Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill.

💬 SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.

I move, That the Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill.

Tākiri mai ana te ata ki runga o ngākau mārohirohi, kōrihi ana te manu kaupapa, ka ao, ka ao, ka awatea. Tihei mauri ora. E mihi ana ki a koutou kua tau mai nei i runga i te karanga o te kaupapa o te rā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. E mihi ana ki te hunga mate, haere, haere, haere atu rā. Ki a tātou te hunga ora, tēnā tatou.

Tēnei au, tēnei mātou te Kāwanatanga e mihi ana ki te kaupapa o te wā. Ngāti Paoa, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Dawn breaks upon a resolute heart, the bird chorus of this issue now sings, a new dawn leads to the full light of day. Vitality and health to all.

Thanks and greetings to you all who have responded to the call of this issue to be here today. I acknowledge those who have passed, may you rest in peace. And to us who remain, welcome one and all. I, indeed we the Government, acknowledge the present issue. Ngāti Paoa, greetings and thanks to you, indeed to us all.]

It was just over two years ago that I was welcomed on to Wharekawa Marae in Kaiaua to sign the Ngāti Paoa deed of settlement. I’m very pleased that this settlement is now making progress through the House and that I’m able to speak in support of this bill today at its first reading. I’d like to welcome members of Ngāti Paoa, who have travelled to be present at Parliament for this occasion of the first reading of their bill—it has been my great pleasure to host you here today.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging and paying tribute to the generations of Ngāti Paoa who have sought justice for their people, and the many members of Ngāti Paoa who have passed away and could not witness today’s event. In particular, I pay tribute to Morehu Wilson, a negotiator from Ngāti Paoa who, alongside his close friend and whanaunga, Hauāuru Eugene Rawiri, led this settlement until he sadly passed away after deed signing. I acknowledge Morehu’s whānau, in particular his wife Louise and sons Caleb and Josh. Moe mai rā, e te rangatira. [Rest in peace, noble leader.]

I also want to acknowledge the Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust as the post-settlement governance entity for Ngāti Paoa, who have been entrusted with taking this settlement forward on behalf of the iwi to realise their aspirations for the future.

On the Crown’s side, I acknowledge the leadership of the chief Crown negotiators, Michael Dreaver and the Hon Rick Barker. I acknowledge my predecessor, the Hon Chris Finlayson, for his significant contribution to the Ngāti Paoa Treaty settlement. I also want to thank my ministerial colleagues, Crown agencies, and local authorities for the support that they have given to this agreement, to this settlement, and, indeed, to this day.

Negotiations with Ngāti Paoa began in 2011, when iwi members gave a mandate to negotiators to progress a comprehensive historical Treaty of Waitangi settlement with the Crown on behalf of Ngāti Paoa. An agreement in principle was reached in July 2011. Following approval by Ngāti Paoa iwi members, the Ngāti Paoa deed of settlement was signed in March 2021. Reaching this milestone hasn’t been without its many challenges. Ngāti Paoa, you have demonstrated perseverance and much patience on this difficult journey.

In 1840, Ngāti Paoa rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi—the Treaty of Waitangi—in Tāmaki-makau-rau and Coromandel. In those years, Ngāti Paoa saw opportunities to trade with Pākehā, and, after Auckland was established as the capital in 1841, Ngāti Paoa supplied that settlement with produce. However, the Crown didn’t live up to its obligations under the Treaty nor the promises of that sacred document. From as early as 1841, the Crown acquired Ngāti Paoa land without payment, did not set aside reserves for Ngāti Paoa to live on, and did not fulfil promises to set aside lands for schools and hospitals.

During the wars of the 1860s, the Crown invaded Ngāti Paoa lands. In 1863, the Crown caused the death of Ngāti Paoa people when the HMS Miranda shelled the village of Pūkorokoro and Crown forces attacked a number of Ngāti Paoa people without warning. Following the conflict, the Crown confiscated lands in which Ngāti Paoa had interests; in the Waikato, east Wairoa, and the Tauranga confiscation district. Subsequent Crown land acquisition, the operation and effects of the native land laws, and public works takings led to the alienation of much of Ngāti Paoa’s remaining land, maunga, and awa, and the destruction of pā and wāhi tapu. Crown actions severed connections with ancestral whenua and left Ngāti Paoa virtually landless. A decline of Ngāti Paoa tribal structures and the loss of te reo Māori contributed to a loss of Ngāti Paoa mātauranga.

Responsibility for those things sits at the feet of the Crown. This settlement is grounded in the Crown’s acknowledgment of this history and the Crown’s apology for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill will give effect to the Ngāti Paoa settlement package. This settlement includes total financial and commercial redress of $23.5 million; cultural redress, including the return of 12 sites of traditional, historical, and cultural significance to Ngāti Paoa; an overlay classification which acknowledges the traditional, cultural, spiritual, and historical association of Ngāti Paoa with certain sites of significance; agreements with a number of Crown agencies; and statements of association acknowledging Ngāti Paoa’s association with and asserting spiritual, cultural, historical, and traditional values in relation to 13 areas of significance to Ngāti Paoa.

While no settlement can ever fully compensate for the injustices Ngāti Paoa has experienced, today marks a new beginning in the restoration of the relationship between Ngāti Paoa and the Crown based on mutual trust, cooperation, and partnership. I sincerely hope that this settlement will support a prosperous future for Ngāti Paoa for many generations to come. I propose the bill should proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. It is a pleasure to rise as the Opposition’s spokesperson for Treaty negotiations to speak on this bill. My apologies to those in the gallery that I wasn’t able to meet earlier; there was fog in the South Island, which delayed me getting here until a very short time ago, but I’m pleased that I’m able to be here now for this auspicious occasion.

The Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill is intended to be the final settlement of all historical Treaty claims of Ngāti Paoa resulting from acts or omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992, and is made up of a package that includes an agreed historical account and Crown acknowledgments which form the basis of a Crown apology to Ngāti Paoa; cultural redress, including the vesting of 12 sites in the Ngāti Paoa area of interest; financial redress of a total of $23.5 million; and a commercial redress involving the purchase of some Crown properties.

Ngāti Paoa are a maritime people who trace their origins to the Te Arawa and Tainui waka. Their area of interest includes Mahurangi, Tāmaki-makau-rau, the Hauraki Plains and Gulf Islands, and parts of the Waikato. The 2018 census estimated that Ngāti Paoa had 4,800 members.

Back in 2009, the Crown proposed a regional approach to four Treaty settlements to iwi and hapū, including Ngāti Paoa, with interests in the Kaipara, Tāmaki-makau-rau, and Hauraki regions. I want to acknowledge the work done, as did the Minister before me, of the Hon Christopher Finlayson—the work that was done previously, over different terms of Government, to come to this moment we are at here today. I also want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the Minister Andrew Little, who has also done a lot of work to get this bill to where it is today, and the officials, Crown agencies, local authorities, and of course Ngāti Paoa—all the members. It is a big moment for them today.

Between 2009 and May 2010, the Ngāti Paoa claimants elected two interim negotiators to enter into Treaty settlement negotiations on their behalf. In 2011, the Crown recognised the mandate of the Ngāti Paoa Trust Board to negotiate the settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāti Paoa. The Tāmaki and Hauraki collectives were established with the purpose of negotiating collective redress for shared interests in Tāmaki-makau-rau and the Hauraki regions, respectively. The third collective, the Marutūāhu collective, was also established to negotiate collective redress in Tāmaki-makau-rau for the shared interests of five of the 12 iwi of Hauraki.

In 2012, the Crown and the Tāmaki collective signed the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Deed, and in 2018, the Crown and four of the five Marutūāhu iwi initialled the Marutūāhu Iwi Collective Redress Deed. The purpose of this bill is to recognise that in 1840 a number of rangatira of Ngāti Paoa signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi, in Tāmaki-makau-rau and the Coromandel. After Auckland was established as the capital in 1841, Ngāti Paoa supplied that settlement with produce. In 1841, the Crown purchased 6,000 acres at Kohimārama and 220,000 acres at Mahurangi and Omaha from Ngāti Paoa and other iwi. No reserves were made in those lands. In the 1840s and 1850s, the Crown retained approximately 90,000 acres of land in which Ngāti Paoa had interests as surplus from pre-Treaty transactions and pre-emption waiver transactions. This included approximately 78,000 acres in south Tāmaki, which had been purchased by a missionary in 1836 and 1837.

In July 1863, the Crown invaded the Waikato when its forces crossed the Mangatāwhiri. Some Ngāti Paoa rangatira expressed their loyalty to the Crown, and other Ngāti Paoa resisted the occupation of their lands. In October 1863, the HMS Miranda shelled the Ngāti Paoa village Pūkorokoro, and in December, a Crown militia made a surprise attack on a group of 40 to 50 Māori, including some Ngāti Paoa, near Paparata in East Wairoa. In December 1864, the Crown proclaimed confiscation blocks in Waikato and Pokeno, and in East Wairoa in January 1865. Ngāti Paoa had interests in the 51,000-acre East Wairoa confiscation block and in the Central Waikato confiscation district which included Maramarua and Pūkorokoro. The confiscated lands included Kohukohunui and Rataroa, Ngāti Paoa’s sacred maunga. No land was returned to Ngāti Paoa in that confiscation block. Between April and June 1864, the Crown conducted military operations against Māori in Tauranga Moana. After the conflict ended, the Crown proclaimed a confiscation district of 214,000 acres, and in 1868, a further 76,000 acres were added to that district. Ngāti Paoa had interests in lands which were included in the confiscation district.

In 1865, the Crown promoted legislation which introduced the native land laws, under which title much Māori land was individualised. The individualisation of title made Ngāti Paoa lands more susceptible to alienation. Much of their land on Waiheke and on the Wharekawa Coast was sold to private purchasers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Crown purchasing activity from the 1870s also led to the alienation of much of Ngāti Paoa’s land, including 45,000 acres at Piako.

Over the course of the 20th century, almost all of Ngāti Paoa’s remaining land was alienated to private purchasers and the Crown. Some land was taken under the Public Works Act. Those public work takings sometimes resulted in the destruction of pā and wāhi tapu. In 1908, the Crown authorised a project to drain and develop the Hauraki wetlands. Over the following decades, the Crown altered the waterways, drowned the wetlands, and changed the course of the Waihou and Piako rivers.

By the end of the 20th century, only 27 percent of Ngāti Paoa spoke te reo Māori. The decline of Ngāti Paoa tribal structures and the loss of te reo Māori contributed to a loss of Ngāti Paoa mātauranga Māori. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Ngāti Paoa generally experienced poorer health, including lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality. Ngāti Paoa also experienced higher unemployment than the general population, and a lower median annual income.

This bill cannot solve all of those things that have happened in the past. What it can do, though, is return to Ngāti Paoa the relationship between Ngāti Paoa and the Crown, which is incredibly important; return to them the acknowledgment of their mana; and return a future for their children and those who come after, who we all want to have a better life.

I do acknowledge there have been some who have contacted me, and others, with some concerns about this bill. They will have an opportunity at the select committee hearing to voice those concerns and they will be given a fair hearing at that point. So with that, I support this bill at this first reading, and I commend the bill to the House.

Tuia ki te rangi, tuia ki te papa, tuia te ira atua, te ira tangata. Ka rongo te pō, ka rongo te ao, Paoa ki uta, Paoa ki tai. Kia pono, kia tika, kia aroha, kia tau iho mai ngā manaakitanga ki runga i a tātou. Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e. Tēnā koutou katoa. Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, ngā uri o Ngāti Paoa i te Whare, te Whare o tātou.

[Bind the heavens and the earth, bind divinity and humanity. It is heard by night and by day, Paoa on the land, Paoa at sea. Be honest, be fair, be compassionate, so that we are safe and protected. It coalesces, it comes together, it is done. Greetings to all of you. Warm regard to you, the descendants of Ngāti Paoa in the House, this House of ours.]

It is my privilege to stand and to mihi to Ngāti Paoa, who are in the gallery today, as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee. It is that committee that will begin this important process of examining this bill, of hearing from submitters about their concerns around it and about the specific parts of it which give effect to the Ngāti Paoa settlement deed, but most of all—and the privilege of being a member of that committee—hearing about the aspirations and the hopes of generations to come of Ngāti Paoa who will benefit from this settlement.

I began with that takutaku, which acknowledges first the canoe of Ngāti Paoa, Te Kotūiti. It provides the conceptual framework for the deed of settlement which this legislation gives effect to, and it’s been a long time coming. These negotiations have been going on for many, many years, and before that they have a complex history, which always should have been acknowledged.

As an Aucklander, may I say that I am glad that we have a piece of legislation here which acknowledges the complexity, the overlapping interests, and the depth of history in Tāmaki-makau-rau and those other regions that Ngāti Paoa has an interest in. I look forward to examining those interests in the committee, as my colleague Joseph Mooney across the House has alluded to. But for today, can we say that those interests that Ngāti Paoa has in Tāmaki-makau-rau needed always to be acknowledged by the Crown, and in this piece of legislation they are given their mana and they are given acknowledgment, and in the shared history that will become law, may we acknowledge those associations that your tūpuna have had with our whenua.

I want to acknowledge some of the people who have been involved in this. The Minister was right to first acknowledge Morehu Wilson, the negotiator who, very sadly, we lost before the passing of this legislation. Can I also acknowledge others who have contributed much to this work, including Hauaru Rawiri—thank you for your contribution. It is a contribution that will be felt by generations of not only your uri but those who live in Auckland, in Tauranga, and in the islands who will benefit from the contribution to public life that Ngāti Paoa has to give.

Can I also acknowledge the newly elected trustees since September 2022, and I will name you: chair Herearoha Francis Skipper, deputy chair Mihingarangi Forbes—kia ora kōrua—and councillors Kerrin Leone, James Ratahi, Tania Tarawa, Tui Tawera, and Mystique Townsend. What an all-star cast of governors who have been elected to the trust board, and can I say that I look forward to watching Ngāti Paoa’s developments that come from the ability, with this settlement legislation, to develop those regional relationships that you need to advance the interests of the iwi within the North Island.

May I also offer congratulations for the developments and the new office in Panmure ō Mokoia, where on that whenua, in 1780, the chiefs Te Putu, Ngaro ki te Uru, Rongomaurikura, and Nohowaka established themselves on the Tāmaki River. Those are important sites for all Aucklanders, but it seems just and right to me that Ngāti Paoa should have a base there in which to conduct its operations in Auckland. All Aucklanders can be proud of that and proud of the achievements that are to come from the office.

I wanted also to touch on, for the House’s interest, the settlement negotiation history that it has taken to come to this point. My colleague Joseph Mooney began by talking about June 2009, when the Crown proposed a regional approach to Treaty settlements in Tāmaki-makau-rau, but, as you all know, the work has gone on for much longer than that. When we look back on the recent history of Treaty settlement development and Treaty jurisprudence, Ngāti Paoa has had a huge role in developing our law and the way that the Crown should progress Treaty settlements as a good and honest partner. In 2009, that agreement by the Crown to progress a collective settlement came out of many years of Marutūāhu, of nga iwi o Hauraki, and many others who have an interest in Tāmaki-makau-rau, coming together and asking the Crown to consider how it dealt with whenua and not just commercial redress but cultural redress that goes along with it when many iwi have an interest.

Tāmaki-makau-rau has always been the precious jewel in Aotearoa. As a proud South Aucklander, I can say it is the best whenua. It is the whenua that our tūpuna wanted us to occupy, and yours did, around many different places around the rohe, as did many other iwi and tūpuna who have been recognised there for many, many years.

It’s important to acknowledge that when the Crown approached those settlements that it was considering in the early 2000s, it had a very different approach to how it would do collective redress, how it would do negotiations with smaller iwi, and how it would get those voices of the people who would largely benefit from the settlements to the table. The Minister reflected upon this very recently in his Estimates hearings, which my colleagues on the Māori Affairs Committee were privileged to be a part of. He said that he was the beneficiary of many years of jurisprudence that has led a different way of Crown engagement, and that that Tāmaki collective redress process, which at the time drove division within iwi, has contributed to a different kind of approach from Te Arawhiti. The approach now that we see is a crossing of the bridge between the Crown and Māori. I am proud of the work that Te Arawhiti does today, and much of that is informed by the way that in those years iwi like Ngāti Paoa came to the table and said that it’s not good enough to advance only an outcome, but we have to do the process right. So thank you for the contribution that Ngāti Paoa has made to that.

I want to finish by saying there are many, many parts of this settlement which are important to the House, but I will pick just one. In the 1920s, Awataha urupā was occupied by a small number of Ngāti Paoa members—that’s on the North Shore of Auckland—and it was a place that the Crown saw as suitable for an arrangement with the Roman Catholic Church for education purposes. In 1924, a dispute arose over the land and in March 1925, seven members of the iwi were arrested and imprisoned in Mt Eden jail. Later, the Crown decided to acquire a section of that land for an oil storage facility, and the poet Hone Tuwhare—who was a good friend of my father—wrote this poem to acknowledge the disgust and the hurt that he felt in seeing the disinterment of that urupā and the removal of the bodies to make way for development by the Crown, in his lifetime. He wrote,

In a splendid sheath

of polished wood and glass

with shiny appurtenances

lay he fitly blue-knuckled and serene:

hurry rain and trail him

to the bottom of the grave

Flowers beyond budding

will not soften the gravel’s beat

of solemn words

and hard sod thudding:

hurry rain and trail him

to the bottom of the grave

Through a broken window

inanely looks he up;

his face glass-gouged and bloodless

his mouth engorging clay

for all the world uncaring

Cover him quickly, earth!

Let the inexorable seep of rain

finger his greening bones, deftly.

Those moments in our history where we acknowledge that the Crown has done wrong are important in our history as New Zealanders, as we understand the way that we can do better now. That was a poem from 1960. These things aren’t ancient history for us, and it’s important for this House, when we acknowledge the hara, the mamae, that people of Ngāti Paoa today still feel and the atonement that we can all make for those, that they are real and present in people’s minds, just like that poem. Tēnā tatou.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. What a pleasure and a privilege it is to welcome representatives of Ngāti Paoa, who have travelled a long distance here to the Parliament to experience and witness the first reading of this special piece of legislation that has been so long in getting to this place. I want to set the record straight at the outset; usually, when we have Treaty settlement debates, there is consensus across the House, but the last speaker, Arena Williams, got it wrong—she got it very wrong, and as the member of Parliament for Coromandel I need to say that the very best part of the Ngāti Paoa rohe is actually on the Firth of Thames, in the fine part of the Coromandel electorate. So, wearing that hat as the member of Parliament for Coromandel, I welcome you once, twice, thrice to this place. It’s an important and historic day for you all no matter which part of the rohe you consider to be the best part of the rohe.

This has been a long journey, and I regret to advise there are actually still several steps yet to go. But the first reading of a Treaty bill is an important marker, because it brings to this House, the House that represents the Crown as Treaty partner, a process that will now go to the Māori Affairs Committee, and you’ve just heard from the select committee chair. So the issues, the history, the mana, and the drama that is both historic, current, and aspirational for the future will be debated and discussed in detail by the members of that committee, and that’s a good and appropriate process. It’s a slower process than I think any of us would want, but it’s an important part of the process because that’s where we get to open up to the issues that still confront some members of the Ngāti Paoa whānau that still are unresolved, that still are the cause of some angst and do need further discussion and further resolution. So I know that my colleagues who sit on that select committee will be listening carefully and will be wanting to hear debate, discussion, and history about what has happened and how it’s happened and where it’s gone and, what’s more important, where it is going.

Even as recently as today, I’ve received correspondence—as my colleague Joseph Mooney has indicated—from people wanting to litigate and to discuss and to debate the issues that are outstanding. Well, those issues will be debated and discussed and they will be, I hope, resolved satisfactorily, because it’s important that after so long and after such a long journey that this piece of legislation gets passed by this House and, I would hope, sooner rather than later.

I well recall as a relatively new MP visiting the Mangatarata volunteer fire brigade. It wasn’t the fire brigade, it was just a public meeting that happened to be held in the fire brigade building, so what I’m about to say was not reflective of the fire brigade, let me assure you of that; those volunteers do a particularly good job for our community. But there was a public meeting in the brigade station house and there was public concern that I needed to hear because I had been invited as the member of Parliament because there had been a decision by, I think, the Geographic Board to allow the name Pūkorokoro to be used instead of Miranda.

There were some people in the local community who were upset by that decision and said, “Why is that so? It’s always been called Miranda. Why can’t we keep calling it Miranda?”, and it wasn’t until I was able to describe to some of those people present who felt somehow uncomfortable and awkward about the use of the term and the name Pūkorokoro rather than Miranda, and to explain the history of that and to explain the history of the terrible act that was inflicted upon Ngāti Paoa people at Pūkorokoro, at the pā, at the marae, by HMS Miranda, where a vessel of the Crown, of the Royal Navy, came into the Firth of Thames and then fired cannon into the marae and into the pā. There was death, there was desecration, and there was harm and damage that was done, and then they had the audacity to sail away having inflicted that terrible crime, to sail away then and rename that area Miranda in the name of that vessel. That was wrong.

So today I often, and whenever I can, proudly use the term Pūkorokoro, because those of us that know that history and who did not know that history until relatively recent times need to understand that that is just one—just one of the issues that can’t be put right completely, but through a process of a Treaty settlement, legislative action will, I hope, bring at least some cause for reflection and some cause for an ability to move on.

So acknowledging that there are still some unresolved issues, but acknowledging also that this has been a long journey, not today just physically but it’s been a long journey emotionally and it’s been a long journey historically. Some of those people that embarked on that journey so long ago are no longer with us, and as other speakers and colleagues around the House have acknowledged, I wish also to acknowledge their passing and their contribution to getting us to where we are today. But there’s still more work to do. We still have some way to go. There are still steps to be taken, and I know that today marks an important and historic step along that pathway.

So it’s with very great pleasure that as the member of Parliament for the best part of the rohe of Ngāti Paoa, I welcome representatives here today, wish you well, safe travels home, but be very proud of the fact that you are here for this auspicious, historic, momentous proceeding in this Parliament. Kia ora.

Thank you, Mr Simpson, for that great speech. Maybe now you can support the bilingual signs strategy that we all talked about and that you forgot about two weeks ago—engari, that’s probably not in the spirit of the occasion. But I probably could go on about your nonsense in terms of health also, but I might leave that for my mate Rawiri Waititi over there.

Engari e mihi ana ki a koutou, Ngāti Paoa, i tae mai nei ki te whakarangatira i a mātou i tēnei wā. Rawe! Rawe ki te kite i a koutou. Mihi nui ki a koutou.

[But I acknowledge you, Ngāti Paoa, who have arrived here to honour us at this time. Awesome! Awesome to see you. Many thanks to you.]

Lovely to have you all here today, and my apologies for missing the pō’hiri and the whakatau. You’ve already heard some of the statistics and some of the background. I only want to take a short call, because I’ll talk more in the second and third readings, but I do want to acknowledge some of the kōrero that apparently was put out earlier.

Apparently, one of the koroua said that this is only peanuts in terms of a settlement. That will be true—that will be true—and the reality is, and I talk about this quite often, our people are put into a real bind during the Treaty settlement process. When it was first put in place, as we will remember, back around 1995, I recall our mate Tāme Iti and the protests that were going on with regards to whether the settlements really reflected a justice in terms of the loss in terms of Māori. As we all knew then, we were clear that the settlements would not be, because $1 billion was the figure put on the table, and we knew that could never reflect the loss. So, to our koroua who said it’s about peanuts, that would be true.

But, despite that, we had learned koroua like Tā Tipene and Tā Robert Mahuta, who knew there wasn’t much choice—you know, you either take the deal or you get nothing. If you look back at where they were at, it was $170 million on the table even though the loss was $15 billion to $18 billion in terms of Tainui and Ngāi Tahu. That was the actual loss—$15 billion to $18 billion. Those rangatira, I think, as we all know, thought, “Well, you take the money or you get nothing.” They took the money, and look where those two tribes are today.

So it’s a bind for us as a people, because the Crown comes to the table with all the negotiating power and our people are in a bind. We’ve got our whānau—my own whānau—who said, “No, no, no, you don’t settle.” Then you get our pragmatists and our other rangatira, like Tā Robert and Tā Tipene, who said, “No, we have to get on with this. We have to make a start.”, and look where Tainui and Ngāi Tahu are today.

So, yeah, no, Māoridom is used to settling on peanuts—that’s the reality. That’s how those tribes became so fantastic today. That’s why kōhanga reo is strong. That’s why iwi radio is strong. That’s why Whakaata Māori is strong. It’s just the reality—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well, Mr Jackson, if you could now be strong on the bill, please.

That’s all part of the bill, Mr Speaker—that’s all part of the bill—and what I am trying to say to our people up here is learn the lessons of what happened in the past.

Let’s come to the bill, and let’s also realise the amount of problems that the tribe had to go through, with Ngāti Whātua opposing this tribe, to start off with. I remember well Rēnata Blair opposing this—Ngāti Whātua have got to have everything, you know, and it was good that things were worked out. Things all worked out, because other people have interests, as this group do, and in the end we saw those two groups coming together and forging a strategy going forward. So I am pleased that that was worked out with Ngāti Whātua.

So that’s opposing groups, and then, of course, we have to deal with our whanaunga within the tribe, which I think is going on now. Again, that’s the flaw with our Treaty settlement process, but until we have something else, we have to forge on with what we’ve got.

So I mihi to all the whanaunga who have come here today to tautoko this kaupapa, even though they might not be ecstatic about it. It’s $23 million, and I’m sure that they can build on that but—even more importantly—work with their own to find a way and find a rautaki, find a strategy, where people can work out where they’re going, how they can contribute, and how everybody can be part of the settlement going forward.

Those are a lot of challenges in front of our group today, and I’m looking forward to following up on this and to seeing whether we’re being fair as a partner, in terms of this kaupapa. I want to work alongside Andrew Little to make sure that we fulfil some of our obligations. So mihi nui ki a koutou. Good to see you all here today. Tēnā anō tātou katoa.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I stand on behalf of the ACT Party to speak to the Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill, standing in support of the deed of settlement reached on 20 March 2021 between Ngāti Paoa and the Crown.

I’d like to acknowledge at the beginning of my speech the Ngāti Paoa Treaty settlement negotiators Morehu Wilson, who I understand tragically passed away two years ago; his wife, Louise Wilson, who is in the gallery representing him and the whānau; Te Hauaru Rawiri, who may also be in the gallery today; and the current Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust chair, Herearoha Francis Skipper, and deputy chair Mihingarangi Forbes. I also acknowledge the representative body for Ngāti Paoa in the Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust, who are here today in Parliament.

Ngāti Paoa are a maritime people, a waka people, whose customary territory is connected more by water than by land. Their rohe runs from Te Hoe o Tainui near the Piako River, as it runs northwards through the Hauraki Plains to Wharekawa and Kaiaua on the western firth of the Thames to Kawakawa Bay, north of the Hunua Ranges and the nearby Waiheke and Ponui islands. Ngāti Paoa occupied the lands around the Tāmaki estuary and Auckland; in particular, an area from Panmure to Kōhimarama. They also had lands on the North Shore and up the Mahurangi Coast, including at Tiritiri Mātangi Island, all connected by water.

Ngāti Paoa chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi on 4 March 1840. Immediately afterwards, Ngāti Paoa engaged closely with the new Government, which was established in Auckland in 1841. Like other Auckland iwi such as Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Paoa transacted lands which allowed for European settlement and ultimately the growth of Auckland as a city. However, the Crown failed to set aside sufficient reserves for Ngāti Paoa, which in time made it very difficult for iwi to maintain a physical presence in the growing city. Later, during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s, Ngāti Paoa had lands confiscated both in the Hunua Ranges and as part of the Waikato confiscation. One notable event during the war was the naval bombardment and attack on a Ngāti Paoa village at Pūkorokoro, situated at the south-west coast of the Firth of Thames. After they landed, colonial forces built a redoubt there and named it Miranda after the naval vessel. In time, the name Miranda stuck. It is certainly fitting that in 2015 the New Zealand Geographic Board recommended a change to dualise the name to Pūkorokoro/Miranda.

All Treaty settlements do have a unique aspect to them, reflecting the negotiation priorities of the iwi, the specific nature of the grievances, and what the Crown is able to offer. For Ngāti Paoa, I’m told that the standout feature of the settlement is the provision of cultural redress of land for a marae and papa kāinga at Point England on the Tāmaki River.

As I said, Ngāti Paoa transacted lands with the Crown after signing the Treaty in 1841, but no reserves were created for them and their physical presence as part of the growing city of Auckland was largely denied. This redress allows Ngāti Paoa to re-establish themselves as an active part of the Auckland community today, and there will also be a benefit of increased housing supply, which we all know is much needed. The settlement includes other cultural redress that helps reconnect Ngāti Paoa with their wider customary territory, including the transfer of lands at Kaiaua, Waiheke Island, and Tiritiri Mātangi Island.

Importantly, the settlement includes an apology from the Crown for its failure to protect Ngāti Paoa from the rapid alienation from their land in the decades following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi—an apology for the loss of life and the devastation that was caused by hostilities.

Commercial aspects of the settlement should provide opportunities for Ngāti Paoa to grow their financial position. They will have returned to them 12 culturally significant sites, along with financial and commercial redress valued at $23.5 million. There will also be a wide range of other commercial, cultural, and relationship items making up the redress package.

I understand that 90 percent of those who voted for this deed of settlement from Ngāti Paoa voted in support. They may still be some issues. ACT’s hope is that any unresolved issues are addressed during the select committee process, which will begin after this first reading is completed. And with that in mind, ACT supports the first reading of the Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement bill and wish our whānau all the best in getting this redress sorted. Kia ora.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I begin by also correcting the record, like many MPs around the House. Yes, Coromandel is beautiful and there are beautiful places in Tāmaki-makau-rau—but Chlöe Swarbrick assures me that the most beautiful place within the Ngāti Paoa rohe is the mighty Waiheke Island. I just wanted to place that on the record.

Ngāti Paoa ki uta, Ngāti Paoa ki tai, nau mai, haere mai. Nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei o ngā Whare. Tāku nei he tāpiri atu ki ngā whakatau o te mana whenua i whakatau i a koutou i tēnei rā. Nau mai me ō wawata, nau mai me ō kōrero ki tēnei o ngā Whare Pāremata. Ko au anō tēnei e tū ana me te kōrero mō te Pāti Kākāriki. He mema hoki au nō te Komiti Whiringa Take Māori. Nō reira ā tōna wā ka haere mai koutou ki waenganui i a mātou ki te kōrero, ki te tuku i ngā kōrero hītori, ngā kōrero whakawhanake i ā koutou nā kaupapa. Nō reira e mihi ana.  

E mihi ana ki a rātou mā kua roa te wā i pīkauhia tēnei kaupapa. Nō reira e tautoko katoa i ngā mihi ki a Morehu Wilson, otirā ki tōna whānau ki konei. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Rātou ki a rātou, otirā koutou anō i whakakanohi i ō rātou nei manako i tēnei rā, ka mihi.

E mihi atu hoki ki ngā tiamana hou o poari: Herearoha, Mihingārangi, tō tiamana tuarua. E mihi ana ki tō koutou nei ngākau mō te whakawhanake i tō iwi, otirā ngā āhuatanga i hāpaitia, ngā āhuatanga o te taiao.

Me mihi au ki ngā hononga huhua o Ngāti Paoa, ngā piringa ki a Marutuahu, ngā piringa ki a te Arawa waka, otirā ki a koutou e whakapapa ana ki te pū o Waikato, ki a Tainui. E te Pīka, i te wā o te whakatau i haere mai tō rātou nei kaikōrero me te mea atu he tuakana-teina a Paoa me Mahuta. Heoi, tēnā pea he whakaaro anō tō Minita Nanaia Mahuta, heoi anō nā koutou anō tēnei pire nō reira mātou ngā Kākāriki e mihi tuakana atu ki a koutou i tēnei rā.

Ko tō rātou nei whakapapa kei waenganui i ngā rohe o Waikato, Tīkapa Moana, ngā whenua whakatipu o te iwi e torotoro atu ai i te pito uru o ngā mānia o Hauraki, tae atu ki Tāmaki-makau-rau. I nōhia anō e Ngāti Paoa ētahi o ngā moutere o Tīkapa pēnei i a Waiheke.

I a au e pānui ana i te pire, i kite au i te maha hoki o ngā raru, ngā ngau kino nā te raupatu o te whenua, te haere o ngā pū, ngā hōia o ngā Pākehā i tērā atu nā rautau. Kua raupapahia te katoa.

I te tau o te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi, ko ētahi o ngā rangatira o Ngāti Paoa i haere ki Tāmaki ki te haina i te Tiriti. E ai ki te kōrero, he iwi whakarite māra, he iwi tauhokohoko, āhei rātou ki te hari i ō rātou nei umanga ki te tāone ki te hoko atu i ā rātou nei huawhenua ki ngā Pākehā ki Tāmaki. Nō reira e mihi ana ki tērā o ngā āhuatanga.  

Heoi anō kua kaha tau te kino ki runga i a rātou nā ngā pakanga whenua, nō reira e mihi ana ki ngā āhuatanga, ngā kōrero i tukuna mai, ngā pōuri, ngā ngau kino ki Pūkorokoro. Kāore au i te mōhio kei reira tonu taua ingoa, ko te Miranda, nā tana hara atu ki a koutou, heoi anō me mihi atu ki tērā o ngā hītori hei oranga anō o te katoa, ā tātou tamariki mokopuna, otirā mō te katoa e noho ana ki Aotearoa nei.

Ki roto i ngā āhuatanga anō, i tāhae whenua anō ki Pōkeno me te rāwhiti o Wairoa i ērā atu o ngā wā. I whai pānga a Ngāti Paoa ki te poraka raupatu i te rāwhiti o Wairoa. E ai ki te kōrero, nui atu i te 50,000 eka te rahi, me te rohe raupatu ki te pokapū o Waikato. Kei roto hoki a Maramarua me Pūkorokoro. Ēnei whenua raupatu a Kohukohunui me Rataroa, ngā maunga tapu o Ngāti Paoa.

Haere te wā, i pānuihia ētahi o ngā āhuatanga o te Karauna anō, i te mea i tae ngā pakanga ki roto o Tauranga Moana. He wāhi anō tō Ngāti Paoa ki roto i Tauranga Moana, nō reira kei reira anō tētahi mea e ngau kino ana te iwi.

I te roanga atu o te rautau 20 i hokona atu tata ki te katoa o ngā whenua e toe ana ki a Ngāti Paoa ki ngā kaihoko tauiwi, ki ngā kaikaunihera ā-rohe me te Karauna i raro i te Ture Mahi Tūmatanui, e kīia nei e te Pākehā ko te Public Works Act. Ia te wā i haere au ki te tū mō te kōrero mō ēnei momo pire, ka kaha puta mai tērā ture, te Public Works Act. Ētahi wā i haramai te Karauna me te tāhae me ā rātou nei pū i te whenua o te Māori, ā, ētahi wā i haere mai me te ture, ngā ture pērā i te Public Works Act. Nō reira me mōhio mai tātou ko tērā ngā āhuatanga i tau ki a Ngāti Paoa anō hoki.

Ki roto i te pire ko ētahi o ngā kōrero i rangona ki roto o ētahi atu o ngā whakatau kerēme, ko te ngaro haere o te reo, te ngaro haere o ngā mātauranga Māori, me te whakaaro ake anō hoki me kaha tātou ki te whakarauora i te reo, me kaha tātou ki te whakarauora i tō tātou nei mātauranga Māori i te mea kei te noho tātou, mō tātou ngā Kākāriki, ki roto i te horopaki o ngā pōraru o te āhuarangi, ngā pōraru o te matemate haere o ngā tini koiora o te moana, nō reira me kaha tātou katoa ki te hoki anō ki te whakatō anō i tērā mātauranga, ā-reo mai, ā-mātauranga mai. Nō reira ka mihi atu au ki tērā wāhanga ki roto ki tēnei o ngā pire.

Ki tō mātou nei, Kākāriki, tēnei mea te Tiriti o Waitangi ehara i te kirimana. Ehara i te kirimana, ehara i te kirimana noa, he kawenata. He kawenata i tūāpapa kia āhei te katoa e noho ana ki runga i te pae ki te ora ki Aotearoa nei. Nō reira tē taea te kī atu kua settled kē tēnei, te Tiriti noa. He wāhanga anō ka taea e tātou te wānanga i ngā kōrero, ki te matapaki i ngā kōrero. Nō reira ahakoa ngā aupiki me ngā auheke, i a au e pānui ana i tēnei pire, he maha hoki ngā auheke, ā, ko tētahi mea i kite au ki roto i ngā tukanga whakatau kerēme ko ngā hītori, ko ngā kōrero e āhei ana ki te tuku iho ki ā tātou nei tamariki, ki ā tātou nei mokopuna. Ētahi wā ka tae tērā kōrero tuku iho ki te Pākehā, nō reira e mihi atu ki a koe, me te whakaaro atu i pupū ake te māramatanga ki ngā āhuatanga ki Pūkorokoro. He aha te take i tapaina ai tērā ingoa, Miranda, ki runga i tērā whenua? He oranga tērā mō tātou katoa, tēnei mea te mōhio.

Ki a mātou nei, ki a mātou ngā Kākāriki, he pai tēnei mea te wānanga, he pai tēnei mea te matapaki kōrero. He pai anō tēnei mea te taupatupatu kōrero. Mōhio tātou te Māori, ko tērā te āhua o tō tātou nei marae.

Ki roto i ngā āhuatanga o ngā Whiringa Take Māori, haere mai. Nau mai, haere mai me ō koutou nei kōrero. Nā, mātou ngā mema o tērā komiti, tā mātou mahi ko te areare o ngā taringa ki te whakarongo, me pēhea kia paku nuku, neke ngā waeture, ngā ture, he aha rānei ki roto i te pire kia tau ngā āhuatanga katoa.

Kāre e kore he nui ngā kōrero nā reira ka tāpui a Chlöe ētahi wā, ka haere mai ētahi o koutou nō Waiheke. Tēnā pea ko ia tō mātou nei kanohi o ērā nā wāhanga o te Komiti Whiringa Take Māori.

Heoi anō, koia anō mātou ngā Kākāriki, e haere mai ana i runga i te tautoko, i runga i te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero, nō reira tēnā koe, otirā Ngāti Paoa. Tēnā koutou, otirā tō tātou nei Whare. Tēnā tātou katoa.

[Ngāti inland, Ngāti Paoa to sea, welcome, welcome. Welcome to this one of our Houses. I’d like to add the welcome of the people of this land who welcomed you today. Welcome with your aspirations, welcome with your comments to this House of Parliament. I stand here again to speak on behalf of the Green Party. I am also a member of the Māori Affairs Committee. So at a future time you will come among us to speak, to share your historical narratives, your stories of development of your own initiatives. So I acknowledge you.

I acknowledge those who have long carried this enterprise. So I absolutely support the acknowledgements of Morehu Wilson—indeed, his family that are here. Greetings to all of you.

May they rest in peace, indeed you who represent their hopes today, greetings.

I acknowledge the new chairpersons of the board: Herearoha, Mihingārangi, your deputy chair. I acknowledge your heart for developing your people, indeed that aspects that were promoted, the aspects of the environment.

The many connections of Ngāti Paoa should be acknowledged, the relationship with Marutuahu, the relationships with the Arawa canoe, indeed you who have genealogical ties to the centre of Waikato, to Tainui. Mr Speaker, at the time of settlement their representative came and said that Paoa and Mahuta are senior and junior siblings. However, perhaps Minister Nanaia Mahuta has a different opinion, but this is your bill, so we, the Greens, greet you as the senior sibling today.

Their genealogical ties within the regions of Waikato, Hauraki Gulf, and the lands where they are raised, stretch from the western end of the Hauraki plains, all the way to Auckland. Some of the islands in Hauraki Gulf were also settled by Ngāti Paoa, including Waiheke.

As I read the bill, I saw the magnitude of issues, the anguish caused by the confiscation of the land, the expeditions of the guns, the soldiers of the British settlers during that century. It has all been documented.

In the year that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, some of the leaders of Ngāti Paoa went to Auckland to sign the Treaty. According to the narrative, they were a gardening people, a commercial iwi, they were able to take their businesses into town to sell their produce to the settlers in Auckland. So I acknowledge that feature.

However much wrong doing was done to them due to the land wars, so I acknowledge that phenomenon, the narratives that were given, the sadness, the anguish at Pūkorokoro. I don’t know why that name is still there, Miranda, because of his sin to you, however it is appropriate to acknowledge that part of the histories for the benefit of everyone, our children and grandchildren, indeed for everyone who lives here in New Zealand.

Within these circumstances, more land was taken at Pōkeno and the east of Wairoa at that time. Ngāti Paoa had interests in the confiscation block in the east of Wairoa. According to the narrative, it was more than 50,000 acres in size, as well as the confiscation block in central Waikato. This also includes Maramarua and Pūkorokoro. These confiscation lands of Kohukohunui and Rataroa, the sacred mountains of Ngāti Paoa.

Over time, I read of some of the characteristics of the Crown, because war came into Tauranga Moana. Ngāti Paoa also have places within Tauranga Moana, so that is another source of anguish for the people.

For the duration of the 20th century, almost all of the lands that remained to Ngāti Paoa were sold to foreign buyers, to regional councillors and the Crown under the Ture Mahi Tūmatanui, known by Pākehā as the Public Works Act. Every time I went to stand and speak about this kind of bill, that legislation features, the Public Works Act. Sometimes the Crown came with their firearms to take the land of the Māori people, and sometimes it came with legislation, laws such as the Public Works Act. So we need to be aware of that phenomenon that befell Ngāti Paoa too.

In the bill are some statements that are heard within other claims settlements, the loss of the language, the loss of traditional Māori knowledge, and the idea that we should work hard to revitalise the language, we should work hard to revitalise our traditional Māori knowledge because we are situated, we the Greens, within the context of climate issues, and issues with the loss of biodiversity in the ocean, and so we should all return to planting that knowledge, both linguistic and academic. So I acknowledge that section within this bill.

To us, the Greens, the Treaty of Waitangi is not a contract. It is not a contract. It is not just a contract; it is a covenant. It is a covenant that is a foundation that enables everyone sitting on the land to live here in New Zealand. So it cannot be said that this is settled, the Treaty alone. That is something that we can all consider the information in, to deliberate on the information. So despite the ups and downs—as I was reading this bill there were a lot of downs, and one thing that I saw during the claims settlement process was the histories, the narratives that can be passed down to our children, and to our grandchildren. Sometimes those narratives are passed on to Pākehā, so I acknowledge you, and the idea that the understanding bubbled up concerning the situation at Pūkorokoro. What was that name, Miranda, given to that land? That is of benefit to all of this, this thing we call understanding.

To us, to us the Greens, consideration is a good thing, discussion is a good thing. Debating is also a good thing. We know, the Māori people, that is how things go on our marae.

Within the sphere of Māori Affairs, welcome. Welcome, welcome with your narratives. Now, we are the members of that committee; our job is to open our ears to listen how the regulations, the legislation, and whatever else can be moved and shifted so that all things can be settled.

Without doubt there are many narratives, so Chlöe will book in some time, and some of you from Waiheke will come. Perhaps she will be our representative on some of those matters of the Māori Affairs Committee.

However, we the Greens come in support, and to listen to the perspectives, so thank you, indeed, Ngāti Paoa. Thank you, indeed, our House. Thanks to all of us.]

Tēnā koe e te Pīka o tēnei Whare. Tūtawa mai i runga, tūtawa mai i raro, tūtawa mai i roto, tūtawa mai i waho kia tau ai te mauri tū, te mauri ora ki te katoa. Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e.

He mihi tēnei ki a koutou o Ngāti Paoa kua huihui mai nei i tēnei rā ki te hāpai i tēnei kaupapa, i tā koutou kaupapa. Anei tētehi uri o Te Ātiawa, o te Arawa waka, o Te Aitanga a Hauiti e mihi atu nei ki a koutou. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, mauri ora ki a tātou katoa.

[My thanks to the Speaker of this House. Materialise from above, from below, from within, and from the environment so that vitality and wellbeing settle upon everyone. Unified, connected, and bound together.

This is an acknowledgment of you from Ngāti Paoa who have assembled here today to support this initiative, your initiative. Here is a descendant of Te Ātiawa, the Arawa canoe, and of Te Aitanga a Hauiti that greets you. Thanks, greetings, and wellbeing to all of us.]

I’ve been thinking a lot, and things change in this House like you wouldn’t believe. I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the subject of race and the subject of ethnicity. It’s been a hot topic. We have talked yesterday quite a bit in the media, and in our own conversations. Maybe some of our whānau at home have been talking about the plight of Māori, actually, and whether or not the bad health statistics that we have are a result of us drinking too much, too much KFC, that kind of stuff. There is actually a demographic of the population out there that believe that it’s true. They don’t like hearing the uncomfortable truth about the history of Aotearoa—the really uncomfortable truth that the Crown set up systems and structures and courts and laws to completely marginalise Māori.

For that reason, it’s really sad, because there’s a whole demographic of New Zealanders out there that believe that Māori get too much. They think that Māori shouldn’t be put to the front of the queue to be able to deal with health inequities. They believe that Māori should jump in the line when it comes to housing and all those things that Government here attempt to try and do for Māori. But, unfortunately, sometimes in this House, especially, things get politicised and it’s kind of gross. It’s kind of gross, because, actually, what happens is that these kinds of conversations end up being like political footballs. They get kicked around, and especially in these years, like election years.

Can we come back to the bill.

TĀMATI COFFEY: Madam Speaker, I am talking about the bill. I want to refer to page 11, actually, of the bill, which talks to Ngāti Paoa’s plight. It says, in clause 8(8), “By the end of the twentieth century, only 27% of Ngāti Paoa spoke te reo Māori. The decline of Ngāti Paoa tribal structures and the loss of te reo Māori contributed to a loss of Ngāti Paoa mātauranga Māori. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Ngāti Paoa, like other Hauraki Māori, generally experienced poorer health, including lower life expectancy … higher infant mortality, than Pākehā [as well]. Ngāti Paoa also experienced higher unemployment than the general population, and a lower median annual income.”

It’s really the point of all of this, because we heard in the whaikōrero earlier from the koroua from Ngāti Paoa who got up and addressed the room, and he spoke of the fact that what we’re talking about in terms of redress on this settlement is very, very small. Heck, there are houses in the plush parts of South Auckland and the Coromandel that cost as much as the settlement that you’re going to get as a result of the Crown trying to address this past wrong—there are. You know, again, it’s an absolutely uncomfortable truth, but I want to acknowledge you for still, despite that, despite the history, despite the historical account that my colleague Joseph Mooney read out before, despite all of that, despite the Crown taking your land, you’re still willing to go through this. You’re still willing to go through this, because there’s a sense of social justice that needs to take place in this.

The Crown, as represented by those of us in this House right now, we need to hear your story. It’s lovely that it’s written down here, and we need to talk about it a bit more, and we need New Zealanders to talk about it too, so that they have a deeper understanding of exactly what happened to Ngāti Paoa in the story of the history of Aotearoa.

I often say that, in this place, Treaty settlements are one thing, and when we finally get this out of the House and enable you to go on and start your journey post-settlement, I often ask myself, “What more can we do? What more can we do over and above the quantum? Over and above that, what more can we do to be able to help iwi such as Ngāti Paoa to be able to achieve their tino rangatiratanga?” To some of us, especially on this side, we believe that there are lots of opportunities, whether it’s in housing or health or co-governance opportunities, that the Opposition get really freaked out about. But there are opportunities in that, none the less, and I hope that through that—

💬 Hon Willie Jackson: Disgraceful, really.

TĀMATI COFFEY: —over and above—my colleague down here, you just can’t turn him off. But there are opportunities. There are opportunities that are coming up. As long as I’m a Labour member, which isn’t for that much longer, but as long as I’m a member of the New Zealand Labour Party, actually I’ll continue to ask that question: what more can we do post-settlement for our iwi to be able to achieve their own tino rangatiratanga?

So I leave that today. I look forward to listening to some of the kōrero. I too sit on the Māori Affairs Committee, at least for the next three months. Then I look forward to watching one day, maybe from home with my little boy and my little girl in my arms, watching the third reading of your bill through this House, turning it into an Act and allowing you to move forward so that you can create a better future for Ngāti Paoa tamariki mokopuna kei te heke mai. [the children and grandchildren of Ngāti Paoa of the future.] Nō reira ki a koutou ngā rangatira, ngā kuia, ngā kaumātua kua huihui mai nei, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[So to you the leaders, the matriarchs, the patriarchs who have assembled here, my thanks and greetings to all of us.]

Tama Potaka—a five-minute call.

Nau mai Pūanga, nau mai Matariki. Paoa ki uta Paoa ki tai ki Mahurangi ki Ōmaha. Ki te Waitematā ki te Tōangaroa ki Waiōtāiki ki Te Pane o Horoiwi ki Taurere ki Tāoma ki Mauinaina ki Mokoia ki te puna o Mokoikahikuwaru ki te waipuna Rangiātea ki Ngā Pōito o te Kūpena a Taramainuku, hāunga ko Motutapu tēnā pea ka whakaiti a James Brown i ahau, kia āta haere. Heoi anō ki Te Ārai Roa ki te Waiheke a Kahumatamomoe ki Rātāroa ki Te Pounui a Peretū ki Pākihi ki Kāramuramu ki Kawakawa. Tatū atu rā ki Tāwhitokino ki Ōrere ki Pūkorokoro ki Wharekawa te Tara o te Ika tatū atu rā ki Waitī, Te Hoe o Tainui mai i Mahurangi ki te Hoe o Tainui, mai te Tōanga roa ki Moehau tēnā koutou. Nau mai ki tō koutou Whare Mīere.

E huri te kei o te waka ki ō koutou mate e kawe nei tō koutou kākākura Mōrehu, te kaupoi rā a Tīpene Kura me ō koutou ake ruakōiwi i hainatia mai Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ko Te Hīnaki ko Hoete ko Hori Pōkai Te Ruinga me ērā o ngā kātū rangatira o tuawhakarere o tuamanomano. Koutou i kawe mai i tērā kawenata tapu ki Waiārohe ki tēnei Whare me tō koutou nawe ā tōna wā ka tau te kōrero. Kei ōku pikikotuku ōku pikiamokura, Herearoha koutou ko ngā māreikura me ngā kaupoi rā, Koro, Harley, a Jimjim. Hoki mai anō ki tēnei Whare. Tō koutou whare tōrangapū. Ehara nōku, ehara nō ēnei tāngata, nō koutou.

Huri atu te kanohi ora. Hauāuru taku tino, e mihi ana ki a koe me tō kāhui i kawe mai i tēnei kaupapa ki tua o tōna toka tū moana ki tua o tōna tihi maunga. Tokotoru aku tino o Ngāti Paoa waka o Te Kōtuiti Tuarua. Tuatahi, taku tino a Alistair Toto. Tērā kaiwaiata, kaiwhakahaere waiata. Tuarua, Hēmi Parāone. Rima tekau ōrau he Ngāi Tai, rima tekau ōrau he Ngāti Porou, rima tekau ōrau he Ngāti Paoa. Tuatoru Mahuika Rāwiri, e whakatū poutūārongo nei i a Tāmaki ki te tonga i tōna tuakiritanga i tō tātou tuakiritanga.

Tēnei te pānuitanga tuatahi mō tō koutou pire, e tautoko ana te rōpū Nāhinara tēnei pāti kahurangi i tōna whakataunga. Ēnei āhuatanga te whakaaetanga whakatau o ngā kerēme Tiriti i whakamāunu mai ai i te rōpū Nāhinara, na Chris Finlayson mā tō koutou kaupapa i whakaputa ki waho moana ēngari e mihi ana ki a Ānaru Paku māna anō e whakahoki ki uta. Ērā tāngata a Mike Dreaver mā a Rick Barker mā me ērā o ngā tautohetohe i waenganui i a rātou me koutou kāore e roa kua tau te pūehu.

Kei te hoki aku mahara i te wā i te mahi au mō te Tahua Kaumātua Penihana o Aotearoa, mahi tahi māua ko tō koutou hāpai ō a Daniel Karehana. E mihi ana ki a ia, me tana ngana hiakai hoki ki te whakatakoto i tētahi huarahi whai rawa tētahi huarahi whai pūtea i waenganui i a koutou o Ngāti Paoa tatū atu rā ki ngā iwi katoa. Marutuahu, Tāmaki-makau-rau, Ngā tini o Toi, ngā ika katoa o Tīkapa moana, tērā pātaka kai tō tātou pātaka kai. E mihi ana ki a ia.

Me ēnei āhuatanga kua māturuturu mai i te pene whakaaaro i te pene kōrero e pā ana ki te moni ka pai. Te whakahoki o ngā whenua, tino pai, me te whai wāhi hoki i ngā moni ā tau pērā me te hoko mai o ngā kura. Hei moni ā-tau ia tau ia tau. Whai hoki tērā tauira ki Macleans College ka rawe hoki.

Ka rawe hoki te rongo ki ērā momo kōrero. Tō koutou iwi kanohi hōmiromiro, ika pae wai, kākākura he iwi auaha he iwi māia he iwi manawanui. I au i tae atu rā i rongo au ki ngā kōrero e pā ana ki a Mahurangi, ki a Kohimārama me tērā whenua ki Tāmaki ki te tonga nā Fairburn i whakarite ki te hokona. Tō koutou whakanunui me Waikato, i tēnei wā kei te huri te kei o te waka kia tupu matomato ai kia tupu ora ai kia tupu ōhanga mai koutou. Tēnā koutou katoa.

[Welcome Pūanga, welcome Matariki. Paoa inland, Paoa on the coast at Mahurangi at Ōmaha. From there honour to Waitematā to Tōanga roa to Waiōtāiki to Te Pane o Horoiwi to Taurere to Tāoma to Mauinaina to Mokoia to the pool of Mokoikahikuwaru to the sacred waters Rangiātea to Ngā Pōito o te kūpenga a Taramainuku, put aside Motutapu lest I be belittled by James Brown. I’ll tread slowly. Carrying on, honour to Te Ārai Roa to Waiheke a Kahumatamomoe to Rātāroa to Te Pounui a Peretū to Pākihi to Kāramuramu to Kawakawa. Further out towards Tāwhitokino to Ōrere to Pūkorokoro to Wharekawa te Tara o te Ika, over towards Waitī, Te Hoe o Tainui from Mahurangi to the Hoe o Tainui. From Tōanga roa to Moehau, greetings to you all. Welcome to your Beehive.

Turn the stern towards your deceased that you carry with you, to your honourable Morehu, that cowboy from St Stephen’s School and all your ancestors who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Te Hīnaki, Hoete, Hori Pōkai Te Reinga, and all the other nobles from the ancient times. The ones who brought that sacred agreement to Waiārohe to this House and your issues that will eventually be settled. To my aristocratic leaders, Herearoha and your elites and also those cowboys, Koro, Harley and Jimjim. Come back to the House. Your parliamentary House. It’s not mine, it doesn’t belong to these people; it’s yours.

Turn oh the living and breathing. Hauāuru my favourite, I acknowledge you and your assembly who brought this discussion beyond your ranks beyond your base. I have three favourites from the Ngāti Paoa waka Te Kōtuiti Tuarua. Firstly, my favourite is Alistair Toto. That singer, that composer. Secondly, James Brown. Fifty percent is Ngāi Tai, 50 percent is Ngāti Porou and the other 50 percent is Ngāti Pāoa. Thirdly, Mahuika Rāwiri, becoming influential in the south of Auckland with his hard work and with our hard work.

This is the first reading of your bill, this is supported by the National Party, this blue party supports the settlement. These initiatives to agree to the settlement of the claims according to the Treaty which was brought here before us the National Party by Chris Finlayson, who took it out to the sea, but I’d also like to acknowledge Andrew Little, who will bring it back to the shores. Those others as well, Mike Dreaver and Rick Barker, the debates between them and yourselves in which the dust will soon be settled.

My memories go back to when I use to work for the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. I worked alongside your very own Daniel Karehana. I acknowledge him and his hard work to set up wealth and financial security for you Ngāti Paoa and the many iwi. Marutuahu, Tāmaki-makau-rau, Ngā tini o Toi, and all the fish of Tīkapa ocean, that food storage of yours and all of ours. I acknowledge him and his efforts that have come to fruition through his knowledge about finance.

The return of land is excellent, and the annual returns as well is excellent the annual finances used by schools. Annual income every single year. The example that happened with Macleans College as well is awesome.

I thoroughly enjoy hearing those stories. Your diligent and careful nation, a creative people, a strong people, and a brave nation. When I went to hear the discussions about Mahurangi, Kohimārama and those other lands around South Auckland that Fairburn had set up to buy. Your relationship with Waikato, right now the stern of the canoe will turn and see you flourish, see you thrive, and see you succeed. Thank you all very much.]

Rawiri Waititi—a five minute call.

E te Pīka, tēnā koe. Tēnā tatou, tēnā tatou e te Whare. Otirā tēnā koutou, e hika mā. Tēnā koutou Ngāti Paoa. Haere mai nei, whakapiri mai nei ki roto i tēnei Whare. Āe, he tika tonu ngā kōrero a taku hoa, a te rangatira nei, a Tama, nā koutou tēnei Whare, whakatau mai rā.

Tēnā te tira ka tū, ko te tira nā Tūrora, nā Rereahu, nā Kōrehe, nā Tūrongo. Tēnā te tira e oti ana, tira ka tū, tēnā toetoe nā Haka, nā Hauā, tira ka tū, tēnā oti.

Ko Kohukohunui te maunga, ko Piako te awa, ko Tīkapa te moana, ko Te Haupā te tangata, nei rā te mihi, nei rā te mihi.

Tēnā rawa atu koutou. Kua oti katoa te whakahuahua ingoa i tēnei rā. Tēnei ka tautoko, tēnei ka tau. Tēnei rā anō hoki te mihi atu i runga i te āhuatanga o ō tātou mate. Tika tonu kia mihi rā ki a Mōrehu, te nui o ngā pakeke kua riro tītapu ki te pō. Kāre e kite i te whakatinanatanga o tēnei āhuatanga, engari mā rātou e kawe ngā kōrero ki ngā mātua tīpuna i te pō, kei konei tonu koutou e whawhai mō tō koutou mana motuhake me tō rangatiratanga.

Rātou i mate, i rere te toto ki runga i tō koutou whenua, hei aha? Hei oranga mō ngā whakatipuranga, mō ngā mokopuna e haere ake nei. Nō reira rātou ki a rātou.

Ka hoki mai rā ki a tātou, mōrehu tangata kua tae mai nei i tēnei rā, haramai, haramai, haramai. E kore e tarea tēnei tū āhuatanga te whakawātea i ngā mamaetanga, i ngā tāmitanga, i ngā patunga a te Karauna i a koutou, i a tātou. E kore rawa, e kore rawa. Engari me pēnei pea taku kōrero, kei te ngau tonu tērā āhuatanga, tērā taniwha i a tātou i tēnei rangi tonu. Kei te kite atu awahau i roto i te pepa nei, i te pire nei, kei te ngau tonu, kei te ngau tonu, kei te ngau tonu.

Arā i roto i ngā pakanga o te motu i roto i ngā tau 1860, arā i kitea ngā tāmitanga ki runga i tō koutou pā, ki Pūkorokoro. Hika, ka mau te wehi! Ka mau te wehi! Ka whakaingoatia tērā whenua ki te poti i pū i a koutou, ngā pūrepo, whakamutu atu! Whakamutu atu! I taraingia e rātou te tango i tō koutou mana, i tō koutou reo, i tō koutou mana motuhake, me tō koutou rangatiratanga, i tō koutou whakatangata i a koutou ki runga i tō koutou whenua, engari auare ake! Kei konei koutou i tēnei rā, kei te ora tonu. Kei te ora tonu. Kei te kite tēnei Whare i tō kanohi, kei te rongo i tō wairua, arā anō hoki kei te rongo i tō mauri.

E kore e tarea tēnei tū āhuatanga te whakatikatika i roto i te kotahi paihēneti o ngā moni ka riro i a koutou, kotahi paihēneti. Me waiho mā ā tātou tamariki mokopuna te iwa tekau mā iwa paihēneti e whawhai kei ngā rā e haere ake nei. Me pērā pea te kōrero. Nō reira kia kaha ki a tātou ki te whakatō i te kākano ki roto i ā tātou tamariki mokopuna he iwa tekau mā iwa paihēneti e toe ana mā rātou e whawhai. Mā rātou hei whawhai. Kaua e mea he “full and final settlement”, whakamutua atu tēnā kōrero.

Arā me te mea anō hoki, e hika mā, tēnei tū āhuatanga he mea whakawehewehe, whakawehewehe i a tātou i roto i a tātou. Whakawehewehe iwi i te iwi, hapū i te hapū, whānau i te whānau. Tēnei tū āhuatanga ehara nā tātou, nō reira e te Pīka, kua tonoa mai tētahi reta e tētahi ki au. Pīrangi au ki te whakawātea i te Whare kia whakatēpungia tēnei pepa i tēnei wā. Ki te kore, hika, e kore e tarea e tātou te whakatutuki i ngā mahi kei mua i a tātou.

Nō reira koia hoki tāku i tēnei wā. E hika mā, he rima miniti noa iho ki au, engari kei te mōhio au hāwhe pāhi i te rima karaka kei te wehe atu te nuinga o koutou. Nō reira, ā, kua mutu te wāhi ki a au, engari tēnei rā te mihi atu rā ki a koutou. Kia kaha koutou ki a koutou, kia kaha koutou anō hoki ki te whakawhirinaki ki ērā atu iwi e raruraru nei i roto i ngā whakahaere a tēnei Whare. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou.

[Thank you. Greetings to all of us, greetings to all of us in this House. Indeed greetings to you, friends. Greetings, Ngāti Paoa. Welcome, welcome into this House. Yes, the statements of my colleague, the noble leader Tama, this House is yours, welcome.

That is the party that stands, the party belonging to Tūrora, Rereahu, Kōrehe, and Tūrongo. That is the party that concludes, the party that stands, the rushes belonging to Haka and Hauā, the party that stands, it is concluded.

Kohukohunui is the ancestral mountain, Piako is the ancestral river, Tīkapa is the ancestral sea, Te Haupā is the illustrious leader, I greet you, I acknowledge you.

Many greetings to you. The mentioning of names has absolutely been completed today. I support that, it is resolved. I would also like to make acknowledgments with respect to our deceased. It is appropriate to acknowledge Mōrehu, and the many elders who have passed into the night. They will not see the realisation of this phenomenon, but they will carry word of it to the forebears in the night, that you are here fighting for your autonomy and sovereignty.

Those who died, whose blood flowed on your land, for what? For the wellbeing of the generations, of the grandchildren that are to come. So they have joined their peers.

I return now to us, to the remnants that have arrived here today, welcome, welcome, welcome. This phenomenon is not able to relieve the anguish, the suppression, and the assaults of the Crown on you, on us. Never, not ever. But perhaps I should put it like this: that thing, that beast continues to bite us this very day. I see it in this paper, in this bill, it continues to bite, to chew, to lacerate.

In particular in the wars of the nation in the 1860s, the oppression of your fortified stronghold, Pūkorokoro, was seen. Golly, it’s unbelievable! It’s unbelievable! That land was named after the ship that fired on you, the cannons, cut it out! Stop it! They tried to take your authority, your language, your autonomy, and your sovereignty, your very ability to flourish on your own land, but no such luck! Here you are today, you yet live. You yet live. This House sees your face, feels your spirit, and also feels your power.

This phenomenon cannot be rectified with the 1 percent of the funding that you will receive, 1 percent. We should leave it up to our children and grandchildren to fight for the 99 percent in the coming days. Perhaps that is how it should be put. So let’s all be determined to plant the seed in our children and grandchildren that there is a remaining 99 percent for them to fight for. For them to fight for. Don’t call it a “full and final settlement”, stop it with that statement.

And furthermore, my friends, these proceedings are divisive, they alienate us from each other. Alienating tribe from tribe, subtribe from subtribe, family from family. This phenomenon is nothing of ours, so Madam Speaker, a letter has been sent by someone to me. I wish to seek the leave of the House to table this paper at this time. If not, golly, we will not be able to conclude the work that is before us.

So that’s all from me at this time. My friends, I only have five minutes, but I know that at half past five, the majority of you will depart. So, my contribution has ended, but I’d like to acknowledge you. Be strong among yourselves, and also be steadfast in relying on other iwi that are distressed by the proceedings of this House. Greetings, greetings and thanks to all.]

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Sorry, with apologies to the member, if the member who just spoke wished to table a document—

Oh, yes, sorry.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Would he like to take a point of order and seek leave to do that?

Aroha mai, e te Pīka. I did say it in Māori that I’d move a motion to take leave to table this document, so do I have to move a point of order?

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Yes.

Point of order, Madam Speaker. I’d like to take leave from the House to table this document.

Leave is requested for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is none.

Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

Ngāti Paoa, nau mai, haere mai i tēnei wā. E tū au, e karanga ki te pānuitanga tuatahi o te pire Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill.

[Ngāti Paoa, welcome, welcome at this time. I stand to take a call on the first reading of the Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill.]

I take a brief call, mindful that Ngāti Paoa will be taking flight very shortly, so we are on a limited time span for our kōrero, our karanga to all gathered here in the gallery. Importantly, this is an opportunity. Ngāti Paoa, this is the journey that your people have been on, but this is televised so it’s an opportunity for us in the Chamber to put out to Aotearoa New Zealand, for New Zealanders to join in part of what your journey and your story has been, which will be captured in this legislation.

In the short call that I take, Madam Speaker, and to New Zealanders who are listening in, the stories that many of us as Māori have traversed through the course of generations—a number of us in the Chamber here have sat where Ngāti Paoa are, with our people, our tribal peoples, with the passage of legislation through to the completion. My parliamentary colleague Rawiri Waititi, we share that journey when we sit on the Māori Affairs Committee with other members in this House. So, we know the mamae. We are aware of the grievance. We are aware also of the heaviness, but the hope, that comes with these settlements. There is contention about it being full and final, and that is korero that we are subject to and we listen to on the Māori Affairs Committee—always cognisant of this.

But what has been captured in the bill? And I will keep this brief. Importantly, my eye is drawn to clause 8, the summary of historical account, and I invite New Zealanders to go to this bill to read the story of Ngāti Paoa; clause 9, which is the acknowledgment from the Crown in terms of those transgressions and what the redress will be; and clause 10, the formal Crown apology. In this bill, what’s particularly noted is that it is captured in te reo Tauiwi, in te reo Māori, te reo o ngā mita o Ngāti Paoa [in the English language, in the Māori language, the language of the regional variations of Ngāti Paoa], and that is so important because this is the journey, the story, of Ngāti Paoa. And I invite New Zealanders to take the time to read this, to take the time to listen, to take the time to feel.

So we will have the opportunity and the privilege, sitting on the Māori Affairs Committee, to listen to the further submissions from the interested parties, the stakeholders, Ngāti Paoa. And it is our duty and responsibility of care to take cognisance of those concerns further to what has been inscribed here.

Also, my eye is drawn to the interpretation section, where there is an acknowledgment of those of you gathered here and those who have gone before—in terms of the hand, the imprint, and what will be inscribed and captured on parchment, in paper, for time to come. So it is with a sense of heaviness that many of us do stand here, but it is with a sense of hope in the journey moving forward. And I see our young ones, our future. Today is a present—it is a gift to the future, bearing in mind the journey that Ngāti Paoa have carried through the generations from the past to arrive here today. It is a privilege that I stand as the last speaker of the National Party to commend this bill to the House.

He ika ki te moana, ko au ki te whenua, Tīkapa oneone hokinga kāinga. Ko aku whatu e huri ana ki Te Kohukohunui, Te Kotūiti, ka tae mai koe ki te takoto o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Turuki turuki, paneke paneke, haramai te toki, haumi e, hui e, tāiki e.

Kua hipa te wā. Kua hipa te wā nō reira tēnei te tautoko i ngā kōrero kua whārikihia ki mua i tō koutou nei aroaro, Ngāti Paoa. Tērā tangi apakura ki a Mōrehu, tatū atu rā ki a rātou katoa i ngā tau kua whai ake i tēnei o ngā kaupapa.

Nō reira koutou ngā mōrehu, ngā mahuetanga iho, Hauāuru, te pai o te kite i a koe, koutou katoa. Ka noho tūturu ngā kōrero i waihotia e koro ki waenganui i a mātou, ngā mema o tēnei Whare Pāremata, he tīmatatanga tēnei. He maha ngā piki me ngā heke engari he tīmata tēnei.

Ko tā rātou wero ki a tātou, te Pāremata, ahakoa ko wai e noho ki tēwhea o ngā tūru, he tīmatatanga tēnei. Me mahi ngātahi kia taea e Ngāti Paoa ki te tutuki i ā rātou nei wawata mō nāianei, mō ngā uri whakatupu.

Nō reira, Ngāti Paoa, kei a koutou tēnei wā, nō koutou te mana. Tēnā koutou.

[As fish in the sea, I am on the land, the sands of Tīkapa, the home I return to. My eyes turn to Te Kohukohunui, to Te Kotūiti, you arrive at the topography of Wellington. Advance, advance, progress, progress, take up the sceptre, it coalesces, it comes together, it is done.

The time has passed. The time has passed so I support the statements that have been laid before all of you, Ngāti Paoa. The song of grief for Mōrehu, and also to those who pursued this initiative over the years.

So to you, the survivors, the remnants, Hauāuru, it’s good to see you, all of you. The statements left by your grandsire among us, the members of this House of Parliament, this is a beginning. There are many ups and downs, but this is a beginning.

Their challenge to us, to Parliament, regardless of who is sitting in which seat, this is a beginning. We must work together so that Ngāti Paoa is able to accomplish the dreams for today, and for descendants to come.]

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

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

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.

Members, I can tell the House that permission has been now granted for a waiata.

Pao

Waiata—Rimurimu

Karanga