Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): The legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the parliamentary website.

I move, That the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time.

Ngāti Maru iwi, he rā tino nui tēnei mō koutou, nā koutou te kaha me te manawanui, nō reira e rau rangatira mā tēnei taku mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[To Ngāti Maru, this is a very important day for you, and your strength and steadfastness, therefore, to the many chiefs this is my acknowledgment to you, greetings, greeting, greetings one and all.]

This bill gives effect to Te Hiringa Taketake, the deed of settlement between the Crown and Ngāti Maru signed on 27 February last year. The bill comprises three parts detailing cultural and commercial redress and the Crown’s apology redress. This redress has been designed to support Ngāti Maru on their future journey. As kaitiaki in their rohe, the natural resource redress included in this bill is essential in enabling Ngāti Maru to fulfil their responsibilities to the natural world.

I intend to speak in more detail about the Ngāti Maru settlement in the third reading, but for now, I acknowledge those Ngāti Maru members who are watching this reading from afar, and I pay particular respect to the work and dedication of the Ngāti Maru negotiation team. Through negotiations with Ngāti Maru, the Crown has come to learn what friendship and partnership with Ngāti Maru entails. I’m optimistic that this bill contains redress which will support this relationship into their future with the post-settlement governance entity, Te Kāhui Maru Trust, Te Iwi o Maruwharanui.

After its first reading on 6 July 2021, this bill was referred to the Māori Affairs Committee. The committee called for submissions between July and August 2021, and received 35 written submissions from interested groups and individuals. They also heard eight oral submissions through an online forum. I’d especially like to thank those who took part in this process and shared their kōrero with the Māori Affairs Committee. I acknowledge and thank the members of the Māori Affairs Committee, who have swiftly and considerately progressed this bill.

The committee reported back to the House on 21 December last year, and aside from the small number of recommended technical amendments, the committee recommended that the bill be passed with minor amendments in two areas, with the first of these amendments being two provisions relating to the administration of the riverbed within the Whanganui River catchment area. These amendments will give effect to the agreement reached between Ngāti Maru, Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, Te Pou Tupua, and Ngāti Hāua that it would no longer be appropriate for the Department of Conservation to administer and manage any riverbed running through the relevant sites. Instead, Te Pou Tupua, the representative of the legal person Te Awa Tupua, will assume these responsibilities.

The second substantial amendment is to the provisions relating to the resource consent process as part of the proposed joint-management agreement between Ngāti Maru and the Taranaki Regional Council, aiming to clarify the intended role of the New Plymouth District Council under the joint-management arrangement. These amendments will be beneficial for Ngāti Maru to have a greater voice in the management of their rohe.

This second reading of the Ngāti Maru Claims Settlement Bill represents the next step in the iwi’s journey towards reconciliation with the Crown. It also brings the Ngāti Maru community closer to benefiting from all of the good this settlement will bring to their rohe. I acknowledge the Ngāti Maru people’s resolve to continue progressing this bill, considering the effect COVID-19 has had on their ability to fully celebrate their most recent milestones, and I look forward to welcoming Ngāti Maru back to Parliament for their third reading in the coming weeks and finding a time in the near future to formally deliver the Crown apology in their rohe, which I wasn’t able to do when we did the deed signing, which is typically when it is done.

But on that note, this bill is good. It’s made good progress. I’m very thankful to the work of the Māori Affairs Committee and all those MPs who have worked on it, and the various members of Ngāti Maru and parts of their community who have supported it. On that basis, I commend the bill to the House. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to rise on behalf of the National Party to speak on the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I want to thank Minister Little for the work that he’s done in guiding this process through to date, and I also acknowledge Ngāti Maru themselves, who cannot be here today for what is an historic occasion as we guide this bill through the second reading, and heading towards the third reading, which, hopefully, will happen in the near future.

I just want to say we feel you are here in spirit, so to speak. We look forward to, hopefully, having you here at the third reading for what is a process that is a very big moment for Ngāti Maru o Taranaki and is a big moment in reconciling these claims, which have taken a long time to get here. I want to acknowledge the negotiators, the steering committee, and Te Arawhiti staff for the work they’ve done in getting us this far.

I do have a little bit of sorrow that we haven’t been able, as a select committee of which I am part, to get out and actually talk to Ngāti Maru in their rohe, and I hope to be able to do that at some point in the future. I’m part of the Māori Affairs Committee, which has listened to submissions on this bill, and that’s primarily what the second reading is about today: just reporting back on where we’ve got to after the bill’s been through the select committee and is heading towards the third reading, which will culminate this process.

The bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed by the Crown and Ngāti Maru to settle all historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. The area of interest for the iwi is centred on the inland Waitara River Valley, and extends from Taranaki Maunga in the west to the upper Whanganui River in the east.

The bill includes a summary of the historical account, and as Minister Little spoke to, he looks forward now to giving a formal apology when that is possible. The bill also addresses cultural redress, relationship redress, and financial redress, and the vesting of 16 sites of cultural significance as part of that, which we looked at as a committee.

Interestingly, the administration of the Whanganui River catchment area was something we needed to look at as a committee, and clauses 57, 58, and 59 of the bill provide for the transfer of three properties that are public conservation land within the Whanganui River catchment area. One of those properties is to be transferred as shared redress with Ngāti Hāua. These sites may contain riverbed owned by Te Awa Tupua, the legal personality that comprises the Whanganui River, but are administered and managed by the Department of Conservation. Te Awa Tupua - owned riverbed would not be transferred with the surrounding land as the Crown no longer owns it.

We have been advised that Ngāti Maru, Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui, the post-settlement governance entity for the Whanganui River settlement; Te Pou Tupua, the “human face” of Te Awa Tupua; and Ngāti Hāua have agreed that it would no longer be appropriate for the Department of Conservation to administer and manage any riverbed running through these sites. Instead, Te Pou Tupua should assume those responsibilities, and they have agreed to do so. So, as a committee, we have recommended amending the bill to give effect to this agreement.

The bill would require the trustees of Ngāti Maru and the Taranaki Regional Council to create a joint-management agreement for matters relating to the Waitara River and its catchment area. There’s also a clause there which would apply to specified resource consent applications made to territorial authorities. In its submission, the New Plymouth District Council—whom we heard from—sought clarification of its intended role in the joint-management agreement, which we considered, and although the drafting of clause 87 actively reflects the equivalent drafting in the deed of settlement, Ngāti Maru have agreed that the joint-management agreement was only intended to apply to applications for resource consent between the Taranaki Regional Council and Ngāti Maru. The reference to territorial authorities in clause 87 was made in error, and, accordingly, the committee has recommended amending the bill to accurately reflect the agreed intention of the joint-management agreement.

The bill as introduced removed memorials on land pertaining to Ngāti Maru’s redress. It also removed the Waitangi Tribunal’s jurisdiction to order resumption in favour of Ngāti Manu. We understand that it is Crown policy to remove all remaining resumptive memorials on land in a region once historical Waitangi Tribunal claims have been settled through legislation, and Ngāti Maru are the last iwi in the Taranaki region to settle their historical Treaty claims.

Te Arawhiti advised us as a committee that it was considering whether to amend the bill to remove other resumptive memorials within fully settled areas of the Taranaki region. However, as this was not considered or discussed with Ngāti Maru prior to the deed of settlement being signed, Te Arawhiti concluded it would be more appropriate to remove memorials at a later time, although this was the last settlement in the area, and the committee supported this approach as this bill is focused on Ngāti Maru o Taranaki.

So I do look forward to having an opportunity to speak more generally on the bill itself, but given this is the second reading, I’ve just focused on the select committee process and the considerations that we’ve had. I certainly do hope that Ngāti Maru are able to be here in person for the third reading, which will be a historic moment and one I certainly look forward to. So, with that, I commend this bill to the House.

E te Māngai o te Whare, tēnā koe, otirā ngā mema katoa, tēnā tātou katoa anō.

[Mr Speaker, greetings to you, and to all the members, greetings again to you.]

I’m proud and pleased to take a call in the second reading of the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. To the people of Ngāti Maru, ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa, i runga i te kaupapa o tō pire, nō reira tēnā tātou, tēnā tātou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[To the people of Ngāti Maru, I greet you all as you bring your bill to be discussed, therefore, greeting, greetings, greetings to one and all.]

I’m not a member of the Māori Affairs Committee, so I’m very reliant on the report that came back to the House and the close examination of this bill by the Māori Affairs Committee. Can I, obviously, add my appreciation for and acknowledgment of the negotiators for Ngāti Maru.

I won’t repeat what both the Minister for Treaty settlements and the previous member, Joseph Mooney, have said. They’ve traversed the parts of the legislation that we’re debating tonight. As a former Treaty negotiator, you always look for a unique part of each iwi’s settlement, and I think the two previous speakers touched on the two, from my perspective, which give rise to the uniqueness of this settlement, and that is the use of conservation land—which has been touched on—and the riverbed of the Whanganui River, and, of course, the removal or the resumptive orders, which is really important as a mechanism to return what we can back to the people of Ngāti Maru.

So it is one of the last iwi of the Taranaki iwi whānui that is settling here. This is the second reading. I want to acknowledge all those that submitted on the bill. I want to acknowledge the Māori Affairs Committee, who gave it the right scrutiny. I want to acknowledge the amendments that they brought to the House and that the Minister of Treaty settlements, the Hon Andrew Little, has taken on board, and has adjusted accordingly. This is a very important reading for the Ngāti Maru people of Taranaki, and the area of interest is the inland Waitara River Valley, which goes out to Taranaki maunga to the west and the upper Whanganui River in the east.

In acknowledging the significance of what we’re debating here as the second reading, I want to acknowledge the Taranaki leadership that has bestowed itself on not only this House but the region of Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, particularly as the iwi come together to put a cloud—a karakia o raukura—over this whole capital city of ours, and I want to acknowledge that tribe and the tribe of Taranaki with the people of Ngāti Maru because they are one people.

So I want to acknowledge the Taranaki whānui Te Atiawa in terms of the karakia that it has bestowed on this place—Parliament—as acknowledgment of the mana whenua in my contribution to this particular bill. It is important for Ngāti Maru to feel the support on this side of the House—and I thank all members of this House—in the second reading of this particular bill. But it’s also to acknowledge the significance that their people, the iwi of Taranaki, have also provided comfort and some blessings to this place of work—the Parliament, the New Zealand House of Representatives—and, to those that have found their way here, to politely say to them that it’s about time they go home, and we’ve heard contributions from previous members in this House that have talked about what has actually occurred to the people of Te Atiawa, of which Ngāti Maru is one of those key iwi that are part of that particular tribe.

I want to again commend the bill to the House. I want to acknowledge all the negotiators who have fought gallantly on the unique qualities of Ngāti Maru—particularly, like I said, around the riverbed, and the clarification around the partnership that will be forged with the Taranaki Regional Council. From the limited knowledge I know of that part of the northern land, which is distinctly different to the East Coast, is that it is the significantly productive land that occurs in the wider Taranaki region, and, of course, there is the significance of the awas and its contribution to the primary sector.

So, with those few words of support and endorsement, I look forward to the third and final reading of this bill in acknowledgment of what has been negotiated and agreed between Ngāti Maru and the Crown to address the past wrongs and hurts of the omissions and acts of the Crown. I look forward to, hopefully, hosting the people of Ngāti Maru, should they find themselves down this part if conditions allow, to celebrate alongside them the significance of this bill. I commend the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to stand here, and it is a shame that COVID restrictions have limited Ngāti Maru from travelling to Wellington, because one of the special things I always find when we do Treaty settlement bills is often we would have members of Ngāti Maru, or whoever we’re speaking to, up in the gallery so that we can actually have them being much more part of what we’re doing than they currently are. I too want to reiterate, as others have said, that I hope that by the time we get to the third reading, we can be in the state around the COVID regulations that we can have a room full of people, because it’s never as good otherwise, and it’s been a struggle for Ngāti Maru all the way through.

In terms of the deed of settlement, as Minister Little mentioned before, it was a beautiful, sunny day, and we were all out in a little place called Tarata, which is in inland Taranaki, where the deed of settlement was due to be signed. There had been over 650 people who had been invited to that event, and because of the COVID situation at that time, which was nearly a year ago now, it was attended by probably only about 30 or 40 people, I’d say. It was really only the people who had been doing the negotiation, the Minister, and a few of us from Parliament, and I did feel for Ngāti Maru at that time, because they’d been in the process of putting up a new marae and we couldn’t use it to its full extent.

It was almost finished, and I look forward to the day, as Minister Little said, when he can go back there and give the full apology, which wasn’t able to be given on that day. So it has been a hard row to hoe, but it’s a pleasure standing here and speaking on the second reading, and we’re looking forward to progressing this in the hope that we can all be together when we get to that final stretch and have the third reading and have a celebration together.

Because of the inland location of Ngāti Maru, they had limited contact with Europeans during the 1840s and the 1850s. They were not involved in the land dealings which led to the war in Taranaki in 1860 and were not directly involved in the subsequent fighting. Their involvement was limited to providing refuge to Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitāke in accordance with the requirements of whanaungatanga, and then it all changed. When the Crown confiscated huge tracts of Taranaki to punish so-called rebels in 1865, approximately half of the traditional lands of Ngāti Maru were included. Many of their main kāinga, urupā, and wāhi tapu were taken, and some have never been returned.

In the early 1870s, the Crown attempted to promote European settlement on confiscated land by paying some Ngāti Maru compensation for the rights that the confiscation had extinguished. These deeds of cession covered about 60,000 acres and created significant divisions within the iwi, and it compounded the damage that had already been caused by the loss of land. So now we’re talking many, many years—150 years—later, actually standing in the House of Parliament in New Zealand and feeling very, very appreciative that Ngāti Maru have been gracious enough to accept a settlement that’s been offered, because—I think it’s been said earlier today in an earlier Treaty settlement bill—there’s lots of give and take through these things, and it’s never enough to undo everything that was done at the time that these awful events happened.

In the early 1890s, some Ngāti Maru were virtually landless and appealed to the Crown for help. The Crown’s response was slow and ineffective, and legislation was not enacted until 1907. The land ultimately provided to Ngāti Maru was poor and it was of limited size. So the extensive loss of the land and the assets has eroded tribal structures. It’s bad enough what actually happened in terms of the assets being taken, but it actually eroded the culture and the tribal structures and it caused severe poverty, and that damaged the whole physical, cultural, and spiritual health of generations of Ngāti Maru people. The intense sense of loss and disconnection is expressed in the following Ngāti Maru lament:

Maru Hāhā

Hāhā te whenua

Hāhā te tangata.

Maru of extreme loss and breathlessness

The land is deserted

The people are gone and gasping for breath.

I wasn’t part of the Māori Affairs Committee, but it’s good to see that the committee has taken care of some necessary changes, particularly in relation to the riverbed and the Whanganui settlement with Ngā Tāngata Tiake o Whanganui, because each boundary isn’t exactly—particularly when it comes to rivers—distinct and separate. So it’s been really good that this has been made to work in a way that it can work for Ngāti Maru as well as for the people of Whanganui.

Then, of course, it was very important to get that clear distinction when there is a relationship here with the Taranaki Regional Council, but it didn’t extend down into the same relationship with the Taranaki district councils, of which there are three. So it was really important to make sure that the right terminology is in the bill and everything had been done right so that it didn’t cause any problems later.

So I just do want to make note that if we look at the schedules which sit in the back of this piece of legislation, there are some beautiful conservation areas and some beautiful scenic reserves. There are some great marginal strips, beautiful land along the Waitara River, Okau Scenic Reserve—there’s quite a range of beautiful New Zealand conservation and historic land here that I think Ngāti Maru can be very proud of in terms of the settlement they’ve made. But I also look forward to working with Ngāti Maru and all of the iwi of Taranaki in terms of making these conservation areas and these scenic reserves even more beautiful than they are now as we work together in agribusiness and in Māori agribusiness, which we do have a lot of in Taranaki. It’ll be just great to work together on some of those projects and get the biodiversity and everything of these lovely places up and running again in joint projects.

So, with that, I’d like to commend this bill to the House. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I acknowledge the tough times that we’re going through and the fact that we have taken this online, as we did for our submission hearings, as well. As chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, it was less than desirable. We would very much have liked to travel to Taranaki to go and hear the submission hearings and to look the people in the eye, but, unfortunately, we were unable to do that then for the submission hearings, and we’re still unable to do that now. So, Ngāti Maru, ahakoa kei hea koutou, poipoia e tēnei whenua e tēnei motu o Aotearoa, he mihi tēnei ki a koutou.

[So, Ngāti Muru, wherever you may be, be cared for by this land, this country of Aotearoa New Zealand, this is my acknowledgment to you.]

I’m proud to take a call on the second reading of this bill. The Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill was referred to our komiti Māori on 6 July 2021. The closing date for submissions was 18 August 2021. We got advice on the bill from Te Arawhiti—thank you to them for their continued support to the committee through this process. The Office of the Clerk also provided some advice on the bill’s legislative quality, and Parliamentary Counsel assisted with legal drafting.

We received and considered 35 submissions from various interest groups and individuals, and we heard oral evidence from eight submitters. The majority of the submitters had a desire to move everybody forward for the benefit of Ngāti Maru—for their people, for the wider community, for the future, ngā tamariki mokopuna kei te heke mai [for the children and grandchildren to come]—and they wanted to acknowledge also those people that had passed on, who were also quite active in initiating and moving the claim forward from the beginning, and the collective mahi and dedication achieved in reaching this settlement, their settlement. They had optimism for their tamariki and for their mokopuna so that they could fulfil their aspirations, and they had a desire to restore, revitalise, and enhance the mauri of Ngāti Maruwharanui. That was the overwhelming feeling of some of the submitters who were absolutely in support and saw no reason for the select committee to stand in their way.

I will talk very briefly about the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Fisheries Trust, who also came before the committee. They put submissions in. There was a longstanding issue that we as a committee heard about that had been happening between the Ngāti Maru Fisheries Trust and Te Kāhui Maru, which is the entity set to receive this settlement. The fisheries trust felt as though, to be able to go through this—what they said in their submissions was that they thought that the restrictiveness of the Ngāti Maru claimant definition for the Treaty settlement was too restrictive. They had concerns surrounding the facilitation process, and they had concerns around the rūnanga’s mandate to negotiate a Treaty settlement—full stop.

We had to fill ourselves in with this conversation, because it had been going for quite some time prior to it coming before the committee, but after we’d heard the submissions and taken our advice, we—the committee—decided that, actually, Te Kāhui Maru Trust did in fact have the mandate, it did in fact go through thorough processes around facilitation to make sure that that was nice and tight, and there were plenty of opportunities via the independent review of the Ngāti Maru tribal register. That was conducted in 2017 as part of negotiations, and we were comfortable that they had a robust process to be able to include people that wanted to be included on their rūnanga register.

This was an interesting settlement because this is the last of the Taranaki iwi to come before the select committee, looking for settlement on their grievance. I, along with the rest of the committee, look forward to the third reading of their settlement bill. Again, I’m sorry that we couldn’t be in each other’s company for this—the second reading—but what I did note, what I did observe, and what I do know is that Ngāti Maru are very, very keen to get this through, to be able to receive their settlement, to be able to receive their redress, and to be able to hear the Crown acknowledgments and the Crown apology as we move forward into the third reading.

I do want to acknowledge that point there too—the reading out of the apology—which was something that was discussed. On 29 September, Ngāti Maru set out their aspiration for the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to visit the Ngāti Maru rohe after the third reading to deliver the Crown apology to the claimant community. On their request, the Minister did not deliver the Crown apology at the signing of their ceremony, but we decided to hold off on it. We did have to go back to them to see if they wanted the apology mentioned at all throughout this select committee process or the first, the second, or the third reading, and they advised us that they would like the committee to be able to read their apology as part of the third reading.

So we look forward to doing that and to addressing past wrongs, but I acknowledge Ngāti Maruwharanui and the journey that they’ve been on, through our select committee process but through our wider political process as well, to try and deliver a better future for their tamariki and their mokopuna. I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. E mihi ana ki a tātou katoa e noho ana ki te Whare Pāremata, otirā ki a tātou e noho tawhiti nei pēnei mai ki a au.

E mihi ana ki a koutou Ngāti Maru. Maru hāhā, hāhā te whenua, hāhā te tangata. E mihi ana ki tō koutou nei manawanui, tō koutou nei manawaroa i tēnei o ngā hiku o tēnei pire, i te mea kua roa te wā e hīkoi ana koutou i tēnei o ngā tukanga ki roto i ngā rua tekau o ngā tau.

Nō reira, e mihi ana tēnei ki a koutou e noho ki raro o te maru o te maunga tītōhea ki tōna rāwhiti tae noa ki te pūtake o te awa o Waitara, whakawhiti te manga o Hoehoe, heke atu ki te awa o Whanganui hipa atu ki a Matemateaonga ki Whakaahurangi.

Nō reira, ko au anō tētahi mema o te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori. Ko te raru kē mō ēnei wāhanga e kimi nei tātou i tēnei wā ki raro i ngā āhuatanga o te mate urutā. Tē taea e mātou te whai wā ki te haere ki tō rātou nei marae ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero, ki te whakarongo ki ngā pūrākau, ki te whakarongo ki ngā kaupapa kia rongo anō te taiao, kia rongo anō te whenua, kia tipi haere ngā wāhi e ngākau nui ana Ngāti Maru.

Heoi anō, mā runga i te whakawhiti ki runga i ngā hangarau mata hiko i tau anō te whakaaro i ngā moemoeā o Ngāti Maru i a mātou ngā mema o te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori. I ara mai i ngā nawe tūroa o Ngāti Maru i te murunga i tapaina me te kounutanga hua mai i muri i tā Te Karauna raupatu i tētahi haurua o ō rātou whenua taketake i te tekau 1860. I kōrerohia e ētahi o ngā kaikōrero e pā ana ki tērā wāhanga, otirā te wāhanga anō te pakanga whenua ki Taranaki i mōhio whānui tātou ngā konene e noho ana ki Parihaka me ōna pānga ki a Ngāti Maru i raupatuhia te Karauna i ō rātou nei whenua.

I te korenga o tētahi huarahi whaihua kia mau tonu i a rātou he taitara takitini ka rongo tonu anō a Ngāti Maru i te kore haeretanga me te kurukurunga o ngā tūranga o te iwi o te rautau tekau mā iwa. Nā te hē o te whakahaere o Te Karauna i ngā rāhui i tāpuitia rā mō te iwi ka takahia te mana o Ngāti Maru me tana whakahaere i ōna whenua e toe ana. Nā ngā mahi o Te Karauna, nā te korenga rānei o āna mahi ki a Ngāti Maru i muru ia te nuinga o ō rātou nei whenua tīpuna, i peia ai hoki ki ō rātou uri ki whenua kē atu.

Ahakoa kore rawa atu te utu paremata o te whakataunga Tiriti ki a Ngāti Maru e āta hāngai ana ki te taumata o te kino kua pā ki a rātou e pono ana taku tūmanako kia tū ko te whakataunga nei hei huarahi atu ki te whakatikatika te whakatikahanga o ēnei takahanga o te ture. I a mātou ngā Kākāriki e whakaaro ana ki ngā āhuatanga pēnei ana te āhua, me mōhio mai tēnei Whare, ehara i te Te Tiriti o Waitangi te kirimana mō te hokohoko noa, ehara i Te Tiriti o Waitangi te kirimana mō te hokohoko taputapu te hokohoko whenua. He oranga anō nō Te Tiriti o Waitangi. He hononga he piringa i waenganui i Te Karauna me ngā hapū kia whakatinanahia ngā moemoeā o ngā mātua tīpuna.

Tē taea atu te whakatau te whakamoe Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te mea kei a ia ōna oranga mai i te wā i tāmokotia e ngā tīpuna i Waitangi i te tau 1840 tae mai ki tēnei rangi tonu. Ko tōna aronga mēnā ka tiro tātou ki te wāhanga tuarua—tino rangatiratanga. He pūtake anō tērā ki a au ki a mātou te katoa e noho nei ki Aotearoa, hei hāpai, hei āwhina tātou i a tātou e whakatere ana i o tātou nei waka ki runga i te moana pukepuke i tēnei wā.

Nō reira, ki roto i tērā horopaki me mihi atu ki ngā uri o Ngāti Maru i a rātou takahi ki roto i ngā rua tekau, toru tekau e aha rānei ngā tau kia kōkirihia tēnei kerēme nō rātou, i te mea kua mōhio ki roto i te tukanga ka puta mai ngā pūrākau, i puta mai ngā kōrero tuku iho ka tohatoha i ēnei taonga, ā, te kōrero mai i ngā kaumātua, ki ngā reanga katoa. Ko te tūmanako kia kī ngā kete mātauranga mō te hunga rangatahi o te iwi kia whāngaihia anō ērā kōrero ki ngā tamariki mokopuna.

Kei reira anō te oranga i te tīmatanga o tēnei momo kēreme, whakatau Kēreme. Ko te Whakatau Kēreme he tikanga kia tau te mauri kia whai whakaaro te hunga katoa e noho ana ki te takiwā i waenganui i ngā hapori katoa. Nō reira, ko tōku manako kia noho te katoa o ngā hapori e noho ana ki te takiwā; tangata whenua mai; tauiwi mai; manene mai; a mai; kia whakarongo ki te hītori tūturu nō Ngāti Maru.

Hoki anō tērā whakataukī i mōhio tātou rongonui “Ko te kai a te rangatira he kōrero”. Nō reira nā runga i te kōrero ka whai tēnei me te rangatiratanga hei oranga mō Ngāti Maru, otirā ki a tātou katoa i roto i a tātou e whakangungu ana ngā kōrero tuku iho a ngā mātua tipuna. Ngā korero ko ētahi e mamae ana te ngākau i te mea he kōrero e pā ana ki ngā pakanga te whawhati o ngā tūmanako i ahu mai i Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Heoi tēnei te āhua o te ara i tēnei wā me kōkiri anō tātou ki te tika me pono hei oranga mō tātou.

Ki roto i tēnei whakatau kerēme ka tae atu i te toru tekau miriona te pūtea kia whakarite he pūtea anō mō te whakangungu te taha ahurea kia kite tātou tērā i roto i ērā atu o ngā whakatau kerēme. Kei roto hoki i tēnei whakataunga te hoki mai i ētahi o ngā kura pērā ki a Tarata a Matau me ētahi wāhanga o te urupā o Tarata me ērahi wāhanga tāpui taiao me ngā kura e toru.

E ai ki te kōrero i a au e pānui ana i ngā pepa ko tētahi mea ka hokia mai ko te whare teihana pirihimana ki Whakaahurangi kāore ake mēnā kei te whakahoki tērā teihana pirihimana ka noho ngā pirihimana ki hea. Heoi kei te pukumahi ngā pirihimana kei waho i te Pāremata i tēnei wā, tēnā pea. Kāore anō tēnei he raru kia tau ki a rātou.

I a mātou te komiti whāiti e whiriwhiri ana ngā take i puta mai i tautoko katoa i ngā kōrero i kōrerotia e te tiamana i mua. Te nuinga i tautoko mai i tēnei kaupapa ko tētahi, he whakaaro ano tō rātou. Heoi anō i kite tātou i tērā momo kōrero ki roto i ēnei tukanga whakatau kerēme.

Ko ētahi hapū e aro anō rātou ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I hainatia Te Tiriti o Waitangi mō te hapū, nō reira ka puta mai ēnei o ngā kōrero. Nō reira ko te whakatau kēreme Tiriti o Waitangi ehara i te mea i whakatau te ngākau ki ētahi atu. Nō reira, me mihi atu ki tērā āhuatanga o tātou.

E mihi ana ki ngā ringa wera i kōrerohia e te Arawhiti ki Ngāti Maru me ērā atu o ngā rōpū nā te aroha o ngā iwi whānui o taua wāhi ki te awa me te awa o Whanganui i te mea he wāhi anō mō Te Pou Tupua kia noho tahi me Ngāti Hāua i te mea tērā te āhua o ngā awa pērā i te awa tipua pēra ki a te awa o Whanganui. Maha ngā iwi e hono ana, maha ngā wāhi e hono ana ki tērā o ngā awa, heoi anō ko tōna tikanga nā Te Pou Tupua tērā wāhi i kōkirihia ēnei iwi, ēnei rōpū katoa. Ngā hāpai, tiaki o tērā waha, mā rātou anō ngā whenua e rārangahia.

Nō reira, nōku noa iho he tautoko kia whai wāhi anō ki roto i ngā kaupapa tae noa ki tō tātou pānuitanga tuatoru o tēnei. Kei te tautoko mātou ngā Kākāriki ki tēnei o ngā pire. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koe.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker. Greetings to all of us, those in the House of Parliament and also to those calling in remotely like me.

I greet you, Ngāti Maru. Maru of extreme loss and breathlessness. I acknowledge your dogged persistence at this time of the final stages of the pire for it has been a long 20 years you have been pursuing these processes.

Therefore, I greet you who live in the shadow of the barren mountain, on its eastern side stretching to the source of the Waitara River, crossing the Hoehoe Stream, descending to the Whanganui River and, by way of the Matemateaonga Ranges, back to Stratford.

Therefore, I am myself a member of the Māori Affairs Committee. The circumstances of the pandemic have made this difficult for us at this time. None of us were able to visit their marae to listen to what they had to say, to listen to their stories, to listen to the issues, and to experience the environment and the land as well as visit some of the special places of Ngāti Maru.

However, the dreams of Ngāti Maru were also expressed and felt by us, the Māori Affairs Committee, in our online discussions. The longstanding complaints of Ngāti Maru arose from the plunder and thus the withdrawal as a result Crown confiscation of half of their original lands in the 1860s. Some of the other speakers spoke about this part, as well as the Taranaki Wars and we all know of the refugees of Parihaka and its effects on Ngāti Maru when their land was confiscated.

With the erosion of an effective way to retain multiple title, Ngāti Maru continue to feel the effects of the continuing loss of tribal leadership that stemmed from the 19th century. Because of the Crown’s failure to put aside reserves for the iwi, the authority of Ngāti Maru was disregarded and its ability to manage its remaining lands was undermined. Due to the actions of the Crown, or its inaction towards Ngāti Maru, the majority of their ancestral land was confiscated, leading to the displacement elsewhere of its descendants.

Although the redress to Ngāti Maru in this Treaty settlement does not in any way match the harm that was done to them, it is still my hope that the settlement will provide a way forward to right these breaches of the law. While we, the Greens, were discussing issues such as these, the House needs to know that the Treaty of Waitangi was not an agreement for the sale of belongings nor of land. The Treaty of Waitangi is a living document. It binds tightly together the Crown and the hapū in order to embody the dreams of our ancestors.

The Treaty of Waitangi cannot be silenced or put to bed, because it has been a living document since its signing by the ancestors at Waitangi in 1840 right up to this very day. Its purpose, if we look at article 2, is self-determination. This offers a direction to me, to all of us living in Aotearoa New Zealand, to support and help each other navigate the troubled waters in which we find ourselves at this time.

Therefore, in this context, I would like to acknowledge the descendants of Ngāti Maru. You have been on this journey for 20, 30, or more years because they knew that, in the process, stories and legends would be told and these stories were shared from the elders to all the other generations. The hope is that the baskets of knowledge of the younger generations will be filled, so the future generations can also be nourished.

That is also one of the benefits of beginning these types of claim, claim settlements. A claim settlement allows all parts of the local community to calmly deliberate amongst themselves. Therefore, it is my wish that all parts of the community; the people of the land; Europeans; other immigrants; and whoever else will be able to listen to the true history of Ngāti Maru.

I turn now to that famous proverb that we all know “The sustenance of chiefs is words”. Therefore, upon these words and the word autonomy, this will bring wellbeing to Ngāti Maru, indeed to all of us, as we defend the stories handed down from our ancestors. Some stories were painful to hear because they referred to the battles and the crushing of hopes which had stemmed from the Treaty of Waitangi. However, this is an aspect of our journey at this time, we must continue to push for truth and justice for the benefit of us all.

In this claim settlement is the inclusion of $30 million. There is also another fund to protect cultural aspects as we have seen in other claim settlements. Included as well in this decision is the return of school properties such as Tarata and Matau, with some parts of the Tarata burial ground and some parts of environmental reserves and three schools.

According to what I read in the documents, one thing that was being returned was the police station in Stratford, but if that police station is returned where will the police go? Well, they may be hard at work outside Parliament today perhaps. This has not yet become a problem for them.

While we on the select committee were discussing the issues, everyone supports what the previous chairperson has said. The majority support this issue, but other people had other thoughts. However, we have all seen that type of thinking in the claim settlement processes.

Some hapū focus on the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed by the hapū, and therefore these issues come up. There these of Treaty of Waitangi settlements don’t sit well with everyone. Therefore, I must acknowledge that attitude of ours.

I acknowledge the workers behind the scenes, Te Arawhiti, or the Office of Māori Crown Relations, who were mentioned; Ngāti Maru; and some other groups, for the support of the wider iwi of the river and of the Whanganui River as there is an opportunity for Te Pou Tupua—that is, those that act and speak on behalf of the river—to collaborate with Ngāti Hāua, because that is one of the characteristics of these types of supernatural rivers such as the Whanganui. Many iwi and many places connect to that river. However, the idea is that Te Pou Tupua is a place where these people can come together. The supporters, the guardians of that voice, they themselves will weave together the land.

Therefore, I just need to say we support further participation in this issue right up to and including the third reading. We, the Greens, support this bill. Greetings to you all, greetings to you.]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The ACT Party supports the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. What is good about this bill is that the Treaty of Waitangi recognises private property rights in its second article. New Zealand is almost unique in the world in that our founding document recognises the property rights of all New Zealanders in its founding document.

The Treaty of Waitangi, in the English version, in the second article, says that “Her Majesty the Queen of England … guarantees … the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of their Lands and Estates Forests Fisheries and other properties” which the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand had in their possession. Then, as we know from reading our recent history, a number of egregious acts were committed, not solely by the Crown, which dispossessed Ngāti Maru and other iwi and hapū of their lands.

We should count ourselves fortunate, particularly at this time of great strife in other countries that we regard as our equals, whether they be in Europe or in the Pacific, where strife between ethnic communities and disagreements over land and access to resources has led to violence and the breakdown of their civil society. So I think it’s important that all New Zealanders acknowledge that having the Treaty of Waitangi as a founding document actually gives us an opportunity to focus on sorting out real infringements of private property rights.

Reading through the proposal that this claims settlement bill brings to the House, there is an apology and redress for the acts of the Crown and the omissions of the Crown—an apology, a cultural redress, and a commercial and financial redress of $30 million. In terms of the apology, there’s an acknowledgment of the Crown’s actions and an apology for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi with regard to Ngāti Maru, and that is fit.

In terms of a cultural redress, the bill includes provision for a number of cultural redress instruments, which are listed in detail in the bill. The bill then comes to the substantive matters, which is the vesting of properties, because, despite the fact that the Crown has acknowledged a large number of properties and the extent of land that was alienated from Ngāti Maru unfairly, it’s not possible for the Crown to restore all of that land, because since that event, much of that land is, in fact, owned by others. Other people now have private property rights in that land. So the Crown has to find some other way of giving redress, in terms of a financial redress of $30 million, and to make available other properties that the Crown has access to. That is land about which the Crown, essentially, says, “While we might have wanted to use it for other purposes, it is far better that we give Ngāti Maru this land in recognition of the loss of their lands and alienation of their lands as a result of the Crown’s action.”, and that is fit.

So there are properties in the Taranaki area, and then there are statutory acknowledgments. That is where in law the role, the mana, of Ngāti Maru is recognised in legislation, and that is fit.

There is a deed of recognition where the Crown is required to consult with Ngāti Maru on specific matters that affect this iwi and to have regard to their special associations that they have with places that are important to Ngāti Maru, and that is fit.

Then we come to the matter of natural resource redress. In New Zealand, we have the Resource Management Act, and that was intended, in 1991, to be the vehicle by which private land owners and the Government and their agencies, whether they be a transport agency or a railways department—as it might have been at the time—could apply for consent from local government, and then the Environment Court, if it was appealed, to undertake activities on their private property. Now, the Resource Management Act is recognised to have failed to adequately allocate resources and to have imposed costs and burdens on the private sector and the State sector alike, and, in fact, that law is well overdue for reform. The ACT Party has proposed an alternative to the Government’s Natural and Built Environments Bill, which we’ll be presenting in the House later this week.

But coming back to the natural resource redress in this bill, this bill provides for joint-management agreements between Ngāti Maru and local government—the Taranaki Regional Council—and that is in relation to any exercise of the local authority’s functions, powers, and duties relating to a natural and physical resource. Yet most New Zealanders would expect that resource consent decisions taken under the Resource Management Act are actually impartial and free from interference and influence by those who do not have an elected role and are actually not subject to all of the controls on regional councils, for example, which limit the exercise of their decision making.

Many New Zealanders have raised concerns about these types of joint-management or co-governance arrangements, and some of these concerns are legitimate. I could give you the example in Auckland of the co-governance arrangements over Auckland’s maunga—our volcanic cones—which has resulted in a large number of trees being removed against the wishes of the local community, because it turns out that once these co-governance relationships are entered into, many other people who live in that community, private property owners and those who care about their environment—their parks and reserves and their natural place—as much as any other New Zealander does, from any ethnicity, feel that their concerns are not in fact being heard. They have lost the decision-making power over their reserves, and, in fact, even their elected representatives on their local councils have lost their decision-making power.

When we see joint-management agreements over natural resources identified in a piece of legislation, many New Zealanders are greatly concerned about that. It may well be there are other ways to deal with the private property rights that Ngāti Maru have and that they have demonstrated in the courts than a co-governance arrangement, which in many ways is the worst of all worlds, because any decision making they have over other people’s private property would be regarded as unfair by those subjected to decision making by unelected people, and yet it doesn’t actually give them the opportunity to do what they see fit with their own property.

So, in many ways, while the joint-management agreement described here in the natural resource redress section of the bill appears to have good intentions, it’s actually an example of where you get to with poorly thought out principles that are applied to sorting out issues of private property rights. That’s why the ACT Party believes that, if there is a breach of property rights, that should be clearly defined, and that, if a party does in fact have a property right, they should be compensated for that if it’s been affected. Otherwise, groups that are unelected should not have decision making powers over other people’s property, and that is definitely a risk as these types of redress measures are advanced through legislation.

But the ACT Party will support the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill because we believe in the rule of law. We believe that it does go a long way to uphold the value of private property rights in New Zealand, and for that reason, we will support it at this reading. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Tēnā koe e te Pīka, ki ngā uri o Ngāti Maru, tēnā koutou. Ki a Maru Wharanui te tupuna matua iwi o Ngāti Maru Wharanui, tēnā koe.

[Greetings, Mr Speaker, to the descendants of Ngāti Maru, greetings to you all. To Maru Wharanui, the eponymous ancestor of Ngāti Maru Wharanui, greetings.]

It’s a privilege to speak tonight as part of the first sitting of the virtual Parliament. This is a Parliament that acknowledges the importance of the Treaty settlement process, and I’m proud to be a part of the cross-partisan approach to acknowledging the breaches of the Crown’s duty to act in good faith to its Treaty partner. Though we may not all have the same reasons for acknowledging the injustices committed by the Crown—and I disagree with the ACT member’s contribution almost in its entirety—we have the same over-arching goal.

In my short introduction, I acknowledged the people of Ngāti Maru and their eponymous ancestor, Maruwharanui. He’s the eldest child of Pito Haranui and Manauea, and brother to Marukōpiri, Mihi-Rawhiti, and Hinepango. It is right to acknowledge this tupuna and all of the tūpuna of Ngāti Maru, whose hopes for their descendants we are supporting tonight. This settlement legislation brings us to giving effect to the deed of settlement between the Crown and Ngāti Maru, which acknowledges those instances where the Crown hasn’t lived up to those hopes of the tūpuna of Ngāti Maru, and brings Ngāti Maru closer to taking on a complete kaitiaki role over its own natural environment.

I agree with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations that this bill is also about bringing the people of the Ngāti Maru iwi and its rohe closer to enjoying the economic benefits of settlement, and I want to thank everyone who submitted on this bill, as well as those who advised on it and facilitated the Māori Affairs Committee’s discussions. Only minor amendments were suggested, which reflects the confidence all members have in the process, and I want to echo the comments of the member for Southland, National Party MP Joseph Mooney, when he said to the uri of Ngāti Maru that we feel you here in spirit tonight.

Now, if I may, I wish to give the House some context for the settlement that we are discussing and why Parliament unanimously agrees that these injustices should be acknowledged and given redress. The Crown apology begins with the dispossession, displacement, and dislocation suffered by Ngāti Maru that began with the Crown’s unjustified confiscation of almost half their traditional rohe. The damage caused by the loss of Ngāti Maru lands was compounded by the divisions created within the iwi when the Crown negotiated deeds of cession as a means of securing possession of the confiscated lands to make way for European settlement. The subsequent passage of the last remaining Ngāti Maru land through the Native Land Court individualised their customary land title, making the land more susceptible to alienation and further damaging tribal cohesion. Measures taken to ameliorate growing Ngāti Maru landlessness were ineffective, and much of the tribe’s remaining land later came under Public Trustee administration and was subject to perpetual leases.

These are serious breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi that we are acknowledging tonight. That is why the saying of the iwi is appropriate, and a number of members have used it, but I wish to repeat it:

Maru Hāhā

Hāhā te whenua

Hāhā te tangata.

That means:

Maru of extreme loss and breathlessness

The land is deserted

The people are gone and gasping for breath.

I hope that this next chapter in the history of Ngāti Maru offers a breather, a time to recuperate, to gather together, and then move forward, once recovered. That’s why I think the cultural redress portion of this bill is, in my eyes, the most important, because it is a moment that we can gather together all that has happened and look forward to something new coming.

There’s one particular part of the cultural redress which I think is very important and I want to highlight, given the contribution of the previous member Simon Court about property rights and the rights of other property owners in the rohe of Ngāti Maru. This deed will provide for a natural resources plan, Maru Taiao, which outlines the values and principles of Ngāti Maru and the resource management issues of significance to Ngāti Maru in relation to the Maru Taiao area. Local authorities must take the Maru Taiao plan into account when they are preparing a review and policy statements and planning under the Resource Management Act.

That’s significant because this restores not only the kaitiaki role of Ngāti Maru, which they have always had and do not need the Crown to acknowledge because they have always been kaitiaki of the area, but it fulfils that hope of having the governance responsibility, of having the decision-making power, that iwi are so well placed to exercise for the benefit of everyone in their community, and I am pleased this Government has made that move. That’s why I look forward to considering this legislation further again in the next reading, but I commend this bill to the House now.

The next call is a split call—five minutes each.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise in support of the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I think it’s indisputable that settlements like this help iwi to unlock their economic potential and they boost the regional and provincial areas but, more importantly, as the previous speaker has referred to, they re-empower and re-engage iwi who have oftentimes been disenfranchised with their culture, with their heritage, with their rohe, and with their land.

So, this evening, the House takes another step towards completing the eight Taranaki settlements. As many have observed, it has been a long journey for Ngāti Maru and its 2,800 members, ever since Christopher Finlayson and Te Ururoa Flavell recognised the mandate of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Maru Trust back in 2016, but I think some would argue it’s been even longer than those six years. It’s actually been 150 years since that dreadful confiscation of the iwi rohe.

I think the historical account and acknowledgments in this settlement legislation do make for sober reading and, at times, extremely troublesome reading. The confiscation of land in Taranaki is undoubtedly a stain on this country’s history. I know that the Minister has undertaken to visit Tarata, to deliver the Crown’s apology in person once this bill has completed its passage through the Parliament, and I think that’s very important. It’s very important that the Crown unreservedly apologises to the hapū and to the whānau of Ngāti Maru for failing to uphold its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Other speakers have covered the contents of the settlement, so I probably don’t need to repeat that, but what I would like to canvas briefly is the work of the Māori Affairs Committee and the very interesting issue that has come out of that with the conservation land properties within the Whanganui River catchment area. The Whanganui River settlement has attracted huge attention both here and abroad for the quite innovative approach that it’s taken to the future management of the Whanganui River, and the concept of Te Awa Tupua has actually been world leading. The solution that’s been found to the management of this particular body of water and, specifically, the riverbed running through the conservation land properties, as to the responsibilities of Te Awa Tupua—and I think we can all be very proud of the result reached—illustrates that Treaty settlement arrangements don’t have to be static, but, with the consent of all parties involved, they can adapt to suit circumstances. It wouldn’t have made sense in this case for DOC—the Department of Conservation—to fulfil an essentially administrative role, and, in fact, it probably would have been a backward step in this day and age.

So National is proud to support the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill, and I think that both sides of the House can be happy with the bipartisan history of Taranaki negotiations and settlements. They were started by the Hon Margaret Wilson in the early 2000s, and now are very nearly completed with this legislation. We all look forward to the third reading and to the future consideration by this House of the collective arrangements reached over Taranaki maunga. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Tēnā tātou e te Whare. Ki ōku whanaunga o Ngāti Maru tēnei te mihi a Te Paati Māori ki a koutou i tēnei wāhanga o tō pire Whakatauanga. Ka tū au hei uri o Taranaki, hei uri o Ngāti Ruanui, hei kaiārahi o Te Paati Māori. Nāku te whiwhi kia tū i roto i tēnei Whare, kia mihi ki a koutou i tō koutou mahi rangatira.

[Greetings to one and all in the House. To my relatives in Ngāti Maru, this is the acknowledgment of Te Paati Māori to you at this stage of your settlement bill. I stand here as a descendant of Taranaki, as a descendant of Ngāti Ruanui, as a leader of Te Paati Māori. I am fortunate to stand in this House and acknowledge your noble work.]

It’s with great pleasure that I rise on behalf of Te Paati Māori for the second time in support of Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. First and foremost, I want to mihi to my whanaunga who are watching this today, who cannot be here in person during these trying times, and those of you who are out there on the ground testing, vaccinating, and keeping our whānau safe, just as your tūpuna would have. No settlement can compensate for the pain, the suffering, and the trauma that you—our people—endured and still do endure that saw your natural development interrupted in the most horrible way possible.

The Crown’s negotiation policies are cruel. The fiscal envelope is cruel. I know the damage this process does to our whānau, to our relationships, to our wānangatanga. There is no way that settlements in Aotearoa are fair or equitable. No one in this House has the right to congratulate themselves today or ignore how it is we got here today. So, once again, I would like to mihi to my whanaunga and to thank you for your generosity, for your aroha that you have given to this nation in agreeing to the terms of this settlement.

Te Paati Māori don’t believe in full and final settlements. A treaty is to be honoured; not settled. There are many who have profited from our pain, from your loss, and Taranaki economy thanks and mihi to you all.

So I want to remind the House today of what I’ve said during the first reading of this bill. Tangata whenua will never settle for settlements. We will keep striving to get the justice that our tūpuna deserve to create a future where mokopuna can thrive as their true selves. Ngāti Maru have generously accepted 1 percent of everything the Crown has taken so that our future generations can come back for the 99 percent, and Te Paati Māori will fight tooth and nail to play our part in achieving this.

I want to reflect and appreciate all those of Ngāti Maru who have fought since 1891 until today. I want to bow to our marae, Te Upoko o Te Whenua, and all the kaumātua whose vision is to reaffirm your identity and your very existence. To the many: Polly Kopu, Tainui Tukata, Ray Peri, Ray Henry, Hazel Peri, and let’s not forget Rata Pue. To all those back home who serve their people and who serve their roles as mana whenua, as ahi kā for Ngāti Maru, for being resilient, for what the Crown did to us has cost us, you have refused to let it define you. Your manaaki—you are your people. You are active in your region. You are active in everything that needs to be done today, and I think last time I called you masters of resilience, I see your contribution to our te ao: Tupuānuku workforce development, Te Kōhanga Āhuru, your education scholarships. You fight to preserve your people during a pandemic.

At your bill’s first reading, I remember that we talked about these masters of resilience afterwards, and I stand by that analogy. Today, I ask that we reflect on what and where you would be today had your natural development not been interfered with. We would be landowners. We would be strong, multicultural language speakers, exporters, and importers in your thriving economy. We would have multiple networks of hapū and whānau development. We would have grown multiple leaders, managers, businesses. We would be the healthiest and we would be looking after those living beside us. We would take risks and, most of all, we would believe in each other.

One of the biggest things I’ve experienced in iwi is how hard we are on ourselves. None of what our whānau have had to endure is settling. None of what has happened to us is our fault. We have waited for a long time for our reclamation. At times, it can bring out the worst of us.

To all of our whānau who are out there, to all our whanaunga, I ask that we remember peace and that we support each other. I also mihi to those in our tari of Ngāti Maru who are in isolation at the moment. Piki te ora, piki te kaha. Ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa mō tō kaha mō tō manaaki mai tā tātou iwi katoa. Kia ora koutou.

[Get well and strong soon. We all send our affectionate greetings, for your strength and hospitality. Be well all of you.]

I’d just remind members, if I have to wear one if these beautiful masks, you should too.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. E te iwi Ngāti Maru, tēnā koutou, and can I say what a pleasure it is to speak on this second bill, the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I had the privilege of being part of a pō’hiri to welcome them here, with the Hon Andrew Little, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations—to warmly welcome them and meet representatives of their team, and can I acknowledge both the iwi and Crown negotiators. These settlements are big pieces of work. As a member of the Māori Affairs Committee, the more of these I do, the more that I learn about the processes that different iwi across the motu go through to bring these to a conclusion.

I want to just acknowledge other members of the Māori Affairs Committee—in particular the chair, Tāmati Coffey. Hopefully, all things proceeding well, we will be able to partake in the celebration when the third reading comes to the House.

This bill gives effect to Te Hiringa Taketake, the deed of settlement between ourselves, the Crown, and Ngāti Maru, which was signed on 27 February of last year—2021. There are some important parts, as per each settlement package, in terms of a redress. There are generally three key parts to this: the apology—and look, I said in an earlier speech around the need to get this accurate. One of the things I’ve learnt is that whānau, hapū, and iwi want to ensure that their story is told accurately to capture that historical account of what happened at the time, and the breaches of Te Tiriti—the Treaty of Waitangi—with regard to Ngāti Maru.

Secondly, a key point is the cultural redress. Every settlement is different, and in terms of Ngāti Maru and those people from Taranaki, it talks about 16 sites in this case. There are some protocols, and I know one of the strong features of this settlement is with regard to primary industries and the fisheries, but probably something that was expressed—and we had 35 written submissions; eight oral, and it would have been great to get there, if it wasn’t for COVID. But we heard strongly around the importance of ensuring that the responsible Ministers issue protocols for any taonga, tūturu, or protected objects, found with the Ngāti Maru rohe of interest, and it talks about national monuments, the publications detailing history, and the provision of cultural and spiritual practices, right through to board appointments of interest to the people of Ngāti Maru. There are statutory acknowledgments that go with that, and that fulfils that cultural redress.

The third piece is around commercial redress. What I find interesting, and I have learnt lots, is that that exclusive right of first refusal over Crown-owned property—this can be controversial. But they’ve said in this commercial redress, within that Ngāti Maru rohe, it is for 179 years from the settlement. I know that this means much more to the people of Ngāti Maru than just a simple piece of paper. We’ve heard this evening the recount of a range of provisions relating to the riverbed within the Whanganui River catchment area, for example, and the resource consent process as part of that joint-management agreement between the iwi and the Taranaki Regional Council clarifying that role for the local authority, the New Plymouth District Council.

So, in conclusion here, I want to just say how much of a pleasure it’s been being part of progressing this bill for the people of Ngāti Maru. It certainly brings a strengthened approach between Crown and local government towards those people who have been most impacted, and I look forward to, hopefully—fingers crossed—seeing them here as part of the third reading of their settlement bill. I commend this bill to the House.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, tēnā tātou katoa.

[To the authorities, to all the voices, greetings one and all.]

It is with great pleasure that I rise to speak on behalf of the National Party and as the member of Parliament for North Shore on the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill. I want to just firstly acknowledge the last speaker, Paul Eagle, for his contribution as a member of the Māori Affairs Committee.

As part of the preparation for this this evening, I had a review of the deed of settlement, which I think provides quite a detailed overview in terms of the full account of what occurred back in the 1870s. For someone who was coming to this with little knowledge, I’ve learnt a lot from that overview. I guess that gives some context in terms of not only the importance of what we’ve heard this evening from a number of speakers before but also the importance of such a process that, in a bipartisan manner across the House, we join together to make progress, and I think we’ve heard that term used a lot this evening as well in terms of the progress that this process allows us all, as a country, to undertake.

The select committee, of which Tāmati Coffey was the chair, contributed a great amount in terms of this process. I understand there were around 35 submissions that the committee heard. Eight were oral submissions, and, of course, that was undertaken virtually due to the reality that we are all faced with under COVID-19. But the committee did a good job. I want to acknowledge Joseph Mooney and Harete Hipango from the National Party, who are members of the Māori Affairs Committee, alongside all of the other members of that committee, many of whom have spoken here this evening.

I also want to acknowledge Minister Little for his contribution in terms of bringing this bill to the House and, of course, prior Ministers in this area—particularly the Hon Chris Finlayson, who was very much a part of the initiation of this process. I also want to acknowledge the many members of the support team that provides support to our select committee process. The Clerk’s Office obviously were key contributors, and I must say that for anyone involved in the select committee process, often those individuals’ efforts go unnoticed by some, but it’s definitely acknowledged and noticed by members of select committees in terms of their contribution, and often under quite significant pressure in timetable as well.

Obviously, this process in this settlement is one which provides an apology on behalf of the Crown. There is also an element, which we’ve discussed already, around the financial redress. I think it’s been acknowledged right through, no matter where we are or who we are, that this will never be enough, and I think that term has come through loudly and clearly. But it is part of that process and it is the part of that redress that this House does, and this evening, actually hearing two of those bills come across is pleasing to see.

Obviously, I’m from the Waikato, and I just want to acknowledge Mr Assistant Speaker McKelvie—congratulations. It’s good to see you in the Chair this evening. It’s a pleasure to be able to get some guidance from someone so wise as yourself, so that is acknowledged.

As a boy from the Waikato, I haven’t spent much time in the Taranaki, but we’re very lucky to have listened to Barbara Kuriger, my good colleague and friend, who articulated the beautiful elements that this settlement process will include, and—vast areas and beautiful areas—that was articulated in terms of what were Department of Conservation and conservation areas, which, I’m sure, those 2,800 members of Ngāti Maru will, no doubt, really appreciate.

The select committee process had two major or substantive contributions, I guess, in terms of their process. One was around the administration of the riverbed within the Wanganui River catchment area—that process—and the committee considered that. The other aspect that was substantive in terms of amendments that were done by the select committee was around the resource consent process—in particular, clause 87(1)(b)—for which the committee recommended amending the bill to remove what was, in effect, an error in the original thing. So that brought value and that has made the bill even better than before.

Obviously, today, we’re embarking in terms of this virtual Parliament process. The hapū and iwi that are unable to be here physically in the House will be watching from afar in terms of being online, and I do pass on my best regards to all of them. This is a long process, but we are coming towards the end of that. I’m sure for that iwi and hapū that that is a really important part, and I understand, as we’ve heard from Nicola Grigg, the member of Parliament for Selwyn, in her contribution before that the Minister is going to provide that apology in person, which no doubt will be appreciated by those members.

So I think that is pretty much what I wanted to cover this evening. The settlement process is something that is very, very important. It is, as I say, a redress. It’s not enough in terms of the full compensation in terms of what was taken back in the 1870s, but it, hopefully, will provide a level of, not necessarily closure, but a level of acknowledgment of where the process is and allow us, together, to move forward from this point together. So tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. I commend this bill to the House.

Te Māngai o te Whare, tēnā rawa atu ki a koe. Ki ngā kaiurungi o Ngāti Maru ki Taranaki, tēnā koutou, e mihi ana ki a koutou i tēnei pō. Nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi aroha ki a koutou i tēnei pō.

[Mr Speaker, greetings to you. To the leaders of Ngāti Maru of Taranaki, greetings, I acknowledge you this evening. Therefore, greetings, greetings, fond greetings to you this evening.]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s wonderful this evening to speak to another Treaty settlement bill that is going through the House. It’s always an honour to be part of the Māori Affairs Committee for a couple of reasons, but, first and foremost, to hear the stories of our people of Aotearoa to share our history, and, through that, secondly, we learn so much. I’m looking forward to those stories as a part of this process being shared with all of our communities across Aotearoa, but particularly that our taiohi, our tamariki mokopuna, grow up with the stories of old—the stories that our old people shared—and part of the process of being in this particular settlement bill was hearing the stories of Ngāti Maru. It’s very, very special, and I acknowledge them this evening.

The Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill gives effect to elements of Te Hiringa Taketake, the Ngāti Maru deed of settlement, which relies on legislation to be enacted and implemented. This takes a particular part of my heart because I am from an area just across the hill from this particular whānau, and we’re in our own journey to settle the Mōkai Pātea claim. It’s wonderful that this particular whānau, this hapū, this iwi are well ahead of where we are at, in that we’re at the second stage of this particular reading.

It’s my honour also to be the final Government speaker on this bill this evening as a member of the Māori caucus, and can I acknowledge the Hon Andrew Little and the amount of work that he has done to progress these particular bills. Also, can I pay acknowledgment this evening to our chair of the Māori Affairs Committee, Tāmati Coffey, who does a wonderful job of keeping us all on track to be as efficient as possible. The beauty of the Māori Affairs Committee is that we all at some point come to consensus to progress outcomes for Māori within Aotearoa, so I acknowledge all of the speakers this evening from across all parties and the contribution that they have made in particular for this bill.

Just to recap, Part 1 of this bill sets out to provide the provisions and take effect on the settlement date, unless a provision states otherwise. It specifies that the bill binds the Crown and defines terms used in the bill, including “Ngāti Maru” and “historical claims”. The second part is the cultural redress, which we’ve heard a lot about this evening. It’s important, as an iwi, and particularly for our tamariki mokopuna, that they have the opportunity to grow up with their culture and identity, and this particular bill will support them to do that.

But what is of particular interest tonight, and others have touched on it—and it is important—is that part of restoring mana to this iwi is enabling them to stand on their own two feet, giving them the resources that were, sadly, taken away from them, and enabling them to live and breathe as an iwi and as an entity to determine the future of their own people and of generations to come. Part of the commercial redress is the conditions that are set up as a part of this bill: the transfer of Te Wera Crown forestry licensed land and the transfer of 35 deferred selection properties, which Ngāti Maru can purchase within two to five years of settlement—Mr Speaker, my apologies; I’m getting a little bit of feedback—an exclusive right of first refusal over specific Crown-owned properties within Ngāti Maru rohe for 179 years from settlement, and, finally, a shared right of first refusal over specified properties within Ngāti Maru rohe.

Can I acknowledge, finally, the work of Te Arawhiti, who share a vision constantly about enabling both Māori and Pākehā to meet along the bridge so that as a country and what we signed up to as a Treaty is about us working together for the betterment of all people—Māori and Pākehā alike—in this country and that we all do well. Part of this particular bill enables Māori in this iwi, Ngāti Maru and Taranaki, to do well and to determine the outcomes that they want for their own people. I believe that we can work together between the Crown and our iwi and that that sets up for quite an exciting future. It means that the Crown at some point has to learn, and part of this evening is that we acknowledge the hurt and the ill faith that has operated to where we lead in to today to establish an apology to Ngāti Maru. So, without future ado, can I commend this bill to the House.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time.