Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill

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

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

Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move, That the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill.

SPEAKER: Order! Order! Can I ask members leaving to do so quickly and quietly.

Hon ANDREW LITTLE: 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 tātou. Tēnei au, tēnei mātou te Kāwanatanga e mihi ana ki te kaupapa o te wā. Ngāti Hei, 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 Hei, greetings and thanks to you—indeed, to us all.]

It’s my honour and privilege to be here today to speak in the first reading of the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill. I extend a warm welcome to the negotiators of Ngāti Hei, who have travelled from the beautiful Coromandel for this occasion, and I say thank you to them. It has been my privilege and pleasure to host you here today. Can I acknowledge Peter Matai Johnston and Mātua Joe Davis, who I had the good fortune to host—or they had the kai; I had to race off to prepare for the House. But to have some kōrero as we welcome them and to hear Mātua Joe’s whakapapa, but also the connections to the other Hauraki whanaunga who are also very important to this bill and the associated bills that will go with this.

It was interesting to hear from Mātua Joe that the first kōrero over Ngāti Hei’s claims were with Tā Doug Graham, back those many years ago when that formidable then justice Minister led the way in opening what we might describe now as the modern Treaty of Waitangi negotiations processes. It’s great, however, that after all that time and after many Treaty bills coming to this House, that now Ngāti Hei has their bill squarely before the House, after some delay too—and I’ll come back to some of the reasons for that a little later.

Can I also acknowledge and pay tribute to the generations of Ngāti Hei who have sought justice for their people, and the many members of Ngāti Hei who have passed away before they have been able to bear witness to today’s milestone. In particular, in that regard, I acknowledge Ngāti Hei kaumātua Peter Tiki Johnston, who played a leading role in the settlement but, sadly, passed away in 2014. His son, Peter Matai Johnston, has assumed his father’s mantle and is in the gallery today.

On the Crown side, can I acknowledge chief Crown negotiators Michael Dreaver and the Hon Rick Barker for their hands-on leadership throughout these negotiations—I might say, everybody amply supported by the team from Te Arawhiti in the gallery there. Can I acknowledge my predecessor, the Hon Chris Finlayson, as well, for his significant contribution to this Treaty settlement, and of course I thank my ministerial colleagues, Crown agencies, and the councils who have been involved in this for their support to achieve this settlement.

Today’s reading marks a major milestone in the Ngāti Hei negotiations. It was back in August 2017 that Ngāti Hei and the Crown signed a deed of settlement here at Parliament. I think we can all agree that six years is a long time to wait to advance the settlement to its next significant step.

The delay between signing the deed and the first reading today is due to the structure of the Hauraki negotiations. Initially, the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill was drafted as part of an omnibus bill with 13 other Hauraki settlements. However, each negotiation moves at its own pace, and so, given the varying pace and a number of other issues that had arisen, I decided in 2021 that we would move away from the omnibus approach and progress the Hauraki bills that are ready and where litigation and overlapping interest claims have been dealt with or progressed sufficiently. That, of course, included Ngāti Hei and I thank Ngāti Hei for their incredible patience during this time.

Ngāti Hei hold a unique place in New Zealand history. In November 1769, Ngāti Hei hosted the first recorded pōwhiri between Māori and Pākehā when Ngāti Hei paramount chief Toawaka invited Captain Cook, no less, to the fortified pā Wharetāewa in Whitianga. Cook and his crew spent 12 days at Whanga-nui-a-Hei measuring the transit of Mercury across the sun, trading, and resupplying the ship in what was described then as a mostly amicable cultural exchange with Ngāti Hei.

Despite these positive beginnings, even before Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, the negative effects of Pākehā settlement were felt by Ngāti Hei. By the 1830s, Ngāti Hei had lost much of their coastal whenua due to transactions with traders. The Crown’s Land Claims Commission later investigated those transactions and awarded almost 7,000 acres of land, in which Ngāti Hei had interests, to European claimants.

After the Treaty was signed, Crown land acquisition, and the operation and effect of the native land laws left Ngāti Hei virtually landless. The loss of land and resources reduced Ngāti Hei’s ability to participate in the new economic opportunities and challenges emerging within their rohe in the 20th century.

The Crown’s repression of te reo Māori, along with the fragmentation of Ngāti Hei tribal structures and the migration from ancestral lands, severely affected Ngāti Hei’s ability to pass mātauranga Māori on to their tamariki and mokopuna. The 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 redress contained in this bill will support Ngāti Hei in realising their aspirations for their iwi and the many generations to come. The bill will give effect to the redress provided and settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims, including financial and commercial redress of $8.5 million; the vesting of 15 sites of cultural significance; and overlay classification and statement of association, which acknowledges the traditional, cultural, spiritual, and historical association of Ngāti Hei with certain sites of significance, including Moehau and Te Aroha maunga. This settlement legislation will also enact a Māori Land Court order that will vest Ohinau Island in the Ngāti Hei governance entity.

Finally, relationship agreements between Ngāti Hei and Crown agencies will provide the foundation for a better future relationship between Ngāti Hei and the Crown. As I indicated earlier, this bill is one of a number of bills coming under the Pare Hauraki collective of iwi in Hauraki. There are others yet to make their progress—some have already been introduced—but eventually we will bring together a Hauraki collective piece of legislation as well. Bearing in mind now, with these bills and the Hauraki bills, what has been very important is to ensure that the relationships between each of those Hauraki iwi are sorted, but also the relationship between Hauraki iwi and other large national groups—and I’m thinking particularly of Tauranga Moana—that those are settled and healthy relationships as well.

I sincerely hope that this settlement is the beginning of a stronger relationship between Ngāti Hei and the Crown based on mutual trust, cooperation, and respect for Te Tiriti and its principles. I propose the bill should proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. 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.

Ko wai anō, ko wai anō? Ko te ninihi nui o te moana, ko Te Parata nui o te moana, ko te Paikea nui o te moana. Ko wai anō ngā uri o te waka Te Arawa? Repanga, a Ngātoro ki tai, Hauraki ki uta, ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama. Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e.

Kei a koutou, te rangatira Joe, Hita Maitai mā, ngā rangatira o Ngāti Hei ki Wharekaho, koutou ngā māreikura me ngā whatukura kua rauemi mai, kua rarau mai ki tēnei Whare Miere, te ana o ngā raiona me ngā taika me ngā puma o tēnei whenua, tēnā koutou.

Tēnā koutou e kawe nei i ngā moemoeā a ō koutou mātua tūpuna, me ngā whakatinanatanga o ērā moemoeā ki roto i ā koutou taiohi, rangatahi, rangatakapū.

Kei taku minita, Anaru Paku, tēnā koe i ō mahi rangatira nei, e mihi ana ki a koe.

Katoa rātou kua nunumi atu, haere atu rā. Hoki mai nei ki a tātau.

[Who are they? Who are they? The vastness of the ocean, the great denizen of the sea, the great whale of the ocean. Who are the descendants of Te Arawa? Repanga, Ngātoro at sea, and Hauraki inland, in the emerging world, the world of light. It coalesces. It assembles. It is bound.

To you, the leader, Joe, Peter Matai, and others, the leaders of Ngāti Hei ki Wharekaho; you also, the matriarchs and patriarchs have assembled here, to have come here to this Beehive, to the lair of the lions and the tigers and the pumas of this land. Greetings.

Greetings to you who carry the aspirations of your forebears, and the realisation of those dreams in your youth, your young people, your adolescents.

To my Minister, Andrew Little, thank you for your noble work. I acknowledge you.

Those who have passed on, rest in peace. I return now to us.]

Ngāti Hei ki Wharekaho is what we often refer to as Ngāti Hei, a well-known tribe of Hauraki, being a member of the Pare Hauraki collective, and will receive redress through the Pare Hauraki collective redress arrangements as well as this specific Ngāti Hei arrangement. The iwi marae at Whitianga, Te Rā Matiti, stands as a lighthouse for tribal identity. E mihi ana ki a koutou, te ahi kā. [The marae of the iwi, Whitianga, Te Rā Mātiti, stands as a lighthouse for tribal identity. I acknowledge you, the home people that keep the home fires burning.]

Treaty settlements like this one that were launched and set about by the great elders of the National Party, Jim Bolger, Doug Graham, Kereama Rātima, and Bill Birch—Wīremu Birch—have been carried on by successive Governments and genuinely assisted in restoring wairua through acknowledgments and apologies, through cultural redress, and usually some modest commercial redress that sometimes includes land and buildings, and in some places just pūtea, just the cash. And like your relatives on the other side of Tīkapa Moana, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, the Ngāti Hei nation are resilient, emergent, and aspirational.

In fact, I wanted to take a moment just to comment on the comments of my former boss, Hemi Paraone, your whanaunga over there, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, who always would refer to Matua Joe as an absolute icon of Hauraki identity. And in that little Switzerland that Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki sometimes is—Tāmaki-makau-rau, Tainui, Hauraki, and everything else—he always would pay that homage and that respect to the mahi that Matua Joe and others of Ngāti Hei have done to retain their identity, to drive their identity, and ultimately to restore and regenerate their identity.

Ahakoa iti rearea, teitei kahikatea [Despite the diminutive size of the rearea bird, it can reach the top of the kahikatea tree.] Whilst the rearea is small, it can overcome the tallest kahikatea in the great forest of Tāne Mahuta. And your negotiators, along with other iwi leaders, not only those that are on the paepae but also those in the kāuta have brought this here to the Whare Mīere. So I acknowledge all those rangatira and ringawera [leaders and kitchen staff] of the iwi. Mā mua ka kitea a muri; mā muri ka ora a mua. [Through the formalities, the dining staff are seen; because of the dining staff, the formalities go well.]

Ngāti Hei—descendants of tangata whenua Te Hekenga-a-rangi and Hapū-oneone, as well as the great navigators and sentinels of various waka like Arawa, and Kupe’s Matahourua. The deed of settlement outlines and sets out some kōrero around the eponymous ancestor Hei, son of Atuamatua, brother of Houmaitawhiti and father of Waitaha, and bound to the land and seas of Toi te Huatahi ki te Waitematā huri atu a Tīkapa Moana ki roto, the Hauraki Gulf to Waitematā and the food basket of Tīkapa Moana.

The dominions that the Ngāti Hei people have are indeed mercurial—mercurial, Mr Simpson—and spread north and south, and are captured in various names: Te Ō ā Hei, or Hahei, Te Whanganui a Hei, Mercury Bay, and Ngā Tokotoru a Hei out there by Aotea. E mihi ana ki a koutou. The area of interest of your iwi, located on the eastern seaboard of the Coromandel Peninsula, is in the works and the writings of my wife’s great-grandfather Pei Te Hurinui Jones, who has links to you all. Moehau. He always refers to Coromandel Peninsula as Moehau, but Te Tara o te Ika a Māui through Onemana and Te Whangapoua and centred around Tairua and Mautohe known to most of us as Cathedral Cove—and those citadels of Ngāti Hei include Repanga or Cuvier Island, home of various tasty fish and shark, Moehau, Ahuahu, Motutere, Tahanga, and ngā Ruamāhua islands.

The Ngāti Hei massif also refers us back to our Tahitian ancestors, with places like Hitiā o te Rā, or Whitianga, as we refer to it here in New Zealand, and Taputapuatea—what a beautiful place in Tahiti and also in Coromandel. I’m sure many of the members here today—actually, some of our whanaunga members, across the benches—have also been to that place, both here in Aotearoa and also in Tahiti.

The bill is one that the National Party supports to progress to the first reading. Like many whānau, hapū, and iwi, Ngāti Hei were entrepreneurial peoples in the early 1800s, being involved, like other iwi, in the timber trade, with foresters, albeit with some unconscionable arrangements along the way—reminds me of a few iwi through the central North Island, e taku tuakana, Shanan. [my senior, Shanan.]

One of the more difficult experiences Ngāti Hei went through was the purchase of Ahuahu—Mercury Island; what an outstanding place—by the Crown from other iwi. There is no evidence that Ngāti Hei were either consulted or paid for their interest in this breathtaking island, and then, of course, the Crown entered into land transactions called purchases for over 80,000 acres of Moehau paradise. The bill gives effects to some elements of the Ngāti Hei deed of settlement, and I mihi to those former Ministers for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Doug Graham and Christopher Finlayson, who represented the Crown in those early high-level negotiations with Ngāti Hei. But it also reflects the acknowledgment and apology made in that deed and gives effect to some of the redress outlined in that deed. I want to thank and acknowledge our Minister, the Hon Andrew Little, Anaru Paku, and various officials for this important step in the redress process—Mike Dreaver, Rick Barker, officials from the Department of Conservation, Land Information New Zealand, and other agencies who have represented the Crown. I mihi to them and hope for further innovation in future settlements as well.

This package, set out in the bill, is something that the National Party absolutely applauds and supports for further consideration. The acknowledgments record that the Crown failed to take adequate steps to protect the interests of Ngāti Hei, but it sets out the industrial activities—those extractive processes over the Moehau Peninsula, te Tara o te Ika; things like gold-mining, gum digging, flax milling, timber harvesting—all those extractive processes that have delivered very little upside for Ngāti Hei over time and have been very distressing.

Those beautiful surrounds of Moehau, Whitianga, and elsewhere is something that—although there’s a few roads that we need to fix up along the way, collectively, there, Mr Simpson—

Hon Scott Simpson: Hear, hear!

TAMA POTAKA: Hear, hear! It’s something that we look forward to restoring. By the end of the 20th century, left virtually landless like many other iwi throughout the motu, Ngāti Hei had been marginalised, with the loss of resources, poor educational achievement, socio-economic deprivation and all those other pretty difficult statistics that you’re dealing with.

The apology for the Treaty breaches and prejudice to Ngāti Hei, particularly given the impacts of Crown actions and omissions on the wellbeing of Ngāti Hei, is something that we will continue to canvass as we go through the legislative readings. The deed of settlement, which was initialled on 31 May 2017 and then ratified later in August that year, illustrates the progress that your whānau, your hapū, and your iwi have made in order to seal the deal but also to get to go. It’s like going around in Monopoly, “Go back to ‘Go’ and collect $200”, but in this case a little bit more commercial redress.

Now, you have many uri and descendants, and I can’t believe that Census 2018 only records 600, because I know there are more out there somewhere. Ahakoa he iti, he iti māpihi pounamu. [Even though it appears small, it is of great value.] The census noted that only 44 percent of the iwi own their own home, and 27 percent of iwi members earn more than $50,000 per annum. Hopefully—hopefully—this redress set out in the bill and the pending legislation will give you a little bit of ballast and a little bit of kaha to carry out and improve those demographics and improve those statistics.

The kaupapa of Ngāti Hei is set out on your website: “From our tūpuna we have inherited our moana, whenua, and cultural taonga. We will protect and enhance them to build a bright future for Ngāti Hei.” E mihi ana—e mihi ana ki a koutou. Those various aspects of the bill include cultural redress—culturally significant sites being returned, places like Purangi, Tapu Point, and Rangihau; revitalisation funds for cultural purposes—financial redress of $8.5 million with commercial redress enabling the right to purchase part of Whenuakite—actually, I remember some kiwi coming over from Whenuakite Station to Motutapu. Had to give them a bit of aroha, a bit of love, all the way from Whenuakite right into the middle of Tīkapa Moana. And of course, there is the separation of negotiations in the future in relation to Tīkapa Moana and Te Tai Tamāhine / Te Tai Tamawahine.

It is through these types of historic, “herstoric”, and heroic Treaty settlement arrangements that we can help recognise the decades of loss and suffering, regenerate iwi, particularly rural economies like that in Ngāti Hei, and tautoko Ngāti Hei to realise your holistic aspirations with a carefully nurtured relationship reset with the Crown.

Ki a koutou o Ngāti Hei, whāia te iti kahurangi. E kore rawa koutou e tuohu ki tēnei maunga teitei, ākuanei ka tau atu ki te tihi o tēnei maunga. Haere tonu, kawea te mānuka takoto ki tōna ake takotoranga, ki tōna āketanga. E mihi ana ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, e mihi ana ki a koutou.

[To those of you of Ngāti Hei, pursue worthy endeavours. You will never bow to this lofty mountain; soon you will reach the summit of this peak. Go on, take up the challenge lying before you to its destination, to its enduring conclusion. I acknowledge you. Thanks and greetings to you; I acknowledge you.]

Piki ake, kake ake taku manu ki runga o Taupiri. Tō piki, tō haere ki te tihi o Moehau. Māwhiti te titiro ki te pae o Hauraki, te whenua taurikura o ngā mātua tūpuna. Tatū atu te titiro ki Tīkapa Moana, te kāpata kai o te iwi e. Tēnei ka mihi atu rā ki a koutou, ka haere taku manu kei waenganui i a koutou, Ngāti Hei, tairoa te noho ki reira.

Nō reira kei ngā mātua tūpuna, i tēnei wā, e kawea nei e koutou, e Matua Joe, ki roto ki tēnei o ngā whare, e mihi ana ki a rātou ngā tini mate o te tau, o te marama, o nanahi, o te rangi nei, ā, haere, haere, haere atu rā.

Tatū atu rā ki a koutou, tātou e huihui mai nei i tēnei o ngā whare mō tēnei o ngā kaupapa e kawea nei e koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[My bird ascends; it climbs Mount Taupiri—your ascent, your travels to the summit of Moehau. My gaze crosses to the ranges of Hauraki, the luscious land of our forebears. My gaze meets the Hauraki Gulf, the pantry of the people. I greet you all. My bird of welcome goes among you, Ngāti Hei, spending time there.

So to our forebears, at this time, that are brought here by you, by Mr Joe, into this of our houses, I acknowledge our many dearly departed of the year, the month, yesterday, and this very day. Rest in peace.

I come now to you, indeed us, gathered here in this of our houses for this of our initiatives that you have brought here. Thank you all.]

It gives me great pleasure to be able to offer some brief remarks to the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill. We are at the first reading, and much of the substance of this bill will be heard by the select committee in fullness, but I wanted to make a few comments and echo the sentiments of our Treaty settlement Minister, the Hon Andrew Little, to pay homage to those who have gone before and carried the mantle, and have left it with those who are here with us now. In particular, Joe Davis and Peter Johnston, you represent, I think, many years of toil and aspiration and hope that we would get to this point.

In saying that, it’s not an easy thing to go down the pathway of Treaty settlements. There is always the hope and aspiration that justice can be achieved, but the Treaty settlement process is a difficult and fragile one. For those who have the fortitude to pursue a Treaty settlement, they know exactly—exactly—some of the trade-offs and sacrifices that have been made within the Treaty settlement context, and I want to acknowledge that in particular with Ngāti Hei.

For the time that I’ve been a member of Parliament, Matua Joe, there are some things that you’ve brought to the Hauraki sentiment, I guess, or character that really impress upon me what are the things that are held dear, and that is the environment—the taiao. We only need look back over the way in which Ngāti Hei have advocated in favour of the environment, in favour of rāhui—to restore fisheries—and in favour of the right protocols for when we get tohorā that wash up on your shores, or ihe, or whatever, and Ngāti Hei has always been at the forefront of protecting the aspirations of kaitiakitanga in a very real and practical way.

The other element of Ngāti Hei that I’ve observed during my time as a member of Parliament has been the way in which Ngāti Hei has worked constructively within their community. When I’ve been in Opposition, that has been the case, and when we’ve been in Government, that is the case, and I am assured that when that time comes and we may be on different sides of this House, Ngāti Hei’s approach to their community will be absolutely consistent. That is why it gives me great pleasure to speak to this particular settlement, because of the consistency of the way in which Ngāti Hei’s leadership can be relied upon: in favour of the environment, in favour of their community—in favour of every member of their community—and in favour of trying to make their small part of Hauraki a fantastic place to not only live but thrive.

There are elements in this settlement that I think will be looked upon and perhaps even considered: “Well, where are the opportunities?” I know that Māori Affairs Committee members will be looking forward to your presentation as negotiators to identify where those associated opportunities are, because Ngāti Hei’s settlement sits within the context of some collective redress but also some critical relationships that exist across Hauraki which other members in this House are very well aware of.

The component parts of this settlement, especially in relation to overlay classifications and statutory acknowledgments, I think give you a sense. You only need to look at the map of the area of association that Ngāti Hei relates to, but it does give you a sense of the whakapapa connections, the relational connections with other iwi across Hauraki that Ngāti Hei have that have been long standing—long standing—and some of those relationships even extend beyond its own area. For the most part, I’m hopeful that we can progress in a considered way, with respect, acknowledging much of the aspiration that is intended to arise from this settlement, and that the select committee process enables some of the perhaps challenging features or views held about this settlement to be explored and aired, and then we progress on.

He iti, he pounamu tēnei kōrero kia tāpiri atu ki te hiahia o Ngāti Hei kia whakanikoniko i te tāhuhu o tā rātou nei whare kia noho taua whare hei āhuru mōwai mō ngā uri whakatupu. Nō reira koutou, kei Ngāti Hei, tātou katoa e huihui mai nei, tēnā tātou. 

[This statement, though small, is valued, to add to the desire of Ngāti Hei to embellish the apex ridge of their house, in order for that house to be a safe haven for the coming generations. So to you, Ngāti Hei, to all of us assembled here, greetings to us all.]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I wish to join with others from around the debating chamber this afternoon in offering a warm parliamentary welcome to our visitors and our guests from Ngāti Hei, who have travelled a distance that I travel regularly. But it’s a long way and we appreciate you coming again to this place, again to advance a settlement that has been so long in the making—so long in the making—and your patience and your diligence and your forthright, resolute stickability to this process is something that I think we can all be very proud of, but I acknowledge that it has taken too long, far too long.

A little bit of personal history: my whānau arrived at Kūaotunu in the rohe of Ngāti Hei in 1884, my great grandparents, and proceeded to embark upon a lifestyle and raise a family—large families in those days—and quickly started to interact with Ngāti Hei, I’d like to think over the years, over the generations, positively and constructively, but interact they did. And at Wharekaho, a beach sometimes referred to as “Simpson’s beach”, the relationship has been strong and there are still members of my extended family who farm in that area today.

It was only a few weeks ago that I had the opportunity and the privilege to visit the beautiful marae villa site at Wharekaho to discuss matters of issue with Ngāti Hei and others about fishing, about the marine environment and the space and the accessibility, or over-accessibility, of people who want to come and spend time in the beautiful Coromandel, in the rohe of Ngāti Hei, who want to come and spend time there, as they have done for millennia because of the beautiful environment, because of the lovely safe harbours, the beautiful marine environment, and the welcoming of the people.

And so back in—I think it was—August 2017, when the deed of settlement was finally signed here at the Parliament, I had an opportunity to participate in that ceremony with my then colleague, the negotiating Minister Chris Finlayson. That was a moment of great personal pride, but it was pride really for the progress that Ngāti Hei and the people of Ngāti Hei have brought to this longstanding issue over such a challenging period of time.

I want to endorse what others have said about how this negotiation process has been concluded or how it has progressed. And I want to also acknowledge those that have gone before, because many of them who started along this way are no longer with us. And we as descendants of those people have the privilege and honour of attempting to conclude a matter that has taken far too long to get where it is. So to Peter Matai Johnston, welcome to Parliament; to Joe Davis and the rest of the team, welcome. It’s great to have you here on this auspicious occasion, but this is just another step along the way. We’re not quite there yet. We are about to send this piece of special legislation to a select committee where the details of the settlement will be examined closely and where the grievances and issues that have led to the settlement will also be acknowledged and considered again. That will be part of the process.

I can well remember a time when I was a very new MP and the Hon Christopher Finlayson was the Treaty negotiations Minister and visiting again at Wharekaho. And I can’t remember exactly why, but the Minister had for some reason walked on grass or across pasture that was wet and his socks had got wet. It was a winter’s day and the fire was roaring in the wood burner in the whare. And the Minister decided, as was his wont, to dry his socks and he placed his socks on the wrong part of the fireplace and he left the whare with burnt socks but I think a good understanding and a good open relationship. I know that that relationship has endured and I know that he would be very pleased to be participating in this debate if he was here still in this Chamber.

I know that that relationship is firm and strong, but that relationship’s been carried on by his successors and we find ourselves where we are today. And again, because this is such an important part of the wider Treaty settlement negotiations process for the Hauraki area, I’m pleased that we have got past the idea of trying to settle the omnibus process involving the 13 iwi, because that was fraught and it was difficult and it was challenging. So let’s get on with the groups that are ready, the iwi that are ready, and Ngāti Hei are ready to go.

That, I think, is a good thing, because back in 2011, when I was first elected to Parliament, I can remember someone saying to me, “Get ready, Scott; get ready. The Treaty settlement is about to come. You’ve got to get ready.” And then they said, “Well, it’ll be six months.” And then the six months came and they said, “Oh, it’ll be another six months. Just be ready. It’ll be another six months and it’ll be all done—another six months.” And here we are, nearly 12 years on and maybe six months—maybe six months more—we’ll be at least a little bit closer with Ngāti Hei.

So I want to join with others. I’m very much looking forward to this bill progressing through to select committee, where I know it’s going to be scrutinised carefully, where I know the dignity and the mana and the perseverance of Ngāti Hei will be acknowledged and maintained, and then we’ll bring it back for a second reading and then finally a third reading and the legislation will be passed. And I hope that I have the honour and privilege of still being in this House when that occurs, as I know that there will be other members of the Chamber wanting to do exactly the same. Kia kaha! We look forward to progressing this legislation. Thank you.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare, otirā tēnā tātou katoa kei roto i tēnei Whare o tātou i tēnei ahiahi.

He tino hōnore tēnei mōku, te tū ki te tautoko o te pānuitanga tuatahi o tēnei pire mō te whakataunga kerēme a Ngāti Hei. Tēnā koutou ngā uri o Ngāti Hei kei konei, kei roto i te Whare i tēnei ahiahi. Otirā tēnā pea ki a koutou o Ngāti Hei e whakarongo mai ana i tēnei ahiahi i runga i te reo irirangi, te pouaka whakaata.

Tuatahi māku, e te Māngai o te Whare, e tautoko ana ahau i ngā kōrero a te Minita mō ngā whakataunga kerēme, ki te Minita hoki, a Nanaia Mahuta, te mema Pāremata o tērā takiwā, o te Hauraki Waikato. E tautoko ana ahau i ā rātou mihi ki a koutou kei roto i te Whare i tēnei ahiahi, nā koutou i whakapau ō koutou kaha ki te kawe i ngā take Tiriti mō tō koutou iwi.

E tautoko ana hoki ahau i ngā mihi ki ngā kaimahi a te Karauna i mahi ngātahi ki a koutou o te iwi kia whakatau i ēnei kerēme, ēnei take. Nō reira e mihi ana.

[Thank you to the Speaker—indeed, greetings to all of us in this House of ours this afternoon.

This is a real honour for me, to stand and support the first reading of this bill for the settlement claim of Ngāti Hei. Greetings to the descendants of Ngāti Hei that are here in the House this afternoon. Indeed to those of Ngāti Hei who may be listening this afternoon on the radio or television.

Firstly for me, I support the statements of the Minister for settlement claims, and also to the Minister, Nanaia Mahuta, member of Parliament of that electorate, of Hauraki Waikato. I support their acknowledgments of those of you who are in the House this afternoon, those of you who expended your energy to bring these Treaty matters for your people.

I also support the acknowledgments made to the staff of the Crown who worked together with you of the iwi to settle these claims and these matters. So I thank you.]

It’s my absolute honour and privilege to speak in the House this afternoon on the first reading of the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill. In my mihi, I just wanted to acknowledge all of those descendants of Ngāti Hei who are here today but also those that may be tuning in, may be listening online as well, to this really important part of the process.

This is a milestone getting to the first reading of the settlement legislation. I wanted to acknowledge Minister Little and Minister Mahuta, who both spoke before me, and all of the acknowledgments that they made to those who were both on the iwi side and on the Crown side who have been involved in this mahi; just to repeat to the negotiators from Ngāti Hei, to Peter and to Joe, and also those Crown negotiators, Michael Dreaver and Rick Barker; and I want to acknowledge the former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations as well, Minister Finlayson. As the member Scott Simpson was just reciting the story, I could just imagine Minister Finlayson trying to dry his socks on the fire, and Ginny and I were laughing over here on this side, having had some experience with Minister Finlayson myself before coming into Parliament.

I was reflecting on Minister Little’s speech about the length of time that this has taken and some of the reasons for that, but also the ability to make progress when departing from that omnibus approach and being able to get it to where it is today. I just want to acknowledge that it was first signed in 2017 and here we are in 2023, finally having its first reading in the House. “Manawaroa” is the word that we use in Te Tai Tokerau for perseverance and patience, and that has very much been the case here.

I want to acknowledge those that will be on the Māori Affairs Committee who are going to be receiving this bill and hearing submissions about it and the mahi that they will do. I have had the privilege of sitting on that committee in the past, and I know that they put a lot of effort into hearing the submissions, often visiting the rohe these settlements relate to. So I know that they will do a very good job on behalf of us all here in Parliament.

I believe that other members have already outlined the main parts of the redress that are in the settlement. There is the apology. There is the financial redress and commercial redress as well as cultural redress, which has been traversed by other members, so I won’t repeat that for you this afternoon. And, given that it’s been since 2017, I won’t prolong it any further either and add to that delay. So with that, Mr Speaker, e tautoko ana ahau i tēnei pire pau te kaha. [I support this bill with all my strength.]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to stand on behalf of ACT and support the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill for the first reading. It’s a real honour to be standing here and speaking to this. I don’t know much about Treaty settlements in detail and the processes that get us to this place, but what I do know is that it’s taken far too long. And what I do hear is that there is a lot of pain and anguish when some of these settlements, from beginning to end—we’ve lost people during that time frame, and I’d like to acknowledge those who have passed before these settlements have come into play because I think that’s really important. We’ve got descendants from Ngāti Hei that may be here or may be watching today, and I’d just like to acknowledge those who have passed and who will not see this come into fruition.

That saddens me, that this process takes so long to get where we are today, and so I’m grateful that we’ve got here today, and I’m grateful that some of the wrongs of the past are being addressed in this House. I think it’s important that we do address wrongs of the past, and that we do make sure that an apology does happen for those wrongs, but also some kind of compensation for those wrongs of the past as well. So as part of this, as people have mentioned before, there will be properties of cultural significance that will be dealt with. This is a collective agreement and there’s more to come.

So I take my hat off to the Māori Affairs Committee, because it can’t be easy listening to some of the Ngāti Hei and other iwis’ stories about what it’s taken to get to this place. So thank you to those who sit on the Māori Affairs Committee for taking this on and making sure that this is done appropriately and properly for all those involved. ACT supports this through to the select committee process, and we hope to see it back before the House and passed as quickly as we possibly can. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Tēnā koe e te Pīka. E tū ake tēnei hei mema mō ngā Kākāriki ki te whakaatu i ō mātou whakaaro ki tēnei o ngā pire.

Heoi ko taku mihi tuatahi ki a koutou, Ngāti Hei, koutou i tae ā-tinana mai, otirā ki a koutou e whakarongo ana ki runga i ngā reo irirangi, te pouaka whakaata rānei, tēnei ka mihi atu.

Ko au anō tētahi o ngā mema o te Komiti Whiringa Take Māori, nō reira kei te haere mai tēnei pire ki a mātou ki te wānanga, ki te wetewete i ngā kōrero.

E te Pīka, i ētahi wā he tino waimārie mātou ki te haere ki te marae ki te whakarongo ki te hau kāinga. Heoi i mua i te taenga atu ko te mea nui me rangahau he aha ngā tātai whakapapa, he aha ngā kaupapa i reira i te mea kāore anō ahau kia tae atu ki waenganui i a Ngāti Hei, ki roto i ō rātou nei marae nō reira i āta wānangahia ētahi o ngā whakaaro.

Nō reira e mihi ana tēnei ki ō rātou nei hononga ki tērā tipuna o tātou, ki a Pūkenga, nā āna mahi i tau te ingoa ki runga i te Whitianga a Kupe, nō reira me mihi atu au ki tērā o ngā tino tīpuna o tātou, otirā ki ō rātou nei hononga ki a Te Arawa waka.

E ai ki te kōrero i tau te waka ki ētahi wāhi kei Moehau, ka whakaingoatia ētahi wāhi tae atu ki te maunga o Moehau. Ko tōna ingoa whānui ko Te MoengahauoTamatekapua. E ai ki ngā kōrero ko Hei, ko ia te matua kēkē o Tamatekapua, tāku nei i pānuihia ki runga i Te Ara, the online encyclopaedia. Nō reira ka mihi atu ki tērā tipuna o koutou, i puta mai tērā ingoa ko Te Whanga-a-Hei.

E te Pīka, i a au e pānui ana i te taunakitanga o tēnei pire, i kite i te nui o ngā raru i tukuna e te Karauna ki a Ngāti Hei. I puta mai ētahi o ngā matapaki kōrero, ngā horopaki o ngā kamupene poro rākau i haere atu ki tō rātou nei wāhi, ā-rīhi nei. Ētahi wāhi i haere mai anō te Karauna, i rūkahu atu ki te tangata whenua, kātahi ka riro atu te whenua.

E te Pīka, kua roa tonu te noho a te ūmanga tangotango rawa i te rohe o Ngāti Hei, mai i te poro rākau, te kerikeri kāpia, te mira harakeke, te keri koura me te mahi hiika anō hoki. Pakupaku noa iho ngā painga wā roa i riro i a Ngāti Hei mai i ēnei ūmanga, ā, e pāngia tonutia ana rātou ki te mamae mō te tūkinotanga o te taiao o tō rātou nei rohe.

Koinei ngā wānanga kōrero ka haramai, ki ōku nei whakaaro, ki te Komiti Whiringa Take Māori kia areare mātou ngā taringa kia tino rangona he aha te aha, he aha ngā hītori, ngā kōrero tuku iho o Ngāti Hei, ki a mātou o te komiti.

Hei tauira i kite au ki roto i te pire, i te mea he maha ngā tauira engari ko tētahi i tino hāngai ōku nei karu, i te tau 1885 ka uru ngā tāngata o Ngāti Hei nō rātou a Kūaotunu, ki roto i tētahi whakaritenga ā-rīhi me tētahi kamupene poro rākau, he kaupapa i rangona e au ki roto i taku pānuitanga i te pire. Ki tā te hunga nō rātou te whenua, i tuku te rīhi i te mana poro rākau anahe, heoi anō hei tā rātou anō hoki, i āta mahi tinihanga te kamupene ki a rātou mō ngā whakaritenga o ngā rihi. Tae atu ki te kōti, ahakoa kāore tēnei rīhi i tino āmene mai te ture, i haramai te Karauna ki te hoko i te whenua engari he raru anō tērā.

I kite ki roto i tāku nei pānuitanga o tēnei pire ki a Ngāti Hei, otirā ngā whakatau kerēme i tae mai ki mua i te aroaro o te Komiti Whiringa Take Māori, i pērā anō ngā kōrero me ngā raru, ngā tūkinotanga o te Public Works Act. Nō reira me mihi au ki tō koutou nei tipuna, te tipuna i pānui au ki roto i ngā tuhinga o te pire, i a Ngāwhira Tainui. E ai ki te kōrero i te tau 1923 i tuhi reta ia ki te Karauna mō tētahi ruritanga ki te motu o Ahuahu, kia āhei a ia ki te whakatakoto kerēme ā-taitara ki te Kōti Whenua Māori. Heoi anō nā te takaroa o te Karauna, i tāhae i raro i te Ture Hangahanga Tūmatanui, arā te Public Works Act.

Anei anō tērā kōrero i rangona e ngā taringa o te Māori, ngā tūkino a te Public Works Act ki wiwī, ki wawā, puta noa i te motu, nā tērā taputapu i tāhae ngā whenua. Nō reira nōku anō te aroha ki a Ngāti Hei i tae tēnei tūkinotanga ki runga i a koutou.

I pērā ānō ngā hē i tae atu ki Ahuahu. I kite au kua hokona e te Karauna, e ai ki ōna whakatau, e ai ki ōna whakapae, i Ahuahu engari kāore i te kōrero ki a Ngāti Hei. Nō reira kua kore tō rātou nei mau ki tō rātou nei whenua ki Ahuahu.

Heoi kei roto i te pire ērā atu o ngā tauira e pā ana ki te raupatutanga ā-ture nei e pā ana ki a rātou o Ngāti Hei. Nō reira ko mātou ngā taringa areare ki tēnei o ngā kōrero.

Heoi ko ngā whakaaro o mātou, ngā Kākāriki, ko te taha o te oranga ka taea e te iwi te tuku iho ngā kōrero, kia tuhia ngā hītori hei whāngai atu ki ā rātou tamariki, ā rātou nei mokopuna. Ko tētahi o ngā kōrero i kite au ki roto i tēnei pire e pā ana ki te ngarohanga o te mātauranga Māori, te ngarohanga o te reo Māori, te ngarohanga o ngā ahurea o te Māori. Me te mōhio anō ko tēnei mea te mātauranga Māori ko tētahi wāhanga anō kia pēhea tātou e hāpai ana i a tātou ki roto i te horopaki o ngā pōraru o te āhuarangi. Ko mātou anō ngā Kākāriki i kite i te oranga o te painga o tērā.

Nō reira me mihi atu ki ngā kaiwhakarite o tēnei pire kia kuhu ērā kupu ki roto i te mea me hoki anō tātou ki ērā o ngā whakaaro o ō tātou nei mātua tīpuna; te piringa o te tangata ki te whenua, tērā te take i mea atu he “tangata whenua” tātou. Kia mōhio mai tātou mēnā ka hoki anō tātou ki ngā whakaaro o ngā mātua tīpuna, kāore tērā raru o te taiao e pā ki a tātou, arā ngā pōraru o te āhuarangi, te matemate haere o te koiora ki roto i te moana. Nō reira, Ngāti Hei, ka mihi.

Ko te mea anō, ki tō mātou nei whakaaro, o ngā Kākāriki, ko tēnei mea te Tiriti o Waitangi ehara i te kirimana noa, ehara i te kirimana noa mō te tauhokohoko rawa, tauhokohoko whenua; he kawenata. He kawenata me hāpai atu i a tātou hei tūāpapa mō tātou katoa e noho ana ki Aotearoa nei. Nō reira me mātua mōhio mai tātou ki tērā o ngā whakaaro. Mā runga i tērā ka taea e tātou te koke, te koke ki mua i runga i te Tiriti o Waitangi hei tūāpapa mō tō tātou nei Whare.

Me mihi atu ki ngā mātua, ki ngā pakeke i whakapau werawera ki runga i te ara, ki runga i te haerenga kia tae tēnei pire ki tēnei o ngā wāhi. I rongo au i ngā kōrero a ngā mema puta noa i te Whare, me te mea atu kua roa te wā e hāereere ana tēnei pire ki tēnei o ngā wāhi.

Nō reira e mihi ana ki a rātou mā kua wehe atu, mihi atu ki ngā ringa raupā e hāpai tonu ana i ngā mahi. Heoi kei te mihi atu anō hoki ki te hunga i kaha ki te whakamahi i te mahi tae noa ki tōna tino otinga.

Nō reira ko ēnei whakatau kerēme he wāhi anō kia kōrero i te kōrero, kia whai wāhi anō tātou ki a tātou, me te mōhio anō ko tēnei mea ngā tukanga o te whakatau kerēme ehara i te māmā, he uaua. I au e kite ki roto i ēnei momo pire e haramai ki te Komiti Whiringa Take Māori, ētahi wā i taupatupatu te tuakana me te teina, te māmā me te tuahine me te tūngāne. Heoi ko te mea nui me hoki anō tātou ki te aroha o te tangata ki tōna whenua, otirā ki tōna hapūtanga, ki tōna iwitanga, ki tōna takiwā anō hoki.

Nō reira e te Pīka, heoi anō tēnei o ngā pāti, te Paati Kākāriki, e mihi ana ki a koutou Ngāti Hei, e whakarongo ana ā-pouaka whakaata nei, ā-reo irirangi nei, ā-tinana nei ki tēnei o ngā Whare. Tēnā koe, otirā tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. I stand as a member for the Greens to express our opinions on this bill.

However my first greeting is to you, Ngāti Hei, those of you who arrived here in person, indeed those of you who are listening on the radio or on television, I acknowledge you.

I am one of the members of the Māori Affairs Committee, so this bill is coming to us to consider, and to analyse the statements.

Mr Speaker, sometimes we are very lucky to go to the marae to listen to the home people. However, before we get there, the most important thing is to research what the genealogical links are, what are the initiatives happening there because I haven’t yet been among Ngāti Hei, within their marae, so I really studied some of the concepts.

So I acknowledge their connections to that one of our ancestors, to Pūkenga, it was because of his actions that the name Whitianga a Kupe was given, so I acknowledge that one of our illustrious ancestors, indeed to their connections to the Te Arawa confederation.

According to the history, the canoe landed at some of the places around Moehau, and names some of those places including the mountain, Moehau. Its full name is Te Moengahau-o-Tamatekapua. According to the histories, it was Hei, he is an uncle to Tamatekapua, according to what I read on Te Ara, the online encyclopaedia. So I acknowledge that ancestor of yours, whose name was given to Te Whanga-a-Hei.

Mr Speaker, as I was reading the evidence of this bill, I perceived a lot of issues that the Crown caused Ngāti Hei. Some of the discussion, the context of the forestry companies that went into their place on a lease. Some of those places the Crown also came, and lied to the people of the land, and then the land was lost.

Mr Speaker, the resource exploitation sector has long been present in the traditional lands of Ngāti Hei, from forestry to gum digging, flax milling, gold mining and also fisheries activities. The long-term benefits for Ngāti Hei that come from these companies have been minimal, and they are still being afflicted by the anguish of the mistreatment of the environment of their area.

This is one of the discussions that will come, I believe, to the Māori Affairs Committee where our ears will be wide open to really hear what is what, what are the histories, the traditional knowledge of Ngāti Hei, to those of us on the committee.

For example I saw in the bill, because there are many examples but one of them that really caught my eye, in 1885 the people of Ngāti Hei who owned Kūaotunu entered into a lease agreement with a forestry company, an initiative I heard about in my reading of the bill. According to the people who own the land, the lease gave the authority for forestry activities only, but according to them, the company truly deceived them with respect to the arrangements of the lease. It got to court, even though this lease wasn’t really supported the legislation, the Crown came and bought the land but that is another issue altogether.

I saw in my reading of this bill that Ngāti Hei, indeed the claims settlement came before the Māori Affairs Committee, and they were the same stories and the same problems, the abuses of the Public Works Act. So I acknowledge your ancestor, the ancestor I read about in the documentation of this bill, Ngāwhira Tainui. According to the history, in 1923, he wrote a letter to the Crown about the surveying of the island of Ahuahu, so that he would be able to submit a title claim to the Māori Land Court. However, because of the Crown’s delays, it was stolen under the Public Works Act.

This is again the statement that was heard by the ears of the Māori, the abuses of the Public Works Act here, there and everywhere, all around the country, it was that tool that misappropriated the lands. So I again have compassion for Ngāti Hei that these abuses were visited upon you.

The harm that happened on Great Mercury Island was similar. I saw that Ahuahu was purchased by the Crown, according to its decisions and its assertions, but they did not discuss it with Ngāti Hei. So they weren’t able to hold onto their lands at Great Mercury Island.

However, there are other examples in the bill with respect to statutory confiscation that affected them, Ngāti Hei. So we are the ones with open ears to these particular statements.

However, our opinion, the Greens, with respect to wellbeing, the iwi is able to pass on their narratives, to write the histories to teach to their children and to their grandchildren. Some of the narratives that I saw within this bill were about the loss of traditional Māori knowledge, the loss of the Māori language, the loss of the culture of the Māori people. And we are cognisant that this thing, mātauranga Māori, is one part of how we can uplift ourselves within the context of climate issues. It is us again, the Greens, that saw wellbeing in the benefits of that.

So the drafters of this bill should be acknowledged, for including those words because we should return to those concepts of our forebears; the relationship of humanity with the land, that’s the reason we are called “people of the land”. We must be aware that if we return to the concepts of the forebears, that particular environmental issue will not affect us, ie climate issues, the demise of biodiversity within the ocean. So, Ngāti Hei, I acknowledge you.

Another thing, in our opinion, the Greens, is that this thing, the Treaty of Waitangi, is not merely a contract, it is not merely a contract for the trade of resources, the purchase of land; it is a covenant. It is a covenant we should uphold as a basis for all of us that live here in Aotearoa. So we must first be aware of that particular idea. It is via that that we will be able to progress, to advance on the back of the Treaty of Waitangi as a foundation for our House.

The parents and elders should be acknowledged for the sweat they expended on the path, on the journey to get this bill to this place. I heard the statements of the members all across the House, and they said that this bill has been going through this place for a long time.

So I acknowledge those who have passed on, I acknowledge those who worked hard to support all the work. However, I also acknowledge those who worked hard to bring all the work to its final conclusion.

So these claims settlements are another place to make the statements, for us to be together, and also to understand that the processes of the claims settlements are not easy, they are difficult. As I saw these types of bill coming to the Māori Affairs Committee, sometimes older siblings are fighting with younger ones, mothers with sisters and brothers. However the most important thing is that we come back to compassion of humanity to its land, indeed to its sub-tribal and tribal associations, and to their regions too.

So Mr Speaker, this one of the parties, the Green Party, acknowledge you Ngāti Hei, who are listening on television, on the radio, and in person to this House of ours. Thank you, indeed thank all of you.]

Whakataka te hau ki te uru, whakataka te hau ki te tonga. Kia mākinakina ki uta, kia mātaratara ki tai. E h ī ake ana te atakura. He tio, he huka, he hauhū. Tihei Mauri Ora!

E ngā whanaunga o te Arawa waka, anei tētahi o ngā uri o te waka e mihi atu nei ki a koutou, kotou ngā kaitiaki o tō tātou nei tūpuna a Tamatekapua i roto i te maunga Moehau. Waiaua ki te Rāwhiti e mihi atu nei ki a koutou.

[Cease oh winds of the west and of the south. Let the bracing breezes flow, over the land and the sea. Let the red-tipped dawn come with a sharpened edge, a touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day!

Our kin from the Arawa canoe, here is a descendant of the canoe acknowledging you all, you all the guardians of our ancestor Tamatekapua at the sacred Moehau mountain. Waiaua to the east, greetings to you all.]

This is a big day, as we’ve heard from previous speakers. A big day for Ngāti Hei, who started this journey quite some time ago. This is their time to shine, and I want to, if anything, just relay the sentiment that it has been a long journey. To Ngāti Hei that are in the room, to Ngāti Hei that are listening from afar, we acknowledge you and we acknowledge the journey that it’s taken to get you here.

For me, as a geek of New Zealand history—a self-professed geek, as well—I want to take this opportunity to be able to tell the historical story of Ngāti Hei. This is something that sits within their deed, but it’s actually something that takes a lot of detail—to be able to get your historians into the same room, your kuia, your kaumātua, to be able to get those stories down on paper is a really big thing. So I want to take an opportunity to read some of that historical account so that people out there that are listening, trying to sympathise with the plight of Ngāti Hei, to actually truly understand the hard journey that it’s taken to even still be alive today. To be able to sit here in this House and talk about their Treaty settlement is a feat of nature unto itself. At the last census they identified that only 650 identified as Ngāti Hei. That means that the actions of the Crown which have sought to marginalise Ngāti Hei and wipe them off the face of this planet nearly happened—it actually nearly happened. So I want to start in the historical account and I want the House to know that as this goes through the House, I hope that we continue to tell their story, their account, their acknowledgments, and, eventually, that sweetness of being able to hear the Crown apology back home, back on their whenua.

In 1836 and 1837, a timber trader made agreements with Ngāti Hei rangatira over lands on either side of the Ounuora River. In 1839, another trader negotiated a land transaction for an area around Tairua. Both claims were investigated by the Land Claims Commission. There were anomalies in the evidence presented to the commissions. The boundaries of the transactions and the goods given in payment to Māori were sometimes unclear. After accepting the commissioners’ recommendations, the Crown awarded almost 7,000 acres of land in which Ngāti Hei had interests to European claimants. As a result, Ngāti Hei lost much of their coastal whenua.

Between 1858 and 1865, the Crown purchased Ahuahu, otherwise known as Great Mercury Island, from other Hauraki iwi. That’s right, not Ngāti Hei—other Hauraki iwi. There is no evidence that Ngāti Hei were consulted about this purchase or that they received payment for their customary interests in this land.

Between 1859 and 1865, the Crown bought over 20,000 acres of land in the Ngāti Hei rohe. The Crown did not provide reserves for Ngāti Hei, nor did it require any assessment as to whether Ngāti Hei retained adequate land for their needs. Between 1870 and 1890, 15 large blocks with 1,000 acres or more, totalling over 93,000 acres, were permanently alienated from Ngāti Hei. The Crown purchased 12 of those blocks, which amounted to over 81,000 acres in total.

In 1885, the Ngāti Hei owners of Kūaotunu 3 entered into a lease arrangement with a timber felling company. The owners considered that the lease gave the company only the right to harvest timber. The owners claimed that the company had deliberately misled them over the contents of this lease, which included rights to land. The timber company took its case to the Validation Court in 1895. Ngāti Hei incurred considerable costs attending the court hearing in Auckland. The court rejected the timber company’s case. At the same time, the Crown was in the process of purchasing interests in Kūaotunu 3. The Crown refused to give Ngāti Hei a reserve at Te Whauwhau, partly on the basis that there had been no reserve granted in the lease, despite the lease having no legal standing.

There has been a history of extractive industry in the Ngāti Hei rohe, including kauri logging, kauri gum digging, flax milling, gold mining, and fishing. Ngāti Hei have derived little long-term benefit from these industries and the damage done to the environment in their rohe is a source of grievance for them.

In 1923, Ngawhira Tanui of Ngāti Hei wrote to the Crown to ask for a survey of Ohinau Island for the purpose of taking her claims for ownership to the Native Land Court. The Crown reacted by delaying the Native Land Court hearings while it surveyed the island and then took it under the Public Works Act of 1908. Although the Crown needed only a small part of that land for a lighthouse, it acquired the whole 72-acre island.

By the end of the 20th century, Ngāti Hei were virtually landless. The resulting marginalisation of Ngāti Hei, including loss of te reo Māori, educational underachievement, sickness, and socio-economic deprivation, caused the iwi much suffering. The Crown’s discouragement of te reo Māori, along with the fragmentation of Ngāti Hei tribal structures and the migration from ancestral lands, severely impacted Ngāti Hei’s ability to pass mātauranga Māori on to their mokopuna.

That there is the summary of the historical account. I hope that people here in this House, fellow colleagues, parliamentarians, but also those people that are listening to this and will continue to listen to this into the future, I hope they understand the depth of this historical account. I hope that they understand that when you alienate a people from their land, as the Crown has done over a very long time now, it serves to displace the people that originally inhabited those lands.

I look forward to progressing this through to the Māori Affairs Committee in what little time we’ve got left of this Parliament. I look forward to Ngāti Hei being able to tell their story in their own authentic way. I look forward to hearing from other iwi who believe that they may be impacted by this settlement. I look forward to that whole process. This is the moment where we pull the bandage off and we have a look at the hakihaki underneath and we try and chart a pathway forward. It’s going to be maybe a bit triggering for some of the remaining members of Ngāti Hei to be able to hear these stories, but it needs to be done for them to be able to get to the point where they hear a Government apology out of the mouth of our Minister Andrew Little, the current Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations—I acknowledge him for bringing this to the House—but also for them to be able to move forward and seize the future opportunities. And while it might sound good to those people that look at what the redress looks like, we in this House know that it will never ever account for the injustice that happened through structures that this Parliament, this Crown, put in place to absolutely marginalise and wipe out these people. It will never ever compensate for that.

But I acknowledge, again, Ngāti Hei for their perseverance in going through this process that the Crown marginalised them out of in the first place and that the Crown’s trying to do and trying to fix it up so that we can move forward together with opportunities. And can I say that there are some opportunities in there, co-governance opportunities, as well, for the iwi to have to work with local councils back home in the Coromandel, and that may be very triggering and very scary for some members of the community out there. But I’m a firm believer that when you have historical grievance like this, the only way forward is together, and I acknowledge Ngāti Hei for even wanting to continue to go on this journey with the Crown, who were the ones that actually perpetrated the injustice in the first place.

I acknowledge you. I wish you well on your journey going forward. I wish you well on conversations around what co-governance looks like. You are truly heroes in this equation, in this kaupapa. And I acknowledge all of those that have passed on in recent years, because they haven’t been able to be here today to be part of this journey.

Nō reira huri huri noa i tēnei Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. Mauri ora ki a tātou katoa.

[And so, to all four corners of this House, thank you once, thank you twice. And may the force be with us all.]

Kia ora. Our next call is a split call. I call on Sam Uffindell for five minutes.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I just want to acknowledge everyone from Ngāti Hei up in the audience today; welcome here to our Parliament. It’s fantastic to have you here in attendance for what I’m sure is an incredibly historic day for you as you progress here, so well done, and thank you very much for being here. I won’t speak with the eloquence of Tāmati, who is just leaving the Chamber, but I recognise what he has said, and I saw a lot of nodding when he was speaking, so I’m sure a lot of what he said meant a lot to you.

The purpose of this is the final settlement of the historic Treaty claims of Ngāti Hei, resulting from acts or omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992. It includes an agreed historical account, Crown acknowledgments, apology, cultural redress, and financial and commercial redress as well. And I know the part of the country where you hail from—your rohe—I spent a lot of time up there as a child, and it is absolutely spectacular, so you’re very fortunate to be able to call that your home; it is a beautiful, beautiful part of New Zealand.

I note here that as we move forward, there is a fair bit of redress and it may not compensate for what was taken from you back in the 19th century, but I hope through the settlement process that there is a chance for everyone to move forward. And I also hope that through the lands that you receive or the minerals that are contained in them, there is the opportunity there for you to create significant economic benefits for yourself, for your children, for your families and whānau, because it is a beautiful and rich area of New Zealand and there is indeed enormous opportunities in there. So I’m sure you will take them up with both hands and do a fantastic job for future generations. The National Party supports this bill.

Tēnā tātou, tēnā tātou e te Whare. Otirā tēnā koutou, e hika mā. Tēnā koutou kua haramai ā-tinana nei ki tēnei Whare i runga i te āhuatanga o tēnei kaupapa. Ka roa nei koutou e whawhai nei.

Ngā uri o Hei, tēnā koutou. Karanga mai ki tēnei uri o Houmaitawhiti, o Tamatekapua, heke iho, heke iho, heke iho. He uri anō hoki tēnei nō Paikea Ariki i ū rā ki Ahuahu, ka moea a Te Āhuru-moa-i-raka, arā koia anō hoki he honohonotanga i waenga i a tātou. Ngā mihi nui anō hoki, ka tangi tonu ki a rātou kāre i konei i tēnei wā: ngā pakeke, ō koutou tīpuna ka roa nei i roto i te āhuatanga o Ngāti Hei e whawhai nei mō ō koutou whenua, mō tō koutou mana motuhake, mō tō koutou rangatiratanga. Nei rā Te Paati Māori e mihi nei ki a koutou i tēnei rā.

[Greetings to us all, greetings to us all, to the House. Indeed greetings to you, my friends. Thanks to you who have come here in person to this House under the auspices of this initiative. You have been fighting for a long time.

The descendants of Hei, greetings. Call in, welcome, to this descendant of Houmaitawhiti, of Tamatekapua, and on down through the generations. I am also a descendant of Paikea Ariki who landed at Great Mercury Island and married Te Āhuru-moa-i-raka, and that again is another connection between us.]

Ngāti Hei has a profound history. On 12 November 1769, the first written account of a pō’hiri between Māori and Pākehā occurred when Captain Cook was invited to Wharetaewa Pā at Wharekaho in Whitianga. He spent 12 days at Te Whanganui a Hei, measuring the transit of Mercury across the sun, trading, and resupplying his ship. But within 50 years of his arrival, Ngāti Hei numbers would be decimated to less than 100. Ngāti Hei would lose their land, their language, their culture.

Te Paati Māori does not accept that settlements are full and final; we’ve said that in the past and we say that today. Our trauma does not lie in the past. Inequality, poverty, the desecration of Papatūānuku, and the separation of whānau and whakapapa is happening in the present and will continue to be our future if we continue down this track. We also know, too well, the divide and conquer tactics of the Crown, the ignoring and sidelining of whānau, and attempting to pit each other against each other. That is not our tikanga. Ehara nā tātou tērā tū āhuatanga. [That phenomenon is not ours.]

That comes from a Crown process that we have to try and navigate our way through. It’s difficult; it’s difficult for this claim and it’s difficult for other claims. Divisions that are engineered by the Crown negotiation policies like large natural groupings and the fiscal envelope that was based on the monetary stipulations in 1991—it’s now 2023, but they continue to use the same fiscal envelope that was in 1991-1992.

The settlement, as others have also done, includes a particular insulting practice of vesting properties—just give it all back.

Koina te kōrero: whakahokia atu. I riro whenua atu; hoki whenua mai. Me pērā pea taku kōrero.

[That’s the assertion: return it. Land was taken; land returned. Perhaps that should be my statement.]

Never mind all this other rubbish. I can’t wait to go to the select committee and have that discussion, because it is unjust, it is dishonourable, and that is what this Crown is—always has been, always will be. These types of practices—the honouring of the Tiriti o Waitangi say, “Te Tiriti o Waitangi is not for settling”. Āe, it is not for settling; it’s for honouring. Koina te mahi. [That’s the job.]

Honour Te Tiriti, not settle Te Tiriti. And that’s a message to everybody in this House: we didn’t sign that Treaty for you to settle it, we signed that Treaty for you to honour it. So it’s now time to honour it, and ensure that we don’t just get 1 percent of our due. Where’s the 99 percent? So full and final settlement must never ever be something that we settle for, because our mokopuna must be around to fight for the other 99 percent.

Koinei te kōrero ki a tātou, e hika mā; koinei te tū a Te Paati Māori.

[This is what I have to say to us all, my friends; this is the position of Te Paati Māori.]

Our mana motuhake policy ensures that the Treaty settlement process is not full and final; ensures that everybody gets relativity as Ngāi Tahu and Waikato did, because it’s about mana ōrite; ensures that we don’t just get 1 percent, and that our mokopuna are there to fight for the other 99 percent. These are the roadblocks that the Crown puts in front of us; these are the injustices. I can’t wait to have this argument within the select committee because I have the honour of sitting on that committee to ensure that our voice is heard on that particular space.

E Ngāti Hei, kua pau te waho ki a au, engari nei rā te mihi atu ki a koutou, ki a koutou ka roa nei e whawhai nei ki tēnei kaupapa. Anei rā, i runga i te ara whanaunga, e mihi nei, e tangi nei, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Ngāti Hei, my time has run out, but I’d like to acknowledge you, you who have been fighting this fight for a long time. Here, on the path of kinship, I acknowledge you, I grieve with you, thanks to you all.]

E mihi ana ki a koutou kua tau mai nei i runga i te karanga o te kaupapa o te ra, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Greetings to you all who have arrived here today for the purpose of this matter, thank you once, thank you twice, and thank you thrice.]

It is moments like these that I do see hope in this House. I also see the challenge and hear the frustration from my colleague across the floor, Rawiri Waititi, who just spoke. Who am I to speak on this? And I do often question myself. Take my words lightly; take them on or let them go, because they are mere words today in this House.

I want to acknowledge Ngāti Hei, to acknowledge the ancestors of Ngāti Hei, who have gone before you, both long before, recently, and even today. For those of you who are here in this place or are here at this time, I acknowledge you and the work—the mahi—you have done to get us here today.

As has been mentioned, I want to acknowledge the previous Minister, the Hon Chris Finlayson, and the current Minister, the Hon Andrew Little, who comes from a place that I come from, from Taranaki. I am an MP who now lives in a region that has gone through this process, and all eight iwi have come to a place of settlement. But I hope that this is a place of hope in a future, and I do hold those words “full and final” lightly, because I see it as being about a place of launching to what the future can be—the past that shouldn’t have been, but a future that is to be—and it is one that is prosperous, it is one that is inclusive, and it is one that will see future generations grow and thrive.

So I want to acknowledge those who are to come from Ngāti Hei; to acknowledge your tamariki, your rangatahi, your pēpē; to acknowledge those who won’t be born for generations but who, I hope, when they are born on to this whenua, on to your whenua, in generations to come, will see this day not as the process into a full and final settlement but as a process around reclaiming the mana of your people—a time of re-empowering, of enabling, of enlivening your story, your whakapapa, your ancestors, and those to come.

I hope that your generations who are to come will look back at this time and will learn from what has been. We talk about the wrongs of the past, and we talk about the historic nature of hundreds of years that have gone on and what pain we in this building have caused, but that is still something that exists today and something that we as a Government, that we as a House of Representatives, need to lean into to ensure that, yes, we have done wrong, but there are still things going on today that we must address, that I must address as Pākehā, as someone who has had the privilege of living on your whenua.

This is about breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, but this is about the future and how we can move forward together. And, no, we can’t right what has been wronged, but we need to acknowledge it, and my people and I need to learn and to step on to that bridge, and cross that bridge that is around partnership, that is around friendship, that is around honouring something that we signed, that my people signed more than 180 years ago.

I support this and I acknowledge the people of Ngāti Hei and I commend this to the House. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. First, my acknowledgment to Ngāti Hei and your negotiators that have come here today and the work that you’ve gone through on behalf of your people over many years. It takes a lot to get to that stage where people agree to have that negotiation and it takes a lot to get to the stage where you actually get to a negotiated settlement. So we pay tribute to you for your leadership, for your whānau going forward, and also to the negotiators from the Crown for the work that they did as well. So thank you and it’s an honour for us in this House to be here with you today.

As you can hear, there are some people that have a great understanding of the history and the communities involved, and there are some people that have less of an understanding but a willingness to see a solution that is enduring going forward. There are many points of view, whether it is an enduring solution or there’s more work to be done, and those things will not be sorted in this room here today. They are things that will develop over time, I’m sure, as this country develops in the future. But then, in total, you have the support of this House for this settlement and for the start that it gives and the redress and the apology that it starts the process of healing around.

We’ve heard a couple of speakers that have gone through the deed of settlement and talked about some of the history around that land. As a farmer, your family’s first, but farming the land’s second. You just can’t fathom the pain that would be involved in some of the actions that have been taken, the losses that have been incurred, not only for your iwi but around the country. It is actually something that is amazing to see that we actually get to this stage after what’s actually happened. But in saying that, we’ve got to move on and this is part of that process. To see the settlement there gives a starting point, I guess, for Ngāti Hei going forward.

When we look at the area, I can’t say I have too much relationship with the eastern Coromandel. It’s a long way away from Hamilton in some ways, even though many Hamiltonians spend more time there than I do. But it is a wonderful part of our country, and no redress can ever give back for what that land and those communities and the physical attributes of that area actually mean to Ngāti Hei. The compensation in here of $8.5 million is really broken down into a share of a station, effectively, and that is a starting point, I guess, to enable greater development there. A house in that area can sell for $8.5 million—that’s the reality of what has actually happened in that area over that period of time.

So it will never compensate, I’m sure. And there’s another settlement—the Hauraki settlement—that you will be part of that may be part of that agenda as well. But I guess when Tama Potaka told about the 600 people and many not having their own home, many on low incomes, there’s a lot of work to be done there to build that community up to a position where there is that independence. And that, I guess, is what everybody in this room wishes to see for all our people is to be able to run and live independent lives where they are able to make their own future. So in no way will this ever compensate for what has been lost, but we acknowledge the spirit of Ngāti Hei, the way you’ve come and made this starting process, and we look forward to the progress that you will make in the future as future generations continue to build and work on what your legacy is that you’ve set today. It is not finished—the job is not finished for you. It will continue, but I’m sure that over time you will get the benefits of that, and we thank you for the ability for us to be part of that journey for you. Thank you.

Tēnā koe, Madam Whakawā. Whai korōria, hareruia ki a Ihowa o ngā mano, te Matua, Tama, Wairua Tapu me ngā anahera pono me te Māngai. Tatū ki ngā tūākana wairua, Ārepa, Ōmeka, Piriwiritua, Hamuera, ko te Māngai kei roto āke, āke tonu atu.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou ngā uri o Ngāti Hei. Mihi ki ngā tūpuna me ngā mate kei runga i a koutou kua tae mai ki tēnei rā, kia mihia, kia tangi’ia i roto i tēnei rā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koutou katoa e ngā kaumātua, kuia, pakeke, rangatahi, tamariki me ngā mokopuna. Kei te harikoa au kua tae mai koutou ki te rongo ki te pānuitanga tuatahi o tō koutou whakaaetanga, whakataunga i roto i tēnei Whare e tū nei.

Otirā tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker. Glory, halleluiah to Jehovah of the multitudes, Father, Son, Holy Spirit and the true angels and the Mouthpiece. To the spiritual seniors, Alpha, Omega, Willie who persevered, Samuel, with the Mouthpiece in forever and ever.

Many thanks to you the descendants of Ngāti Hei. Greetings to the ancestors and the dearly departed upon you who have arrived here today, so that they may be acknowledged and grieved for on this day. Thanks and greetings to all of you.

Greetings to all of you, the patriarchs, matriarchs, elders, young people, children and grandchildren. I am happy that you have arrived to listen to the first reading of your agreement, settlement in this House that stands here.

Indeed, greetings and thanks to all of you.]

It is with peaceful and happy spirits that I acknowledge uri o Ngāti Hei—those who have passed, those today, and those yet to come—and speak on this first reading of your claim.

The vision of Ngāti Hei is aspirational. That is to preserve and enhance what has been handed down to them and for those yet to come. They wish to preserve and share Ngāti Hei’s unique—and it is very unique—history, to retain the lands and their cultural taonga inherited from their tūpuna. This includes holding on to and building up their people’s knowledge of te reo Māori and tikanga. “Whakapapa binds us together.”—that is what I have found on the website of Ngāti Hei.

I acknowledge my own whakapapa. My father died when I was three years old. I was raised by my mother on Te Awa Tupua o Whanganui, of which I place here today a mauri kōhatu given to me by my whānau of the awa to guide, to nurture, to manaaki this journey as I share with you, uri Ngāti Hei. Sadly, I know little about my Papa, Joseph Peke, and Nana Sophie. But what I do know and acknowledge is my whakapapa to Ngāti Tamaterā and his whenua. I acknowledge that toto that flows in your veins, in our veins.

The summary of history, the background, dates back to 1836 and to 1923. It’s a very, very long, long time. The settlement is grounded in the Crown’s acknowledgment of this history, and, as mentioned by colleagues earlier on, it has taken far too long. The settlement entails Crown acknowledgments and apology, cultural redress, and significant relationships. It includes a collective redress and a financial commercial redress. Within that is the transfer of shares of Whenuakite Station, jointly, with Ngāti Tamaterā. I acknowledge the negotiators, in particular the late Peter Tiki Johnston and his son today, Peter Matai Johnston, and Joe Davis. It’s a challenging task for any iwi to negotiate, at the best of times, this construct, this system of colonialism that we have to endure.

Having experience on a post-settlement governance entity (PSGE) of one of my tribes, I want to acknowledge the trustees of the Ngāti Hei PSGE. I know how much sacrifice, how much determination, how much perseverance, and how much courage it takes to fill those roles—tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you to the Crown negotiators and all those involved. I look forward to the settlement making its way through the Māori Affairs Committee and through the Whare, and bringing hope and the fulfilment of Ngāti Hei’s aspirations.

Nō reira ngā manaakitanga me te aroha ki a koutou ngā uri me ngā whanaunga. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[So care and compassion to you, the descendants and family members. Greetings and thanks to all of us.]

I commend this to the House, kia ora.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is, That the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill be considered by the Māori Affairs Committee.

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.