Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill

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

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

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

Tihei māuriora. 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 tipuna o te pō, haere, haere, haere. Haere ki te wāhi ngaro, haere, haere. E ngā kāwai Rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[‘Tis the breath of life. The House stand, greetings to you. The land outside, greetings to you. The native people of this area, acknowledgments. The ancestors of the night, farewell, farewell, farewell. Farewell to the unseen realm, farewell. Dear esteemed leaders, greetings to you all, thank you, thank you.]

I’m pleased to be here today to support the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill for its second reading and to greet the many people from Whakatōhea who have come to the House to hear this second reading speech today.

This bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed by Te Whakatōhea and the Crown in 2023. The deed settles all the remaining historic Treaty of Waitangi claims of Whakatōhea and iwi in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, comprising six hapū: Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakenga, and Te Ūpokorehe.

The Whakatōhea settlement journey has been a long one. Today, we remember and pay tribute to the leaders, including the many whānau members, who have passed on before they could witness this milestone. Te Whakatōhea has been served over the years by courageous and committed negotiators and advisers. To Robert Edwards, Graeme Riesterer, and the entire Whakatōhea Pre-Settlement Claims Trust, I thank you for your hard work throughout these negotiations. I congratulate the trustees of Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea on their election at the inaugural AGM in March. I also acknowledge the negotiators Maui Hudson and Jason Pou and their support team led by Arihia Tuoro and Gina Smith for their significant contributions to this settlement.

On the Crown’s side, I acknowledge the work of my predecessors the Hon Chris Finlayson, who reached agreement in principle with Te Whakatōhea in August 2017, and the Hon Andrew Little, who introduced this bill in August 2023. I also acknowledge the work of the chief Crown negotiator Glenn Webber in these negotiations, and my ministerial colleagues, Crown agencies, and, in particular, the Office for Māori Crown Relations - Te Arawhiti and local authorities for their support to achieve this settlement. Today’s reading marks another important milestone for Te Whakatōhea in their settlement journey.

Te Whakatōhea first petitioned this House in 1914 for the Crown to honour its commitments under the Treaty of Waitangi and to recognise its breaches regarding the confiscation of Whakatōhea lands. While that petition was unsuccessful, Te Whakatōhea continued to petition the Crown, with many members contributing to these efforts. In 1946, Te Whakatōhea received a small form of compensation from those land confiscations, but the full impact of the Crown’s actions was not addressed. In the 1990s, Te Whakatōhea were amongst the first iwi to enter settlement negotiations with the Crown and, in 1996, initialled a deed of settlement. That deed of settlement was never put into ratification. More than 100 years on from the 1914 petition, and 30 years on from the initiating negotiations, we’ve finally reached a point where the Crown acknowledges and apologises for the grievances it caused.

The bill was referred to the Māori Affairs Committee on 17 August 2023. The committee received and considered 112 submissions on the bill and heard oral evidence from 40 submitters. The committee recommended minor amendments to the commencement date and the insertion of a reference to traditional knowledge labels. The committee also considered requests for two hapū to be withdrawn from the settlement: Te Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira. The committee acknowledged the different, strongly held views about the removal of hapū from the bill. However, the committee did not recommend any substantive changes, because, on balance, they considered it in the best interests of Te Whakatōhea for the bill to proceed without change.

I’d like to extend my thanks to the committee members for their work on the bill. I acknowledge the strong views of those from Te Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira who seek their own settlements. However, I support the committee’s decision. Te Whakatōhea has worked hard towards settlement for many years, and moving into the post-settlement space will provide opportunities for all hapū. I hope all Whakatōhea hapū can find a way to work together to make the most of the settlement opportunities that are provided.

Today is about looking forward to the future while acknowledging the past and the long and difficult journey it has taken to get here. I personally first encountered the story actually studying my Master’s in history, and my thesis was on William Colenso, who wrote an article called “Fiat Justitia” about Mokomoko and his story defending him. I’ve always been interested in those tragic, tragic events, and the redress contained in this bill provides a foundation that will benefit many generations of Te Whakatōhea to come by supporting them in their future endeavours and in realising their aspirations.

No settlement can fully compensate for the wrongdoing of the Crown or compensate Whakatōhea for the hurt that they have endured, but it is my hope that this settlement will mark the beginning of a strengthened relationship between Whakatōhea and the Crown based on mutual trust, cooperation, and partnership. I support the committee’s recommendations as they will ensure the redress in the Whakatōhea deed of settlement can be properly implemented through this bill. This reading today is another important step in the settlement process, before the third reading, which will result in the full and final settlement of the historic Treaty of Waitangi claims for Whakatōhea.

I look forward to hosting many, many more of Te Whakatōhea on what will be a special occasion and to honour the commitments the Crown has agreed to take towards reconciliation. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Otirā e tika ana kia tuku mihi atu ki ngā whānau me ngā hapū katoa o Te Whakatōhea. Ki a Ngāti Rua, Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira me Te Ūpokorehe. Ānei mātou o te roopu Reipa e tuku mihi atu nei ki a koutou, tēnā koutou mō ō koutou kaha kia mahia ēnei mahi. Nōreira e tika ana kia tuku mihi atu ki a koutou. Kia whakapiri hoki āku mihi ki te mihi o te Minita, ki a rātou mā kua hinga mai nā mai i te tīmatanga o tēnei kereme tae noa mai ki tēnei wā. Nōreira e ngā mate maha hoki wairua atu ki a rātou te tini me te mano kia rātou katoa; tēnei te mihi ake, e moe. Ā kāti mō tēnā.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker. It is only right that I acknowledge the families and all the people of Whakatōhea. To Ngāti Rua, to Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira, and Te Ūpokorehe, this is us the Labour Party acknowledging you all. Thank you for your strength to have endured this. And so it is correct to acknowledge you all and to also support the acknowledgments done by the Minister, to our loved ones who passed during the inception of this claim right up to present time. And so, all our loved ones, farewell to the multitudes there waiting for you; this is my acknowledgment, rest well. And so, furthermore.]

I had the honour and privilege of being on the Māori Affairs Committee that considered this bill. We were fortunate enough to travel to Ōpōtiki and to be hosted by Te Whakatōhea and to hear the submissions on this bill. I want to acknowledge all 40 that made submissions orally and to everyone that did put in submissions. I think it’d be fair to say that the committee spent a lot of time considering what we heard, and we heard the Minister outline some of that.

Can I reflect for a moment on our visit to Ōpōtiki. I had the honour and privilege of responding to the mihi whakatau and in my response I made it very clear about what the role of the Māori Affairs Committee was in considering this legislation. We were, as a committee, very clear about what our role was and also very clear about what it wasn’t. I raise that issue because it would seem to me that some of the submitters—I’ll be kind and say “may have been misled” as to what the role of the committee was. That was very clear in the submissions.

I say to those people who wrongly believe that the Māori Affairs Committee had far more power and authority than we actually do to make changes to a deed of settlement, which is a legally binding document between the Crown and Whakatōhea—but what we did do was listen very carefully to what they had to say. As the Minister stated, on balance, we made the decision that it was in the best interest of all of Whakatōhea not to make any changes.

I want to acknowledge the negotiators, the pre-settlement team, but, in particular, I actually want to acknowledge Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, because, over the last 70 years or 80 years, maybe, they’ve had the responsibility of growing the iwi asset, and I have to say I believe they’ve done an incredibly good job. Because of something that happened at my home, I wasn’t able to stay for the committee’s tour of the rohe. But I’ve heard from colleagues who were very impressed—I’ve read for myself; I can see that. I also attended the Ahuwhenua awards last Friday and I could see that demonstrated as well, that the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board has done an amazing job.

This piece of legislation will disestablish the Whakatōhea Māori Trust, and Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea will take over that role. They’ve got huge shoes to fill, and I think it’s important that this House recognises the importance of the work that the Māori Trust Board has done, and I certainly do that now.

I’m not going to go too much into the settlement detail, as outlined by the Minister. I do just want to touch on some of the cultural redress. I think, from my reading of it—and I’ve read many, many deeds of settlement—this one has a particularly strong cultural redress throughout the document, with the transfer of sites, the statutory acknowledgments, deeds of recognition, and protocols and other mechanisms which I believe will give Whakatōhea the opportunity to really express its mana over its whenua.

So I congratulate Jason and Maui, and the whole team that had the tenacity to get to this day where we have its second reading in this House. I look forward to the third reading. I’m not going to say any more, except I’m going to mihi to colleagues on the Māori Affairs Committee, and once again to ngā whānau me ngā hapū o Te Whakatōhea. Nōreira huri rauna, tēnā rā tātou katoa. [the families and the people of Te Whakatōhea. And so, everyone present today, thank you all.]

E te Māngai, tēnā koe. Ki a koutou o Whakatōhea, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa. Tēnā tātou katoa ngā mema Pāremata o tēnei Whare, nei rā taku mihi aroha ki a koutou o Whakatōhea. Ki ngā hapū, Ngāti Rua, Ngai Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira me Te Ūpokorehe. Nei rā taku mihi aroha ki a koutou i roto i ēnei wero kei mua i a tātou mō tēnei mea te kereme.

[Madam Speaker, thank you. To you all Whakatōhea, greetings to you all. Salutations to all parliamentary members of this House. I express my sentiments to you Whakatōhea. To the subtribes, Ngāti Rua, Ngai Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngāhere, Ngāti Ira, and Te Ūpokorehe, I would like to express my sincere acknowledgments to you during these challenging times, in regards to this claim.]

I stand to speak today as I was the Green Party member on the Māori Affairs Committee who was also so privileged to go to Ōpōtiki to be hosted by all of the whānau in Ōpōtiki and, most importantly, to listen really deeply and really closely to all of the views and the journey that this—as we all know—difficult Crown process has put on to Whakatōhea. I really want to acknowledge the challenges that we faced as the Māori Affairs Committee, but I think these are challenges that the Crown has faced for quite some time, in how do we actually restore healed relationships between Māori and the Crown, and also between hapū of iwi.

I wanted to start by saying that since this is the second reading, it focuses on the submissions that we heard in Ōpōtiki, and there were also some follow-up submissions that we later heard as the Māori Affairs Committee. We were also really privileged to go on some of the site visits around part of the rohe of Whakatōhea. I was looking at some of the submissions, refreshing the words and the sentiments that were expressed to us at the Māori Affairs Committee. I wrote down here, from hearing some of the submissions, some notes to capture some of the sentiment that I think is going to be the most important as we support the passage of this bill—and the Greens are supporting this bill, Whakatōhea.

Now, we are not doing that without an acknowledgment of the valid concerns that were raised, as the select committee report has articulated—yes—but I really do want to acknowledge this quote in particular, which is where Whakatōhea said to us, “It is up to us—Whakatōhea—that we repair and heal with hapū.” We know that that is absolutely what has happened in the process of claims settlement in Aotearoa. We know that it goes back to iwi, back to the claimants, who have that mahi. We cannot expect that mahi to be able to happen without, firstly, an ongoing acknowledgment of the way that Crown processes have continued to breach Te Tiriti and the way that Crown processes expect things to be settled, as opposed to having an enduring, positive relationship between people, including between iwi and the Crown, and between hapū.

Rawiri Waititi: “Situationships”.

Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: Absolutely, as my colleague the member from Whakatōhea Rawiri Waititi is referring to. We, as Māori members, know deeply from our own rohe and iwi processes and experiences, and that lived experience—we know deeply that in the settlement process, as it is called, many hapū have validly felt that their voices have not been heard, and that their voices and their stories and their tūpuna have not been heard and they have not been acclaimed to them, to their whakapapa. We know this. Those concerns are valid, and we must acknowledge that in this House.

The support from the Green Party to progress this Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill through the House at the second reading, I mention again, does not go without the acknowledgment of those valid concerns: the acknowledgment of mandate concerns, the acknowledgment of what the processes of votes that hapū and iwi are left to rely on, and the acknowledgment of—oh, actually, I was looking at one of my notes here. It’s the acknowledgment that—and this is not just about Whakatōhea but it is where lands have been used to settle other claims across iwi, and we’ve seen it time and time again. You’ve got this convoluted situation of iwi lands being used by the Crown to settle another iwi’s grievances.

All of these issues were raised with us. We visited—was it Tarata? We visited many different sites, including the sites of great mamae and injustice, actually. There were the generations of injustice that followed, and how lands have gone into private ownership—and this has happened all around the country. How significant, significant hapū lands have ended up in private ownership, how the Treaty settlement process is not always able to—well, the Treaty settlement process has never been able to be a justice settlement, and let’s get that right first. We know that despite that, our iwi, our hapū members, give blood and sweat and tears and generosity to achieve what is possible and to achieve for mokopuna to come—for all the hapū.

I know that many of us members, in fact, across the House on that Māori Affairs Committee—a very good select committee—held authentically the concern that Whakatōhea were going to be left with the mahi of repairing and healing relationships. We put that to the officials. We put that to the members of Whakatōhea. I also want to acknowledge that when we’re talking about Ngāti Ira and Ūpokorehe, I do acknowledge that we had members of those hapū who also want to see the continuation in the support of this bill. So it’s never clear cut and it never has been, but we did hear some valid Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira concerns.

I stand here, being straight, upfront, and confronting how difficult a decision it has been, but, yes, the Greens are supporting this bill. But we can’t leave the relationship and the responsibility of the Crown here, through supporting this bill through the House. We have to be able to support Whakatōhea to validly pick up those concerns and those kōrero in whatever way Whakatōhea knows is best in order to validly pick up those concerns to ensure that Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira are cared for and are worked with. That is the constant reassurance that we sought, as committee members, and that is the constant reassurance that we received from Whakatōhea and from negotiators.

So I did focus intentionally in the majority of my contribution—this is my first contribution on Whakatōhea, because the fantastic former Green MP Jan Logie did our first reading speech. I then became a member of the Māori Affairs Committee and was privileged to have the visits and hear the whānau directly.

To those whānau of hapū—those whānau members—who put their case to us about wanting to get support for their hapū to be pulled from this Whakatōhea settlement: you have absolutely been heard deeply outside of those submissions. We had deep conversations across us, as members, to really acknowledge your voices. Your voices were so impactful that we had profound conversations about how to ensure that it did not feel like your words were uttered in vain.

Now, the last word, I think, is to say why I am confronting and owning outright the decision that the Greens have made to be in support, recognising that I am accountable to those voices who came to me directly to put their case for the bill to be pulled back at this time, and for their hapū to be pulled out—I acknowledge that. I also want to acknowledge the nannies of Whakatōhea who said, “Come on, Marama, don’t delay our mahi.” We’ve always got, as MPs, these issues and challenges, and we do the best we can with them. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the ACT Party to speak on the second reading of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill. I was not on the Māori Affairs Committee that did this wonderful visit to Ōpōtiki and the surrounding rohe to see the great strides that Whakatōhea and the people of your community have been making to bring yourselves to a place you would like to be. But I am someone who has spent his entire life in Te Moana-a-Toi, and I have heard stories, for a long time, about what happened down in Ōpōtiki, in the hills behind. All these stories came in pieces, and I heard many of them over my life. But it wasn’t until—and I think this is part of the benefit of the settlement process—reading through the bill and having all those stories, which I’d heard, repeated in order and in a way that really laid out what the tīpuna and the people of Whakatōhea alive today have gone through.

Whakatōhea rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They were embracing a new technological age, building infrastructure, and developing organisations to take advantage of what was becoming a very, very fast-changing economic and social world. Whakatōhea fought against the Crown. In Tauranga Moana, where I’m based, there was a defeat there, and rangatira, who I would like to name—Te Āporotanga, Apanui, Tūtakahiao, Mikaere Pihipihi—were killed. This left Whakatōhea with a considerable loss in their leadership, and there were travesties in those deaths. The Crown held Te Āporotanga a captive and failed to keep him safe and breached Te Tiriti by his death in custody. The Crown forces subsequently went and invaded the Ōpōtiki area, following what was Pai Mārire disturbances in the Bay of Plenty, but these led to disagreements which eventuated with Carl Völkner—a name that people only know because of rocks behind Whakaari but is actually an important part of the history of the Bay of Plenty.

This moment was used as a start of an invasion, which led to Whakatōhea being held responsible, despite members, like Mokomoko, speaking up on behalf of Völkner and saying that this should not happen. The Crown took Mokomoko and, it must be said, the whole story is heartbreaking. He maintained his innocence, but he was put to death, and it took over 100 years for his family to get back his remains. The Governor-General granted Mokomoko a free pardon in 1992, but it didn’t help as much as it should have if the descendants had had a part in working that through.

Whakatōhea was devastated by looting and plundering which took place as the Crown troops invaded, destroying crops, animals, houses, equipment, and taonga. The attack at Ōpōtiki in September 1865 led to a loss of life and destruction of property. Pākōwhai settlement was bombarded by a Crown warship, and at least 35 bodies were left desecrated and, afterwards, buried by the Crown forces in a mass grave. The Crown now acknowledges that they used scorched earth tactics to remove the people of Whakatōhea from their developments they had made on the land. Their once thriving economy was left devastated. Crops were destroyed, horses and livestock killed, houses and ships burnt, and the destruction of a truly inspirational piece of important infrastructure, the Ngāti Ira flour mill.

The Crown went way beyond what was necessary or appropriate—to understate the matter. We acknowledge the reckless disregard the Crown had for Whakatōhea. So much was taken. The Crown confiscated productive land and established the Ōpape Native Reserve, causing the displacement and subsequent loss of connection and economic stability for the iwi and the future of Whakatōhea.

We are trying to put things right as best we can, and there is a thriving cultural and commercial opportunity in Ōpōtiki and the wider rohe. This bill returns cultural sites of importance, and I grant that it’s not enough but, with your goodwill, I hope we can move forward to a brighter and better community together, where I can come down and fish around the mussel farms, maybe launch my boat, and go out through the cut. That would be nice.

Rawiri Waititi: A thousand bucks.

CAMERON LUXTON: Well, jeez! Let’s not start that up.

Look, we need to acknowledge what has happened and move forward together. But I grant that it may never seem enough to anybody. But ACT supports this step, and I thank you for coming and listening to my speech. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Ahiahi mārie. I rise in support of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill. We’re at the second reading now. In fact, it’s the first settlement bill that the Māori Affairs Committee of the 54th Parliament inherited. It’s the first settlement bill that I’ve been directly involved with. As part of the Treaty settlement process, this bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed between the Crown and members of Whakatōhea in May 2023.

The iwi Whakatōhea is based in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, and I’d like to recognise a few MPs in the House today, including my colleague Dana Kirkpatrick. With a population of about 17,000—Madam Speaker, the clock hasn’t started.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: It has now. Apologies for that.

RIMA NAKHLE: That’s OK.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: You gained a couple of seconds there. Keep going.

RIMA NAKHLE: With a population of about 17,000, Whakatōhea’s area of interest spans about 200,000 hectares. Like every Treaty settlement I’ve studied so far—there’s only been a few, though—each one is noteworthy in its own right and includes aspects of deep significance.

The Whakatōhea story I’ve learnt is, like so many of our settlement stories, one of profound loss, unimaginable pain, and uncomfortable truths, but the history which forms the basis of the deeply seated grievances underpinning the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill is considered by some as one of the saddest and most moving accounts of land confiscation and subsequent loss suffered by te ao Māori in New Zealand’s history—one of invasion; senseless loss of life; false accusations, in my opinion; and the infliction of horrible violence which set the scene for perpetual and ongoing generational trauma.

This settlement deed and this bill will acknowledge the wrongs of the past, recognise the sufferings inflicted by the Crown, and provide financial, cultural, and commercial redress to the people of Whakatōhea for the benefit of those people who are most important to them: their mokopuna.

I acknowledge the support that this bill received in the submission process, and I also respectfully acknowledge the opposition to this bill as well, but we can’t let perfection be the enemy of good.

I acknowledge the members of Whakatōhea who are present in the House with us today, and I thank you for the beautiful manaakitanga you bestowed upon myself and my fellow members of the Māori Affairs Committee when we were fortunate enough to be at your home, Ōpōtiki, and beyond, earlier this year.

If I may, I would like to also acknowledge Jason Pou and Maui Hudson, as well as Te Arawhiti representatives Glenn Webber and Jacob Pollock, for your patience and transparency in answering the many questions that I and my colleagues on the committee had—questions and concerns, as the Hon Marama Davidson pointed out, throughout this process. Thank you.

Lastly, there’s been a lot of sweat and tears in this long road towards settlement for Whakatōhea—decades, in fact. I look forward to the third and final reading, when, hopefully, the dark cloud of burden, of sadness—some of it can be lifted off your beautiful shoulders. I commend this bill to the House.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. This is a split call—five minutes. Thank you.

Tēnā rā koe e te Pīka, otirā tēnā rā tātou e te Whare.

Kei aku parepare, kei aku whakaruruhau, nei rā te reo whakamiha ki a koutou katoa. Aio nuku, aio rangi, aio te pou herenga tangata o te motu, a Kingi Tūheitia Pōtatau te Wherowhero te tuawhitu. Rirerire hau, pai mārire. Tangihia rā ngā mate o te tau o te marama. Koutou ngā pare kawakawa o Pare ārau kua hoki atu rā ki a Hinenuitepō. E ngā uri o Muriwai te iwi o Whakatōhea. Ngāti Rua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira me te Ūpokorehe. Nei rā ka tuohu tētahi mokopuna o Waikato ki a koutou me tō koutou nei kereme raupatu. E te Pīka, nōku te hōnore nui ki te waha i ngā kōrero mō te Pāti Māori i te rangi nei. E tautoko katoa ana mātou i tēnei o ngā wawata me ngā maruāpō nui o te iwi o Whakatōhea.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker, and also greetings to the House.

My dear protectors, my dear defenders, this is my convivial acknowledgments to you all. Peace to the land, peace to the skies, peace to the gatherer of people, King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. Rirerire hau, pai mārire. We mourn our loved ones who have passed this year. You are the mourning wreath of Pare ārau who have returned to Hinenuitepō. Dear descendants of Muriwai, people of Whakatōhea. Ngāti Rua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, and Ūpokorehe. Here I am, a child of Waikato showing my respect to you and your settlement claim. Madam Speaker, it is my true honour to speak on behalf of Te Pāti Māori today. We wholeheartedly support the dreams and aspirations of the people of Whakatōhea.]

I begin my kōrero acknowledging our king, Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero te tuawhitu, as he was the first signature on this claim. I am here to fully support his signing, and I’m also very, very privileged today to be speaking on behalf of Te Pāti Māori.

Me tuku te reo owha ki tētahi o ngā kaiārahi, ki a Rāwiri Waititi. Ko tēnei tōna whakapapa, koinei tōna uri, koinei hoki ōna tūpuna kua whawhai i roto i tēnei o ngā mahi. Tēnei o ngā kaupapa nui o te kereme o Te Whakatōhea.

[I would like to give my sincere acknowledgments to one of the leaders, Rāwiri Waititi. These are his genealogical ties, these are his people, and these are his ancestors who fought in this. The settlement claims of Te Whakatōhea.]

I want to recognise huge impacts of the Land Wars on Whakatōhea, who pledged support to the Kīngitanga movements of Waikato in late February 1864. Whakatōhea joined the 800-strong Tairāwhiti taua, a combined force drawn from East Coast iwi and hapū. The Whakatōhea contingent was led by Treaty signatory, chief Te Āporotanga of Ngāti Rua, Hira Te Popo of Ngāti Ira, and Apanui of Ngāti Patu. The battle of Kaokaoroa was a devastating loss for Te Tairāwhiti, and the costs of colonisation were not only felt on the battlefields but also by the increase of foreign diseases that whānau were defenceless to in communities that were once abundant with kai and whenua. That had been stripped by the Crown. Whānau of Te Whakatōhea perished both on and off the battlefield.

This was the first hearing and site visit for the Māori Affairs Committee of 2024. As a newly appointed member to the committee, ka rongo atu i te mamae, ka rongo au i te ngaukino o Whakatōhea me ngā take o te raupatu. Tēnei te mihi ki ngā uri katoa i tae mai ā tinana ki te tuku i tō koutou reo me ō koutou whakapapa. [I feel your hurt, I feel the pain of Whakatōhea in regards to confiscation. I acknowledge all the descendants who have arrived here in person to speak your truth and your history.]

With a huge highlight for me, we were privileged enough to be guided from Matua Te Ruahohonu at the site of Te Tarata. I too recognise all the descendants of those who fought at the siege on Te Tarata, the Whakatōhea casualties during that pakanga cost 10 percent of the Whakatōhea population at that time—a tremendous loss for their iwi too great to put into words. Tēnei te mihi aroha ki a koutou, e ngā uri o tēnā o ngā pakanga. [My heartfelt sentiments to you all, the descendants of that battle.]

We also visited the mussel factory farm, which was led and worked by the descendants of Whakatōhea. We heard and felt the mamae and the cries of the descendants of Whakatōhea. However, we also felt and heard the dreams and aspirations for their mokopuna. Ᾱ, me mihi ka tika ki a koutou Te Whakatōhea [It is only important that I acknowledge you Whakatōhea] in the recent Ahuwhenua awards.

I want to also acknowledge all of the rūruhi and koroheke who have put their blood, sweat, and tears into this settlement. I want to also acknowledge the three rangatahi who were also heard at this settlement hearing. I rongo au i tō koutou reo, te reo o te kohanga. [I heard your voice, your call.]

This process of the Crown in the Treaty settlements is a breach of Te Tiriti. The process of this House still continues to divide and conquer te iwi Māori in this process. We must make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown and implement all unaddressed Wai claim recommendations. We must also abolish full and final settlements, which is outlined in our mana motuhake policy.

I follow the words of the speech from earlier, from Marama, in making sure that I deliver to this House that some iwi and some whānau did not hear their voices at the table, which were some concerns of the whānau, some whānau of Ngāti Ira, Ngāi Tamahaua, and Te Ūpokorehe. I te rangi nei tēnei te tuku atu ki a koutou. Kua rongo au i tō koutou reo tūpuna. [Today, I send to you. I hear the voice of your people.]

In the wise words of Moana Jackson, “Treaties are not settled, they are honoured.” Te Tiriti is a document that is a foundation of a living, evolving relationship between tangata whenua and the Crown. Both parties to the Treaty must continually strive to meet the obligations it sets out to do in all articles. Nō reira tēnā rā tātou, e te Whare, tēnā rā koutou. [And so, thank you, dear House, thank you all.]

Kia ora, Madam Speaker. Kia ora koutou, Whakatōhea. In the context of a people defending their land, a man by the name of Mokomoko was wrongly accused of murdering a missionary and taken to Mt Eden Prison, and he was hanged. His infamous words in his song were, “Take this noose from my neck that I may sing my song.”

These settlements are supposedly in an effort to take the noose of colonisation from the neck of tangata whenua Māori. The evils of Crown actions are not in contention. The wrong done to iwi and hapū of Whakatōhea are laid bare. The legitimacy of the demand for redress and amends is without question. You have been wronged by the Crown, and we here acknowledge that today.

One thing that causes me disquiet is what I have heard from a number of iwi, that the processes of Treaty settlements themselves cause another variety of harm. Because it occurs in the strictures of the red book, it offers a fractional 1 to 2 percent of what has been lost in a physical sense, let alone can it amend for the human social livelihood and cultural impact of colonisation—and the ecological loss, because nature is invariably irreversibly destroyed and desecrated in that act of colonisation. The very process sets iwi against their neighbours, into disagreement with fellow hapū, into contention with their whanaunga.

In a supposed effort to make amends, I am left with a sickening feeling of the Crown causing another form of harm to tangata whenua Māori. If the intention is rather to make the past go away and to be done with it, as the term “full and final” implies, we disdain that intention. A relationship is not something that ceases to listen, ceases to respect, to move with the needs of all parties to that relationship in perpetuity, nor ceases to uphold the founding commitments. Our Tiriti o Waitangi is a living foundation for relationship; it is not a contract with an end date.

Which returns us to the instance at hand. We acknowledge the contention, as has been done, but this in no way is to disrespect the view of all parties to this process. It is not for us to prosecute the issues of your iwi and hapū; it is for us to be honest about how the Crown’s part generates tensions and causes new varieties of harm. The effect of the current process is that those hapū who do not feel represented by a settlement nevertheless have their own claims extinguished by that settlement. Where a hapū wants the right to withdraw from a settlement to pursue their own path, there should be a means for that to happen.

I also want to say that divergence of opinion within an iwi is a perfectly natural and common occurrence. Whakatōhea—the crimes of theft of your land and the killing of your ancestors are shameful blots on our nation’s history. There can be no legitimacy in our nationhood if it is not set in a principle of justice for all iwi and hapū of Aotearoa New Zealand. We must know our history honestly and understand its impact on this very day. If we do not, then we will also not recognise the perpetuation of those injustices and the policy actions of today. I wish, Whakatōhea, that this settlement goes some way to removing the noose of colonisation from your neck that you may sing your song. Kia ora.

Kei ngā uri kua oti te whakarauika mai ki konei ki roto i tō koutou Whare. Te Whare i whakaritea hei noho mā mātou mō tēnei wā hei whiriwhiri i tēnei wā hei whakatutuki mā mātou i ngā mahi i tīmata mai noa atu i ō koutou mātua kua poupou ki te matemate. Nā reira, ngā uri a Te Whakatōhea, ngā uri a Mataatua waka, Rangitūtohu waka, ērā atu o ngā kārangarangatanga mai te ao kōhatu. Tēnā koutou ka tatū mai ki konei. Kua roa noa tēnei take e werewere ana.

Ahau ka mahara ki te wā tā koutou tamaiti e Minita ana i konei, te mokopuna a Mōnita Delamere, a Tuariki nāna i akiaki nāna i whai i te wā e mana tonu ana a Doug Graham hei Minita i roto i te Kāwanatanga o Mr Bolger. Kīhai rawa i oti i taua wā i whakahēngia e Te Ranginui me wana kaitautoko. Kua pou te hia rā nei tau, ko ia tēnei ko tātou i tēnei pito o tēnei rautau e rapu ana me pēhea rānei e whakaeangia ai me pēhea rānei e whakaeangia ai aua hapa, aua hara, aua mahi i oti i te wā o ō tātou wheinga. Hei aha māku e whakaranea ngā kōrero mō tō koutou whanaunga a Te Ranginui. Mā koutou anō a ia e kōrero i roto i wō koutou whare i runga i ō koutou marae. Nā ka heke mai kia Claud ka heke mai ki ngā mātua o tērā wā, nā kua riro ko koutou hei whakatutuki.

Me timata au i konei mō te kōrero ki ngā hapū. Ahakoa kōrero mai ana tērā atu o ngā mema me whakawatea he huarahi e puta ai ngā hapū, mahi nui kia whakatōpūngia ai ngā maramara o tētahi iwi. Kahore he oranga kahore he kaha, māku e titiro ki te kongakonga o tātou iwi Māori. Mā roto i te whakatōpū tanga mā roto i te whakahuihuinga o ngā tātai katoa i raro i te maru Kotahi, kātahi tātou ka taea te kī kua ea ngā moemoeā mai i ō tātou wheinga.

Tērā tētahi wāhanga tēnā pea ā tōna wā ka huri anō te ihu o te Kāwanatanga ki te hongihongi ki te ketuketu rānei mena he oranga ka kitea mā roto i a Ūpokorehe. Ēngari he take kē anō tērā. Mō te wahanga ki ngā whenua i riro pōhēhē, i riro muru, i riro raupatu atu. Kīhai tēnei Kāwanatanga e noho nei ahau i āhei te whakahoki mai i ngā whenua katoa. Ēngari nā mātou i titiro ki te moana. Ko te pāmu kāhorekau i whakahokia mai tērā pea he pāmu mātaitai, he pāmu oranga kei roto i ngā mau o te tai, kei roto i te mata o te tai, kei roto i te takutai ka taea te kī ka ea ēnei mahi. Nā reira nui noa atu te tautoko kia āmenengia ai tēnei pire me te mahara ko koutou tētahi iwi, e te Māngai o te Whare ko tēnei iwi roa noa e whakatahangia ana i roto i te tumunga me te paringa o te tai tōrangapū.

Ehara ko tētahi iwi, pēnei i a Ngāi Tahu, ehara ko tētahi iwi pēnei i a Tainui, ehara ko tētahi iwi mātotoru te tangata iti te roro pēnei i ahau i a Ngāpuhi e tū nei. Ēngari he iwi i ū tonu ki ngā Kaupapa o te hāhi. He hāhi i whakaritea hei Kaupapa mā koutou mai te wā i a Te Kōti. Ehara i te hāhi whakapāhongia ai pēnei me tērā whanaunga o tātou a Bishop Tāmaki, kahore. Engari ko tēnei hāhi tapu, mau tonu i roto i ngā ritenga i kite ai koutou he iwi Motuhake. Ko ia tāku e tautoko ake nei, māua ko taku Rangatira nā te mea ēnei momo kōrero e hāngai ana ki te ngākau o te Māoritanga. E hāngai ana ki te mauri me te manawa o te Māoritanga. Karekau pēnei me ngā pahupahu mama noa iho te kite, mama noa iho te kapokapo i runga i te reo irirangi, kahore. Me te mahara hoki ki te roa o te wā i rapu ai ngā ūpoko ehara i te mea ko tō koutou iwi anake engari ko te hapori whānui. Me pēhea rānei ngā wehewehenga ka whakamāmāngia ai, me pēhea rānei wētahi Kaupapa hou e whāngaitia ai ki te pūtea, e whāngaitia ai ki te oranga kia whiwhi mahi ai kia whiwhi huarahi hou ai, ā, kia ea ai ngā manako kei ā tātou Tamariki.

Ehara i te mea ko te katoa o ngā tūmanako ka ea mā roto i te pire nei, ēngari ko tā mātou he tautoko i a koutou, he tautoko ngā mahi i oti i tērā pāti e noho mai rā. Ko te pāti nui kei tēnei taha, a Nāhinara, kahore he patanga kahore he pononga, kahore he tikanga kia noho wehe kē ai pēnei i ahau me tō mātou wāhi pāti me tū tahi kia koke whakamua ai koutou i roto i tēnei whai o koutou. I roto i tēnei whare ahakoa werewere tonu ana te hia rānei take kei waenga i a tātou te iwi Māori. I tēnei rā ka whakatutukitia tēnei wāhanga o te Kaupapa e whakaritea hei whakatutuki mā tēnei reanga. Ko wai ka hua ko wai ka mōhio he aha rānei e toe ana hei ngā reanga e haere ake nei.

[To you the descendants who have assembled here in your House. The House in which we sit here today and debate on how we can best complete what was first set forth here by your elders who have now passed on. And so, the descendants of Whakatōhea, the descendants of Rangitūtohu, and all the other kin from the old world. Thank you all who are present here today. This has been a very long time in the making.

Myself, I remember when one of your descendants was a Minister here, the grandchild of Mōnita Delamere, it was Tuariki who supported during the time where Doug Graham still held mana as a Minister in Mr Bolger’s Government. It didn’t come to fruition, it was challenged by Te Ranginui and his supporters. So many years have passed. In this day and age, we are searching for how to satisfy and rectify those wrongdoings, the hardship upon your people at that time. It isn’t for me to speak to what your kin Ranginui had advocated for. Only you can speak on him in your own house and in your own courtyard. And then we come down to Claud, the elders of that time. And now the responsibility is up to you to take up.

I shall start here to speak to the hapū. Despite what that member said about clearing a pathway for the tribes to thrive, it is a huge task to bring a people together. There is no wealth, no strength, I will look at the little that the Māori do have. Through assembling, through bringing together of all the people under one umbrella, only then can we say that our elders dreams have been met. There may also be a time where the pathway changes and that the Government will meet with and see if there is a pathway ahead in the Ūpokorehe. That is, however, a different matter. In regards to the land that was wrongfully taken, that was confiscated. This Government is unable to return all of the lands. But as we focus on the sea. The farms, nothing, bring back muscle farming, there is successful farming in the tides of the ocean. It is within the sea that we might find wealth. And so there is much more reason to support this bill, and to remember also that you are one nation, this is one nation who during the tides perpetual ebbs and flows have been challenging politics.

Unlike a nation such as Ngāi Tahu, unlike the nation of Tainui, unlike such nation as my nation of Ngāpuhi who are large but dim-witted. They are a nation who are staunch to their religious teachings. A religion that was set forth for you from the time of Te Kōti. Not a religion like our cousin Bishop Tamaki, no, but this religion is sacred and still abide by their principles, you see they are a unique people. That is why I support it, me and my leader, because these words are relevant to the Māori people. It is in regards to the core and inner being of Māoridom. Unlike the ravings of some that are easy to see, that is easy to hear on the radio station, no, but also note the long arduous efforts put forward, not only by you but by the wider community.

How do we satisfy the division, how do we grow the economy, growth for the wealth to create jobs, to prosper and to manifest the dreams of our children. It is not as if all the aspirations will be successful within this bill alone, but we are here to support you, and to support what was started from that party sitting over there. The big party is on this side, National, there is no reason for us to be divided, but we need to stand together so that we and you can move forward. In this House, despite forgetting the many issues surrounding us Māori, on this day at least, we can satisfy one part of these issues for the current generation. Who knows what the future holds for the future generations.]

I stand to support the efforts of Whakatōhea, a tribe hailing from what we call today the Eastern Bay of Plenty, a very traditional group within Māoridom, the keepers of their own faith, shared by other iwi of that particular area. I refer here, obviously, to the Ringatū church. I refer also to the fact that all iwi have management challenges with hapū. But let us say it’s important that we simplify the process so we avoid what we call in Māori the kongakonga principle—crumbs being left rather than a robust or singular body. For those reasons, we of all people, in New Zealand First, understand, and one hapū is referred to here, Te Ūpokorehe, and as I’ve said in our Māori language, it may come to pass at some other time that another Government takes up their particular issue, but, as of today, we stand with this bill, this report, and the need to enable Whakatōhea leadership to move forward with the endowment that is contained in this settlement.

But it’s an endowment also that has been augmented and added to by the efforts of myself and my leader, and indeed the late Parekura Horomia, who took us to Whakatōhea in about 2006-07 to talk about the development of an aquaculture industry off the coast of that part of Mataatua country. So the kaupapa keeps going on. This is only one part of the contribution, and as we’ve said in our reo, it speaks of what this generation, in the context of binding the past, the present, and the future, to lay down a kaupapa so that the sadness, the mistakes, the anger, the disappointment of the past fades away and we look forward. It may sound trite when I say it like this, but no society prospers by continually looking backwards, continually raking up the coals of discontent. I, as a member of the Ngāpuhi tribe, know that better than any other single whānau in Aotearoa. I salute you. Tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe, e te Pīka. Ko te mihi tuatahi ki te atua nāna nei ngā mea katoa. Ko te mihi tuarua ki te Whare e tū nei, āpiti hono tātai hono te hunga mate ki te hunga mate, āpiti hono tātai hono te hunga ora ki te hunga ora. He mihi mahana ki a koutou ngā uri, ngā tāngata o Whakatōhea, ā, he mihi mahana ki a koutou i tēnei rā. Nō reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, huihui mai tātou katoa.

“Tangohia mai te taurā i taku kakī kia waiata au i taku waiata.”

[Thank you, Mr Speaker. First acknowledgment is to the god, whom is the beginning and the end of everything. Second acknowledgment to this House standing. The dead to the dead, the living to the living, the lines are joined. A warm greeting to you the descendants of Whakatōhea, the people of Whakatōhea. A warm welcome to you all today. And so, thank you once, thank you twice, and welcome everyone.

“Take the noose off my neck so that I can sing my song.”]

I learnt those words when I was young, and they have haunted me for a long time. I grew up with that story, and it’s only now that I look back and do my research properly—that the proper last words of Mokomoko were, in fact, “E mate hara kore ana ahau. Tēnā koutou Pākehā. Hei aha.” That story is part of the apology that’s part of this bill, in terms of the wrongs that have been committed against Whakatōhea. And there are few other iwi in New Zealand, in our history, who have had the full force, the might, of colonisation like Whakatōhea have. In this settlement bill, which reaches its second reading today, the apology is contained within the bill and it makes for sobering reading. Many New Zealanders, who may start to pay more attention to our history, I hope, will take a look at some of these bills and read not only the Māori but the English of what is contained within its pages.

The Crown acknowledges in this bill the sense of grievance and pain suffered not only by the whānau of Mokomoko but all of those who had to endure fighting for their own lands and having those lands taken as raupatu—the direct impact of the native land laws, which segmented and fragmented collective ownership and enabled it to be eroded, piece by piece, over time, with iwi having no ability to fight back or retain collective ownership. It is, essentially, a Pākehā square that forces Māori into that hole, and that has had direct consequences into the identity, the connection with land through awa, maunga, and whenua that Māori have been separated from through the force of something as devastating as the work of the native land laws.

The Public Works Act was also at force for Whakatōhea, with significant lands listed here in this bill that were taken under the Public Works Act. Moutohora Quarry was one of those that was taken, and is included in this apology. The Crown acknowledges in this that Whakatōhea were left, as a result of all of these different actions, these different wrongs, landless. The Crown acknowledges the accumulative effect of its acts and omissions, including raupatu, Crown-purchasing practices, survey costs, and the operation and the impact of native land laws. This has caused deep pain to Whakatōhea, leaving them separated from maunga, awa, and traditional sites, and contributing to the loss of traditional knowledge. It has hindered their economic, social, and cultural development. The Crown’s failure to ensure that Whakatōhea have retained sufficient land for their present and future needs was a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles.

I’m aware that time is nigh, so I will conclude. But I really hope that the provisions within this bill, particularly aquaculture, provide hope and light for the future of the people of Whakatōhea. I acknowledge that the Crown’s policy of large natural groups is brutal and unkind; it does not suit the natural formations of hapū and iwi. I acknowledge those who are not happy with this settlement. But it is my real hope for your people that the opportunities and the like that lie ahead will provide some guidance and hope for your rangatahi, for the next generation—that you can continue to be who you are and to influence and have your tino rangatiratanga in force within your own area. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

The time has come for me to leave the House for the dinner break. The House will resume at 7.30 p.m. this evening.

Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

Members, we are debating the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill. We are up to call nine.

Kororia ki te atua, māungarongo ki te whenua, he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa. Kororia ki te atua i te putanga mai o te rā, tae noa ki tōna tōrengitanga. Tēnā koutou Te Whakatōhea, ki ngā hapū e ono o Whakatōhea. Nui tōku hōnore, nōku te whiwhi te tū ki konei ki roto tēnei Whare kia hōnore ai ngā hapū o Whakatōhea.

[Glory to the god, peace to the land and good thoughts to all people. Glory to God from the rising of the sun to its setting. Greetings to you, Te Whakatōhe, to the six subtribes. I am really honoured and grateful to stand here in this House to honour the subtribes of Whakatōhea.]

I’ve said in this House several times—and, I think, for as long as I get the privilege of serving here, I’ll say it every time—that I don’t think there is any greater honour than to stand in this House and to honour those iwi who have pursued the forgiveness and the reconciliation after all that has gone on this land. It is the main reason why I came to Parliament. I wanted to serve on the Māori Affairs Committee specifically so that I could be part of the Treaty settlements process, and Whakatōhea is the first settlement that I’ve been able to work on and serve on, and I will never, ever forget it.

Nui tōku harikoa ka huri ōku whakaaro ki tērā wiki mō te pānui tuatoru o tēnei pire. Koirā te wāhi o te nuinga o ōku whakaaro e pā ana ki tēnei mahi. [I am delighted for the coming week to the third reading of this bill. I will leave most of my speech till then for this bill.] Heoi, ki tēnei pō, [However, this evening,] I do want to speak very briefly to the three elements that make up a settlement bill, what they are, and then I want to conclude by reading in this House in te reo taketake, te reo o te whenua nei [ancient language, language of this land] the Crown’s apology to Whakatōhea. The three parts are that we recognise the history—and that has been well traversed in this House tonight and will be more fully again next week as it was in earlier readings as well. The second is that we both speak about and pass the legislation that is necessary to affect the resources that, in both our hopes, will be the foundation for the flourishing of Whakatōhea.

In that regard, can I pay respect to the Treaty negotiators? Jason, I see you there. Maui, I see you there. [Interruption] What’s that? [Interruption] Ha, ha! So you always tell me. [Interruption] Yeah. You are well named—you are well named—Whakatōhea: your persistence. To the Crown negotiators as well, for your patience and your wisdom. I know that there has been—and while I was late to the piece, I did experience. I know and understand now the challenges of navigating six hapū together, but you have done that with grace and persistence, which, as I say, bestows—well, yeah, the name of your iwi is bestowed upon you.

But now let me take the remaining time to te pānui tēnei whakapāha a te Karauna ki ngā iwi o Te Whakatōhea. [to read this apology made by the Crown to the people of Whakatōhea.]

Ki ngā uri o Te Whakatōhea, ki ngā tipuna me ngā mokopuna. Nō te hāinatanga a ngā Rangatira o Te Whakatōhea i te Tiriti o Waitangi i mahi ai i runga i te wairua o te whakapono me te mahi tahi. Me te aro ki ngā hua ka hua mai ki tō rātou iwi, mā te mahi tahi i raro i te Tiriti. I takahia tērā whakapono e te Karauna. Nā tāna tahu i te ahi o Tūmātauenga me te raupatu i te whenua o Te Whakatōhea. ka noho ko te Karauna anake hei whakairinga mō ēnei mate. Nā ngā mahi hara a te Karauna i mate parekura a Te Whakatōhea, me te whakangaromanga i ōna papa kāinga i tupu ai te riri ki waenganui ngā hapū me ngā whānau o Te Whakatōhea. ā, i raupatutia ai ngā pātaka kōrero o Te Whakatōhea. kei te rongohia nuitia tonutia ēnei whakawhiunga i ēnei rā tonu. Ka whakapāha te Karauna ki ngā Rangatira i mate taurekarekatia i ngā ringaringa o te Karauna. Ka whakapāha te Karauna ki ngā uri o Te Whakatōhea nāna i whakarawakore ā-ohaoha ā-ahurea, ā-wairua, ā, kua noho matekai nā ngā mahi hara a te Karauna.

Kīhai hoki te Karauna i whakatutuki i ōna oatia i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, kua tau te whakamā o te hōnore kore ki runga ki a ia anō. Nā runga i ana takihitanga i te Tiriti o Waitangi me ngā mamae pouri nui i whiua kinotia ki runga ki Te Whakatōhea i āna mahi hara me ōna hara nunui rawa atu e koropiko nei, e tūohu nei me te tuku i te aroha tino nunui rawa atu. Ka whakahōnoretia e te Karauna ngā uri o Te Whakatōhea kua tohenihorautia te tohe nui ki te whakatau tika i te hē. Kua tohenihorautia te pakanga ki te pupuri ki te whakarauora i Te Whakatōheatanga o roto i ngā whakatupuranga tangata. Mā roto mai i tēnei whakataunga ko te tūmanako o te Karauna, ko te whakahōnore i te oati o te mahi tahi nāna i kī taurangi ki a Te Whakatōhea i te tau 1840. Me kupu Whakaari tātou ki te anamata o te huarahi nui ki ngā uri o Te Whakatōhea me te haere ngātahi i runga i te mahi tahi o roto i te wairua o te tūmanako nui me te aroha, maruwehi ki te Tiriti o Waitangi. Koirā te tūmanako hei ā tērā wiki.

[To the descendants of Whakatōhea, the ancestors and the children. The signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by the leaders was done in good faith and unity. And to also focus on the benefits for their people through working under the principles of Te Tiriti. That honour was breached by the Crown. By way of warfare and land confiscation of Te Whakatōhea. It is Crown only to blame for this tragedy. It was the wrongdoings of the Crown in which the Whakatōhea people lost their lands and were massacred that consequently caused division and anger amongst the communities and families of Te Whakatōhea. Also, the ancient wisdom of Whakatōhea was lost. We still feel the effects of it in this day. The Crown apologises to the leaders who died dishonourably by the hands of the Crown. The Crown apologises to the descendants of Whakatōhea who caused their economy, their culture and their spirits to be poor, and, who have become destitute because of the Crown.

The Crown failed to honour its responsibility under the Tiriti o Waitangi, and has caused dishonour and shame on itself. It is apologising and expressing its regret due to its breeches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its destruction on Whakatōhea. The Crown honours the people of Whakatōhea who have been fighting the fight to correct the wrongs, who have fought relentlessly to hold fast to their Whakatōheaness within their generations. Within this settlement, it is the Crown’s hope that they will honour the oath and work together with Te Whakatōhea, which was promised in 1840. We need look forward to the future, to a prosperous future for the people of Whakatōhea and move forward together in good faith, good spirits and love to respect Te Tiriti o Waitangi. That is the hope next week.]

I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe, e te Māngai. Kāti, ki a tātou katoa. Te Whare e tau nei, e ōku tini whanaunga o te wā kāinga e mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa.

[Greetings, Madam Speaker. And also, to all of us. This House standing, my many relatives from home, I acknowledge you all.]

This is the second reading of the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill, and as Greg Fleming, the speaker before me, mentioned, the third reading is where ka tino hurō tātou [we can celebrate] the progression that has been hard-fought for by Te Whakatōhea and those who have worked on the claim for so long. Therefore, I don’t want to drag out proceedings, but I do want to acknowledge kei te tangi tonu ngā uri o Mataatua waka. Ā, ko tōku pāpa, Pānapa Davis, te pāpa o Kelvin, uri o Ngāi Tai, tērā o Mataatua. E tangi kau atu ana ki te hunga kua riro atu ki te pō. Ka tāpai ake te īngoa o taku pāpa, o Pānapa ki te tāhūhū kōrero o tō tātou Whare e tū nei. [the people of Mataatua waka still in mourning. Also, there is my uncle Pānapa Davis, Kelvin’s father, descendant of Ngāi Tai, of Mataatua. Deepest sympathies to those who have been taken by the night. I will add my Uncle Pānapa to the ridgepole of our House.]

I heard my matua Shane Jones talk towards some of the challenges around hapū. When you look towards such large settlements like Te Whakatōhea—and he rightly expressed that, as a descendant of Ngā Puhi, the spectre of so many hapū involved in such delicate negotiations, and the progression of our aspirations moving forward, is always a tricky one. But if there’s one thing I can recall from the late 1980s, my grandfather the late Sir James Hēnare, when Ngāpuhi seemingly had consolidated but then had sort of started to branch out into various different hapū groupings, always said tēnei mea te whakapapa kore e taea te karo—this thing of genealogy can never ever be swiped away or pushed away or fended off. That speaks to the depth of our genealogy and the strength of it, and that regardless of what’s negotiated and how this House might proceed with such important settlements, like Te Whakatōhea and so many others that have already been undertaken and others that are yet to come, we must remember that our whakapapa, our genealogy, will continue to remain strong. It has done for centuries. It did so before this Parliament was even created, here in Aotearoa New Zealand, and I suspect it will continue to do so for many, many more centuries.

So, while I appreciate some of the challenges through some of the submissions, claims to the Waitangi Tribunal can be confronting as we continue to progress settlements. I just want to remind my whānau, in particular, of Te Whakatōhea—as a descendant of Ngāti Rua myself—and also the manu hapū around this country, tēnei mea te whakapapa e kore e taea te karo. [this thing of genealogy can never be evaded.] I support this bill at its second reading.

Kia ora, Madam Speaker. It’s a pretty tough job sometimes to follow speakers who are fluent in the reo and who have such deep history and knowledge, such as the Hon Peeni Henare and my colleague Greg Fleming, but it’s a privilege for me to stand up and speak to my very first Treaty settlement bill. Actually, this morning, I had the privilege of subbing in to the Māori Affairs Committee, well chaired by my colleague Rima Nakhle in the absence of our permanent chair, Dan Bidois. I just wanted to acknowledge the chair, Dan, and give him a hearty congratulations on the arrival of his baby boy, Noah, this week. He’s off looking after mum and baby, so I’m sure we just send him all of our love and aroha for that.

The Māori Affairs Committee—my first experience with them today. An amazing committee; a committee which spends the vast bulk of its time righting the wrongs and repairing history and working collegially, and I think you see, in the contributions made across the House today and in other bills like this, that that is reflected in the work of that committee. So I just want to acknowledge the privilege of being on that committee this morning.

Can I mihi to Whakatōhea whanaunga in the gallery tonight, present with us to witness this next step. My eyes are a little younger than Greg Fleming, so I can say, Jason, you are the handsome one, so I’d just like to acknowledge your presence here. But I did want to say that we do salute you. We acknowledge you being here with us tonight and just wanted to say that we know that nothing will ever totally repair the damage that’s been done in the past, but this is a first step in what I think is the right direction.

Many have traversed the history of mistreatment. It’s been well traversed tonight. It’s worth stating once again, for the record, that Whakatōhea once had a thriving economy and robust political structures. However, it was the invasions and confiscations of the Crown that devastated their lands, their economy, and their leadership, leading to significant loss. It was the State and the Crown that confiscated land. It was the State that established native reserves confiscated from Ngāti Rua, forcing members of other Whakatōhea hapū to relocate there. It was the State and the Crown and their education system which strongly discouraged and barred the use of te reo and the use of their language, so we must never forget who is responsible and who are the ones here who are providing this apology. It’s this deed of settlement that represents the conclusion of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims addressing those injustices from the Crown’s actions before September 21, 1992.

It’s on the record that this settlement contains financial and commercial redress and cultural funds of around $100 million, and I’d like to just point out to Whakatōhea that my own iwi, Ngāi Tahu, back in 1997, themselves had a settlement of around $170 million and have now accrued an asset base of over $2 billion, so I’d just like to say that with this, there is a pathway forward. There is a pathway forward to providing for your people.

So, in acknowledging the wrongs of the past, this settlement sits as a vital step towards healing the deep pain that has been inflicted upon Whakatōhea. It recognises the immense suffering caused by the Crown’s actions, from invasions to land confiscations. The settlement is not merely a formal gesture but it is a profound acceptance of historical truths that pave the way for genuine reconciliation. We on this side of the House, and I think we across the Parliament, are proud to see yet another Treaty settlement moving forward—proud of the history of this House in settling claims. We will all, hopefully, work together to continue to settle claims for every iwi, so that every iwi has the opportunity to move forward and provide for their people.

Finally, in closing, I’d just like to acknowledge the work of the Hon Christopher Finlayson, who kicked off this particular Treaty settlement, and the work of Ministers Andrew Little, and, of course, the Hon Paul Goldsmith for their work in continuing it forward as well. I’m very proud to say that I stand here and commend this bill to the House.

Tū ake, tū ake Te Whakatōhea. [Stand up, stand up Te Whakatōhea.]

It’s an honour and a privilege today to stand in the second reading of this bill, the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill, and mihi to ngā hapū o Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Rua, Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Ira, and Te Ūpokorehe. May I also acknowledge the members of Te Whakatōhea who are in the House tonight, as well as the negotiators who have participated in the negotiation of these settlement claims, and to the Māori Affairs Committee who were lucky to recently join Te Whakatōhea in the rohe to experience the development that is going on around not only the settlement trust but in the organisations that have existed for many, many years to represent the economic development interests of Te Whakatōhea and the town of Ōpōtiki that they are the kaitiaki over.

This is the opportunity for the House to consider this bill that’s returned from the select committee, and I’m happy to see that it has returned with no changes. Members around the House tonight have spoken about the many concerns that were raised by submitters, and submitters have been carefully listened to by the Māori Affairs Committee. There have been no changes made to this legislation because, ultimately, it has been the view of everyone who’s participated in those hearings, and in Te Whakatōhea’s rohe in Ōpōtiki, that this bill must continue, and its settlement of these claims is extremely important.

I was lucky to join the Māori Affairs Committee, I’m not usually a member of that committee, but I got to go along to the hearings in Ōpōtiki and to meet with those people who wanted to raise issues about the settlement. And my own personal reflection on that, because I am uri o Te Whakatōhea through my father’s connection there; he was raised on the shores of the Ōhiwa Harbour. He was born in the year 1934, and a year into his life he was taken to his grandmother there, Wairemana Patutoro, and he was raised by Rimaha, who was a minister of the Hāhi Ringatū in that area, and his grandmother. And so his connection there is like many of the people of that era who were brought up in Te Whakatōhea’s rohe, his whakapapa was a mottled mix of those people from Tūhoe from the wider East Coast and from Te Whakatōhea’s rohe. Because the period between 1860 and 1890—which is covered so well in the Crown apology in this bill—was a period of upheaval and of persecution of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki and, from the area, those people who identified with Te Whakatōhea, Tūhoe, and the many iwi around that rohe, and it led to a clearance of Ōpōtiki on to native land reservations and other people from the area having interests in lands. And so my father is a product of what is, essentially, a period in our colonial history which was deeply disruptive of not only Te Whakatōhea but of all of the iwi who called Ōpōtiki home.

I say it’s a period of colonisation because this is the direct impact of the economic interests of settlers in the area and of those things which are directly referenced in this settlement bill, like the killing of Mokomoko, which can be seen now as tools of the colonial Government of the day to move people away from what was, essentially, highly profitable farmland and a highly profitable area where there was a port. And so you can see the development of this area as a sort of microcosm of the way that the colonial Government of the time treated Māori people and individual hapū and iwi, and from that we can learn a lesson of how these Treaty settlements bills should restore that kind of economic prosperity to the regions. So that was what I saw.

While I was there, I thought about my dad growing up with his grandmother and how they lived, basically, a subsistence existence. He grew up down by the Roimata Marae that is out at Kutarere, and between the Kutarere wharf and as you go around to a place called Hiwarau. Dad grew up in a raupō whare. It had a dirt floor and every year they would have to replace the roof. This subsistence existence was the norm for my dad because that had always been his grandparents’ lifestyle and it had always been their way to look after this place which was important to the life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki. It was somewhere where he was injured before he died, just around the corner, and it’s somewhere which is sacred to the Hāhi Ringatū. I tell you this story because there are not many people alive today who grew up in that setting. He only learnt English when he was nine years old because that was the age that he was able to walk to the school at Kutarere himself, because it was about a 40-minute walk across the mudflats, and he had to do that in the wintertime.

And I thought when I was sitting there—in this incredible tour that Te Whakatōhea was able to give us around the mussel farms, the factories, the economic development opportunities, as well as their involvement with the local schools and the local housing projects—of how much of an impact something like that would have had on the life of a child like my dad who grew up in the area. You know, he grew up in a rural area that had none of those services. Peter Fraser’s Government was the first Government that put buses on the roads so that he could get to school, and that was initially what took him to high school in Ōpōtiki and then later on to teachers college. But the kind of economic interventions that an iwi can lead, where they know the needs of the people, where they can connect with the local communities, and where they can deliver services that are fit for children like my dad living in those areas, is phenomenal. The economic development role of iwi playing in these regions cannot be understated and it is so important that settlements like these proceed.

That is why we look to the issues which were raised with the committee in submissions, and those were seriously felt hara that the hapū are raising here with the Crown’s process and settlement. I acknowledge those; those are hurtful. Those are hurtful now to the people who feel deeply about these issues. Things like the 33 sites of cultural redress which are being transferred by this bill to Te Whakatōhea—that hapū feel a greater interest is owed to them and not to the wider collective. Things like the joint management board arrangements between the Ōpōtiki District Council and the iwi that do not properly recognise the supremacy of those hapū in their individual areas and which they feel overcuts the arrangements which they already have in place for resource management by the hapū. Those are those are very real concerns.

I also personally do not agree with the renaming of the Waioeka Scenic Reserve, and I spoke about this in the first reading speech. Waioeka is the name of my daughter and the diphthong in “aioe” is an important part of te reo Māori. It is an important part of the way we understand our language that these diphthongs exist. And so to put the “w” in “Waioweka” I think is incorrect and it’s certainly not what I understand the position of the other iwi who whakapapa to the river Waioeka to be. And that was not what was captured in the history of the story of the Waioeka River when it was put together by my uncle Charlie Pera and Rutene Irwin who has now, sadly, passed away.

I still disagree with those things, but I’m standing here in heartfelt commendation of this bill. This is such an important bill because of the impact that it can have on the lives of those kids like my dad who grew up in the arms of Te Ūpokorehe at the Ōhiwa Harbour. To be able to grow up in a town where your iwi has launched an absolute world first of a healthcare centre, te kōpū ārau [a recovery centre] for people with alcohol and drug addictions. That is a world first, and it is something that this settlement will be able not only to continue and to grow but to let this iwi model that for the other iwi it is working with and for everywhere around the country. I hope we can have more of these facilities which these kinds of settlements can empower. The kind of impact that they can have on housing—Te Whakatōhea is a leader in the country in the way that it has not only built its own homes for its own people but has resourced that with a pipeline of building work and construction jobs in the town unlike any other. This is a model that we should be replicating around the country in regional development projects.

I’m so proud to be an uri of Te Whakatōhea when this is what they can achieve with the settlement. That is why—it may not be perfect, but Te Whakatōhea are going places with it. And I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Kia ora, he hōnore nui māku ki te kōrero ki a koutou katoa. He mea nui ki ahau te tū i mua i a koutou me te whakanui i a koutou. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Kia ora, it is an honour for me to speak to you all. It is a big deal for me to stand before you all and honour you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone.]

This is one of a number of settlement claims bills I’ve spoken on in this House and I’m particularly pleased that I’m here to speak on this one as it is deeply ensconced in my very electorate, the mighty East Coast, the best electorate in the country.

Whakatōhea are one of the many proud iwi in my electorate. Proud kaitiaki of whenua and wai, te reo, and mātauranga in the area around Ōpōtiki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Some of their kaumatua and whānau are here today to hear the second reading of their Treaty claims bill. I welcome you all and want to pay my respects to all of them, to the hard work they’ve done to get to this point in time, for the struggles and the heartfelt anxiety that still remains with many in this iwi today, and for the vision that marks their determination to provide for their people despite the atrocities that happened to their ancestors.

Might I also acknowledge all of those who have worked on the legislation and the deed: successive Ministers of the time, Chris Finlayson and Andrew Little; past and present Māori Affairs Committees; Te Arawhiti’s team, Jake Pollock and Glenn Webber; the negotiators Maui Hudson and Jason Pou, Gina Smith, Vaughan Payne, Arihia Tuoro, and of course kaumatua Robert Edwards, Graeme Riesterer, and CEO of the trust board, Dickie Farrar. Welcome back to the House for this, the second reading of your claims bill. It’s an honour and a privilege to speak.

I want to pay tribute also to all of those who have gone before, who may have not got the opportunity to see this settlement reach its conclusion. This is just as much for them today as it is for the mokopuna and tamariki here with you.

Whakatōhea has an area of interest covering around 200,000 hectares in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and is a proud iwi with over 16,000 members comprising six hapū: Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatākena, and Ūpokorehe. Whakatōhea was at the heart of some of the worst treatments in the Māori Land Wars. These have been addressed in the apology to Whakatōhea, which can best be described as a small redress of the considerable hurt that was created by the actions of the Crown.

In 1865, the Crown invaded Ōpōtiki and waged war on Whakatōhea. Crown troops killed many members of Whakatōhea—including non-combatants—and adopted a scorched earth policy, destroying homes, crops, livestock, and taonga. The Crown confiscated most of Whakatōhea’s productive lands and forced hapū into insufficient reserves, known as the reservation. The Crown’s actions caused Whakatōhea to live with economic, cultural, and spiritual loss, and created divisions between whānau and hapū. The Crown alone was responsible for those Treaty breaches and it is only right, now, for the Crown to apologise to Te Whakatōhea.

Whakatōhea has been seeking justice from the Crown for generations—firstly, in 1914, for the Crown to inquire into and provide compensation for the confiscation of land. That attempt was unsuccessful, however, the iwi continued to petition the Crown, with many members contributing to those efforts. In 1946, Whakatōhea received a small amount of compensation for those confiscations: £20,000. In the 1990s, Whakatōhea was among the first iwi to enter settlement in negotiations with the Crown, and in 1996 they initialled a deed of settlement. That deed of settlement was never put to ratification because of concerns about the scope and sufficiency of the settlement, and I’m pleased that many of those who took part in the 1990s process, no matter their view at the time, are here in support today. The current settlement negotiations began in 2016, more than 100 years on from that initial petition, and 30 years on from these negotiations.

Last weekend, I had the honour of attending the Ahuwhenua Māori farming awards where Whakatōhea was one of two finalists. They didn’t win, but they took away massive learnings and some significant accolades for being the finalists. And what occurred to me at the time, that evening, was that it wasn’t winning the Ahuwhenua that would have been the greatest achievement for the iwi but the reflection on what their first dairy farm had done for them.

Purchased in 1946 with that £20,000 grant from the Crown for the confiscation of land, the farm was the first step into commercial ownership and diversified income for the iwi. Notably, this strategy was voiced by the inimitable Robert Edwards, who said, “If they won’t give us our land back, we will buy it back piece by piece.” And that’s what they did. That farm started a legacy continued by the iwi’s vision and leadership—a commercial platform that in time would fund the purchase of many other farms, kiwifruit blocks, forestry, and the foray into aquaculture. The vision and confidence of the iwi to then use a portion of the returns from that platform for investment into social projects, like education, apprenticeships, housing, and much more, has provided a long-lasting legacy that is testament to them.

In fact, Uncle Robert’s enthusiasm was so great that when the CEO was away on holiday, he once bought a farm. And he now says, with a twinkle in his eye, he can’t understand why she won’t take holidays anymore—and that’s a true story.

The mussel factory and the journey of ownership, apprenticeships, jobs, and putting Ōpōtiki on the aquaculture map has been nothing short of mind-blowing. The factory sits like a sentinel on the outskirts of the township, but it has become a pivotal point of the local community, and, again, the vision of the iwi to try and farm the sea has seen lots of purpose-built mussel boats travelling to and from the mussel farm, well out to sea.

The Whakatōhea deed of settlement contains Crown acknowledgments and a Crown apology for the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles, and now transfers the assets, liabilities, and people to the post-settlement governance entity Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea, with representatives from all hapū to administer the future for the people.

With all of that in mind, it would appear that the Whakatōhea settlement is accepted by the iwi at large. But there is nothing that makes up for the actions that were imposed upon this hard-working iwi across the past two centuries—the confiscation of vast tracts of land that left them virtually homeless, without fertile land to grow their own food and create a prosperous existence for their whānau.

Now, throughout the process of hearing submissions, there were some significant comments made by some of the people who gave their time to come and speak to us in Ōpōtiki. It’s fair to say that not everyone agreed. Not everyone’s in favour of the settlement, and the hapū of Ngāti Ira and Ūpokorehe spoke at length about their desire to have the settlement delayed so they could work through issues in the Waitangi Tribunal. But the select committee debated this in depth on a number of occasions and, on balance, it was felt that it wasn’t in the best interests of the people of Whakatōhea to delay this again.

I’ve travelled through the Ōpōtiki rohe for the better part of 50-something years. I won’t say how many 50-somethings, but I am ashamed to say that I, like many others, have not appreciated the whenua or the historic nature of the district or your land, and especially the stories of the people from there. As part of the submissions process, we travelled to some of those significant sites. But I also wanted to make note of some of the comments made in the submissions hearing. I found the submissions difficult to listen to—harrowing in some cases and deeply moving in others. But from the eloquent and respected voices came a mix of regrets, vision, hope, and determination.

Te Kahautu Maxwell said in his submission—and I quote—“I was a leader in the opposition that turned down the Government offer in 1998, and I have regretted that ever since because my iwi became so divided. I thought I’d go to the grave with that. And this time I’ve put my heart and soul into this.”

Uncle Robert Edwards was the man that in 2003 initiated the first meeting since the 1998 determination of the deed. It has taken another 20 years to get to this point and to shore up the settlement for the people of Whakatōhea. In his own words, Uncle Robert said, “We can’t live in the past, we have to move forward. Representing your iwi is difficult, but nevertheless rewarding. I am proud to have been a part of this journey upon which a better future for our mokopuna can be built by all those who follow.”

Now is the time to move forward, to take this settlement and put it to the very best of work. If Whakatōhea can achieve all that they have in spite of what happened to them throughout the Land Wars and the disruption of the 1800s and the 1900s, then I am convinced that this will now be another step forward in this century. Like I said, there’s nothing that makes it better, but at least this goes a little way further to implementing the vision of your iwi.

Uncle Robert said—the other night at the farming awards—“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.” The settlement is not a gift; it is recourse for actions against you. But it is also another step in what has been a long and arduous journey, and I applaud the patience and the way in which Whakatōhea has dealt with the challenges and the adversities. With the best of will, tomorrow’s mystery will now be a little clearer for our clever, visionary, and determined iwi from the mighty East Coast. I have only recently come to know you, but it is indeed my privilege. Kia kaha, my friends. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Waiata—“E kore au e ngaro”