Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill

The House is resumed for the extended sitting.

I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu 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 Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill, and at the appropriate time, I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 6 March 2026.

Ngā iwi nui tonu o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, nau mai, haere mai, rau rangatira mā. Tēnei taku mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[The great peoples of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, welcome, welcome to the many noble leaders. I hereby acknowledge you; greetings and thanks to you all.]

Just over a month ago, I had the privilege of hosting Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu here at Parliament for the signing of their deed of settlement. Now, we come to welcome them back to Parliament for the first reading of their bill. Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, I extend a warm welcome to you, your negotiators, Jill Taylor and Nicola Scott, and all those witnessing the first reading of the bill. I’m pleased to speak in support of a bill that has been many years in the making.

The overarching claim for Hauraki iwi Wai 100 was lodged at the Waitangi Tribunal in 1987—38 years ago. Tane Mokena and Peter Te Wharau subsequently lodged Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu’s specific claims, Wai 663 and Wai 695, in 1997. Jill Taylor also lodged a specific claim in 2008. The Waitangi Tribunal heard and reported on some of those claims in the 2006 Hauraki inquiry report. The historical grievances of Ngāti Tumutumu particularly centre on the loss of lands surrounding the sacred Te Aroha maunga, where Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu have long exercised kaitiakitanga and drawn mana and substance. The grievances, in particular, relate to the Crown’s confiscation of land in which Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu had interests after they sent men to fight Crown forces in the Waikato.

Crown land purchasing techniques and, also, Crown control of lands through the mining residence site licences and the operational impact of the Native Land Court laws saw Ngāti Tumutumu’s alienation from Te Aroha hot springs and taking of Ngāti Tumutumu land under the public works legislation. All of this in combination left Ngāti Tumutumu virtually landless, undermined in their traditional tribal structures, and, also, caused significant economic, cultural, and spiritual hardship.

In 2009, Sir Douglas Graham proposed a regional approach to Treaty settlements in the Kaipara, Tāmaki-makau-rau, and Hauraki regions. Subsequently, in 2011, at a hui in Auckland and Te Aroha, the people of Ngāti Tumutumu formally gave the Ngāti Rāhiri Settlements Committee a mandate to negotiate a Treaty settlement on their behalf. The path to settlement included signing an agreement in principle in July 2011, initialling a deed of settlement in 2017, and, last month, signing both the settlement deed and the Pare Hauraki Collective Redress Deed, through which Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu will also receive redress.

At the deed signing, Jill Taylor spoke of the challenges of the Treaty settlement process and reminded us of the importance of relationships, tikanga, and acting with integrity. I remember that speech well and acknowledge the sentiments in it. I acknowledge the immense work Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu put into the settlement and the many compromises reached for this point. I’m keenly aware that Ngāti Tumutumu, of course, have lost a number of esteemed members who contributed to this process and did not live to see this day. This is a special moment in the settlement journey, and it’s only appropriate that, at a time like this, we reflect on those who have passed and acknowledge their work and acknowledge the pain and the sense of loss that goes with that. To Jill and Niki and your fellow negotiator, the late Mapuna Turner, who navigated Tumutumu through this complex negotiation process, I want to thank you for your work and your efforts. It’s taken determination and tenacity.

On the Crown side, I do want to acknowledge the Hon Rick Barker, who is in the House here today—a former member of Parliament—as well as, more recently, Brian Dickey KC. Finally, I also acknowledge my predecessors Chris Finlayson and Andrew Little, as well as their ministerial colleagues and agencies who have assisted over time, particularly Te Tari Whakatau.

The claims settlement bill gives effect to the settlement package. It includes the Crown acknowledgment of our breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and the grievous consequences for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, their mana, and their taonga. The settlement includes $5.5 million of financial and commercial redress. It includes vesting 18 sites of cultural significance—with two sites jointly vested with other iwi; agreements with a range of Crown agencies; a range of mechanisms to acknowledge Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu spiritual, cultural, historical and traditional values in areas of particular significance to them; and a cultural redress payment, part of which will go towards the cultural revitalisation of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. In the deed, the Crown acknowledges that recognition of the longstanding grievances of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu and the provision of redress for these grievances is long overdue.

I’m pleased that we’ll be hearing speeches from members from the other side of the House and all around the House. We recognise that this is a process that, as a country, we’ve been working on for three or four decades now, and it has enjoyed wide support across the House, recognising that no settlement solves every problem in the world. It can never make up for everything that has happened in history, and it requires grace on all sides, but it is a genuine effort that we as a country have been on for the last few years, recognising the mistakes and the wrong deeds of the past and seeking to make acknowledgment for that. I look forward to continuing this legislation through the House so that, in 2026, we may finally achieve full settlement of the historic Treaty of Waitangi claims and to enter into a new stage of our relationship. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Ko te mihi tuatahi ki te Atua nāna nei ngā mea katoa. Ko te mihi tuarua ki te Whare e tū nei, tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou, e ngā mema o Whare Pāremata, tēnā hoki koutou ngā uri o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu e noho mai ana i tēnei rā. Nō reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, huihui mai tātou katoa.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker. The first acknowledgment is to God, to whom all things belong. The second acknowledgment is to the House that stands here: greetings. Greetings to you, the members of Parliament House, and greetings also to the descendants of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu who sit with us today. And so, thanks and greetings to all assembled here.]

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the honour—I will say—of being able to stand and speak today on the reading of this bill, the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill. This bill records the acknowledgments and, also, the apology made to Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu by the Crown when the deed of settlement was signed. It gives effect to the redress in that deed that requires this legislation today. In doing so, I see it as representing both a beginning and an end—an end to the long process of negotiation and the beginning of a new chapter for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, one grounded in recognition and, I hope, also renewed partnership.

The bill before us today is the expression of the deed that was signed on 26 November 2025, which concluded 15 years of negotiations between Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu and the Crown. It delivers in it the formal apology by the Crown for the breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it provides a range of commercial and cultural redress for the iwi to move forward with.

The rohe of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu extends across Te Aroha, the Kaimai Ranges, the Hauraki Plains, and the Coromandel Peninsula. Within it, I know that you are a proud community with unbroken connection to the land, waters, and, also, Te Aroha, as well, included in this—and that is despite the generations of hardship that you have endured.

Like so many iwis, sadly, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu is one of deep resilience in the face of incredible loss over the years. Your grievances arise from a series of Crown actions and policies throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries that stripped land, autonomy, and also opportunity. This included the confiscation of 290,000 acres of land in Tauranga following the 1863 Waikato war. In 1864, the purchase of KatiKati and Te Puna plots were made without any proper investigation into your rights and from the Crown’s subsequent failure to establish any of the reserves that it promised to deliver. Later, the Native Land Court processes made further fragmentation and alienated remaining lands, undermining collective Māori ownership, and rendering people to become increasingly landless.

The proclamation of a goldfield at Te Aroha in 1880 deprived Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu of control over your own resources without any of your consent being provided. For generations, the economic benefit of that goldfield flowed elsewhere, while the maunga of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu bore the scars of mining and pollution. The most damaging of these environmental injustices came with the Tui mine operation between 1966 and 1973, which left Te Aroha maunga contained with heavy metals and made unsafe for the generations to come.

On top of this, Crown policies discouraging te reo Māori in schools further eroded the ability for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu to have te reo Māori as part of day-to-day life. Taken together, these actions and omissions left Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu virtually landless and deeply affected by the consequences of the Crown’s actions that impacted on social, cultural, and economic wellbeing for your people.

Today, I would like to acknowledge those that are here today in the House. I would like to say that the redress provided is not the end of this story; it is a new beginning, providing you with the tools to carve out a future for your people. I really hope that this settlement may bring some healing to the wounds of the past. I hope that it reaffirms your enduring connection with Te Aroha maunga and, also, your lands. But most of all, I hope that it empowers your mokopuna to thrive for the generations to come ahead. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. E tū ake tēnei mā ngā Kākāriki mō tēnei o ngā pire whakatau kerēme. Heoi, i te tuatahi me mihi atu ki te whānau i haere mai i tawhiti, i Te Aroha, nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei o ngā Pāremata.

Ko Moehau te taurapa, ko Te Aroha te tauihu. Heoi ko te tatau o Hauraki whānui, ko koutou anō tērā, nō reira nau mai, haere mai. Ko Te Aroha ki uta, Te Aroha ki tai, e mihi ana ki ngā tūpuna i kaha te whawhai kia tau ai tēnei kerēme ki te pae.

I a au e pānui ana i tēnei o ngā pire, i ruku au ki roto i ngā rangahau o tō rātou nei tupuna, o Te Ruinga. I mārama pai au ki ōna piringa ki Tauranga Moana, otirā ki a Hauraki anō. Nō reira, ka mihi atu au ki ērā hononga ki waenga i a rātou.

Ki roto i tērā hītori anō, i kite anō au i te raupatu o tō rātou nei whenua mai i ō rātou nei piringa ki a Waikato i a rātou e whawhai ana ki a Piritānia Nui, e whawhai ana ki te Karauna i aua wā, tae noa, i noho raupatu anō rātou. Kua riro ngā whenua, ngā rawa katoa i ngā ringa o te Karauna.

Nō reira ko tēnei pire, ehara i te mea ka taea te whakatika ngā mea katoa, heoi anō he tapuwae ki runga i te hīkoi me kaha tātou katoa ki te hīkoi ki roto i ngā nekenekehanga ki tēnei mea, te aroha ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nō reira koutou mā, nau mai, haere mai.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker. I stand on behalf of the Greens regarding this particular claims settlement bill. However, first I would like to acknowledge the family that came here from afar, from Te Aroha: welcome, welcome to this particular Parliament.

Moehau is the stern post, Te Aroha is the prow. Indeed, greater Hauraki is the doorway—that is who you are, and so welcome, welcome. Te Aroha, both inland and at sea, I acknowledge the ancestors that fought hard to bring this claim to resolution.

As I was reading this particular bill, I dived into the research concerning their ancestor, Te Ruinga. I understood well his connections to Tauranga Moana; indeed, to Hauraki, also. And so, I acknowledge those connections among them.

Also within that history, I noted the confiscation of their land due to their connections to Waikato as they fought against Great Britain, fighting against the Crown at that time, and including when they were subject to confiscation. The lands were lost; all assets were lost to the hands of the Crown.

Therefore, this bill, it isn’t that it is able to make everything right; however, it is a step along the journey that we all need to take within the evolution of this thing, the compassion for the Treaty of Waitangi. And so, to all of you, welcome, welcome.]

As I was researching about this bill and learning about the depth of history of the people that have been welcomed here today, I noted that this is actually not their first time to Parliament. Actually, this issue had come to Parliament in 1877 under the Native Affairs Act, where the petitioners argued that Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu were the main occupants of Te Aroha, and they objected to the Crown purchasing land in the block from other iwi.

In that petition, they wrote: “That land, Te Aroha, belongs to us alone, to our ancestors, to our hapū Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu … and we and our hapūs … have permanently occupied this land, Te Aroha, from days long gone up to the present day, have large interests in the land, and we are still exercising acts of ownership on the land according to Māori custom. No other hapūs or tribes … had any right or title whatever to this land, Te Aroha, according to Māori custom.” In that petition, they pointed out about the injustices—things that they did to try to get some control over their land, get some control over their whenua, in 1877.

I am hoping that this first reading is a step in reconciling those issues that have been long simmering for the people. I want to acknowledge their tenacity, I want to acknowledge their resilience, I want to acknowledge—as we say in Māori, the whakapau werawera [the sweat they’ve worked up]. They’ve just done all the hard mahi, as well, to get to this particular point. Also to acknowledge that this is not the end. These Treaty settlements are just the beginning and the start of another journey—a positive step in another journey, I hope. A journey towards resilience, as well. I also note that, in researching about this bill, about the impacts of mining, the impacts of goldmining—and, as the Green Party, this is something that we totally sympathise with. You have to look after the whenua. We have to treasure the whenua, as well—and noting that all of the proceeds and the profits that came from the mining went to somebody else.

Ehara i te mea he mutunga kore tēnei o ngā pire, heoi anō he tīmatanga hou, he tīmatanga, ko te tūmanako, e ngākaunui ana te oranga o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu ki runga i tō rātou nei hiahia, kia ora anō tō rātou nei rangatiratanga, tō rātou nei mana motuhake, ki runga i ngā āhuatanga i moemoeā ai ō rātou nei tūpuna, mai i a Te Ruinga tae noa ki a rātou i whawhai ki roto i ngā pakanga whenua, te hunga i haere mai me tā rātou petihana i te tau 1877 ki te wero ki te Kāwanatanga i taua wā, tae noa ki a koutou e noho mai nā. Nō reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[So it is not that this bill is limitless; however, it is a new beginning, a beginning that—the hope is—the wellbeing of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu is guided by, and passionately driven by, their own aspirations, so that their sovereignty and self-determination will be given new life according to the things that their ancestors aspired to, from Te Ruinga and including those who fought in the land wars, those that came with their petition in 1877 to challenge the Government at that time, and including those that are sitting here. And so, greetings and thanks to you all.]

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise to speak on behalf of the ACT Party on the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill, and I welcome you to the House. You’ve been welcomed this morning, but I’m proud to be able to stand up and speak in favour of this bill in front of you today, those of you who have come.

Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu is a Hauraki iwi, with rohe that extends from Hauraki over to Tauranga Moana. We’ve heard contributions today about the alienation that’s happened on both sides of the Kaimai; the beautiful land that is Te Aroha—the mountain and, indeed, the town. The history of the town being built is a sad one for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, with so much promise but, actually, so much let down, as we see in this bill here today, which gives effect to the deed of settlement, signed many years ago but, as my colleague who has just spoken mentioned, initiated many, many, many decades ago. Generations and so much pain have come between then and now.

The town of Te Aroha is a jewel in the area. The historic nature of the town is deep. You only have to take a walk around to know that not just the culture, with the hot springs and the bubbling, carbon dioxide waters that led to special things such as Lemon and Paeroa—but also to making Te Aroha a place that people from around the world once came to visit, before Rotorua was the hot spot that it now is. Te Aroha was the place, and I can imagine how, for generations, watching people come and enjoy and build and create, without having the promised part of reserves and lands set aside for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu to have what was promised, was painful, and has led to generations of fight to get it back.

Like I say, the town of Te Aroha has got much history built on it in the last 150 to 160 years, but there’s a lot more history that goes before that. In the time I spend around there, I enjoy listening to some of the stories about what the maunga Te Aroha’s connection is to the other side of my area and back to Maketū, and also up into the Coromandel and through the greater Hauraki area and also the Kaimai Range. It’s a dominant mountain that oversees the whole area. That means that the mountain has got a geological history, too, and that is explained with many stories from Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu’s experience in the area, which, as we know now, in this bill, runs deep and explains a lot of why the connection to land that was lost through confiscations, through misdeeds, and through bad dealings hurt so much.

The beautiful side that is Tauranga Moana—it’s a difficult one to get one’s head around the Waikato Wars; the way that operated for someone like myself in Tauranga, who learnt the history of what I always thought was sort of an isolated conflict in Tauranga, but through the process of these Treaty settlements, learnt our history and the interconnectivity of the Waikato Wars all the way through the Bay of Plenty up to the Tāmaki-makau-rau area, through the Waikato, through other battles like Ōrākau. Stories of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu’s warriors going to fight in these wars gives much mana to this hapū and iwi around the Waikato area.

This bill is giving action to the deed of settlement, financial redress, cultural redress, and making sure that there are acknowledgments of the way Government deals with Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu in its provisions there in the Hauraki area and around. It’s an important step forward that, I hope, will be taken as a promise for the future to build a stronger and longer-lasting relationship between the Crown and Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. Thank you very much for your patience with this House. Thank you.

E te Pīka, tēnā koe. Tihei mauri ora. Ko te tī, ko te tā, ko te weu, ko te aka, ko te aka matua e here nei i a tātou. E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, ka nui te mihi atu nei nā tēnei uri nō Te Popoto i Utakura. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

E kore e mimiti te mamae i riro whenua atu, otirā ngā taonga i tukuna mai i ngā tūpuna hei oranga mō ngā uri whakatupu. Riro whenua atu, hoki whenua mai. Ahakoa he iti, he tīmatanga tēnei. Mā konei ka tū rangatira anō te mana Māori, ka pūāwai te hapū me ngā uri whakatupu.

Heoi anō ko te whenua te waiū mō ngā uri whakatupu, mā konei e ora ai te iwi. Tēnei ka mihi, tēnei ka mihi, tēnei ka mihi ki a tātou katoa.

[Madam Speaker, thank you. The breath of life. From one side to the other, the taproot, the vine, the principal vine that binds us all. To those with authority, the representatives, the many relatives of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, many thanks from this descendant from Te Popoto i Utakura. Greetings and thanks to you all.

The anguish from the loss of land will never recede; indeed, the heirlooms were passed down from the ancestors for the benefit for all of the descendants. As land was lost, it must return. Though modest, this is a beginning. Through this Māori authority will stand proud, the hapū and descendants will flourish. However, the land is nourishment for the descendants to come, and through this the people will achieve wellbeing. I greet you, I congratulate you, I acknowledge us all.]

I begin, firstly, on behalf of New Zealand First, in support of the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill. I’d like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the generations of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu who have taken this journey together to seek justice for their people. To the many members of the iwi who have passed away over the course of this journey and are not here in this House to bear witness to this historic first reading of the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill, I acknowledge you.

To the members and those of the post-settlement governance entity, and all the members of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu who are here in the House today, I welcome you to the House of Representatives; that you are here on behalf of your iwi aspirations for the future and hopes for the generations to come.

This bill is a result of many long years—I was going to say 15, but we’ve heard, actually, it goes back to the 1800s. So these negotiations have now been going on for a decade or so between the Crown and Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. Now, in the 2023 Census, they noted that there are 510 members of the iwi—while small in number, mighty in mana. This is an iwi that is one of the original iwi, with ancient whakapapa in and around Tīkapa Moana, the Hauraki Gulf. You’ve been recognised in the broader family of the Hauraki Gulf—the 12 iwi of Hauraki, including Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, that is part of the Pare Hauraki Collective in relation to collective redress, for those shared interests in the Hauraki region. But this bill today is about iwi-specific matters.

Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, you are rejuvenating your sense of place, expanding the knowledge amongst the whānau, and reclaiming your identity that was eclipsed through colonisation and the general drift of iwi from their homelands. The area of interest of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu centres around Te Aroha, extends across the Kaimai Range to Katikati and Te Puna, and the Hauraki Plains and the Coromandel Peninsula.

Earlier in the 1990s, I was a broadcaster on Kiwi FM, and we broadcast coast to coast, from the Waikato through to the Bay. We had a transmission tower on top of Mount Te Aroha, and we had a promo which spoke about the “Tower of Power”—50,000 kilowatts of power from the top of Mount Te Aroha, and that tower is still there today. It’s a radio broadcast tower, FM; there’s also WSPR—a Weak Signal Propagation Reporter—and a relay station with point-to-point Digital Mobile Radio, and it’s likely also carrying some cellular backhaul on it. Those towers were probably put up without any acknowledgment to the iwi—I’m making that assumption. We wouldn’t probably do that today; we would have a greater recognition of the need to speak with iwi if we’re going to place towers, whether they’re cellular or broadcast, on our sacred maunga.

I’d just like to conclude my contribution by saying that the grievances and what the Crown did—the actions and its omissions, including the land acquisitions confiscations and the introduction of native land laws—alienated Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu from their ancestral lands. There is no doubt that today this bill will begin the writing of a new story for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, and I look forward to the progress of this bill as it goes through to select committee and back for its third and final reading. I commend it to the House.

E te Whare, e te Mana Whakahaere o te Whare nei, e whakamiha atu ana. Anei, kei te kapu o taku ringa ko te rau o te aroha. Ko te rau o te aroha nāku, nā te māngai o Tāmaki Makaurau; ko te rau o te aroha nāku, nā Te Pāti Māori; ko te rau o te aroha tēnei e toro atu ana ki a koutou o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. Eke ana te kōrero, Mōkau ki runga, Tāmaki ki raro, Mangatoatoa ki waenganui, Pare Hauraki, Pare Waikato, ko Te Kaokaoroa-o-Pātetere ki waenganui, ki Te Nehenehenui. Koutou e ngā uri o ngā mātua tūpuna, nau mai, waihape mai, e tau ki tō koutou Whare.

[To the House, to the Speaker of this House, I acknowledge you. Here in the palm of my hand is the plume of love. This plume of love of mine, of the representative of Tāmaki Makaurau; this plume of love of mine, of Te Pāti Māori; this plume of love that is extended to you, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu.

The saying has come to resolution: Mōkau in the south, Tāmaki in the north, Mangatoatoa in between, the boundaries of Hauraki, the boundaries of Waikato, Te Kaokaoroa-o-Pātetere in between, to Te Nehenehenui. You, the descendants of the forebears and ancestors, welcome, welcome back, welcome to your House.]

Before the arrival of tauiwi, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu lived beneath the korowai of maunga Te Aroha, their ancestral mountain, their kaitiaki, their source of strength. The rivers, the bush, the hot springs, ngā waiariki, all were woven into the life and the very identity of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. The whenua provided and the people, in turn, cared for it. That balance between tangata and whenua, between wairua and oranga, was the foundation of who they are.

Then came the Crown’s war in the Waikato in 1863. Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, bound by whakapapa and tikanga, sent their men to stand alongside other Māori fighting for their whenua and their rangatiratanga. For that act of loyalty, the Crown branded them rebels. The punishment was swift and harsh. Hundreds of thousands of acres were confiscated across Tauranga, lands where Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu held deep interests. Though some was later returned, it came back under individual title, breaking down collective ownership and weakening the iwi’s hold on their own whenua. Through the following years, Crown dealings stripped away more of their land: Katikati, Te Puna, and then Te Aroha. Promises of reserves for urupā and wāhi tapu were never honoured. Even the sacred waiariki, the hot springs of Te Aroha, gifted to the Crown with the understanding the iwi would always have access, was taken.

By the 1920s, almost all of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu’s land had been lost. By the end of the century, less than 3 percent remained in Māori ownership. Along with the whenua went their reo, their tikanga, and their way of life that kept that iwi, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, connected to their maunga, Te Aroha. Many of them were forced to leave, seeking work, seeking stability, but in that leaving was that disconnection, mamae, and loss that they carry to this very day.

That is the legacy that this redress acknowledges—a legacy of confiscation and broken promises, of wairua wounded but not destroyed. And yet through it all, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu endure. Even when their lands were taken, their mauri remained. Even when their voices were silenced, their mana never left them.

Today, this bill gives effect to a settlement that says clearly and finally that the Crown was wrong. It offers an apology, the return of sacred sites, and financial redress to help them rebuild, but, more than that, it restores recognition and begins to heal a relationship that was once torn apart.

Kei ngā uri o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu [To the descendants of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu], your endurance is your power. E tika ana tērā kōrero.

[That statement is true].

Through everything, you have kept the flame, the stories of your iwi, the waiata, the whakapapa, and the aroha for your whenua alive. Today is a tribute to your tīpuna, who fought for justice, and a gift to your mokopuna, who will inherit the strength of your land. May this settlement be not an end but a beginning, a foundation for the future to come, a time to heal the whenua, to strengthen your people, and to return home in every sense of the word.

Huri noa i tō tātou Whare, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa.

[All around our House, greetings and thanks to you, indeed all of us.]

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the National Party at the first reading of the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill. I welcome all those in the gallery. It is wonderful to see you here today.

Can I also say that, goodness, they chose well. It’s the best, most beautiful part of the country, in the mighty Eastern Waikato region and other parts, and I’m proud to be the member of Parliament for Waikato and sharing areas across Te Aroha, in particular—a beautiful part of New Zealand, and an area that I’m very proud of, as well. I can relate to that pride that comes with being in that region, having grown up in the Karangahake and Paeroa area before moving to Matamata, and always having that deep connection to the region and being able to see Mount Te Aroha from just about anywhere around our beautiful region. It is indeed a real privilege.

We heard just before about Lemon & Paeroa, L&P, coming from that area. Let’s not also forget “L & Te Aroha”, Lemon and Te Aroha, which preceded Lemon & Paeroa, I am informed. It actually comes from one of a few natural springs in the world that are carbonated—a naturally carbonated spring. Of course, there’s the Mokena Geyser in Te Aroha, the world’s only soda water geyser. There are incredible opportunities for all those that wish to visit the beautiful region. Come along and spend your tourism money in our area. We most certainly welcome it.

Tim Costley: Shameless!

TIM VAN DE MOLEN: Shameless plug, indeed.

Look, this is, I think, an important step, and it is great to see, now, having this first reading. I would like to, of course, thank the negotiators on both sides, bringing to an end 15 years of negotiations on this process, which I think will be a welcome relief and provide that certainty, that confidence, that this legislation going forward will bring finality to those historic claims, putting a line under some of the deeds that happened in the past, the unfortunate situations that we saw that impacted significantly on Tumutumu. I think, now, when we look to the redress that’s being provided through this bill—in terms of the financial redress, the cultural redress, the opportunities that come to help—put that foundation in place, now, as a springboard to grow the opportunities into the future. I think that presents a massive opportunity and, indeed, is a very nice positive step after the recent negative situation where the mighty Thames Valley Swamp Foxes lost the Meads Cup final. This is indeed some more positive news for our area. We’re very pleased to see that, as well.

We look forward to following the progress of this bill through the House and seeing that pass with support from across the House, as we typically see on these sorts of bills, acknowledging what’s happened in the past but looking forward to the future with optimism. I look forward to working with Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, as we continue to work on what’s best for the mighty Te Aroha area and further afield, as well. It’s a pleasure to commend this bill to the House. Thank you.

Reo Māori, Madam Speaker. Tupu mauri ora ki te whei ao, ki te ao mārama, tihewa mauri ora.

Kāti i te ata nei, i tangihia wō tātou mate, ngā mate i mauria mai e Ngāti Pāoa, e Hauraki whānui ki runga o Te Ātiawa, ki runga o Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga i te ata nei. Kotahi anake te kōrero ki a rātou, haere mai, haere.

Ka whakahokia mai ngā rārangi kōrero ki a tātou, te hunga ora, e meangia ana te kōrero kāre au i te wewete i te whakapapa o Hauraki. Āe, i mihi atu ki a Ngāti Pāoa i te ata nei. Heoi anō ka tāpae tonutia ēnei mihi ki runga i a koutou, e Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, kua tae mai ki runga i te karanga a rātou mā, ngā mahi i tīmatahia ai e ō koutou mātua tūpuna kua kōrerohia mai nā e tēnā, e tēnā o tēnei Whare. Nō reira haere mai, haere mai, haere mai.

Me pono taku kōrero ki a koutou. I kite atu ahau i te rārangi pire o te Whare ki roto i te wiki kua pahure ake nei, ka kite atu ahau i a Ngāti Rāhiri, ka pōhēhē ko ngā Rāhiri nō Ngāpuhi. Ka whakaaro ake ko wai rā te nanakia i tohua mai nā Ngāti Rāhiri i tutukihia ai te wāhanga ki a Ngāpuhi, kahore. Engari kua kite atu, kua pānui atu i te pire, ka kite atu, ā, he mana kei roto, he mana tupuna, he mana rangatira.

Nō reira Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, tēnā koutou. Haere mai, tēnā koutou, haere mai, tēnā koutou, haere mai.

[Māori language, Madam Speaker. Let the vitality of life grow in the emerging world, the world of light; it is the breath of life.

Well, this morning, our dearly departed were remembered, the deceased that were conveyed here by Ngāti Pāoa and wider Hauraki to Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Toa, and Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga this morning. There is but one thing to say to them: welcome, rest in peace.

To return the focus of discourse to us, to the living, it was said that I do not analyse the genealogy of Hauraki. Yes, we greeted Ngāti Pāoa this morning. However, these acknowledgments will continue to be offered to you, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, who have come here to answer the call of those who have passed on, the work that was started by your forebears and ancestors that has been spoken about by each person in this House. Therefore, welcome, welcome, welcome.

I should speak honestly with you. I saw the list of bills of the House in the last week, I saw Ngāti Rāhiri, and I thought it was the Rāhiri people from Ngāpuhi. I thought, who is the mischievous one who indicated that it was up to Ngāti Rāhiri to resolve the issues of Ngāpuhi—no. But I saw, I read the bill and I saw that, yes, there is power in there; it is ancestral power and noble power.

Therefore, Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, congratulations. Welcome, greetings and thanks to you; welcome.]

Welcome to the House, and the speeches this morning have already spelt out much of the historical facts that are known to Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, as well as the Crown. They don’t capture the fullness, though, of much of the story and the history that I know Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu and many of the other hapū and iwi of that rohe continue to carry. It is, however, the historical context negotiated with the Crown that spells out in this bill the history and the progress to move forward, based on that history.

So, in the short time that I have, and acknowledging that this is only the first reading—and I certainly hope to continue to see this bill through, through the committee stage and into its final reading, where we can not only mourn the past but celebrate the future—I want to share a story for our whānau of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. It is one of more recent relevance, but one that I know will continue to push the maunga of Te Aroha, and the small township that we know of Te Aroha, to the world.

Just the other day, I was in a conversation with the former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, and I mentioned to her that this particular bill was coming up for its first reading. She went into nostalgic mode and shared stories of her fond memories of Te Aroha, Matamata, and the district, and we cast our minds back to a conversation that she and I had when she discovered that she was with baby and pregnant. She had said to me, “Peeni, I want a name for my baby, and I want the name to be significant to me, to my whānau, and to my upbringing.”, and in the course of a long discussion with her, we settled on Te Aroha.

At the time that we discussed it, we talked about the importance of the maunga of Te Aroha and the importance of the connections of the people to that maunga and to the district and to the many places that members have already mentioned in the House this morning. From there, of course, the rest of the country knew this young kōtiro as Neve Te Aroha, but not knowing fully exactly where that ingoa comes from. Now, that’s a practice that isn’t too common nowadays, but it’s something that I think that when we capture the history and we capture the events that took place that lead us to where we are today, they are of importance to know that when that young kōtiro Neve Te Aroha goes into her bright future, the link to the home that we are discussing here this morning is one of significance and one of importance.

When this bill goes through its committee stage, we look forward to hearing the fullness of that particular history—the one that provides the context of this bill—but also some of the missed opportunities. We know that the limitations around the negotiations with the Crown are very real. They don’t fully capture exactly the desires and the aspirations of the iwi. None the less, those who have worked hard to bring it to this point—we acknowledge you. We look forward to following this bill to its completion, and I say to Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai.

Ata mārie to everyone gathered here today, in the gallery, in particular: I want to say thank you very much for making the journey over here. As we’ve heard from my colleagues across the House, a lot of us journey to your rohe, often to have a break from reality in those beautiful lands that you have—but you’ve travelled here not necessarily as a break, but more to look in the face of what’s coming in the future with respect to this settlement. So thank you for gracing us with your presence—to the people in the gallery, Madam Speaker, not to you.

It’s a pleasure—a quiet pleasure, rather—to stand up for the first reading speech in the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill. I stand up in my role as deputy chair on the Māori Affairs Committee, a responsibility that I take very seriously and a responsibility that I know is, actually, a privilege. Our chair, David MacLeod, sends his apologies that he can’t be here today, but he’s always with us in spirit as we converse on the kaupapa before us.

Just by way of some technicalities—I think it’s important to mention them before we go on to other subject matters. Indeed, as we’ve heard, the purpose of this bill is to give an effect, in law, to the deed of settlement signed between Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu and the Crown. This was signed on 26 September 2025, not too long ago, but that in no way undermines the decades of struggle in order to get to this point. What we know is that, originally—and, of course, there was kōrero about going back to the 1800s—but, originally, in terms of recent history, the mandate was recognised in June of 2011. That’s a very important step. The conversations I’ve had with the advisers for Treaty settlements is that it’s not easy to receive mandate; it is quite a robust and rigorous process. Finally, mandate was recognised in 2011, but as we said, the deed was signed this year. So that’s something that I feel is important for us to recognise for the record.

It’s always interesting, as we embark on a Treaty settlement, Madam Speaker—and when I listen to thoughts from across the House, I would like to reflect today, with your indulgence, on how, when I was first introduced to Papakura Marae in South Auckland, it was quite an eye-opener to me; an eye-opener in that, for me as someone that was born overseas and was embraced by New Zealand when I got married to my husband Roger, this is a place that was established as a result of parts of the subjects that we’re talking about here today: the Waikato wars, the displacement of a lot of Māori from their whenua, the need to work in the city. But our elders—and God rest his soul, Mr Brian Joyce that passed away recently, who was quite a pinnacle figure in terms of establishing Papakura Marae—what they taught me is that this marae, amongst many others, was established as a result, like I said, of the displacement, to make sure that Māori, in particular the children, the mokopuna, still had a connection with their heritage, with their culture, with their language.

So I’m pleased that for you here today, all of you here in the gallery and your cousins and brothers and sisters, that we are embarking on this journey that acknowledges some of the grave loss that your ancestors experienced and that is still ongoing to an extent. I look forward to us progressing this through select committee and through the House, as well. I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare, otirā ko tāku mihi tuatahi e tautoko ana awau ki ngā mihi ki te wāhi ngaro, nāna i ārahi mai i a koutou kia tae ora mai koutou ki tēnei Whare o koutou, otirā o tātou.

Heoi anō rā, e ngā uri o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, kei te rongo hoki awau i te wairua o rātou kua wehe atu, rātou kāre i tae mai ki te kite kua eke mai koutou ki tēnei wāhanga o tō haerenga kia oti pai, kia whai oranga mō ngā uri whakaheke. Nā reira ki a koutou ngā kanohi ora o rātou mā, tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou e haere tonu ana, e whakahaere tonu ana i ēnei mahi i tīmata i te tau 1877. Heoi anō rā i tēnei rā, ko tēnei te hua o ā koutou mahi mō ngā tau 15 kua pahure. Nau mai, haere mai, tēnā rawa atu koutou katoa.

E te Māngai o te Whare, ki te tū au ki te kōrero i runga i ēnei kaupapa e pā ana ki Te Tiriti, he taumahatanga kei runga i ēnei kōrero. Ka huri au ki te reo Pākehā.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker, indeed my first acknowledgment is in support of the acknowledgments to the hidden place which led you here safe and well to this House of yours, indeed of all of ours.

However, to the descendants of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, I also feel the spirit of those who have passed on, those who did not come here to see you reach this stage of your journey for a successful conclusion, and for the wellbeing of the descendants to come. And so to you, their living representatives, greetings. Greetings to you who are carrying on and continuing to manage these endeavours that started in the year 1877. However, today, this is the fruit of your labours for the last 15 years. Welcome, welcome, greetings to all of you.

Madam Speaker, should I stand to speak on these issues regarding the Treaty, there is some heaviness on this discourse. I will turn to English.]

It’s always an honour to speak on Treaty settlements, and there’s always a sense of weight that comes with them because of what they represent. They represent pain, they represent injustice, they represent compromise, they represent hope, and they represent a commitment to the future, so I thank you for being here today. I also want to acknowledge Minister Goldsmith for his speech. It’s always nice when we sit here as one unit of Parliament in unison, and especially the Minister’s acknowledgment of alienation and “the undermining of cultural structures over the years.”

Me pēhea rā tātou e whakatipu i tō tātou reo me ā tātou tikanga mēnā kāre he kāinga mō rātou ki te tipu? Iti ake i te 3 paiheneti o te whenua i mau tonu i a Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu.

[How are we to grow our language and our traditional practices if there is no home for them to grow? Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu retained less than 3 percent of the land.]

Where will our language and our traditions flourish when they have no home, where our legs have no whenua to stand on? Nowhere. They will be lost and they will be compromised. So tēnā koutou i mau tonu i ā koutou tikanga me tō koutou reo ahakoa ngā tūkinotanga a te Karauna ki a koutou.

[So congratulations to you who maintained your traditional practices and your language despite the abuses of the Crown on you.]

I want to acknowledge that Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu are indeed settling, and they are settling in good faith and as good partners to the Crown, but this redress we are offering here today—$5.5 million, 18 sites—will never ever pay for what has been taken. So we must acknowledge people who come to this House and settle, because they are indeed settling in good faith and as good partners to the Crown. It is a gracious act indeed, but it is an act of commitment to the future. So tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou. Ko te tūmanako, kāre e kore ka pūāwai mai i konei.

[So I acknowledge you. Hopefully, without a doubt, you will flourish from here on.]

I do not want to get too political on this, but while it’s lovely to hear the acknowledgments of the Government, please take heed. Please take heed and consider some of the legislation we are considering now that could land us back in this situation.

Heoi anō rā ka hoki atu ki ngā uri o Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu: nō koutou te rā nei.

Heoi anō rā ka whiwhi i a koutou te $5.5 miriona. Ka hoki atu ētahi o ō koutou whenua. And anei taku kōrero ki a koutou: ahakoa te aha, he taima pai tēnei ki te tū hei Māori. Kei te pūāwai tō tātou reo me ā tātou tikanga, kei te whai mana tātou katoa puta noa i Aotearoa, otirā i te ao, and kei te pūāwai te ōhanga Māori. Kāre e kore, tēnā pea mā tēnei pūtea pakupaku noa iho ka uru koutou ki te ao hei tautoko i te ōhanga Māori mō ō koutou uri whakatipu, otirā mō tātou katoa o Aotearoa.

Tēnei te mihi nui rawa atu ki a koutou. E tautoko ana awau i tēnei pire.

[However, I will now return to the descendants of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu: today is yours. However, you will receive $5.5 million dollars. Some of your lands will be returned. And here is what I would like to say to you: despite everything, now is a good time to be Māori. Our language and our traditional practices are flourishing, all of us have a good reputation all across New Zealand, indeed the world, and the Māori economy is flourishing. Without a doubt, perhaps through this very small amount of finances you will go out into the world to support the Māori economy for your growing descendants, indeed for all of us of Aotearoa.

Profuse thanks to you. I support this bill.]

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.

[Thank you. It is a great honour for me to speak to you all. It is important to me to stand before you and celebrate you. Greetings and thanks to you all.]

I just want to say a special welcome to those in the gallery today. It’s an honour to have you here, and it’s also an honour to speak on this bill, because it means so much. I want to acknowledge too, though, that this isn’t the end, and there isn’t anything in the world—as my colleague Cushla Tangaere-Manuel said—there is nothing that will make right what happened. This is just the next step in the chapter of the wonderful people of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu.

I have spent a fair amount of time in the beautiful rohe that the people of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu come from in my time as a reporter at the wonderful Hauraki Herald, which covered a large part of the rohe. It is definitely a beautiful and extremely historically rich part of the country, and I want to acknowledge that much of that history, in more recent times, should have included Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu in a much more inclusive and different way than it probably has. I look forward to hearing the submissions and stories—hopefully, in your rohe—when we go through the select committee process.

It is 15 long years that it has taken for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu to reach this point, but, as others have said, it’s been a lot longer than that; this is just the Treaty settlement part. I’m privileged to sit on the Māori Affairs Committee, which will take this bill through the next stages and, I’m sure, spend some time listening and understanding the stories from the region. I just think it’s useful to remind those around us that the rohe includes Te Aroha, the Kaimai Range, Hauraki Plains, and the Coromandel Peninsula.

The Crown acknowledges that Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu has well-founded grievances arising from as far back as 1863 and the subsequent confiscation of 290,000 acres in Tauranga, as well as the many acts that followed in the years following. These grievances left the people of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu virtually landless and marginalised from their whenua. The Crown acknowledges that Crown actions with respect to gold and other minerals deprived Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu of their rangatiratanga over land owned by them in the Hauraki region. The Crown also acknowledges that, following acquisition of the Te Aroha springs, it did not provide for Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu’s relationship with the site, which has been a longstanding grievance for the people.

The deed of settlement includes a Crown apology to Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu for its actions, which harmed the people, and for its breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles. The Crown prejudiced Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu by promoting laws and policies that led to the loss of their whenua, damaged the sacred taonga Te Aroha maunga, and severely undermined the wellbeing and ability of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu to pass on mātauranga Māori to their mokopuna, which has left us where we are today. The deed of settlement provides the apology, an agreed historical account, and financial redress of $5.5 million. It includes cultural redress, with the vesting of significant sites, mechanisms for ongoing relationships with Government agencies, commercial redress through rights to Crown properties, and a number of redress measures in the Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park, primary industry arrangements, and commercial arrangements, too.

As I’ve said previously, no amount of redress makes the actions right, and this is not the end; this is just the start of the new chapter. I want to acknowledge those here today, those who have dedicated years to this but may not still be with us, and the agencies and ministries who have all worked on this settlement. Thank you for your patience, your hard work, your commitment, and your dedication to the work that you have done. Your patience, hard work, and resilience is noted. I just want to say, once again, that we look forward to taking this through to the next stages through the select committee, and thank you all so much for your attendance today. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Motion agreed to.

Bill read a first time.

The question is, That the Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement bill be considered by the Māori Affairs Committee.

Motion agreed to.

Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee.

Instruction to the Māori Affairs Committee