can be difficult, but, look, this can be offset by modern communication methods. I know that 90 percent of Maniapoto live outside of the region, in the Waikato, Hamilton City, but also in Auckland, and, like many of our Māori population, they are transient. They live anywhere at any time, and it’s important to acknowledge the desire of the iwi to continue those conversations and have those face-to-face conversations wherever they can, because, ultimately, they need to feel and own the settlement that’s been signed.

So this I think is significant. I’m always proud that we get to a stage in this House where we bring these claims to first reading. I’m even more excited when they’re at the third reading, but there is a process to go through. I have enjoyed working on the other Treaty claim settlements and we learnt so much, and I’m only hopeful that we can get to Te Rohe Pōtae, meet the people of Ngāti Maniapoto, those who have put the mahi in, and celebrate with them on the next steps for the future. Kia ora, Madam Speaker.

Tēnei te mihi w’akanui ki Ngāti Maniapoto, ngā uri o Ngāti Maniapoto, ngā hapū o Te Rohe Pōtae, ka mihi maioha.

[This is an acknowledgment of Ngāti Maniapoto, the descendants of Ngāti Maniapoto and the hapū of the King Country.]

I rise as the last speaker for the National Party and also as uri of Whanganui. I acknowledge Ngāti Maniapoto, those who are gathered near, far, wherever you are; this is a Titanic, an exceptionally powerful moment in the history of Ngāti Maniapoto, with the reading—the first reading—of the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. I acknowledge those who have gone before, those who are gathered here—that is, in the precinct in Parliament. I look over and I acknowledge the Hon Nanaia Mahuta. When I look at you, I see your mother and your father, those who have gone before, and those of us who are here, we carry the responsibility and the weight of our tūpuna. I acknowledge those who are far away, of Ngāti Maniapoto. We come together to w’akanui—to celebrate—today the first reading of the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. My acknowledgment also extends to those who have been leaders. Those who are here in the present, you are the gift for your future, your mokopuna. Those of ours who’ve departed, we are their mokopuna, and we carry on into the future the aspirations but also the expectations of our old people—those of us here who are becoming old, for our mokopuna, our future.

I acknowledge and draw to the attention of New Zealanders, in addition to Ngāti Maniapoto, who are tuned in, listening in, to this debate this afternoon, that the bill records at clause 12 those who signed, and thus this is inscribed into law—into this bill soon to become law. Those who were present and were signatories at the deed of settlement on 11 November 2021, I acknowledge all of you—Madam Speaker, I say “you” because, appropriately, I acknowledge those whom this bill is about. Also, the acknowledgment is to the negotiators both for Ngāti Maniapoto peoples and on behalf of the Crown. May I say, in paying acknowledgment, aroha mai: our apology from the National Party for not being present at the pō’hiri here in the precinct today. We did not know. Tikanga in the past has afforded us the opportunity to be present, so simply to allay any concerns as to why the National Party were not present. We are today. My colleague Joseph Mooney and I, we sit on the Māori Affairs Committee. Regrettably, we weren’t there, but we will be to listen to the submissions from those in relation to this bill.

May I just go over briefly, again for the benefit of New Zealanders—because, Ngāti Maniapoto, you know the passage and the journey that you have been on and that this bill records—the chronology. There’s been reference made to Waitangi Tribunal claims that were lodged back in the 1980s, and, again, I turn to the deed of settlement, which records there in clause 9.2.2 the claims and the claimants associated with the passage of the journey to arrive at the bill for the first reading today. Of note and interest, there were 108 claims to the Waitangi Tribunal in relation to those exclusively associated to Maniapoto or representative entity, and, at clause 9.2.3 of the deed of settlement, an additional 80 claims to the Waitangi Tribunal. So that conveys the enormity but also the reach and the impact of the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the Crown having to amend that by way of this bill.

So the Waitangi Tribunal claims commenced back in the 1980s, some 30 years ago, and then the chronology: in December 2016, a mandate endorsing the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board to negotiate on behalf of their people. On 17 December 2016, the terms of negotiation were signed. On 15 August 2017, the agreement in principle was signed. December 2020, the deed of settlement was initialled, and then a year later it was signed to completion on 11 November 2021. And here we are today, 14 December 2021, for the first reading of the passage of the bill into law.

The bill is comprised of 233 clauses, seven parts, six schedules, which summarise and encapsulate the journey of the historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi over the course of time. Also inscribed into law at clause 8 is the summary of the historical account. Of note, clause 8, which is the historical account summary; clause 9, the acknowledgments; and clause 10, the apology—and I will address that in greater detail at the third reading—are the only parts or portions of the bill that are in te reo Māori. That is significant because that portrays and is indicative of the reo of the old people who are now mostly gone carrying through.

The historical account—again, New Zealanders, when these Treaty settlement bills come before Parliament, they are a history lesson, and they are putting into law, accurately, the history of the people who have been affected, afflicted, and aggrieved by the breaches of the Treaty. Clause 8 details that “Under the leadership of Rewi Maniapoto and others Ngāti Maniapoto fought Crown troops … at Meremere, Pāterangi and Ōrākau … also present at the unfortified village of Rangiaowhia”. The detail of the history and the grievance and the wounds and the mamaes that, hopefully, this bill will seek to appease and to heal is detailed there. Time does not permit me to address all of that today. At clause 9, there are 44 acknowledgments detailed in the bill—again, time does not permit me to read that. I invite New Zealanders to turn to the bill as a history lesson. Then, as I said, clause 10 is the apology, which I tend to save for the last reading, the third reading, before this passes into law.

The background—I’ve talked about the chronology—Maniapoto are an iwi-based tribal peoples in Te Rohe Pōtae, the King Country, in and around Te Kūiti, Ōtorohanga, and Te Awamutu. There’s an estimated 45,930 members associated to Ngāti Maniapoto, with more than 90 percent living outside the tribal lands. This just gives some context for the benefit of New Zealanders, because, Ngāti Maniapoto, you know your journey, you know your story. I often seize the moment and the opportunity for New Zealanders to learn from the wrongdoings of the past as we move forward into the future to remedy and to surface with hope; as I said, aspiration; expectation to fulfil what these Treaty settlements afford and allow—never in recognition of the real value and the depth of the wrongdoing and the damage, but it is a start, it is a reset, and it is to refresh moving forward.

The National Party supports, as we do, all Treaty settlement bills. There’s been a little bit of concern expressed about a particular clause or provision. However, the select committee is the place for that kōrero and enlightenment from our people to set the course and the pathway further into the future with clarity and with fulfilling expectations and hope. I commend this bill to the House.

Whakataka te hau ki te uru, whakataka te hau ki te tonga; kia mākinakina ki uta, kia mātaratara ki tai; kia hī ake ana te atakura, he tio, he huka, he hauhū, tihei mauri ora.

Tēnei ka ruirui i te kawakawa hei tohu maumahara ki ngā tini mate o te rā, o te marama, o te tau o nanahi rā. Nā rātou i kawea i ngā kōrero me ngā wawata e pā ana ki ngā hapū maha o Ngāti Maniapoto. E moe, e au te moe, ka tau.

Kāti ake, e mihi ana ki a koutou kei te hau kāinga, ngā huānga. Koutou kei ngā rangatira kei ngā whaea e kawea nei i ngā wawata mō ngā uri whakatipu, nei te mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa.

[The wind swirls in the West, and the South; the piercing cold is felt inland and on the coast too; the dawn rises, indeed it is icy, frosty, and the wind is cold, ‘tis the breath of life.

I sprinkle kawakawa as a sign of remembrance to the many dead of today, of the month, the year, and yesterday. It was them who carried the issues and dreams of the many hapū of Ngāti Maniapoto. Rest in peace.

Allow me to greet you all, the home people, my relatives. To the many chiefs, the many women who bear the dreams of the next generation, this is my sincere greeting to you all.]

Can I thank all the members that have spoken to contribute to today’s first reading for the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. To some extent this will be the first time that Maniapoto will have the opportunity to tell their story, because much of their story has been eclipsed in the past by the story of the Kīngitanga, by the story of the Waikato Wars and the raupatu that took place because of Maniapoto’s role at that time. It’s not often, as a member of this House, that you get the opportunity to share a story that is intrinsic to who you are, and I get to do that today, so I’m very grateful. It’s an honour and a pride to be able to speak to this particular bill.

Can I make some acknowledgments of my own to Chris Finlayson, who started off this particular process. The member for the King Country, Barbara Kuriger, was right. She did a lot to support the aspirations of Maniapoto by ensuring that her colleagues at the time, who were the then Government, were very aware of the aspirations within Maniapoto. In fact, Chris Finlayson, other than Koro Wētere when he was a Minister, was the second Minister to travel to Kāwhia. He travelled to Kāwhia with the understanding that that would be a place where the special factors, the unique factors, of the Maniapoto settlement could be shared with him, and, to some extent, clause 124 will emerge out of some of the history that was told to him at that particular time, albeit save it for the select committee.

Can I also acknowledge the current Minister of Treaty settlements, because, back in 2016, he held a different role in Opposition. When I went to go and see him to say, “Is it possible for me to support my iwi to be able to help to negotiate forward?”, he didn’t hesitate, and now here we are, in very different roles, and able to steward through such a significant settlement. It will be the fourth-largest settlement by some measures, but actually, by intent, it has the same intent as every other settlement: to try and find a way to resolve historical grievances, to set the record straight, to be able to ensure that there is a future for the next generation and it is bright, it is vibrant, and it will be of the making of every individual of Ngāti Maniapoto who want to serve the next generation.

There are some acknowledgments that I should make. It’s always a difficult time, but certainly for the period that I was involved in this, I want to acknowledge mātua Tiwha Bell, John Kaati, Bob Koroheke—the late Bob Koroheke—Pat Stafford, Rovina Maniapoto-Anderson, Miria Tauariki, and Muiora Barry, who were our travelling team of experts. Through that whole period of brief negotiation, there was a lot of work that went into it—years and years of work. But those kaumātua and kuia symbolise the hopes and aspirations of what the settlement needed to be. It was a challenging time, because the mandating process had been contested through the Waitangi Tribunal, internal to the tribe, and many tribes have been through this process. The Treaty settlement process can be very divisive, but, irrespective of that, there was a small cohort of kaumātua who were absolutely steadfast in their ambition to ensure that we were continuing to move forward, and I thank them for their leadership.

I also want to acknowledge Paul Meredith, because the quality of the historical record and the apology that has been set in place in the deed and also in the legislation is by no small measure by his hand. He put off a PhD so that he could contribute back to his iwi and set the record straight—so that needs to be said—also to the negotiating supporting team at the time: Tēpene Wilson, Titahi Tarawa, members of the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board, and at the time the then serving CEO Janise Eketone. Much has been said about the different profiles and make-ups of each chapter of the settlement, but a lot of work had been undertaken prior to the negotiating team being appointed so all they had to do was really pull together the visions and aspirations from the hard work and effort that had already been achieved within the iwi.

The other elements of the settlement that I really wanted to pick up on—and it was commented on previously by other members—are some of the unique features. In so far as the raumairoa—natural resource redress—elements of the settlement, many will be aware that Ngā Wai o Waipā preceded this particular settlement, and it was bespoke to the Waipā River, which is the largest tributary into the Waikato River. So, by extension, when it came to the point to negotiate the substantial settlement, the terms of the agreements reached in Ngā Wai o Waipā extended to the whole of the Maniapoto rohe. The reason for that is Maniapoto is water rich on private Māori land, and it was important to Maniapoto to ensure that there was source protection of these puna that lay inherent within the region. So Chris Finlayson understood how important that was, he understood the intimacy and relationship of Maniapoto to their water, and that was why the natural resource redress section reads as it does.

Then it’s also important to mention—I note the connections that have been said in the House—the headwaters of the Waipā River sit in Maniapoto and the headwaters of the Whanganui River sit in Maniapoto. So it was important to ensure that at its core, water was going to be a uniting feature between the interrelationships across the border for Maniapoto.

Can I come back to the key pou and pillar that guided these kaumātua and the negotiating principle. The first pou was always kotahitanga. As I say, Treaty settlement processes can be very divisive, but each step of the way that pou of kotahitanga always advocated for the collective interests of all tribal members of Maniapoto. Even though the tribunal process was taking place, contesting the mandate of the trust board, kaumātua would continue to reinforce kotahitanga. Kotahitanga has to be about everybody. Ninety percent of our tribe live outside of the rohe. We have to find ways to make this settlement work for everybody. The second pou is te mana o Maniapoto, and that harks back to Te Ōhākī Tapu, which members have referred to, the kawenata, te Mana Whatu Ahuru raumairoa—all of these deep and intrinsic knowledge systems that lie within the essence of who Maniapoto is and will be going forward into the future.

Te Whare o Te Nehenehenui. Now, if there’s something unique about Maniapoto in relation to Waikato, it’s the fact that for Maniapoto leadership is distributed. That means that every house within Maniapoto, every marae within Maniapoto, every hapū within Maniapoto stands on its own mana, but when it’s important to come together as one, they unite, unshakeable, unbreakable. So Te Whare o Te Nehenehenui is about reinforcing the distributive leadership, the power base that exists within the iwi, and it will be a guide for the future, and it will also be the name for the post-settlement governance entity going forward.

The last pou: Te Rohe Pōtae. As I said, part of the double duty obligation of Maniapoto after the 1863 land wars was to hold the aukati for 20 years—to hold a defensive boundary so that kin from Waikato, kin from Taranaki, could be looked after within the Maniapoto region. For 20 years, no one could break it, but it was by the temerity of spirit and leadership of those rangitira at the time that they advocated not only for the redress of the wrong that had occurred in their time and the Treaty of Waitangi, the return of lands and the like, they advocated to ensure that there would be a future for their people.

So another important part of this settlement is the Main Trunk line and the agreements around that Te Ōhākī Tapu. That is why Te Ara-o-Tūrongo is such an important naming element of the settlement. You will get all of that at the select committee, and I hope you do get the opportunity to go and visit, go to Te Tokanganui a Noho, listen to the people, listen to the stories that underpin the essence of this settlement, but, most importantly, listen to the heart of the people, because the heart of Maniapoto, at its core, really want to see a better future. They know by their own hands, by their own merit, by their own convictions that they can make something very different and better for their next generation, and to them, lastly, I applaud them.

Can I just thank David Tapsell, who was the Crown negotiator. He’s got many stories to tell about uncle Tiwha kicking him along. Thank you very much for your efforts in this work too.

Nō reira, kāti rā tērā pea māku hei whakakapi i roto i tētahi karakia. Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere te kārohirohi. Ko tō hoa haere ko te rangimārie, ko tō hoa haere ko te rangimārie. Nō reira kei te Whare, kei ngā kokonga o tēnei Whare, tēnei a Ngāti Maniapoto e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa, tēnā koutou.

E pā tō hau he wini raro, he hōmai aroha

Kia tangi atu au i kōnei, he aroha ki te iwi

Ka momotu ki tawhiti ki Paerau, ko wai e kite atu

Kei whea aku hoa i mua ra, i te tōnuitanga

Ka haramai tēnei ka tauwehe, ka raungaiti au.

Nō reira, Ngāti Maniapoto kei a koutou tēnei wā.

[Let me conclude with a prayer. May calm be widespread, may the sea glisten like greenstone, and may it shimmer. Let peace be your travelling companion. Therefore, to all corners of the House, I am too of Ngāti Maniapoto, and I greet you all.

Your breath touches me like the north wind, bringing sad memories

I mourn again in sorrow for my kin

Who have disappeared beyond Paerau, who can now see them

Where are my former friends from the era of prosperity

The time of separation has come, leaving me desolate.

Therefore, Ngāti Maniapoto, the time is yours.]

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

The question is, That the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill be considered by the Māori Affairs Committee.

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.