Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the parliamentary website.

Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH: I move, That the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.

Tihei mauriora!

Te Whare e tū nei, tēnā koe. Te papa i waho nei tēnā koe. Te mana whenua o tēnei rohe, kei te mihi. E ngā tīpuna o te pō, haere haere haere. Haere ki te wāhi ngaro, haere haere. E ngā kāwai Rangatira tēnā koutou katoa.

[Tis the breath of life!

The House standing, greetings to you. The land outside, greetings. The indigenous people of this region, I salute you. Dear ancestors of the night, farewell. Farewell to the unseen realm, farewell. To our esteemed leaders, greetings to you all.]

I’m pleased to stand here to support the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill at its third reading. Today marks 184 years since rangatira of Te Whakatōhea signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Ōpōtiki on 27 and 28 May 1840, and one year since Te Whakatōhea signed their deed of settlement with my predecessor the Hon Andrew Little. Welcome to you all to your House today.

It’s 138 years since the Crown confiscated 144,000 acres of Whakatōhea land and moved its people to the Ōpape Native Reserve. Te Whakatōhea took their first petition to Parliament 110 years ago to seek an inquiry into the confiscation of their land. Many more petitions followed. In response, in 1949, the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board was established by legislation and the iwi received £20,000 in the compensation. With this money, the trust board bought a farm and began the work of re-establishing the Whakatōhea economic, social, and cultural infrastructure.

In 1996, 28 years ago, the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board agreed a deed of settlement with the Crown for the comprehensive settlement of the Whakatōhea Treaty claims. The claimant community rejected this deed of settlement and it was never put into ratification. Te Whakatōhea recommenced negotiations in 2003. At the end of 2016, the Crown recognised the mandate of the Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust to negotiate a Treaty settlement on behalf of Te Whakatōhea. Today, 184 years since the Treaty was signed in Ōpōtiki, we renew the relationship between Te Whakatōhea and the Crown.

I offer this time line to the House today so that we can understand just how long the journey has been for Te Whakatōhea. I ask the House to think of those who have passed and the efforts of many Te Whakatōhea who have worked tirelessly across the generations to reach this day. I want to acknowledge Graeme Riesterer for his leadership of the Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust, as well as Robert Edwards, chair of the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board. The Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board will be dissolved by this legislation and its assets and functions transferred to Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea to lead Te Whakatōhea into the future.

I acknowledge the trust board’s leadership over the 75 years of its existence, during which it laid the foundations for the future prosperity of Te Whakatōhea. I also acknowledge the trustees of the post-settlement governance entity, Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea, in particular the new chair, Arihia Tuoro. Te Tāwharau is made up of hapū and general representatives, people who have supported the settlement and some who did not. I know that all of you will work together in the best interests of the people to make the most out of the settlement and the opportunities that lie ahead.

I acknowledge those who were on the front line of those negotiations over the past 7½ years. Maui Hudson and Jason Pou brought Te Whakatōhea aspirations to the table and worked with the chief negotiator, Glenn Webber, and his officials, including Te Arawhiti, who have worked hard to assemble an outstanding package. My predecessors the Hon Chris Finlayson and the Hon Andrew Little, along with other Ministers of the Crown, made significant and bold decisions to make this settlement happen, including the development of a new redress mechanism reserving marine space for Whakatōhea to support their pioneering work in the aquaculture industry.

Finally, and most importantly, I acknowledge the many people of Te Whakatōhea who have travelled to Wellington today to witness this important milestone, and those who could not be here in person. I welcome you to this House again. While many have passed on over the century of struggle towards this day, you and your descendants carry their memories into a more prosperous future. As I said in the introduction to our greeting a couple of hours ago, it’s great to see all the generations here celebrating this momentous occasion.

As I noted in the second reading, last week, I personally became aware of the tragic history of the Crown and Te Whakatōhea in the 1990s when I was studying for my Master’s in history under the supervision of a historian who would be familiar to many of you: Judith Binney. My thesis was on the life of William Colenso, an early Christian missionary printer. In the course of that, I came across Colenso’s 1871 pamphlet Fiat Justitia, or Let Justice Be Done, which he wrote in the turbulent backgrounds to the events surrounding Völkner’s death at Ōpōtiki and the people of Whakatōhea being caught up with that. That was a powerful pamphlet, and it actually sparked an interest for me in this difficult period of history and also in those core concepts of justice that he stood up for and which, ultimately, we are acknowledging here today.

Te Whakatōhea lost much in the confiscation of their land and in the war the Crown waged on their people. Before the Crown’s invasion of Ōpōtiki, the people of Te Whakatōhea had developed a burgeoning agricultural industry to supply the growing settlement of Auckland. This included infrastructure in roads and ships and a windmill built by Ngāti Ira leader Hira Te Popo. Much of this was destroyed by the Crown forces in the invasion. Whakatōhea have lived with the aftermath of these devastating acts ever since. It’s past time for the Crown to make redress. This settlement provides financial, commercial, and cultural redress funds totalling $100 million. The deed and the bill provide the transfer of 33 cultural redress sites. The deed and bill include acknowledgments of the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and an apology from the Crown to Te Whakatōhea.

Most of all, this settlement is a platform for the current and future aspirations of the people of Te Whakatōhea. The redress will help Te Whakatōhea continue to develop their economic base, continue the good work in providing housing and industry in Ōpōtiki so their people can return home to live and work, and continue their efforts to develop their culture and revive their language. It’s my hope that this settlement can form the basis of a new future for the people of Te Whakatōhea and a renewed relationship with the Crown founded in the Treaty of Waitangi. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Ko te pātai kia whakaaetia te mōtini.

[The question is that the motion be agreed to.]

Kāti rā tēnā rā tātou katoa. Whakapiri ana āku mihi ki te mihi o te Minita ki a koutou Whakatōhea kua tae mai ki tēnei Whare anō. Nō reira, koutou katoa ngā whānau me ngā hapū. Ngāti Rua, Ngāti Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira me Te Ūpokorehe. Tēnei ahau e tuku mihi atu nei ki a koutou, tēnā rā koutou katoa.

[Well, then, greetings everyone. I’d like to add my acknowledgments to the Minister’s in regards to you, Whakatōhea, who have arrived here again to this House. And so greetings to you all and your whānau and people. Ngāti Rua, Ngāti Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira me Te Ūpokorehe. I acknowledge you all sincerely. Thank you all.]

I always think that the third reading of a claims settlement bill is a good opportunity to talk about the future, and the Minister also spoke about the future. You ask yourself why do claimants, do iwi, go through this long process for redress, not compensation. We’ve heard on many occasions in this House from members who say what the magnitude of the loss was compared to the relatively small redress that we get—it’s not compensation—and ask ourselves, “Why would you do that?”

I’ve been in the, I was going to say fortunate position—maybe unfortunate position—of being a negotiator for a settlement, and I have also sat on this side and seen the passage of legislation go through. I can speak for myself. I know why I did it; I know why my whānau, hapū, and iwi did it. It was for our future generations. We felt we were giving them the opportunity to move forward to a situation that gave them options and opportunities.

We all know that by going through this process, we don’t have to pass the burden of carrying the historical breaches of the Treaty to the next generation. Don’t be mistaken, though—they’ll have their own burdens to carry. I hope one of them is addressed by them coming back and relooking at what we have done. I sincerely hope that happens. I think, for our collective future, that must happen. We must look at how these Treaty settlements have been valued, how we have progressed from them. Have they been good, bad, or indifferent? That’s one for future generations to look at. They also need to look at relativity as well—relativity between the settlements—because some are a lot better than others, one would have to say.

I think it’s also an opportunity to look at—well, for me, anyway—the apology, and, in third reading speeches, I usually talk about the apology. On this apology and this settlement, I want to focus particularly on the last paragraph of that apology, and it says, “Let us look forward to a future of prosperity for the people of Whakatōhea and move towards it together in a spirit of good faith, partnership, and respect for te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi.”, which is lovely. It’s really good. But it’s only really good if this House makes sure that it upholds that apology and that this House does not do anything—does not pass any legislation—that impacts negatively on Whakatōhea. I say that today in an environment that we are all currently under of not really knowing what’s going to happen in terms of Treaty clauses that exist in current legislation—the value of those principles, whether you believe in them or not. That apology only means something for Whakatōhea if this House upholds its obligation to this apology.

I mentioned before that your tamariki and mokopuna will have their own burdens to carry; let’s hope that that’s not one of them. I implore this House to make sure that when it’s considering legislation on any issue to do with Te Tiriti o Waitangi—whether it is removing clauses from legislation, minimising the value of those clauses, minimising the value of Te Tiriti o Waitangi—they think twice about doing that and they remember this day that they voted for the third reading of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill and they know that that is in that bill. That’s what I implore everyone to do.

I really have nothing further to say, except to say to all of Whakatōhea that I wish you all the best. It has been far too long for this day to come for you. You have seen other settled iwi doing really well, growing their settlement assets. As I said in my second reading speech, I admire the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board for what they have done in growing the assets that they’ve had. Just imagine if they had had all of this as well. I’ll leave it there. Nō reira, huri rauna, huri rauna. Kia ora mai tātou katoa.

E te Māngai, tēnā koe. E tēnei Whare, tēnā koutou. Ki a koutou ngā iwi me ngā hapū o te Whakatōhea, tēnā tātou katoa. Ngā hapū, Ngai Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena, me Ūpokorehe.

[Thank you, Mr Speaker, and this House, greetings. To you, the people of Te Whakatōhea, greetings to you all. The nations, Ngai Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena, and Ūpokorehe.]

Acknowledging the interwoven and overlapping interest among the hapū and Whakatōhea and that this is an incredibly significant day for so many reasons—of course it’s an incredibly significant day. But as I was remembering exactly how long the mahi to this day has taken, it’s not even since 2016. I was reminded again, reading through the history of the deed of settlement, that, actually, back in the early 1990s when Whakatōhea initiated and wanted to see some recognition for the many grievances and the Crown breaches of Te Tiriti, particularly in the iwi rohe, there was a go for a comprehensive settlement in the early 1990s. And then iwi members raised concerns that the negotiators had gone beyond their mandate and the settlement package was insufficient.

And this is always quite a difficult kōrero to have, because the mahi, the passion, the positive vision, and the dreaming that takes place from iwi when they are reaching a settlement has to be upheld and understood for incredible generational strength, while, at the same time, there is absolutely nothing. There is no level of settlement in a contract that can fully ever recognise the mamae that has been caused. And I immediately think of the complete scorched earth plunder policy that was particularly taken by the Crown as part of the mamae and the breaches.

But I think what I am trying to remind my colleagues across the House is when we talk about iwi being generous and patient, my goodness do we acknowledge in this case for Whakatōhea and hapū that this is an incredibly significant day today. So much mahi, so many people from the start of way back in the 1990s, this initial kōrero, who are no longer with us, and so much mahi done to get to this point.

I wanted to focus on the mahi and the visions and aspirations in this third reading speech, and also, in this third reading speech refer the House back to my second reading speech, which was where I again repeat and acknowledge the valid concerns that have been raised by hapū, including Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira. But I note in my submissions, it wasn’t just that. There were and are valid concerns—concerns that many of the select committee members raised questions about at select committee, concerns that I have put on record in my second reading speech that I am accountable for in my support to this bill for Whakatōhea to be able to move through this part of the dreams and aspirations that you have, recognising that no bill, no settlement, can ever be the fulfilment of those moemoeā.

So I wanted to acknowledge that with the mahi that was put into this settlement, the Greens have always been very, very clear that Te Tiriti was never supposed to be a transactional and a settlement approach. It is and has always been in the vision of all of our tūpuna that it is about an enduring relationship, where the Crown—as Mr Adrian Rurawhe has already said—must continue to honour its partnership agreement, and at the centre uphold the mana motuhake and the tino rangatiratanga of Whakatōhea over its lands and peoples. And that Whakatōhea has acknowledged time and time again that it has mahi to do in terms of bringing together and keeping together the whakapapa connections across all of the hapū, and noting those valid concerns that were raised by hapū under the settlement.

That is for the Crown to continue to uphold; that Te Tiriti is about partnership and enduring relationship, and not transactional settlement. In saying that, this settlement needs to be acknowledged and the apology and the harm that this settlement is attempting to at least address in some way.

Just quickly, I think, for the purpose of reminding ourselves why this day is so important, remembering the Crown invading and occupying parts of Whakatōhea rohe—things like the failure to return the body of Tio Te Kāhika after he had been killed and desecrated and the obviously great distress that that causes; Crown failure to act in good faith in its treatment and execution of Mokomoko, of course a rangatira of Whakatōhea. And last week at the second reading, I was very grateful and privileged to be able to sit with Mokomoko uri up here in this House to acknowledge the significance of this bill going through. Also, there was the failure to protect Whakatōhea from becoming virtually landless due to the ongoing and cumulative effects of the Crown’s acts, omissions, breaches, and harm; the failure to actively protect te reo Māori and encourage its use, and the widespread displacement of Whakatōhea uri and descendants to whanaunga, to reo, and to tikanga.

So, with those breaches, then, the ability for Whakatōhea to be able to move through this piece of legislation I know is going to play a significant role in the mokopuna moemoeā and the aspirations that you all told us time and time again at the submission hearings—the dreams that you all hold collectively for the descendants of many generations to come now and to come under this settlement.

My colleague who’s next to me right now—Mr Steve Abel—is going to, as tangata Tiriti, pick up on the importance for Pākehā of what happens through the whole negotiations, through the settlement laws, the legislation, and why it is important for Pākehā to understand that Māori continue to be hopeful and continue to be generous in how we settle these claims. But that should never let tangata Tiriti off the hook for the enduring requirements and relationships that are going to be required, not just from Crown but from tangata Tiriti all over. And, yes, mokopuna of Whakatōhea, tangi mai—this is your House, this is your bill, this is your day for all the mokopuna, and I really welcome you. I saw some babies and I, more importantly, am hearing the babies, including through question time, which I personally welcome. Hearing the mokopuna is exactly the reason why we are here, so tangi mai pēpē, tangi mai mokopuna. This is yours, this is your legacy, this is your day.

I’m finishing with—and I forgot to mention in my second reading speech—the fantastic van that took us on some of the site visits when the Māori Affairs Committee was down there. I believe we had Matua Robert in our van. I think we had Danny and Vaughn and Graeme and Dickie and Arahia, perhaps, in our van—some fantastic mahi from all of you. We started at the Hiona St Stephen’s Church, which became, of course, connected with what happened to Rev. Carl Völkner and all of the consequences from those events. So some of the places that we went are, for me, the strongest memories of connecting my heart and mind to some of the significant places of Whakatōhea.

I think I did mention in my second reading speech that Ngāti Ira actually took us out to Te Tarata pā, where select committee members could see for ourselves both the expanse of that whenua, and hear the history and what happened there while being on the land—well, there’s nothing that can substitute for that in understanding the role. And we had a beautiful lunch at the mussel farm—a very beautiful lunch that day—and we were hearing and seeing the factory workers and how important that is going to be under this settlement. So I just wanted to give my awhi and aroha to you all and wish you the best of luck in your future. Kia ora.

Aroha mai. Kua pau te wā ki te mema.

[I’m sorry. The member’s time has expired.]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise on this third reading. I was able to speak on the second reading of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill, and I talked a lot about the history in there, but I want to start with how important it is to have an apology written down in a bill such as this. That really does mean that a side takes ownership of what had happened—that the Crown agrees about what had happened and the responsibility that the Crown had for these historical travesties that took place. This has been a long time coming, as we’ve heard the other members of the House speaking tonight say, but it has been a long journey that Whakatōhea has had to take in multiple iterations to seek justice. I am proud to be speaking on the third reading for the ACT Party in support of this bill, to give our shoulder to your effort of seeking justice.

As I say, it’s been a long time in the history of what had happened in the Ōpōtiki district and the surrounds. As I said in my second reading, these stories were something that I’d heard from down the coast where I grew up in Papamoa, Kuhawaea, and I knew some of the stories, but to have it laid out in the narrative, as it is in this bill, so that you can actually see what was done and the hurt that was caused and really understand why an apology is the least that can be done.

On Saturday, I drove across up the Motueka Gorge and drove through the whenua that is that of Whakatōhea. I drove through in the early morning and saw the beautiful sunrise and the stars and the moon and the hills and the green grass. It is a paradise, and it was a paradise in 1864 and it was burnt in 1865, 1866, and for 180 years after. To lose a connection with such an amazing place, such a beautiful place, and such a part of you must only hurt. This bill does not return all of this. It doesn’t go near addressing, as the previous speaker, Marama Davidson, said, a full compensation. It’s only a token of what could be done, but I hope that the things inside this bill—as crass as it is—the commercial settlement and the ability to rebuild an economy base and a business and a future for your people that brings people back to the land that is yours, to have a reconnection, to take part in that beautiful place and that paradise that is the whenua that was taken away. The land is a gorgeous place, and you’re a gorgeous people to be so gracious in accepting an apology.

I hope that future generations will look back at what was done tonight—as the member Adrian Rurawhe had said, I hope we look back and are proud of what the Government and Whakatōhea have agreed and that people feel that they are being addressed going forward, in perpetuity; people feel that the past has been accounted for, if not paid but accounted; they’ve been acknowledged, but we can actually look forward to a future in Te Moana o Toi, to a place where we’ve got all the abundance that God’s gift of our land can give and that we no longer treat it as people have in the past but, again, treat it as people treated it in the great past.

I look forward to future drives through your rohe, seeing what Whakatōhea can do, seeing how Ōpōtiki and the district can thrive, and, Whakatōhea, you’re going to be an essential, core, undivided part of that. I’m still a young man, I hope, and I’m looking forward to being an old man and seeing what you can do. So thank you very much.

A kāti, e ngā uri a Whakatōhea. Koutou kua hoki mai i roto i tēnei wiki. I kōnei anō ruarua noa iho ō koutou mātua nō te wiki pahure ake nei, kua tae mātotoru mai ai koutou ki waenga tonu i a mātou. Ngā uri a Muriwai, a Tūtāmure, a Tarawa nāna wāna mōkaikai i tuku ki roto i tō koutou wai puna. Nō muri noa nei ka whakaingoatia Ōpōtiki mai i Tawhiti. Nā reira tēnā anō rā koutou. Me te mahara ake i te roa o te hikoi te tāroaroa o te huarahi kua pau i a koutou kia tae mai ai ki waenga tonu i a mātou i tēnei rā.

I ahau i te kura i Tīpene he mea tono mai e ō koutou mātua, wā koutou tauira i te kura i Hato Pētera. Ruarua i tae mai ki waenga tonu i a mātou. Otirā he kete nō mātou i ō mātou whātorotorohanga haere i roto waenga tonu i a Mātātua Tūhoe Whakatōhea Apanui wērā pānga o te ao Māori. He iwi Motuhake anō koutou. Ō koutou whare he pae moko. Ō koutou kaumātua he mea ako ki roto i ngā āhuatanga me ngā ritenga o ngā karaipiture. Ēngari kīhai rawa koutou i wareware ki ngā kupu whakarite me ngā taonga tukuiho mai i te ao kohatu. Kātahi ka whakamārenatia i roto i te kauhautanga haeretanga a Te Kōti i waenga tonu i tēnā moka kei tērā pito kei te Ika a Māui he mea whakamārena ngā taonga mai te ao kohatu ki ngā kura taonga nāna i tiritiri nāna i ruirui kua riro ko koutou ētahi o ngā tāngata whakamutunga hei mau haere hei pīkau hei amo i ngā ritenga me ngā taonga mō te pūtea whakanakonako mō te kete e kī ana ki ngā taonga o te ao wairua.

Nā reira i a tātou e mihi nei ki a koutou i tēnei rangi, ehara i te mea he mihi ā-oneone ānakenake. Ehara i te mea he mihi ā-ture ānakenake. Otirā, mātou ngā kaikōrero e whai toto Māori ana i whakatupungia ai i roto i ō mātou kāinga Māori, rekereke o ō mātou kuikuia. He mōhio nō mātou ko tēnei whakataunga i tēnei rā he whakataunga ā-tinana, he whakataunga ā-hinengaro, he whakataunga noki ā-wairua.

Nā reira ko te mahi mā mātou ā tōna wā me pēhea rānei te wairua e mumura tonu ai? Kaua rawa atu e titiro ki te Karauna e muramura ai tō wairua. Kaua rawa atu e titiro ki te Karauna e koi tonu ai te hinengaro. Otirā tātou me titiro ki a tātou anō. E pai ana te werowero, e pai ana te whakatumatuma kia kaua rawa atu te Karauna e ārai tonu e whakaoruoru tonu i te huarahi kua rite hei haere mā tātou. Otirā i te mutunga, mā roto i tēnei whakataunga me ngā pitopito whenua kua oti te whakahoki atu.

He mōhio nō mātou ehara te mea ko te katoa tēnei kahore. Otirā tēnei rawa te tauira i whakaritea mō tēnā iwi mō tēnā iwi otirā ō koutou maha tonu ngā taonga kei āpōpō. Kei te Moana a Toi. E hari ana au ka oti i a koutou i tēnei rangi ngātahi me mātou. Me te whakamahara i a koutou mea ake nei taro ake nei mātou ka tae mai ki waenganui i a koutou te rapu me pēhea rānei te pūtea ngātahi ka kitea ka whakangāoa ngātahitia e koutou, e mātou. Katahi ka whai mana tēnā kupu e karangahia nei ko te co-invested. Whakangāo tahi.

Mātou e hae ana i roto i Te Tai Tokerau i te nui o te pārai mahi pūtea kei tō koutou aroaro kei te Moana nui a Toi. Ahakoa ō koutou tērā whanaunga tararā ōku, a Vitasovich e haere mai ana ki te rapu i ngā pīpi kūtai i waenga tonu i ahau i Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe. Otirā koia tēnā ko te huarahi hei haerenga mā tātou. Mahi tahi, tētahi iwi ki tētahi kē atu. Me whakarite he tauira hou kia riro ko tāu ko tāku ngā kīwai o te kete. Māu tētahi, māku tētahi kātahi ka whakakīia ngātahitia e tātou. He taro, he mātaitai, he oranga kei roto i tēnā kete. Nā koia tāku e mihi ake nei ki a tātou i tēnei rā.

[Well then, dear descendants of Whakatōhea, you all who have returned within this week. Last week, there were not many of your elders here. You have arrived today in great numbers. The descendants of Muriwai, of Tūtāmure of Tarawa, he who sent his subordinates to your sacred pool. It was only later on, the name Ōpōtiki mai Tawhiti was bestowed. And so, greetings to you all, and also not to forget the enduring walk that you have experienced to be here with us today.

When I was schooling at Tīpene, I was sent by your elders; your kin were schooling at Hato Pētera. Only a few came to us. We were fortunate to have been to Mātātua, Tūhoe, Whakatōhea, and Apanui, those Māori communities. You are indeed a nation of your own. Your houses were Māori. Your elders were schooled in the teachings of the scripture. But you also didn’t leave behind the metaphors and the heritage of the old ways. And then both were married together and taught by Te Kōti within those parts of this country. The old knowledge and his wisdom were married together and disseminated, and you are some of the last of our people to hold fast to these sacred teachings. To convey these customs and wisdoms in order to fill your wealth with correct spiritual measures.

So, as we acknowledge you today, these acknowledgments are not just words. These acknowledgments are not only part of our rules. Furthermore, we the speakers have Māori blood ties and were also raised within Māori communities, raised at the ankles of our grandmothers. We are well aware that these settlements are a settlement for the physical, a settlement for the mind, and also a settlement of the spirit.

And so our responsibility is that later on down the track, how do we still keep the spirit strong? Don’t ever let the Crown be the reason to keep you sharpening your mind. Let us look within ourselves. It is OK to challenge, it is OK to be defiant, so that the Crown will not block the pathway set for you all. At the end of the day, it is within this settlement and the lands that are given back to you.

We all know this is not speaking on behalf of everyone, no. But this is the example set aside for that iwi, and that iwi, and for you as well, there is a future to look forward to. It is the great ocean of Toi. I am happy that we are here today to settle this together. And to remind you that soon we will come to you to discuss how the funding will be implemented, we will meet and speak to this together. Only then will the term “co-invested” have true meaning. Together.

We in the North are quite envious at the funding and projects that you have before you, at the great ocean of Toi. And that kin of mine, Vitasovich, who is here at Te Oneroa-a-Tōhe looking for pipi and kūtai. And that is the pathway for us. Work together, one iwi with another. We need to show an example on how to fill all our baskets. For you, for me, and then together we will fill it. Taro, seafood, there is success in that basket. Hence why I am here acknowledging you today.]

As I have said in our Māori language, the passage of this bill reflects a long and perilous journey for this iwi, an iwi that stands in the ranks of the mātāmua, the senior positions, senior personalities, deep-steeped in the Māori world. A sad history, but a history that I reflected in our Māori language can be brightened by looking forward and that can be improved by a constructive level of engagement, as was the case with my friends on the other side of the House. At one level, we are combatants, adversaries, in the context of politics, but we are all here to, in a patriotic sense of duty, grow the wealth, the prosperity, and robustness of us all on this journey.

It was Parekura Horomia and Michael Cullen who, in 2005-06, took us to Ōpōtiki, where it became evident that one day we would have infrastructure built in Ōpōtiki. But it couldn’t be done without the acquiescence or the support of Whakatōhea.

Of course, that goes back earlier, in terms of the Helen Clark Government, when a Klondike—a race for space—took place around the coastline of New Zealand and an area that was focused upon by the entrepreneurs, by the strategists of that time, was to lock up coastal space off the rohe of Whakatōhea. Sealord originally showed some interest, but they disappeared. A cast of Lord knows how many people from the Orient came, and that soon disappeared. Then, eventually, working with some of the local Pākehā kiwifruit farmers, local farmers, the initiative was funded to create an aquaculture industry for Whakatōhea, and it’s that, which I’ve referred to in our Māori language, that we have to build upon, because in a number of these areas, the model of Treaty settlements is, by and large, confined to the mana whenua boundaries.

That’s fine if your mana whenua, or asserted mana whenua, is the entirety of Te Wai Pounamu, or you have the good luck and serendipity of enjoying the fruits of the golden triangle. But if you live on an isolated part of this country, as is the case where I hail from in the very Far North, or are Whakatōhea, we need to be strategic and work collaboratively with the Crown and other private sector investors to make the resources that we have at our doorstep more valuable and turn them into a flow of goods and services. That is not only important to you and I in our own country but desirable to a global market.

I am very confident that once the dust settles around this settlement, there’ll be the inevitable smoothing-out processes, you will seize the opportunity and work and build on the collaborative nature of the mahi that has been carried out over the last three to five years and create New Zealand’s largest and most profitable and most desirable new platform of marine, blue ocean growth, otherwise known as mātaitai, ngā kūtai, ngā kuku, ngā porohe—koia tēnā te kupu i ‘hakatupungia ai mātou mō te kūtai i a mātou i te nohinohi i roto i ō mātou kāinga me ō mātou kuikuia.

Nā reira ngā mihi ki a koutou, e Rōpata, e Te Kāhautū, ō koutou tuākana kua pau ki te matemate, ō koutou mātua e mātakitaki mai ana i a tātou i roto i tēnei rangi. E maringi mai ana te roimata? Tērā pea, engari meinga ko tēnā roimata ehara ko te roimata tūpāpaku engari ko te roimata hari. Āpōpō he huarahi ka kitea hei whakahihiko i te āhuatanga o ā tātou tamariki kia minamina mai ai rātou kia tū rangatira ai, ā-Māori, ā-tangata o roto o Aotearoa, ā-hapori, ā-pakihi, engari kia tū tangata. Kia kaua rawa atu e haere, tāmia, whakataimahangia ana e ngā kīhau o muri.

Kei te whiti te rā ki te ihu o te waka kei mua i a tātou. Tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou, kia ora tātau katoa.

[Otherwise known as shellfish, mussels, porohe—that is the word that we were raised with for mussels when we were little in our homes with our grandmothers.

And so greetings to you all, Robert, Te Kāhautū, your seniors who have all passed on, your parents’ generation who are watching us today. Are years being shed? Perhaps, but make that tear not be a tear of bereavement but instead a tear of joy. Tomorrow a path with be discovered to excite the circumstances of our children so that they will aspire to stand in nobility, as Māori, as people in Aotearoa, as communities, as businesses, but as confident people. So that they don’t ever go along being oppressed, having difficulties imposed upon them by the sprits in behind.

The sun is shining on the prow of the canoe in front of us. Thanks and greetings to you and all of us.]

The next call is a split call between the Green Party and the National Party.

Kia ora, Mr Speaker, thank you. Whakatōhea—kia ora, tēnā koutou. In the context of the people defending their land, a man by the name of Mokomoko was wrongly accused of murdering the missionary Völkner, and he was taken to Mt Eden Prison and he was hanged. His infamous words were, “Take this noose from my neck that I may sing my song.” I recall when I was first inducted into this Parliament in 2020 with Rawiri Waititi that Rawiri referenced this ancestor and said that he would make a claim for us to no longer have to wear ties in this House, in his reference to that ancestor when he gave his maiden speech. I am very sad that I was not able to be here for that maiden speech, but I remember that very well.

As I said in my second speech, the purpose of these settlements is to take the noose from the neck of Māori, the noose of colonisation. I indeed hope that this bill does this to some extent. The evils of Crown actions are not in contention. Sometimes, when you see a confused look on a Pākehā or tangata Tiriti face, it is because when the wrongs that have been done today to Māori are protested against—rightly—by Māori, Pākehā, because we are ignorant of our history, don’t understand. What is so important about these settlements, in part, is that they lay out the history—the truth—from a tangata whenua Māori perspective, from the perspective of Whakatōhea. It is told to us, it is laid bare, and, frankly, it is terrible reading. It makes one sick to the heart and sick to the stomach to see the atrocities committed by the British soldiers on behalf of the Crown against Whakatōhea.

The ongoing taking of land, denying of resources, denying of customary entitlement, denying of the mana motuhake and the tino rangatiratanga is, rightly, to some extent, acknowledged and laid out in this very bill, in this deed of settlement, in the bill that will pass its third reading tonight. These words get locked in the history books of this House, and that is an important thing. And I call on all my fellow tangata Tiriti and Pākehā to go and read this history. You will see a frequent pattern and you will see the incredible generosity and forgiveness of our tangata whenua partners in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. You will see the endless patience, you will know that you go to any marae in this nation and despite all the wrongs done, you will get “haere mai, haere mai, haere mai”—three times welcome. And it breaks my heart, because that is the generosity of tangata whenua Māori. And we are the beneficiaries of that generosity, as tangata Tiriti.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a profound basis on which to build a nation, and in this apology the Crown says that it “betrayed that trust by waging war and confiscating Whakatōhea land in a raupatu for which the Crown alone is responsible.”, and it goes on to lay out the apology.

There can be no legitimacy in our nationhood if it is not set in a principle of justice for Māori. We must know our history honestly and understand its impact to this very day. If we do not, then we will also not recognise the perpetuation of those injustices in the policy actions of today. I wish that this settlement goes some way to removing the noose from the neck of Whakatōhea, that you may sing your song. Kia ora.

Ki ngā tāngata o Whakatōhea e huihui mai nei, ki ngā hapū e ono, Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena, Te Ūpokorehe. Nau mai haere mai ki tō koutou Whare. He hōnore nui tēnei ki au kia tautohu ai te pānui tuatoru o te pire.

[To the multitudes of Whakatōhea who are present here, to the six major tribes Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena, Te Ūpokorehe, welcome here to your Parliament. It is an honour for me to speak to this the third reading of the bill.]

It’s an honour to rise to speak on the third reading of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill, and to acknowledge and recognise all of the members of Whakatōhea who are here today, and all those who are in distant parts of the country or around the world who will be listening to this, either now or in the future. I wish to acknowledge the incredibly hard work, and generations of work that have actually gone into getting us to this place here today for what will be a historic event that will complete tonight.

We should acknowledge all of those who’ve worked on the negotiation, both past and present. I acknowledge the previous Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, the Hon Andrew Little, who I see is here today, for the work that he’s done previously in the previous Government, and the present Minister who’s completing this, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, and it speaks to the cross-party nature of this incredibly important work that New Zealand has done.

Seen around the world, I think, it is quite unique in that New Zealand has got an agreement between all political parties that we need to acknowledge the wrongs that were done in the past, we need to atone for them as best as we can, we need to create some space to apologise formally from the Crown for all the wrongs that were done in the past, and we need to provide for some economic base that the people—in this case, Whakatōhea—can use to create a future for themselves and for those who follow. And this is ultimately about creating a future for the people of Whakatōhea and a place where all of us can—and I mean all people in this country—come together and create a future for our children. Because that’s, fundamentally, I think, one of the most important jobs that all of us have here in our time on this planet Earth, and in this country—to build a better future for those who come after us. And that, fundamentally, is what this is about.

In terms of acknowledging the past history, it’s been touched on by previous speakers before me; I’ll only touch on it briefly in the time I have available to me. But I think it’s worth noting that in May 1840, seven Whakatōhea rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi, and by 1864 had developed a thriving agricultural economy, constructing a shipping fleet and trading extensively with the growing Auckland settlement. Whakatōhea embraced technology, built infrastructure, and developed political organisations to deal with economic and social change.

Unfortunately, after Crown forces landed in Tauranga in early 1864, things went wrong. In terms of the history, what happened was Whakatōhea joined other iwi in expeditions to support the Kīngitanga. A number of Whakatōhea rangatira were killed, creating a considerable leadership vacuum in Whakatōhea. And then Carl Völkner of the Church Missionary Society was hanged at Ōpōtiki in March 1865 after a meeting called by visiting Pai Mārire missionaries, who demanded his death. Whakatōhea rangatira unsuccessfully argued that he should be spared, but the Crown held Whakatōhea responsible and that led to Crown forces invading Whakatōhea rohe in September 1865, and all of the deep injustices that followed in the losses of land, rangatiratanga, and language as well—te reo Māori.

I just want to touch briefly on the value of te reo Māori. We’ve had a huge project over the last few decades to rebuild this in our country. And I was fortunate recently to visit Taiwan and just get some perspective on the broad connection that has to our region, actually, because te reo Māori is part of the Austronesian languages. And one of my colleagues spoke some Tongan and Māori in Taiwan to one of the indigenous tribes that we visited, and they still, after a few thousand years, understood some of the words that she was using. And just connecting that we have this connection from Madagascar, on one side, to the Easter Islands and Hawaii, on the other, and Philippines, Taiwan to the North. So there’s an incredible connection across New Zealand. Thank you, Mr Speaker. It’s a pleasure to speak in support of this bill.

I rise on this profound occasion, an occasion that has been like a mirage in the distance for so many people over so many years. In rising, I recognise a history of indescribable pain, of unthinkable injustice, and of heart-wrenching ignominy for the people of Whakatōhea, but also for our nation as a whole. I rise to convey my heartfelt support of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill in its third and final reading.

Allow me to extend a warm welcome to everyone in the gallery today, most of whom are part of the wider Whakatōhea whānau, including the unstoppable Dickie Farrar, chief executive of the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, the hard-working Donald Riesterer, the forward-thinking Danny Paruru—actually, I’m not sure if I’ve seen you today—and the awe-inspiring Matua Robert Edwards. Welcome, all of you. Haere mai.

I hold the privilege and responsibility of serving on the Māori Affairs Committee, chaired by my friend and colleague the MP for Northcote, Dan Bidois, who isn’t here with us today because he’s on paternal leave, blessed with a little Bidois. Dan took a deep interest and care as we, the new Māori Affairs Committee for the 54th Parliament, navigated our way through this bill, the first we had inherited as a committee. The Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed between the members of Whakatōhea and the Crown in May 2023. With a population of about 17,000, the Whakatōhea iwi is based on the Eastern Bay of Plenty—and I would like to acknowledge the MP here, Dana Kirkpatrick for East Coast, and, of course, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel—with a land interest of about 200,000 hectares, and comprises of six hapū.

Each Treaty settlement has its own unique story. The Whakatōhea story spans over 180 years, beginning with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on this day, May 28, in 1840. Clause 8 of the settlement bill that we are discussing today outlines an agreed historical account, and sets the basis for the Crown’s acknowledgment and apology in clauses 9 and 10 respectively. The historical account states that by 1864, as mentioned earlier by my colleague, Whakatōhea had developed a thriving agricultural economy, and had constructed a shipping fleet, which was trading prolifically with the growing Auckland settlement at the time.

But matters turned horribly in 1865, when the Crown held Whakatōhea responsible for the death of missionary Carl Völkner, and proceeded to punish Whakatōhea by declaring martial law, and adopting a disgusting scorched earth approach. The Crown’s forces looted, plundered, and destroyed almost all in their midst. They enacted the only cavalry attack in New Zealand’s history, and the lives of 45 men and women were tragically stolen as a result at Te Tarata Pā. Even reservation was established on confiscated land in Ōpape, where many people of Whakatōhea were forced to relocate to. Unsurprisingly, the once thriving Whakatōhea economy and infrastructure was, effectively, destroyed. This is but a fraction of the suffering inflicted upon the people of Whakatōhea.

Although there is so much that has taken place in the Whakatōhea plight over 150 years, I will bring us to the more recent history for the purposes of this bill. In the 1990s, there was an unsuccessful attempt to settle, and after much soul-searching within Whakatōhea—and, dare I say, within the Crown as well—Treaty settlement negotiations began anew, under the Hon Christopher Finlayson, continued by the Hon Andrew Little, and now under the care of the Hon Paul Goldsmith. As I mentioned earlier, the bill is the first Treaty settlement that I have been directly involved with, and, in honesty, the process has been one that has moved me deeply and caused me to, at times, lay awake at night in reflection and contemplation; reflection on how the people of Whakatōhea live and carry on alongside their generational mamae—like two parallel universes existing side by side—and contemplation on the raw emotions that underpinned the submissions on this bill, both in support and in opposition.

It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge those voices who opposed the progression of this bill, in particular Matua Te Rua Rakuraku, whose sad but kind eyes I will never forget. When the Māori Affairs Committee travelled to Ōpōtiki in March of this year to hear the oral submissions, the depth of emotion behind all of them indeed stirred me. But, ultimately, I was able to see clearly, and I say this with all due respect—that this Treaty settlement is for the greater good of Whakatōhea, and that the destination point always was, and always will be, a brighter future for the mokopuna of Whakatōhea.

As I mentioned in my second reading address on this bill, the Treaty settlement confers redress in financial, cultural, and commercial form to Whakatōhea. This settlement, in particular, is a trailblazer—in two ways: first, that it confers 5,000 hectares of marine space to go to Whakatōhea for aquaculture endeavours; and two, that it allows for the Waitangi Tribunal to continue its Waitangi Tribunal district inquiry Wai 1750 pertaining to Whakatōhea, and to make findings, but not recommendations; two firsts of its kind in a Treaty settlement. I’d like to, here, acknowledge Glenn Webber, Jacob Pollock, Jason Pou, and Maui Hudson for the mahi they did in facilitating these innovative solutions.

Whakatōhea is engraved in my heart for many reasons, but mostly for showing me what forgiveness can look like. And here I’d like to acknowledge Dr Te Kahautu Maxwell, who I first witnessed many years ago at a Waitangi Tribunal on expressions of mana wahine in traditional Māori society. I was captivated, actually. I asked my friend Anne Kendall: “Who is this gentle man?” I’d like to quote you, Doctor, because your submission helped with the struggles I was facing in terms of listening to the different submissions. This is translated: “Allow te Whakatōhea to again stand in nobility. Allow te Whakatōhea to again be warmed by the rays of the sun, like te Whakatōhea has been waiting to do for 157 years. Allow te Whakatōhea to again be te Whakatōhea. Do not forget, I will never forget the mistreatment of the Crown, of myself, of te Whakatōhea, not ever, but allow te Whakatōhea to enter into the world of light, to rejuvenate te Whakatōhea, to cure its ailments, to return to me my health, my soul, my sovereignty”.

Thank you, Whakatōhea, for your manaakitanga, for your lessons, and for your aroha. I honestly pray with all my heart that you can go forward into that brighter future that Dr Maxwell spoke about. I commend this bill to the House.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker. The first acknowledgment is to the God who created everything. Second acknowledgment to this standing House, greetings. The dead to the dead, the living to the living, the lines are joined. I turn to you, the people of Whakatōhea, welcome to our House. Welcome to this day, the day of the third reading of your bill. Thank you all.]

First of all, I would like to acknowledge te huarahi roa rawa atu [the long enduring pathway] that Whakatōhea have been on from the beginning of time until this point, right now, in time. There has been a long road of wrongs and hurt committed by the Crown to bring us to this point. The cumulative effects of that are recorded well in the bill that lies before this House today, and very well recorded in the Crown apology to Whakatōhea as well. Your settlement process started as far back as the 1990s. It has been a road indeed to bring us to this point in time. I would just like to, in English, give a warm mihi to all of you and to acknowledge the weight of history that you carry into this House today.

Like my colleague Adrian Rurawhe, I would like my final speech on this bill to be one of hope; to be one of looking towards the world of light and the future that awaits not only you but the generations to come. But before I do that, I just have one thing I need to get off my chest. So there’s going to be one negative point about the process of the Treaty settlement process that I would like to put down in this third reading.

I first read of your history over 20 years ago when I was a new negotiator for the Office of Treaty Settlements, and I very quickly came to terms with the Crown’s policy of what was the preference to only negotiate with large natural groups. I guess I would like to say that I saw firsthand how damaging and difficult that policy could be, and that Whakatōhea saw that up close and continues to feel the pain of that policy.

My boss quit because of that policy. I was like one or two months into my first job in Wellington, and my boss quit and resigned as a result of him protesting to Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare being tried to be shoehorned together and they were not. So right from the get-go, there were issues with how that policy was implemented and the feeling that it conveyed more hurt and pain in some instances when the efforts were trying to alleviate those.

I would like to talk about the redress of kotahi rau miriona tāra [$1 million] and that that sum is there for the future and the sustenance of Whakatōhea and for your young people to take full advantage of. I note there are 33 vesting sites as well as part of the cultural redress. But one of the things I think is most exciting is the opportunities for aquaculture that lie ahead. The fact that there are 5,000 hectares of space in the coastal marine area and that only Whakatōhea may apply for those permits, I think that is a great opportunity.

But with that, it is incumbent upon all of us to make sure our moana stay beautiful and clean and are able to be utilised for kai moana. There’s no good having aquaculture if we don’t have a water system that takes our paru water away and keeps our clean water clean. So your future is also reliant upon the decisions that happen in this country to make sure we look after the quality of our water, our beaches, and our kai moana.

I would like to wrap up, I guess, by acknowledging that the apology written in your bill is detailed. It carries a lot of weight and it really clearly calls out the wrongs that have happened and the systematic separation of a people with their land and the devastation that has caused. I think it’s incredibly important that we record that in this House, in legislation, not only so that we can tell those stories to our children but so people can read that in the years and years to come. Those words that are always so haunting to me, “Tangohia mai te taurā i taku kaki kia waiata au i taku waiata.” [“Remove the noose from my neck so that I can sing my song.”]

My hope is that this settlement is a warm protective cloak for rangatahi to nourish and nurture them for the future; that you use this to, as the words of Rima Nakhle say, bring you into the full Te Ao Mārama and take advantage of all of the opportunities.

There has never been a more challenging time for our rangatahi in this day and age in terms of the risks they face, the social media that broadcasts it, the substances available, and the fast cars. It’s a scary world for our rangatahi, and I truly hope that this warm cloak provides the comfort, the sense of standing in your place and knowing who you are, and getting strength from your community to set those young people up as strong as they possibly can to face those struggles and to face their future strong and proud. Nō reira, he mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Whāia whāia te ara matua. Whāia whāia te ara atua. Whakatikaia, whakatika. Whakamāramatia kia ora, whakamāramatia kia tau. Īhoa o ngā mano, atua Kotahi, he rākau whakaora, he tokotoko whakahaumaru he rau oriwa. Ko te mauri o te rangi ka hono, ko te mauri o te papa ka tau. Tau mai te mauri whakamanamana. Tau mai te mauri whakamōemiti. Āmine. Ae. Āmine.

Ki ngā hapū e ono o Whakatōhea e huihui mai nei mō tēnei rangi tīno whakahirahira, tēnā koutou. I tērā wiki i kōrero ahau e pā ana ki ngā wāhi e toru o ia pire whakatau. Ko te tuatahi ko te hītori, tuarua mō te whakapāha, tuatoru ko te puretumutanga. Tēnei te pānui tuatoru nā reira ka kōrero i tēnei rā e pā ana ki te wāhi tuatoru. Ki te hua o tēnei whakaaetanga. Ko te tūmanako. Ka huri ināianei ki te reo Pākehā kia mārama ai ōku whakaaro ki ngā tāngata katoa. Kei te mutunga o taku kōrero ka hoki ki te reo o te whenua nei. Ki te reo o te rongopai.

[Pursue the right pathway. Pursue the pathway to god. Be it with righteousness. Be it with good health and enlightenment. Almighty God, the one ruler, a tree of life, a tokotoko of shelter, an oriwa leaf. The power of the skies unite with the powers of the land. Bestow upon thee power of strength. Conjure the power of god. Amen.

To the six nations of Whakatōhea who are here on this special day, greetings to you all. Last week, I spoke to the three parts of the settlement bill. The first is the history, the second is the apology, and the third is the redress. This is the third reading and so I will speak today about the third part, to the benefits of this settlement. I hope. I now speak in English so that you can all understand my thoughts. At the end of my speech, I will return to the language of this land. To the language of peace.]

I said, last week, that the primary reason that I sought to come to this House was to advocate for the flourishing of communities, and none more so than iwi and hapū. I’ve spent my life doing everything I can to help people and families navigate the obstacles that life has thrown at them, and there are none in this land that have endured as much for as long as have our very first communities, which is why I so delight in what we are doing today.

I’ve seen firsthand the impact of Treaty settlements, the ability they bring for iwi to build homes, to start businesses, to fashion schools, to deliver medical services, to directly assist their whānau, and to see language and tikanga flourish anew; the ability, the space, the resources to genuinely pursue tino rangatiratanga.

Over this past summer, I read Dr Ned Fletcher’s book titled The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi. It’s an astonishing piece of work, one that I would urge every member of this House to thoughtfully engage with—as I would Dr Sam Carpenter’s many articles over the past decade. These researchers and others have done the painstaking work to help us understand the context, the complexities, and the beautiful simplicity of what our ancestors signed, that sun-drenched day in 1840 and in the months that followed, including your tūpuna.

What is, I believe, incredibly clear is that tino rangatiratanga was the very essence of what was agreed to and that tino rangatiratanga, the ability and the authority for every iwi to pursue its own flourishing, to care and provide for its own people, remains, as it was then, the very best hope of those communities today. And that is the hope that permeates, that drives, and that emerges from a Treaty settlement.

There was a fantastic picture this morning at the mihi whakatau of what might come after a Treaty claim is settled. Whakatōhea occupied most of the room, and there were just two rows of Government officials, and we were facing them. Behind the Government was another large space, and that was filled with all the waiting food. Our kaumātua, Kura, finished the proceedings by thanking Whakatōhea for their grace and love and then said, “Well, the food’s ready over there, so can I just ask the Crown to get out of the way?”

This is the first settlement I’ve had the privilege of working on, and I still can’t believe it’s Whakatōhea. I was in Vancouver, Canada, 10 years ago next month, with my then 13-year-old daughter. It was Canada’s national holiday, and Annabelle and I biked through Stanley Park to where wagons of fruit were loaded with every kind of summer berry you could imagine. We collected what seemed like several tonnes and, for the next hour, gorged ourselves. But there was something even sweeter than the berries; beside our picnic was a group of young adults swapping continuously between French and English. They were effortlessly bilingual. I don’t think they were even conscious of what they were doing. It just emanated from them. A dream was planted in my heart, that day, that has grown ever since. And when I think of what that could look like in New Zealand, of where that could be, my imagination turns to Ōpōtiki.

That March weekend, when we as a select committee visited you, I got a glimpse of vision of what could be. You see, my own journey with the reo has been most skilfully watered and most graciously tended by one of your own: Anameka Paenga. Go easy on her husband next week, Doctor. And, right now at Te Wānanga Ihorangi, she is doing the same for my son. Imagine an Ōpōtiki where the reo sings in every home and every school and on every farm. I know it already does, but imagine if it was everywhere, where it rolled like a river and flowed like a never-ending stream. And imagine an Ōpōtiki where every family flourishes in its identity, where your businesses and farms on both land and sea abound so that every family prospers, where your schools are the envy of the country, your community is marked by grace and peace. I know this is your vision. I’ve heard the ache in each of your kōrero.

Uncle Robert returned home 21 years ago to retire. Instead, he was called to bring together the people of Whakatōhea that their community might thrive again. Today, that first part of that vision is realised, and that’s why this is such an extraordinary moment, for, after generations of struggle, Whakatōhea enter a new season.

Last week, I read to you in the language of our land and heavens, the Government’s apology for the pain inflicted. That apology and the history it addresses are now written for ever into the records of this House, and they will never be forgotten. And now we get to look forward. That’s the beauty of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of hope. None of us need to be bound by the past. We are formed by it. But by the grace of Atua, we get to choose our tomorrow, and that’s what Whakatōhea have done. You’ve chosen to craft a new future.

This morning, Te Kahautu called for the lament, the loss, the suffering to be brought forward. And then he said this: “Kua tae mai te wā. Tēnei te wā o te whakapono, o te tūmanako, o te rangimārie.” The time has arrived. Now is the time for faith, for hope, for peace. In last week’s second reading, Shane Jones spoke of the centrality of your Ringatū faith to the strength and identity of Whakatōhea. He’s right. It emanates from you. It is the foundation of who you are, and it is why you have such capacity to forgive, to believe, and to hope.

Last night, as I was praying for you, my heart’s thoughts turned to the prophet Joel, to the words he spoke from his God to the people in their sadness. They are a promise to you: “ā ka meinga e ia te ua, tō mua ua, me tō muri ua, kia heke iho mā koutou i te marama tuatahi. Ā ka kapi ngā patunga witi i te witi; ko te wāina anō me te hinu o ngā waka, pūrena tonu. Ā ka whakahokia mai e ahau ki a koutou ngā tau i kāinga e te māwhitiwhiti ... Ka kai noa atu anō koutou, ka mākona, ka whakamoemiti hoki ki te ingoa o Ihowā, o tō koutou Atua, mō tana mahi whakamīharo ki a koutou: e kore anō tāku iwi e whakamā ā ake ake.” He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain. The vats will overflow with new wine and oil and milk and mussels. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. You will have plenty to eat until you are full, and you will praise the name of your God, who has worked wonders for you. Never again will my people be shamed. Whakamoemiti ki te Atua o te tino rangimārie. Korōria ki tōna ingoa tapu. Āmene. [Thanks be to the God of absolute peace. Glory to his sacred name. Amen.]

This is a split call.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. To my uncle Te Kahautu, whose plaudits are well earned here in the House today, he might not have seen, but my tuakana and I—Rawiri—went out into the lobby to talk about how we talk about the time over the next wee while, while we continue to read the bill, and Rawiri said to me, “Peeni, don’t get greedy with the time.” He said, “You’ve already got Mataatua waka; don’t take anything else.”

Ēngari ka tū tēnei uri a Te Pāpuni rāua ko Tāpeka kia mihi atu ki ōku rahi o Te Whakatōhea kua tatū iho mai nei ki runga i tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira rawa atu. Inanahi rā i tae atu ahau ki Ōmarumutu kia kite atu i te takotoranga o ōku mātua ōku tūpuna. Nā runga i te mōhio ka pānui te Whare i tēnei pire, tana pānuitanga tuatoru ki roto i te whare i te rā nei. Hei whakamā i tōku wairua, hei whakamā i tōku kiri, hei tauawhi i tōku mauri kia mahi i ēnei mahi porotiki, ēnei mahi tōrangapū.

Kāti kua ora mai anō, kua ora mai anō i te kitenga atu i ōku tūpuna ki roto o Ōmarumutu ki roto o Te Whakatōhea. E te pāpa, e Te Kahautu kua rongo atu ahau i te kōrero a tōku matua a Shane Jones e meingia ana, āe, e tangi, engari kaua i te tangi mō te tūpāpaku. Heoi anō tāku atu ki a koe, e taku matua, koinā te pai o te reo Māori. Ka tīkina atu e ahau te kupu roimata. He aha tēnei mea te roimata? He tohu o te mamae, he tohu o te aroha, he tohu o te mokemoke, he tohu o te harikoa. Ko aua āhuatanga katoa o te tangata ka kapohia e tēnei kupu iti nei, a roimata. Nō reira ki ngā puna roimata, ki a koutou katoa e kawe nei i te roimata o te wā kāinga ki tēnei o ngā whare, e mihi atu ana, e tangi atu ana. Kāti, e te Māngai.

[However, I, the descendant of Te Pāpuni and Tāpeka, stand to acknowledge my people of Te Whakatōhea who have assembled here on this auspicious occasion. Yesterday, I travelled to Ōmarumutu to see the geography of my elders and my ancestors. Knowing that the House will read the third reading of this bill here in the House today. To cleanse my spirit, to cleanse my skin, and to settle my nerves and do politics.

And so feel well. I feel well having seen my elders at Ōmarumutu, in Te Whakatōhea. Dear sir, Te Kahautu, I hear what my Uncle Shane has said, it is OK to cry. But don’t cry the mourn for our loved ones. However, what I have to say to you, sir, that is the beauty of the Māori language. If I speak to the word “roimata”. What is this thing “roimata”? It means hurt. It means love. It means lonely. It means happiness. All those emotions of a person can be described in this one word, “roimata”. And so to the pool of tears, to you all who are carrying the tears of our people to this House here, I acknowledge you, I sympathise with you.]

I was reading the bill here, and the part that stuck out to me the most says, on page 4, “In our view, delaying the bill would frustrate the will of [Te] Whakatōhea”, so I don’t wish to continue any longer—I’d hate for my relations to be frustrated even further—but I will finish and conclude my contribution with the words I said in the second reading, and I’ll say it in Māori and I’ll translate it: tēnei mea te whakapapa e kore e taea te karo [our genealogy can never be cast aside]—the beauty of our genealogy is it can never be cast aside. That’s the strength that I know Te Whakatōhea will take into the future, and I wish them all the very best on this journey and say to them, mā te atua koutou e manāki e tiaki kia tae pai ai koutou ki te wā kāinga [may the god look over you, protect you on your return home]. Tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou.

The next call is also a split call, and I understand an arrangement has been made for it to be a 10-minute call and there is no objection.

Tēnā tātou. E Te Whakatōhea, tēnā tātou e hui tahi nei i tēnei rā. Tēnā tātou i te āhuatanga o tēnei whakariterite o tātou. Ka roa nei tātou e whanga mai ki tēnei rā. Ka roa nei ō tātou mātua tīpuna i te pō e whanga mai kia ara anō hoki wā rātou mokopuna, a Te Whakatōhea. E kore au e ngaro, e kore au e ngaro. Hakoa ngā aupēhitanga o te wā.

Kotahi noa iho te mahi i tēnei rā. Ko te takutaku, ko te whakamoemiti. Kua oti ngā kōrero. Kua oti ngā mihi. Nō reira e ngā āritaritatanga a te Matua Tangata, e ngā toenga o ngā tamariki a Iharaira. Kotahi noa iho te mahi i tēnei rā. He whakamoemiti.

Kia īnoi tātou.

He hōnore, he korōria, he maungārongo ki te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa, āmine.

E Ihowa, e te Karaiti, e te Wairua Tapu, tēnei mātou āu pononga e tuku whakamoemiti, whakawhētai atu ki a koe i runga i te āhuatanga i waihotia e koe i te wā i a Mohi, i te wā i a Aperehama, i ā rāua e patu nei i te Rēme Tapu i a koe, tae ake rā ki tō tama kotahi, ki a Ihu Karaiti, e maringi ana tana toto ki runga i te whenua. I rīpekatia ia, e Ihowa, e tō mātou Matua, hei puru toto, hei here toto mō mātou.

Kia aroha mai koe ki ō mātou hē, ngā ngoikoiretanga, hīangatanga katoa. Kauparea atu ō mātou hara kia tarea e mātou te noho hākoa ki mua i tōu aroaro i tēnei rā. Ka tiki ake au i ngā kupu a te waiata a Pāora, e mea ana ko te karakia whakapakoko, ko te makutu, ko te mauāhara, ko ngā whawhai, ko ngā tauwhāinga, ko ngā riri, ko ngā totohe, ko ngā wehewehenga, ko ngā tītorehanga, ko ngā hae, ko ngā kōhuru, ko ngā haurangitanga, ko ngā kakainga, me ngā mea e rite ana ki ēnei, me kōrero wawe ahau ēnei mea ki a koutou, me pērā me tāku i kōrero ai i mua: te hunga e mahi ana i ngā mea pēnei, e kore rātou e whiwhi ki te rangatiratanga o te Atua.

Ko ngā hua ia o te wairua ko te aroha, ko te hari, ko te maungārongo, ko te manawanui, ko te ngāwari, ko te ngākaupai, ko te whakapono, ko te ngākau māhaki, ko te ngākau ka taea te pēhi. Kahore he ture i rīria ai ēnei mea. 

Te hunga ia o te Karaiti kua rīpekatia e rātou te kikokiko, me ōna hihiritanga, me ōna hiahia i te mea e ora ana tātou i roto i te wairua, kia haere anō tātou i roto i te wairua. Whakarērea e tātou te korōria huakore, te whakapātaritari tētahi ki tētahi, te hae a tētahi ki tētahi.

E Ihowa, e te Karaiti, e te Wairua Tapu, whakarongo ki ngā whakamoemiti, ki te ngākau hihiko, ki te ngākau a Te Whakatōhea kua whakawhāiti nei ki roto i tēnei Whare ka roa nei e aupēhi nei i a tātou. Tēnei, e Ihowa, e tō mātou Atua, te whakamoemiti atu ki a koe i runga i te āhuatanga i waihotia e ō tātou mātua tīpuna i te pō.

Kia hīkina ngā taumahatanga, kia hīkina te kapua ka roa nei e whakapura nei i a Te Whakatōhea, kia hīkina te haki o Ingarangi ka roa nei e whakatakotoria ki runga i tō iwi, i a Te Whakatōhea i tēnei rā. Kia whai anō hoki a Te Whakatōhea i te māramatanga, ā tātou mokopuna mō ngā rā e haere ake nei.

Whakataiepangia a Te Whakatōhea ki tōu mana whakaora hei ārai atu i ngā whakawainga o te ao, a te kikokiko, a te Rēwera, a te ūpoko ariki a kiriweti me te porohae kia noho ko koe te Atua kei mua, kei muri, kei tētahi taha, kei tētahi taha o mātou i ngā wā katoa.

Tēnei mātou, e Ihowa, e tō mātou Atua, te whakamoemiti atu ki a koe, nāhau anō hoki a Te Whakatōhea i arahi ki runga i ngā huarahi, ki ngā kapua i te rangi kia tae pai mai ki tēnei huihuinga o mātou i tēnei rā. E kore te waewae tutuki e tutuki, kia tiakina rātou i a rātou e hīkoi ana i runga i ngā tiriti pūkohu tāiri o Pōneke, ā, i tā rātou whakahoki atu ki ō rātou kāinga. 

Tiakina rātou, e Ihowa, e tō mātou Atua. Tukuna mai ko tō Wairua Tapu, ko tōu mana whakaora, ko tō ringa whakakaha ki runga i a Te Whakatōhea i tēnei rā. Hīkina, hīkina ngā taumahatanga ka roa nei e whakataumaha nei i a tātou.

Nō reira e Ihowa, e tō mātou Atua, tēnei mātou te whakamoemiti atu ki a koe i runga i te ingoa o tāu tama, o Ihu Karaiti, tō mātou kaiwhakaora.

E ko te waiata a Rāwiri e waru tekau mā rima.

E Ihowa kua aro mai koe ki tōu whenua; kua whakahokia mai e koe a Hākopa i whakaponongatia nei. Kua murua e koe te kino o tōu iwi, kua hīpokina e koe ō rātou hara katoa. Kua whakakāhoretia katoatia e koe tōu weriweri. Kua tahuri atu koe i te āritaritatanga o tō riri. Whakahokia ake mātou, e te Atua, o tō mātou whakaoranga. Ka whakarongo atu ahau ki tā te Atua, ki tā lhowa e kōrero ai, nō te mea hoki mō te rongo mau āna korero ki tōna iwi, ki tōna hunga tapu hoki kaua ia rātou e hoki atu ki te wairangi. He pono e tata ana tāna whakaoranga ki te hunga e wehi ana i a ia, kia noho ai te korōria ki tō tātou whenua. Kua tūtaki te mahi tohu rāua ko te pono. Kua kihi ki a rāua te tika me te rongomau. E tipu ake te pono i te whenua, e titiro iho te tika i te rangi. Āe ka homai e lhowa te mea pai, ka tukua mai ōna hua e tō tātou whenua. Ka haere te tika ki mua i a ia, hei whakaatu i a tātou ki te ara o āna hīkoinga.

I te timatanga te Kupu, i te Atua te Kupu, ko te Atua ano te Kupu. I te Atua ano tēnei Kupu i te timatanga. Nāna ngā mea katoa i hanga; kahore kau hoki tētahi mea i kore te hanga e ia o ngā mea i hangaia. I a ia te ora; ko te ora te māramatanga mō ngā tāngata katoa. I roto i te pōuri te māramatanga e whiti ana, heoi kīhai i mau i te pōuri. Korōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

E Ihowa, e pono māu mātou e pīkau, māu anō hoki ā mātou pōuritanga e wāhi, [Inaudible] o ngā mea hara katoa e iri nei i te ao. Korōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

E Ihowa, whakapūmautia mai tōu māramatanga ki a mātou, āu pononga, i tēnei rā nā te mea nāu te rangi me te whenua, ka whakapāoho ana koe i runga i te kare o ngā wai, ā, ka kī koe, “Kia mārama”, nā ka mārama. I muri ka hangā e koe te tangata kia rite ki a koe te āhua, na i reira ka puta tāu manaaki kia huhua, kia tini, kia kapi katoa te whenua i ā kōrua, ā, hei rangatira kōrua mō ngā mea katoa i te whenua kīhai i mau tao, tae noa mai ki tēnei rā.

[Inaudible] otirā e kore e puta noa mai te oranga mā te inoi anake, mā te noho puku. Ae rā, manaakitia mai mātou, e Ihowa, i tēnei rā. Korōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

Kia whakapaingia ki a koe, e Ihowa, e tō mātou Matua nui i te rangi, nōu hoki te nui, te mana, te korōria, te wikitōria, te hōnore, nōu hoki ngā mea katoa i te rangi, i te whenua, nāu anō hoki te rangatiratanga e kore nei e mutu. Ka whakamoemiti atu mātou ki a koe mōu i waihotia hei upoko mō ngā iwi katoa o tēnei ao, kia whakapaingia e koe i tēnei wā haora hoki, ā, āke tonu ake. Korōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

[Inaudible] e te Atua i tō hunga tapu e noho iho nei i te rangi kia tata tōu ringa ki te whakaora i a mātou ki te whai i ngā tāngata rānea i tōu aroaro e rāweke ana i te riri e nui ana tō mahi tohu. E pai ana koe, e Ihowa, i ngā mea katoa i runga i a mātou tāu manaakitanga. Korōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

Tētahi wāhi o te inoi a te Ariki. E tō mātou Matua i te rangi, kia tapu. Kia tapu tōu ingoa, kia tae mai. Kia tae mai tōu rangatiratanga, kia meatia. Kia meatia tāu e pai ai ki runga i te whenua ki rite anō ki tō te rangi, ka whakamoemiti. Ka whakamoemiti nei hoki mātou ki a koe, ki te whakakorōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

E te Atua, tahuri mai ōu taringa, whakarongo mai ki ō mātou inoi kua ngaro atu koe i a au e tangi atu nei. Anga mai, titiro ki a mātou e pōkaikaha nei, e tangi nei hoki. Korōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine.

E te Atua, whakatuwheratia mai ngā kūaha o te tika, o te pono, o te māramatanga, o te ora ki a mātou, āu pononga, i tēnei rā. Mā mātou anō hoki koe e whakamoemiti, e whakakorōria ki tō ingoa tapu, āmine. Kia ora tātou.

[Greetings, all. Te Whakatōhea, greetings to us all here meeting today. Greetings to us in regards to the matter at hand. We have been waiting for this day for a long time. Our ancestors of the night have been waiting for their descendants, Whakatōhea, to arise for a very long time. We will never be lost—we will never be lost. Despite the suppression of the time. 

There is only one thing left to do today. It is to recite karakia, it is to express gratitude. Enough has been said. The acknowledgments have been made. Therefore, to the irascibleness of the Mortal Father, the children of Israel. There is only one thing left to do today. It is to express gratitude. 

Let us pray.

Honour, glory, peace on earth, goodwill to all people, amen.

O God, the Christ, the Holy Spirit, we, your servants, offer thanks and praise to you in the manner that you left in the time of Moses, in the time of Abraham, and their sacrifice of the Sacred Lamb to you, including your only son, Jesus Christ, whose blood was spilt on to the land. He was crucified, oh Lord, our father, to be a bandage and tourniquet for us.

Forgive us our sins, our weaknesses, and all of our deceits. Avert our sins so that we may gladly sit in your presence this day. I quote the words of the psalm of Paul, that says the worship of idols, sorcery, animosity, conflict, rivalry, conflict, contention, separation, division, jealousy, murder, inebriation, gluttony, and things like this, I must confess all of these things to you, it should be as I said earlier: those that execute such actions will not receive the kingdom of God.

The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, resoluteness, patience, virtue, faith, humility, and the heart that can be suppressed. There is no law that conflicted with these things.

The people of Christ whose flesh was crucified by them, and his desires, and his needs because we are alive in spirit, let us continue on in spirit. We cast out conceit, inciting strife amongst each other, and jealousy of each other.

O God, Christ, and Holy Spirit, listen to our prayers, to our invigorated hearts, to the heart of Te Whakatōhea who have assembled here within this House, which has oppressed us for so long. We, o God, our Father, praise you in the manner that was bequeathed to us by our forebears who have passed into the night.

Let the difficulties be lifted, let the cloud that has long blinded Te Whakatōhea be lifted, let the flag of England that has laid upon your people, Te Whakatōhea, be lifted this day. So that Te Whakatōhea may pursue understanding, and also our grandchildren for the days to come.

Encircle Te Whakatōhea with your healing power to ward off the temptations of the world, of the flesh, of the Devil, the paramount lord of bad temper and envy so that you, o God, are before, behind, and at each side of us at all times.

We, o Lord, our God, praise you who lead Te Whakatōhea along the roads and the clouds in the sky in order to arrive safely to this assembly of ours this day. The foot that stumbles will not stumble, protect them as they walk along the streets of Wellington that lay heavy with fog, and as they return to their homes.

Protect them, o Lord, our God. Issue forth your Holy Spirit, your healing power, and your strengthening hand upon Te Whakatōhea this day. Lift, lift the difficulties that have plagued us for so long.

And so, o Lord, our God, we praise you in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, our saviour.

The psalm of David eighty five.

You, Lord, showed favour to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. You set aside all your wrath. You turned from us your fierce anger. Restore us again, our God, and put away your displeasure toward us. I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants, but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of all people. And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

O God, in truth you carry us, you also sunder our dejection, [Inaudible] of all sinful things that are suspended on the world. Glory to your holy name, amen.

O Lord, make permanent your light upon us, your servants, this day because heaven and earth is yours, and you floated above the ripples of the waters, and you said, “Let there be light” and there was light. And later mankind was created by you in your image, and at that point your care was such that they multiplied and became numerous, and all the land was covered by you, and you are lord over all things on the land that did not take up the spear, to this very day.

[Inaudible] indeed wellbeing will not come from prayer and fasting alone. Yes indeed, care for us, o Lord, this day. Glory to your holy name, amen.

Blessed be your name, o Lord, our great Father in heaven, yours is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, the honour, and all things are yours in heaven and on earth, yours is the eternal kingdom. We praise you who have left for us the head of all peoples of the world, blessed be you at this time, and forever and ever. Glory to your holy name, amen.

[Inaudible] o God your holy company that reside in heaven so that your hand may be close to us to save us in order to pursue the many people in your presence that manipulate conflict, great are your instructive actions. You are good, o Lord, in all things is your care upon us. Glory to your holy name, amen.

An excerpt from the Lord’s prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed. Hallowed by thy name, cometh. Thy kingdom come, be done. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we praise. We praise you to glorify your holy name, amen.

O God, turn to us your ears, listen to our prayers, you have become lost to me in my grief. Face us, look upon us in our struggles and our grief. Glory to your holy name, amen.

O God, open wide the doors of righteousness, truth, light and life to us, our servants, this day. We will praise and honour your holy name, amen. Greetings to all of us.] 

Bit of a hard act to follow there, brother. Jeez—jeez!

Rawiri Waititi: It’s not an act.

Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I realise that. Ēngari tuatahi e mihi ana kia koutou Whakatōhea. Tae mai nei i tēnei wā, i whakarangatira i a mātou i tēnei wā. Mihi ana ki a koutou. He wā roa ēngari, ka mutu tēnei haerenga. Kāore i te tiki te mahi whakataunga ēngari, ka whai wāhi tonu te whakataunga mō ngā reanga hou, nō reira tēnā koutou, tēnā anō tātou katoa.

[Firstly, acknowledgments to you, Whakatōhea. Arrived here today, we are honoured that you are here today. Thank you all. It has been an enduring time; however, it has come to an end. The settlement wasn’t made right, but the settlement will benefit the future generation, and so greetings to you all. Thank you everyone here today.]

We’re very lucky in the House to have that type of contribution, in all seriousness, from the member Rawiri Waititi—from your member, Whakatōhea. That type of karakia or kōrero has never been done in the House, so I mihi to my good mate and whanaunga Rawiri for putting that forward in the House, because that is what it’s all about. So mihi ana ki a koe, Rawiri.

When I was looking at this kaupapa, and I’ve been listening to some of the kōrero today—some magnificent kōrero—I think the Whakatōhea kaupapa is the best example of how badly the Treaty settlement process went. I’m not talking about the recent settlement, Minister; I’m talking about the history. I’m talking about 1995, when our good friend Ranginui Walker said no—he said no to this process. He said no because he said that the Crown picks winners, the Crown picks who they negotiate with, the Crown has all the numbers, and the Crown decides the final pūtea. Rangi said that in 1995, I think it was, and they waited 20 years for any justice to come back their way. They got put to the back of the line. That was his punishment and that was their punishment for daring to try and negotiate with the Crown.

See, we still talk about that type of thing—we all talk about it now, which is really good—but have things really changed? We have Treaty negotiators here: Rawiri, Deb, and others who have been involved—has the system really changed?

I remember this so well, and I spoke about it the first reading, because I interviewed Ranginui over this on radio when he was alive. He was quite tortured by it, because at one level he was proud of what he did for all the whānau here, but he felt some guilt because the tribe got put to the back of the queue. So I say today, when we look at the settlement, let’s try and learn something, I suppose. Let’s try and learn something, because there’s been some beautiful kōrero today—particularly the last karakia, kōrero, from Rawiri Waititi, which was absolutely exceptional. But if we don’t learn anything from the Ranginui Walkers, I don’t know what we learn.

Then I listened to Shane Jones today, too, and I thought it was beautiful. It was the same Shane Jones who keeps rubbishing the Waitangi Tribunal, and they want us to shut the tribunal down. I don’t know if it’s the same Shane Jones I’m talking to sometimes, because I love Shane Jones sometimes and then I hate him some other times. You know, we love Shane Jones when he’s in that mode, and then he goes into the media with his mate David Seymour and they talk about closing down the tribunal.

The tribunal should be alive for ever and a day. It does not shut down just because we complete Treaty settlements. If we shut if the tribunal down, are we saying we’re going to trust the Crown for ever and a day? That’s not what the tribunal was about. I need our Minister of Treaty Negotiations to not listen to Shane Jones and to listen to myself and Peeni Henare and Rawiri Waititi. Don’t listen to Shane Jones—he’ll just waffle on with Winston’s carry on, you know.

So I say today that we do these settlements with beautiful kōrero from all sides of the House, but we’ve got this sort of cloud hovering over us. I see that on Thursday, Te Pāti Māori is running their protests, and good on them, I say. But we have a cloud over us and something doesn’t feel right as we push through these settlements, and then we start losing Māori rights here, there, and everywhere. It doesn’t seem right. Are these the same people whom I’m listening to, going “Here’s some great kōrero from ACT, great kōrero from National.”, and yet we have Māori rights under threat.

So I say to our people who are here today that this is the completion of a journey, but it might be the start of another one. It might be the start of another one because we have Māori rights under threat and we have the tribunal being attacked every second or third day by two Ministers who should know better—particularly Mr Jones. I say to our people that we must get ready. We must get ready and we must continue this, because just because things shut down, it doesn’t mean that the tribunal shuts down. It doesn’t mean Māori rights are shut down. It doesn’t mean that the fight doesn’t go on.

So mihi ana ki a koutou—well done. I see Dudu Kāhautū up the back there. We tautoko your whanaunga out the back here, behind us—the kaihautū. He gave it to us at the Treaty settlement thing when we didn’t turn up, and we remember that. He said, “Where’s my nephew Peeni?”—ae, Peeni? Well, he’s right here, Dudu, and we absolutely tautoko—we just got caught up that day, ae, brother? He made sure he embarrassed us. The Māori Party said, “Yes, where’s Labour?” They were into it straight away.

But I want to mihi to you too, brother, up the back there, and to all of you who’ve come here today—you know, these are special times for this House. For all parties, these types of settlements bring the best out in everyone—you know, you don’t really see us at each other’s throats. I’m probably the only one who keeps booting the other side, you know—I can’t help it. But I also recognise that when you hear some of the kōrero coming out from some of these MPs on the other side, you can see that they’re conflicted—you see? There are some real obligations in terms of our people and getting through the Treaty settlements process, and then that conflict because Winston—you know how he is. Actually, Ranginui was quite a supporter of Winston’s, wasn’t he?

But, anyway, thank you everyone. It’s been lovely to make a contribution. Special kōrero today, as I said, from all sides of the House—all the best to everyone. Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, tēnā anō tātou katoa. Kia ora.

[This is my warm salutations to you. Thank you, all, and also, greetings to us all. Kia ora.]

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Willie, that’s a hard act to follow.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou e te iwi o Whakatōhea, mō tō koutou kaha me tō koutou manawa nui i tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira. Tēnā koutou katoa.

[Greetings to you, the people of Whakatōhea, for your strength and your resilience in this important initiative. Greetings to you all.]

It is indeed an honour to be the last and final speaker in this House in this long, protracted, and difficult claims process for the people of the mighty Whakatōhea rohe. I welcome them to the House of Representatives to hear the third reading of their Treaty settlement bill. I’m privileged to walk alongside these people as part of the incredible East Coast electorate, and I acknowledge the presence of some of their esteemed leaders today. Uncle Robert Edwards, happy 91st birthday to you for next month, in a couple of weeks’ time. Te Kahautu Maxwell, Arihia Tuoro, Dickie Farrar—welcome back to the House. Graeme Riesterer, acknowledged not only as a longstanding Whakatōhea board member but also for your journey through both the previous, abandoned settlement and this most recent 20-year journey alongside the aforementioned, as well as your contribution as the chair of Tū Ake and then the pre-settlement trust.

Can I acknowledge Danny Poihipi, a kaumātua of Ngāti Ngahere te hapū and Bruce Pukepuke from Te Upokorehe for his contribution to the history of Whakatōhea, and all kaumātua who have been a part of both journeys as well—and Tahu Taia, a longstanding trust board member, who has waited patiently for this point in time. As always, we recognise the tūpuna who have not seen this day come to fruition, for the work and commitment to their iwi over centuries. There’s a small list of others who’ve played a big part—well, actually, there’s a long list of others, for me today, who’ve played an enormous part in this task, including: Kate Hudson, Vaughan Payne, Josie Mortensen, Julia Williams, Johnny Hata, Bella Williams, the komiti whiriwhiri team, and Danny Paruru, who assisted with the research and kōrero. Of course, we recognise the work done by the Hon Chris Finlayson, the Hon Andrew Little, negotiators for the Crown Jake Pollock and Glenn Webber, and for Whakatōhea, Maui Hudson and Jason Pou. The collective determination, wisdom, and vision of all of these people has seen this iwi dig deep over the years and achieve well beyond expectation despite the atrocity of the past.

I want to touch briefly on the settlement terms today and then focus on tomorrow and what lies ahead for this iwi in Ōpōtiki, the little town where there is so much good happening, and so very much of it at the hands of all of these people. This settlement will now transfer the asset liabilities and care of the people to the post-settlement governance entity Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea, a new entity with representatives from all hapū to administer the future for the Whakatōhea people. In that settlement lies the secret to the next 10 years for the future of employment, economic return, and commercialisation in Ōpōtiki, because, as I mentioned last week, the vision and strategic nous of these people in buying a wee dairy farm in 1946 was a catalyst for change. They didn’t know at the time what it would do, but it crystallised the thinking of self-sufficiency, of commercial enterprise, and investment. And when Te Kahautu Maxwell’s father told him that the iwi would have to farm the sea, it set them on a path that should be celebrated and now, with the settlement of their claims, catapulted into the next phase.

Whakatōhea is a founding partner in the establishment of the Whakatōhea mussel factory, as part of the entity that is now the country’s largest open-ocean mussel farm, with access to an expansive open-water space, global markets, and a purpose-built processing facility that can take product from around New Zealand. At inception, Whakatōhea owned just under 10 percent of shares in the aquaculture entity, and now, as part of this settlement, the Crown Regional Holdings Limited shares will transfer to the iwi, increasing its shareholding to just under 48 percent and, as a result, increasing the return on investment for you as the people of Whakatōhea. The story of the mussel factory and aquaculture is now part of the modern history of this iwi, and it was Te Kahautu Maxwell who told us, in his submission to the hearings, that his father told him the iwi had no land and so they must farm the sea. You learnt to do that. And so, through significant lobbying, capital raising, dogged commitment, that’s what they did.

The iwi partnered where it needed to, sold shareholdings in the company, and built what was then a fledgling company in the heart of regional New Zealand. It is now the biggest full-time employer of people in the rohe, with nearly 200 people, and kaumātua Uncle Robert Edwards said at its inception in 2014, “We are all Whakatōhea. No matter who we are, we are all one.” And the local people supported the entity, with more than 197 local families buying shares in that entity. In fact, the story goes that when the capital raise was started, a local grandmother and grandfather—and you will know who this is—bought $10,000 worth of shares for their whānau with their life savings. The whole family was part of that decision, and the mokopuna paid off the shares with their pocket money. This is what brings a stringent sense of pride and belonging to the whānau and community for their ownership and dedication to the factory and all that it stands for.

The connection of Whakatōhea to the ocean now traverses a new opportunity and a new era. The share transfer in the settlement arrangement, with them having sole access to 5,000 hectares of seabed for aquaculture, is a game-changer. This will see the next 10 years strategically focused around growth and further commercialisation to provide for their people in many different ways. By 2034, the next 10 years, it expects to be employing in the order of 320 people, be operating out of the new harbour entrance, have many more vessels in the ocean, and will fair be pumping along.

We should never forget that the raupatu, the horrific treatment of the Whakatōhea tūpuna, and the considerable damage done to the iwi, the hapū, their reo, and mātauranga were real and atrocious. But, as they have told us so many times, they were determined not to live in the past but to focus on the future for the betterment of all of their people, no matter who. In the very wise words of kaumātua Uncle Robert, which were almost written for today, “The future opportunity,” he said, “belongs to us all. What we do today will define the future, and we must stand united with one voice, one mind, one people for the future before us. We live in dignity, with humility and courage, and we are proud of who we are.” And you’ll get no argument from us on that one.

When we went to the submissions hearings in Ōpōtiki in February, it was evident the hospitality of these people was next level. They were generous with their time and their hearts, and I now have a hydrangea cutting growing at home from the wonderful women I now call my “hydrangea aunties”, and I shall cherish that; it will remind me always of my first Treaty settlement hearings, of the deeply humbling experience it has been, and how much, as a country, we have to learn of our history, sometimes literally in our own backyard. It has been an honour and a privilege to join the very last chapter of the settlement and to walk alongside these fine people in the last part of this journey that has taken since 1914.

Today is about the people of Whakatōhea, the end of a long and protracted journey that will have left many, many weary but that now can bring a sense of clarity and a sustained focus on the opportunities to fulfil the next stage of their success. To the kaumātua who are here today, who have steered this waka to this landing point, this is a significant achievement that now marks a point in time. As you chart the next part of your centuries-long voyage, we wish you well. I know this iwi and its post-settlement entity will do everything and everyone at Whakatōhea proud and that this next step in the long and detailed history of the iwi has been a long time coming. Today, in this House, we see the leaders of yesterday honoured, those leaders of today here as part of this historic point in time, and the leaders of tomorrow included, as rangatahi, tamariki, and the mokopuna brought and in this House today. What an incredible way to mark the final step in this settlement process for you as a people.

This part of the journey is nearly complete. There’s just that long, long bus ride back home to Ōpōtiki to get through! But there, as Whakatōhea, as one, you will design your future aspirations, holding the inspiration from your tūpuna in your hearts and with you all the way. Stand tall; go well. You have brought dignity and grace in the face of extreme adversity. We wish you all the very best. Kia kaha. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a third time.

Excuse me, can I call for order in the gallery, please. Order in the gallery—order in the gallery. There is permission for a waiata. The gallery is not the place for speeches, thank you.

Waiata—“E kore au e ngaro”

Haka—“Kī mai nei koe”

Rawiri Waititi: Point of order.

Sorry, we’ll just wait for the gallery to clear.

Rawiri Waititi: Point of order.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): We’re just waiting on the gallery to clear.

Rawiri Waititi: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): I hear you; I’m just waiting on the gallery to clear.

Kei te pai the gallery; we’re in the House now. I call a point of order, Madam Speaker. I find it extremely insulting that one of our rangatira was cut off—which is part of the protocol of the waiata today. I call for an apology from the Speaker today, to Te Whakatōhea, for rudely interrupting what was—

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): Excuse me, that’s not a point of order.

RAWIRI WAITITI: No, no—that was a point of order. Absolutely, because I take umbrage to that. I am insulted by that, as is Whakatōhea. So I call for the Speaker to apologise to Whakatōhea before they leave this Chamber.

Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. The purpose of these settlements is to acknowledge the wrongs of the Crown—to acknowledge the constant trampling and insults committed against Māori and direct losses. In this process, which is a meaningful one for the iwi who have come and agreed to this settlement, there is an opportunity for the Crown to actually receive the dignity offered by the iwi in the making of the apology, and yet in the whole process we find we keep committing further harm and insult. That moment then was a completely unnecessary interruption and an affront to an otherwise very dignified and positive process, and I support the call for you to make an apology.

What I will do is consult with the Speaker on the way forward. It’s common practice for permission to be granted for a waiata. It is not the position for members of the gallery to make further speeches. So thank you. I will take it up with the Speaker.

Speaking to the point of order. Madam Speaker, what we allowed was to give you warning. You didn’t use any of your cultural support that you could have to have ensured that the mana of this kaupapa and the mana of our iwi was respected. There was a very wrong done here today, and they must be apologised to before they leave. Otherwise, the very process which every party supported today has been takahi. I please ask that you consider—

There is also tikanga in this House that I have to uphold.

Hon Willie Jackson: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): Is this a different point of order, Willie Jackson?

No, no—speaking to this. I need to give a position to support the motion from Te Pāti Māori. This is not about trying to get one up on you; this is about tikanga, and our people have been slighted. They’ve come from a long way away, and we ask you to respect the request from Te Pāti Māori that an apology be given to our people. We tautoko that from this side.

Speaking briefly to the point of order, I think it would be worth the House just dialling down a touch. My read of the situation, having watched it quite carefully, was that no offence was intended by you, Madam Speaker, I’m sure. My sense is that it was more just a misunderstanding around what was intended to happen and what members thought was likely to happen at the conclusion of the third reading speech. So I understand—

Rawiri Waititi: No, Chris—no, Chris.

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, I’m trying to be helpful here.

Rawiri Waititi: We’ve been misunderstood for the last 180 years. Come on—all it is is an apology.

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: I accept where you’re coming from. I’m just trying to say that in the spirit of the third reading of this very important settlement, I think it would be worth just everyone just taking a breath and dialling it down a touch, because I don’t think the Speaker intended any offence. I think it would be a shame if we left the third reading and moved on to the later items of business in a spirit where there was acrimony across the Parliament, because I actually think there’s unanimous agreement for reconciliation.

Thank you. I call on Government order of the day No. 2.

Madam Speaker, I present a legislative statement for the Resource Management—

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Oh, kei te hē, kei te hē. [That’s wrong, that’s wrong.] You’re wrong. You cannot sit there and bring our whānau here to settle Te Tiriti—

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): Order!

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: —and then you behave like this. You’re wrong. No wonder our people are coming here on Thursday—you’re wrong. [Interruption]

All right. So arguments have been heard from both sides. My job is to protect the tikanga of this Parliament—[Interruption]—this Parliament. It is the Parliament of all people in New Zealand and there is no intention to offend anybody in the upholding of its own tikanga, and tikanga does not allow for speeches from the gallery. It never has. On that basis, we will now proceed, and for those who do not want to accept that, well, unfortunately, no change can be made. [Interruption] Call it as you want it. So we’re proceeding with the previously called bill.