Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Hāua 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 Hāua Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time.

Ngāti Hāua, tēnei taku mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Ngāti Hāua, this is my greeting to you, greetings and thanks to you all.]

It’s very good to see you again in the House. It’s my pleasure to stand for the second reading of the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill, which is now nearing the end of its settlement journey after commencing negotiations with the Crown in 2017, though many of the claims that will be settled by this bill date back as far as 1987. I’d like to acknowledge, as I have, the Ngāti Hāua contingent joining us today, and I look forward to meeting you all again in force for the third reading of this legislation, which is the final reading of the legislation before this Treaty settlement is enacted by legislation. That will be coming soon.

The Māori Affairs Committee considered the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill from May to October. There was a great deal of interest in the bill. I understand that it has received almost 1,500 submissions, which is unprecedented for a Treaty settlement bill. Hearings were held both here in Parliament and at Ngāpuwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui. It’s a lovely spot, I’m bound to say. As Minister for the arts, I hear a lot of music, but the best music I’ve heard this year was at Taumarunui at the signing ceremony, where the waiata was on another level in terms of the quality. I will never forget that.

Discussions at hearings at the select committee were expansive and often robust. I’d like to acknowledge the grace demonstrated by Te Whiringa Kākaho o Ngāti Hāua Trust during these passionate discussions. I’d also like to commend the trust’s hospitality in hosting the committee in Taumarunui and taking the time to bring them to the sacred Ngāti Hāua sites. I want to thank the Māori Affairs Committee for their considered review of the bill and their efforts to give each of the many submissions their due. I’m satisfied with the committee’s recommendations, which had only minor amendments to resolve technical issues and last-minute overlapping interests with a neighbouring iwi. This redress is reflective of a robust negotiation, and many compromises have been made along the way.

We’ve had a busy morning with Treaty settlements. We’ve had progress of the first reading for Ngāti Tumutumu and, just now, the final reading for Ngāti Pāoa. Here we are with Ngāti Hāua based around Taumarunui. This effort that this nation has been on for the last 30 or 40 years in the Treaty settlements, with broad consensus and support across the political divides that we have in this country, is about recognising the misdeeds of the past, the wrongs that have been committed by the Crown over many, many decades going back into the 19th century, and making amends. I’ll be outlining all those details of the settlement in the third reading, which is to come; we hope, not too far away.

This redress is reflective of the efforts and compromises made along the way, but the trustees, I believe, should be proud of what they have secured for their people. It’s the penultimate step towards a settlement, and then we will be here again soon. I want to, again, thank members of Ngāti Hāua who have come today. I welcome them to their Parliament and extend the warm invitation to come back again one more time for the third reading soon. I commend this bill to the House.

Ko te mihi tuatahi ki te Atua nāna nei ngā mea katoa. Ko te mihi tuarua ki te Whare e tū nei. He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa i tēnei rā. Ngāti Hāua, he mihi mahana ki a koutou.

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 katoa. Nō reira tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, huihui mai tātou katoa.

[The first greeting is to God to whom all things belong. The second greeting is to the House that stands here. Warm regards to you all this day. Ngāti Hāua, warm greetings to you.

That which is joined remains an unbroken line, the deceased with the deceased. That which is joined remains an unbroken line, the living with the living. Warm regards to you all. Therefore greetings and thanks to you, to all of us assembled here.]

The Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill that we have before us today is a living record of perseverance and a reminder of the injustices inflicted upon Ngāti Hāua over the years, but also one of unwavering determination to seek justice and to seek a new course for future generations. This bill represents a culmination of generations of struggle of tūpuna who endured imprisonment, exile, confiscation, discrimination. Yet, through this, Ngāti Hāua have never surrendered their rangatiratanga through this process.

The people of Ngāti Hāua, you have carried this mamae over the generations. You’ve walked a long road to this point in time. He mihi mahana ki a koutou; tēnā koutou katoa e tēnei rā.

[Warm greetings to you, greetings to you all this day.]

To understand the significance of this bill, I think it’s important to reflect also on part of the history in terms of what the actions of the Crown did to breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and that goes right back to the New Zealand Company in the 1840s: the sale of lands at Heretaunga that were never willingly sold; the threat of military force as well; the catching and court martialling of Ngāti Hāua tupuna Te Rangiātea, who was sentenced to life imprisonment and passed away while being imprisoned—it’s important to acknowledge those. Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu was sentenced to death at the time. Even in those years, the injustices keep mounting up. Five other tūpuna were exiled to Australia.

These events were not isolated. They set the stage for continued conflict for Ngāti Hāua and the Crown, and over those years we see that iwi have stood in solidarity with each other, although labelled rebels and punished for fighting against what was theirs and their rights. The confiscations extended to Taranaki and beyond, and Ngāti Hāua’s participation in the peaceful protest at Parihaka—and today is the commemoration date of that sad day in our history—in 1881, once again Crown violence, invasion, arrests, and destruction of property accompanied that. From these events, a long trail, a long legacy of marginalisation ensued. The use of the Native Land Courts to individualise land ownership and break up communal ownership of land and the misuse of public works legislation have all compounded these losses over the years.

It’s important to note that in the early 1900s, Ngāti Hāua’s remaining lands were again compromised, and the Crown ignored those conditions on the establishment of the Taumarunui native township, passing legislation that stripped Ngāti Hāua of meaningful control over that area. In addition to that, the creation of Tongariro National Park occurred without any consultation or recognition of Ngāti Hāua’s deep relationship with that land. So this settlement is an important step to reconnect the kaitiakitanga to be able to re-establish those in a meaningful way that is acknowledged right across New Zealand and with this legislation.

Part of this bill is also the Crown’s apology. I hope it really reflects deep thought and reflection of those things that have been so wrongfully done in our past. Through this apology, the bill formally acknowledges the breaches of the Tiriti of Waitangi and it recognises the Crown’s repeated failures to act honourably and the pain that those actions have caused across generations. It’s taken nearly 180 years for these injustices to be acknowledged and set right. That fact alone should really give us a moment to pause.

I will briefly talk about the cultural redress that’s included in here, some of those overlay classifications, the 64 properties will vest in Ngāti Hāua as reserves—there’s some wonderful opportunities to see those outlaid. Also included in that is the joint management and partnership of Te Pou Taiao joint management committee with the Department of Conservation. It’s so good to see co-management, to see partnership, operating in bills like this when we go forward. The bill also provides for Ngāti Hāua representation on the Conservation Board, a voice where once there was no voice at that table. So it’s so good to see it. It gives recognition to your iwi’s mātauranga and the role of kaumātua and kaitiaki in day-to-day decision-making.

I would like to conclude by saying that Treaty settlements are never just about money or transactions. They’re about truth, they’re about recognition, and they’re about healing. They’re about ensuring that our tamariki and mokopuna can grow up in a country that is honest about its past and even dares to be hopeful about its future. The settlement processes are about the Crown fulfilling its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and walking forward in partnership—meaningful partnership.

For those of us in this House, our responsibility is to ensure that these settlements are not only honoured in law but in spirit as well, and that we as members in this House continue to uphold te mana o Te Tiriti and that we continue to address the inequities that persist today, whether those be in housing, health, education, or other opportunities. Because true reconciliation is not a moment in time; it is a movement that we all need to be part of.

I’d like to mention at the end: Ngāti Hāua, as you move forward into a future of self-determination and opportunity, may this settlement be a taonga, a legacy for your mokopuna, a reminder to all of us in this House about the importance of justice, compassion, and kotahitanga. To Ngāti Hāua, I truly wish: may your future be guided by the strength of your past, by the wisdom of your tūpuna, and by the light of your wairua. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Mōrena e te Pīka. I rise on behalf of the Greens to speak to this Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill in this second reading. I’m not a member of the Māori Affairs Committee, so I didn’t have the privilege of going to Taumarunui and listening to the wonderful music that the Minister referred to earlier or to hear the submissions or to partake of the kai as well. But as a previous member of the Māori Affairs Committee, in my time, it was one of the more collegial—the most collegial—committees, in my experience. One of the reasons for that was sometimes somebody will show up with a kai. I showed up with pāua fritters one week. Yeah, I know that because the next week Paul Eagle showed up with blue cod and completely shamed me out. I’m not too sure if that tradition continues over at the Māori Affairs Committee or whether it’s collegial or not, but it is important for us as a Parliament to work our way through these issues, to give these issues really attentive consideration.

Nō reira ka mihi atu au ki a koutou o Ngāti Hāua, nā koutou anō tēnei pire, nō koutou anō tēnei mamae roa. E mihi ana ki ō koutou nei manawaroa, i te mea i a au e pānui ana i te hītori o tēnei o ngā kōrero, he taumaha. He taumaha ngā hītori i kite au.

E mōhio whānui tātou ki ngā āhuatanga ki Parihaka; mōhio pai tātou ki ngā pānga o te pōuri o te pakanga whenua, me te mauhere o ngā tīpuna. Nō reira nā te hōhonu o ērā hītori, ka rongo au i te mamae, ka rongo au i te pōuri.

[There I acknowledge you, Ngāti Hāua, this bill is yours, and this enduring anguish is yours. I acknowledge your resilience because, as I was reading the history of this narrative, it was heavy. The histories that I saw were heavy.

We all know, broadly, the circumstances at Parihaka; we are aware of the effects of the anguish of the land war, and the incarceration of the ancestors. And so, due to the depth of those histories, I feel the pain, I feel the sadness.]

Just to acknowledge, as I was reading through this bill and through the select committee report, that it’s quite a heavy history. It’s quite a sad history. We’ve talked earlier around their participation and support of the peaceful actions at Parihaka—the direct actions at Parihaka as well—but then also the imprisonment of two of their tūpuna. That makes really sobering reading when you read that. I think it’s important for us to note that. You read the accounts of Te Rangiātea, an elderly, sick, unwell man who was confined for life, and Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu, who was hanged until dead. These kinds of things weigh heavily on whānau, they weigh heavily on hapū, and they weigh heavily on community as well.

I looked at that name, Te Whareaitu. I live up in the Manawatū and I know some of the Whareaitu whānau. I don’t know if they’re related to this Whareaitu. I’m seeing nods in the gallery. My children who go to the Kura Kaupapa o Mana Tamariki went and did their schooling alongside the Whareaitu whānau as well, so to see this name here and to sort of see if there’s a connection there, is quite personal as well.

Just to acknowledge that when the Crown invaded in 1881, they arrested Ngāti Hāua people and destroyed their property, and in the 1860s, they were labelled as Hauhau and rebels by the Crown. This history is incredibly painful and I want to acknowledge your resilience in that.

As I was reading through the select committee report as well, I did note that there were some amendments, and amendments that were agreed to by the iwi, by the whānau—for example, riverbeds belonging to Te Awa Tupua where we’re transferring a number of conservation areas and reserves to Ngāti Hāua. The bill would remove the existing conservation and reserve statuses from some rivers after the land around them had been transferred to Ngāti Hāua. So there would be changes around clause 138 which would remove reserve status from two riverbeds from the additional surveys. In the select committee, they recommended amending clause 138 to remove reserve status from a further six riverbeds. Clause 139 would remove conservation status from one riverbed and they recommended amending it to remove conservation status from a further four riverbeds.

I guess my observation from the outside of that would be that would allow Ngāti Hāua more say, I guess, in how that is managed as well. There are other kind of consequential amendments around the title—for example, the Office of Māori Crown Relations, who were known as Te Arawhiti; its new name of the Office of Treaty Settlements and Takutai Moana.

These bills are incredibly important and they’re incredibly important to traverse, but I guess, from the Greens’ perspective, we continue to make the point that the point of the Treaty is about relationships. It’s about ongoing and building relationships. It’s not just an end point. It’s not just about property rights. It’s about trying to build those relationships with iwi, hapū, and whānau.

The other point that I would make as well, as I was reading this horrendous and painful history for our whānau from Ngāti Hāua, is how incredibly important it is for our tamariki and our mokopuna to be able to have this history in kura, to be able to have this history in schools, to be able to learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our kura, to learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Land Wars, and all those other sorts of things.

I don’t know—and I’m going to show my age here. I don’t know about other members around the—maybe I’m not going to show my age; maybe we’re all age adjacent. But when I was at kura and at school as well, we didn’t learn about any of this stuff. I learnt about Canada for whatever reason in fourth form, but here we have incredible, important history.

I would encourage the Government MPs and the Government in general to actually really think about the changes that have been made in the education sector, because this is important stuff. This history that has been heard by the Māori Affairs Committee should be something that we should all be aware of. It helps our tamariki in terms of their identity to understand the history and the kōrero of the whenua that they walk on as well, so that is incredibly important.

The settlement package for this Ngāti Hāua settlement includes a Crown apology and redress—we usually have that—and statutory pardons for two Ngāti Hāua tūpuna. Those were the two tūpuna that I was talking about earlier. I know that will be so incredibly important for their whānau in particular. So this is an important point and I’m glad that that’s in there.

We have cultural redress and commercial and financial redress to the tune of $19 million. I think when we were talking in the previous bills—this is just a small amount, but I do want to acknowledge the work of the committee but also the patience of Ngāti Hāua in accepting, really, a minuscule and small amount in terms of the total financial amount that they lost because of the Land Wars, because of their participation at Parihaka, the unjust imprisoning of their tupuna, and killing of their tūpuna as well. But I would say that our Te Tiriti and te tuakana, He Whakaputanga, these are ongoing relationships. These are good things for our country, good things for our tamariki, and good things for our Parliament, and it is just the beginning. So I would encourage Ngāti Hāua, kia kaha. Mōhio pai mātou, ngā Kākāriki, ehara ēnei tukanga i te tukanga māmā, te tukanga ngāwari. Ko ēnei tūkanga a te Pāremata mō te whakatau kerēme he uaua, he whakawehewehe whānau, he whakawehewehe hapū.

Heoi anō ko te manako nui o te Pāti Kākāriki kia kawe anō te waka i runga i ngā pukepuke o te moana kia tau anō ki tōna tauranga. He tīmatanga noa iho tēnei—he tīmatanga noa iho tēnei mō Ngāti Hāua, mō ō koutou nei ara anamata, otirā mō ō koutou tamariki mokopuna.

Nō reira kāre e hiahia ki te tō roa i ngā kōrero kei mutu tēnei i mua i te kotahi karaka. Tēnā koutou e te Whare.

[So I would encourage Ngāti Hāua, be strong. We, the Greens, are well aware that these processes are not easy processes or simple processes. These processes of Parliament for claims settlement are difficult, they divide families, they divide hapū.

However, the great hope of the Green Party is that the waka is conveyed on the high seas and arrives at its destination. This is merely a beginning—this is merely a beginning for Ngāti Hāua, for your future pathways, indeed for your children and grandchildren. And so, I don’t want to prolong the debate in case it ends before 1 o’clock. Greetings to the House.]

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise to speak on the second reading of the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill, and, like other speakers so far in this second reading, where the usual custom is to talk about what happened at select committee, I also was not on the select committee. However, I have read this bill a couple of times and gone through it. The history is, as my colleague Teanau Tuiono has described, important to learn.

Reading through the raupatu of the 1800s, there’s a list: individualised land titles; forced removal of land; Crown purchase from others—it’s painful to read through—Native Land Court underpayment for land; promises from Crown to enable infrastructure not fulfilled; misuse of the Public Works Act; coming into the 1900s, Ngāti Hāua left out of the Tongariro National Park establishment without consultation and not having any part of the management; waterways used for power, for electricity for our country to grow and establish, created without consultation; scenic reserves and hydro developments in the Whanganui National Park without consultation; and the Taumarunui Native Township establishment without proper consultation. It’s painful to read, but it’s in this bill, and it’s our history of this country.

We have talked about more pain, the fighting, the figures, the court-martials, Te Rangiātea, Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu. Reading these stories is painful. The five tūpuna were exiled to a foreign land and mistreated. Parihaka stories, with Ngāti Hāua’s support, and people there—so much fighting and so much wrong, so much struggle. A Government should protect its people, and the Crown did not in this case that the House is talking about this morning, and that is repeated so many times throughout our history. This is something that I was, when I read—whatever emotion or word you want to put to how I felt when I was reading it. I didn’t get to go to the select committee and hear it all, but I’m glad that the House, by the sounds of it—and I’m sure—will unanimously support this bill, as is right to do. I commend it to the House.

E te Pīka, tēnā koe. E te iwi o Ngāti Hāua, tēnā koutou katoa. E tū ana ahau, he uri no Tai Tokerau, ki te mihi atu ki a koutou. Ka nui aku mihi maioha ki a koutou. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ka mihi hoki ahau ki a tātou katoa kua huihui mai nei ki te tautoko i te kaupapa o te rangi nei. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

[Madam Speaker, thank you. To the people of Ngāti Hāua, greetings to you all. I stand, a descendant from Northland, to acknowledge you. Many kind regards to you. Greetings and thanks to you all. I would also like to acknowledge all of us gathered here to support the matter of the day. Greetings and thanks to us all.]

I’m pleased to rise on behalf of New Zealand First in support of the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill. Today marks a significant step forward for Ngāti Hāua, a journey that has involved many years in negotiation and discussions and now has had a little bit of time at the select committee. I’d like to acknowledge the hard-working Māori Affairs Committee. As our colleague from the Green Party who spoke noted, the Māori Affairs Committee is a really collaborative committee, and he put that down to a little bit of kai. That sort of brings people together, certainly, but I think the weight of these particular settlement bills enables the House to come together in a way that is quite unusual for us. I think it’s important that we are able to put down our political stripes and come together for a purpose that is greater than us individually.

When Ngāti Hāua began their settlement journey, they traversed the rohe and their people voted 97 percent in favour of Te Pua o Te Riri Kore and the establishment of the post-settlement governance entity. This settlement contains a redress package that returns culturally significant sites. There’s a cultural revitalisation fund, financial redress, and statutory pardons, and it’s those pardons that I would like to speak to, particularly, today: the pardon for the two Ngāti Hāua ancestors, Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu and Te Rangiātea.

They were arrested, tried under martial law, and convicted for partaking in a rebellion against the Crown. Te Whareaitu was sentenced to death by hanging and Te Rangiātea died in imprisonment mere weeks after being sentenced. Still to this day their bodies have not been found. This legislation not only pardons them but it recognises their character, their mana, and their reputation. At the same time, five others were exiled to Australia.

Minister Paul Goldsmith formally delivered the Crown apology to Te Rangiātea at the signing of the deed of settlement in March, and at that ceremony he spoke of the statutory pardons for the Ngāti Hāua tūpuna: Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu and Te Rangiātea. I think it was a really important process that was undertaken at the signing of the deed, and we continue through that process today. He said that the bill will enact long overdue statutory pardons for these Ngāti Hāua tūpuna, who were treated so harshly by the Crown, and we should not forget that.

This has been a 179-year fight since 1846. Doing a little bit of research for this contribution that I’m making today, I listened to a recorded interview from the chair of Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust, Graham Bell, where he talks about the Crown breaches. He talked about “settler first” and hunger for the land and also the fact that Ngāti Hāua have had to carry the burden of what happened to their rangatira. They were imprisoned and taken away from their people, and he acknowledged the strength of the negotiators to actually have that pardon included in their settlement. It is vindication and validation.

I’d just briefly like to talk about the rohe that encompasses the upper W’anganui River, stretching from the slopes of Mt Ruapehu to the townships of Taumarunui, Ōwhango, and National Park as well, and my connection to Mt Ruapehu. In the 1950s, my father, the late Lyndon Marcroft, was a member of the Rotorua Tramping and Skiing Club. They founded that club and they built a hut on the side of the maunga. It’s where he proposed to my mother, so I have fond memories. And actually in the 1950s, there weren’t many Māoris on the mountain. So it was great that we were up there skiing. It wasn’t until a number of years later that Simon Wi Rutene became quite a well-known skier staying in our hut.

My colleague the Hon Shane Jones, Matua Shane, spoke in the first reading. I’d just like to reiterate his words briefly that he noted—a mihi to the current leaders, to the community of Taumarunui. It is a place to shelter and he hopes that this settlement represents a piringa, a place to shelter, in times of adversity in the future. I commend this bill to the House.

E Ngāti Hāua, e ngā whānau me ngā hapū o te rohe o Ruapehu ki Te Awa Tupua, tēnei te mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.

[Ngāti Hāua, the families and hapū of the area of Ruapehu to the Whanganui River, I hereby compassionately acknowledge you all.]

It’s an honour to be standing on behalf of Te Pāti Māori and noting the day, Parihaka day, of te pāhuatanga, when 144 years ago the Crown stormed a place of peace and interrupted the natural development of whānau, and it is not without note that today we have the generosity of Ngāti Hāua here today to reclaim and restore what the Crown should never have done to it in the first place.

Settlements are unsettling. They are actually some of the worst experiences that whānau, hapū, and iwi can go through. The cruelty of them is that we must enter into them but we are also told and dictated what to do through a process that is anything but hapū, whānau, or iwi friendly. I mihi to all of those who have had to front this, and I also acknowledge the courage and endurance of Ngāti Hāua.

Te Pua o te Riri Kore—the blossom, the flower, of peace is again a show of the aroha that this iwi has for us as a nation. It is also not lost on us the generations of opportunities, the generation of growth and contribution that could have happened to this nation had our natural development not been interfered with.

We come into this with humility and noticing that Ngāti Hāua have indeed decided to facilitate and imagine themselves away from colonisation, and it is not about justice that’s being delivered. It is actually about their love for all of us in this nation, to progress and find a way forward.

Settlements are capped. They’re barely 1 percent of everything that has been lost, and when rules have been predetermined and boundaries predetermined, it is really important that the nation feels the love of Ngāti Hāua for us all today.

I also stand in acknowledgment for the tupuna Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu and te Rangiātea. I am related to Tini Te Whareaitu and the Tamaka whānau, who my kuia was, and I hope this goes some way towards lifting the trauma of what the whānau and the hapū and the iwi have had to endure. The return of wāhi tapu is not about hectares. We acknowledge this is about w’akapapa and wairua and restoration and reclamation, and we hope—we sincerely hope—that that restoration desired happens. We know that the dollars for cultural revitalisation and redress will never erase the past but we hope that Ngāti Hāua will be able to rebuild and reclaim and restore and revitalise their language, their tikanga, their kaitiakitanga, their education for their mokopuna, because that is what this is all about. It is our hope for the establishment of Te Tātairango o te Karauna [Crown Relationships Redress], that those 14 partnerships put you back to the position that you should have been, where the Treaty is honoured and the partnership with these agencies goes the way you need it to, and the true weight of the settlement that carries both grief and hope is able to be carried through so that the dreams of our ancestors who dreamed for their mokopuna’s freedom happens.

For Te Pāti Māori, these settlements are not the end of history. They are the beginning of transformation, and we acknowledge everything that you aspire to do. Reconciliation when led by iwi becomes an act of reclamation, the re-weaving of w’akapapa between people and place, between past and future, and it is our true hope that you are able to progress, not only carry the weight of what’s happened but also carry the hope of your future aspirations.

These settlements are a reminder not only of our struggle for justice—that will be continuously ongoing—but that mana motuhake is not negotiated; mana motuhake is lived. Mā te tika, mā te pono, ka tū te mana Motuhake—through truth and integrity our self-determination will stand. Nā reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

Ko te kupu te kupu, ko te Atua te atua, ko Ranginui ki runga, ko Papatūānuku ki raro, ka mate ai te tangata. Ka pō, ka ao, ka awatea. Mauri ora.

[The word is gospel, God is god, Ranginui above and Papatūānuku below, and humanity is mortal. From the darkness dawns a new day. Health and vitality to all.]

The Greens strongly support the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill at its second reading and we again acknowledge Ngāti Hāua who are in the gallery here today. I’ve moved over here so that I could see you a little bit better.

At the first reading, members of the House reflected on the scale and the relentlessness of what was done to Ngāti Hāua. Today, after the Māori Affairs Committee consideration, that historical account, the Crown apology, and the intent to restore and respect mana remain at the heart of what we are doing here, the Green Party continues our long-held position that these settlements are not full and final. Te Tiriti was never something to settle, but something to uphold and honour. We also recognise that this deed is what Ngāti Hāua iwi members have themselves agreed to: over 96 percent of valid votes. That matters because our job in this place is not to impose what we think justice looks like for tangata whenua but to follow the directions and decisions of iwi themselves.

At select committee we heard from Ngāti Hāua and, again, from those who hold whakapapa and connection to this beautiful whenua. The kōrero was clear and the processes that led to the settlement were not rushed. They were long, they were hard. They were carried by iwi over many, many years in good faith and with so much patience. We heard concerns from sub-submitters who felt that they had not been represented or heard in the mandating process, and we also heard from Ngāti Hāua Iwi Trust and from officials who confirmed that the mandating and ratification processes were thorough. We advised that this dispute resolution took place as it should: kōrero kanohi ki te kanohi [face to face]. We were advised that overlapping interests were worked through and we were advised that iwi themselves are confident in this pathway.

So when we say that, through this bill, Ngāti Hāua has chosen this settlement, we are not speaking on guesswork. We are speaking to the reality that over 96 percent of valid iwi votes supported this, and that is clarity.

We have to keep naming the truth. The historical account records that Ngāti Hāua suffered the forced taking of land for the main trunk line, the forced taking of land for dams, the establishment of Tongariro National Park without consultation, the destruction of property at Parihaka, the use of the Public Works Act to dispossess, and the stigmas and legal labels imposed on tūpuna as rebels and targets to be controlled, punished, erased.

The consequences of those acts were poverty, low educational outcomes, poor housing, dispersal of people from their kāinga and from their whenua, erosion of te reo and cultural practices, and the dismantling of an economic base that is essential to rangatiratanga. These were not accidents; they were deliberate choices. So it is right that this Parliament now makes choices to put some things right, including respecting the mana of Te Rangiātea and Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu through pardons, in this bill. I know that means a lot to whānau.

No one should pretend that property transfers or rights of first refusal or statutory acknowledgment restore what was taken, but they can return some land, they can return naming, they can return recognition, and they can return authority over riverbeds to correct guardians. That is why the Greens support this bill in the spirit of restoration and with clarity that Te Tiriti is ongoing and active. I commend this bill to the House.

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. It is a privilege to stand in this House and speak to the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill. As the member for Whanganui, which will soon include the communities on the outskirts of Taumarunui, as well as Ōwhango and Waimarino—all part of the rohe connected to the settlement claim—I look forward to deepening my engagement with Ngāti Hāua, alongside Barbara Kuriger and Suze Redmayne as local members of Parliament, as this settlement translates into reality for you here.

Today’s bill is a recognition of history, a restoration of mana, and a step to a future built on partnership. As highlighted in the Whanganui Chronicle, this settlement marks the beginning of a new chapter for Ngāti Hāua, one that will see the return of lands, the restoration of dignity, and the empowerment of future generations. The Chronicle’s coverage reminds me that the sites covered as part of the settlement bill are a taonga woven into the identity of Ngāti Hāua and our wider region.

During the first reading I reflected on the significance of the statutory pardons for tūpuna Te Rangiātea and Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu. Their stories and those of many others across New Zealand are a reminder of the fragile foundations on which our justice system was built. I mentioned that I’d read Fragile Foundations—The Application of English Criminal Law to Crimes Committed in … New Zealand between 1826 and 1907. It spoke of the challenges and the injustices faced by Māori under British law; how the application of foreign legal principles led to convictions, confiscations and the erosion of mana. The story of Ngāti Hāua tūpuna is one of several in that book.

Today, through this bill, we continue to address those injustices and try to restore what was lost. This settlement recognises Ngāti Hāua’s role as kaitiaki and enabling your iwi to thrive. As I said in my maiden speech, the story of Taranaki Maunga and its journey down the Whanganui awa is one that I learnt as a child, never imagining how often I would refer to it in this House. Each settlement in our rohe breathes life into our awa, and I hope that through this bill, all people who live by our river can look forward to the opportunities that the post-settlement entity will provide.

I want to acknowledge the hard work and determination of Ngāti Hāua: those present today, those watching from afar, and those who have passed before us. Your commitment to justice and to reconciliation has brought us to this moment. I also acknowledge the Crown negotiators, Ministers past and present, and all those who’ve worked to progress the settlement.

This bill is a testament to the resilience shown by Ngāti Hāua. It is a reminder that our work is not yet done. We must continue to build relationships based on respect and on trust, and to ensure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated. My hope is that, as we move forward, there will be fewer tears in our awa and more opportunities for all who call our rohe home. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare, otirā ki a koutou, ngā whānau me ngā hapū katoa o Ngāti Hāua, tēnei au e tuku mihi atu ki a koutou, tēnā koutou.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker; indeed, to you, all the families and hapū of Ngāti Hāua, I hereby acknowledge you, greetings to you all.]

It would be remiss of me not to mention the recent passing of Paora Haitana and his close relationship to Ngāti Hāua. Uncle Baldy, as he was affectionately known, was at every kaupapa, and I wouldn’t be surprised that he would be here today in spirit.

I am on the Māori Affairs Committee, and I got to listen to all of the submitters. I think we gave a fair hearing to all of those who made submissions—and there were quite a few. I think, to be fair, the time we called for submissions was the same time that another bill, which has been discussed in this House, also had submissions called for. I suspect it got caught up with that bill, and I say that because there were a number of those submissions you’d swear were talking about a different bill altogether. However, they got a fair hearing.

It was really important that the Māori Affairs Committee heard from those—particularly those who were against the bill and the settlement—but, afterwards, I’d have to say that we were satisfied that what we heard from the negotiators from the trust addressed all of those issues. I point in particular to Whakapapa Island and the different stories that we heard around that. There were complaints about not being consulted, about not being heard. I did enjoy one of the submitters, who basically said to us, when asked about consultation—he’s a rangatahi, as well—“Well, you have to want to be consulted with to be consulted.”, or words to that effect. We found that everyone had had a fair opportunity to have their say on this settlement, and, suffice to say, we also heard from the trust telling us that there had been an agreement with Ngāti Tūwharetoa over Whakapapa Island. If members read the select committee report, you will see exactly that spelt out in that report.

I’m looking at the clock. I could talk for a lot longer, but I’m going to truncate my contribution. I expect to have a 10-minute call in the third reading, but I’d really like to see the second reading pass before lunchtime today.

Nō reira ka nui te mihi ake ki a koutou, aku whanaunga, tēnā koutou katoa.

[Therefore, huge congratulations to you, my relatives, thanks to you all.]

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. E ngā mana whenua, e Ngāti Hāua, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. It’s an honour to speak to the second reading of the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill, and I mean that with all of my heart. When I became a member of Parliament, I never thought one of my greatest privileges, my greatest joys, would be speaking in the House on days like today and having the opportunity to speak on Treaty settlement bills. It’s truly an honour.

The Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill gives effect to Te Pua o Te Riri Kore, the flower of peace, the deed of settlement between the Crown and Ngāti Hāua, signed in March this year at Ngāpuwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui on a stunning day in the northern reaches of the mighty Rangitīkei. I was there with my colleagues Ministers Paul Goldsmith and Tama Potaka. We heard heartfelt kōrero from Ngāti Hāua’s Graham “Tinka” Bell. He told us on that day, “Finally, our story can be heard, and the Crown now acknowledges the injustices that were inflicted on Ngāti Hāua.”

Financial redress is important, but it’s not everything. There is so much more. Through this process, injustices are acknowledged, like the people of Ngāti Hāua being pushed out of Heretaunga, like the execution of your tupuna Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu in 1846—“when the ink was barely dry”, as Tinka says, on the Treaty of Waitangi—and the incarceration and subsequent death in custody of Te Rangiātea. Importantly, this settlement includes statutory pardons for your tūpuna, whose fates have carried great pain across generations. Their names and their mana are now formally restored.

Through this process, stories are told, and history is acknowledged, like the poisoning of flour which forced your people to resort to eating things like the mamaku tree to sustain yourselves. In Tinka’s words, “That kōrero has been passed down to us for generations, so we feel a sense of validation to have those things recognised in our deed.” While no settlement can truly compensate for what was lost, this bill lays the foundation for partnership, one grounded in respect, cooperation, and mutual trust.

To the trustees and negotiators and those of you that are here, especially today, thank you. To all those who carried this kaupapa long before—Eugene Torpine, Archie Taiaroa, Kevin and Flo Amohia, Ngaire Etana, and so many others—your legacy is with us, especially today. To Minister Goldsmith, thank you for the dedication and care shown throughout this process. Finally, to the select committee members who have shepherded this bill—especially my colleagues David, Dana, Rima and Greg—thank you for your hard work. I know you share my sentiments. It is a great privilege as an MP, especially for you as members of the Māori Affairs Committee, to be part of this process, to hear the stories, share the history, and play your part in helping to shape the future.

Ngāti Hāua, the name of your post-settlement governance entity, Te Whiringa Kākaho o Ngāti Hāua, captures the essence of this settlement. It draws from the proverb “Whiria nga kākaho, e kore e whati”—weave together the kākaho reeds; they become unbreakable. The story of Ngāti Hāua is one of strength through unity, the strands of whakapapa, tikanga, and whānau woven tightly together through challenge and change. Ngāti Hāua, the people of Te Kāhui Maunga ki Tangaroa—from the mountains to the sea. May this settlement empower you to continue writing your story on your own terms, strong in identity, secure in your whenua, and confident in your rangatiratanga. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Kāti, ka tautoko atu ahau i ngā kupu whakatau, i ngā kupu whakamiha ki runga i a koutou, e Ngāti Hāua. Ko koutou kei te whiore o ngā mahi i te ata nei. I tīmata mai ki roto i a Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu ki runga i te maunga o Te Aroha, anā i te rohe o Hauraki, tatū atu rā ki a Ngāti Pāoa, anā ka mutu i a koutou i te ata nei. Tēnei ka mihi, tēnei ka tangi.

Tēnei ka tangi ki ngā aituā kua kōrerohia nei e te Whare. E tika ana kia whakairihia ake ki runga i te tāhuhu kōrero o tō tātou Whare kia pai ai te haerenga whakamutunga o tēnei pire ki tōna pānuitanga tuatoru ā taihoa ake nei.

[Thank you, Madam Speaker. Well, I support the words of welcome and greeting offered to you, Ngāti Hāua. You are at the tail end of the activities this morning. We began with Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu on Te Aroha mountain, in the Hauraki region, and with Ngāti Pāoa, and we end with you this morning. I acknowledge you, and I grieve.

I grieve for the dearly departed that have been mentioned by this House. It is appropriate to elevate them to the apex of discourse of this House so that this bill may take its final journey to its third reading soon.]

Ngāti Hāua, I was interested as I read your legislation and wondered why I didn’t speak on it in the first reading. I must have been away that day. I generally speak on most of these bills, and as I read your bill, it brought back a lot of memories. As a child, only twice I ever attended an Anzac Day service with my grandfather, the late Sir James Hēnare, and both of those occasions were in Taumarunui. He would always go to Taumarunui to remember his comrades of the 28th Battalion and those who served alongside him in the world war. In fact, as far as I knew, up until recent times at least, his picture would hang in the RSA whare in Taumarunui. I always asked him why we go to Taumarunui for Anzac Day, given he’s a proud Ngāpuhi man and commander of A Company and then, ultimately, the battalion.

He would talk regularly about his comrades, the likes of Hōri King and others who he remembered fondly and served with during the world war. Then he would go on to talk about the history and the connection. He’d talk about Te Rangiātea, who is here mentioned in the bill for his wrongful conviction, and he also spoke about Mātene Ruta Te Whareaitu. The connection he would continue to make with us, as young people from Ngāpuhi, was that it was well known that, during the time that these two gentlemen were, sadly, locked up unjustly by the Crown, it was our tupuna Pōmare who actually made his way down and came across Te Rangiātea in particular. He would talk about the injustice that befell these two men from the Crown and also how Pōmare would look after those who found themselves incarcerated. In fact, if you look across much of the history that we’ve spoken about in tribal settlements in this House, we know Pōmare came here and was close with Te Rangihaeata, and there are plenty of other instances where he would take food—and, in particular, Ngāpuhi chiefs would take food—to the many prisoners who were held unjustly in places like Mount Eden and Wellington and Dunedin and many other places around the country.

It was because of those deeds of our ancestors that we would go to Taumarunui, of all places. When I look up into the gallery and I read the bill and I think about the importance of Ngāti Hāua and the work that they’ve done to bring themselves this far in this bill, I can’t help but remember him and say thank you to you all.

Because this has been such a long morning, I want to finish by saying kia ūngutungutu i ngā ō ngotongoto, kia titia rā ko te rākau ki roto, ka whakairohia he taiaha—let us bring together the embers of a hot fire, let us put a rākau [wooden stave] into the fire so that it may harden and we can carve a taiaha. Whiua ki te rangi, whiua ki te whenua—cast it to the sky, and cast it to the earth. Whakairihia ake rā ki runga i te tāhuhu kōrero o tēnei Whare—then we lay it to the talking ridgepole of this House. Kia tīkina atu rā hei te whakatutukitanga o tēnei pire—we will grab it again during the third reading of this bill.

Whano, whano, haere mai te toki. Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e.

[Advance, progress, the leadership approaches. It is joined, it coalesces, it is bound.]

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise as the final kōrero that’s going to be given in the second reading of this settlement bill that we’re considering today, the Ngāti Hāua Claims Settlement Bill. I’d like to acknowledge those guests in the gallery from Ngāti Hāua that are here with us today. Thank you for travelling here and thank you also for the manaakitanga that you showed us when we were on your lands. It’s an experience I will never forget, particularly when we went and visited what some would call the Cherry Grove and where you so diligently, Mr Willie Jackson, explained and described what it would have been like back in the day with all the different waka joining there. That’s something that’s tattooed in my memory.

What’s also tattooed in my memory is that, yes, we did traverse different opinions when it came to the submissions, but something that stood out in a way that it hasn’t stood out to me before was when it came to the dissenting views or the different opinions. They were conveyed and packaged in love, and they were given in a way that it was almost like there was a pain in expressing the difference of opinion because they were underpinned with aroha, with love. At the end of the day, you’re all cousins, and that’s something that I walked away from that submission hearing thinking, “My goodness, the way that your cousins and you to each other”—to the guests in the gallery, Madam Speaker, and those at the submission hearing—“just were able to convey these differences of opinion.” As I said, it was packaged in the right way, packaged with love, and always remembering the underlying threads that bound you all together. And that’s your blood.

I too would like to acknowledge that today we are trying—as much as I have a lot to say, and I was up to 1.30 in my office writing notes, because this is very important. I am going to maybe cut to the chase because I want us to complete, as well, the second reading before lunchtime so that none of you have to remain longer than necessary in our Whare here in Wellington. I want to, before I end, add on to what Minister Goldsmith said when he said it was the best music I have ever heard at the signing ceremony. Well, one of the groups on my Spotify favourites list is Ngāti Hāua. Now, it seems to be the same logo. I don’t know if it’s associated with you, but it’s absolutely beautiful, particularly the song Kīngi Tūheitia. May he rest in peace.

I’ll end with a quote said by Wade Phillips at the submission hearing, and this quote is interesting because I feel it encapsulates what we are trying to achieve on a general level when it comes to settlement bills. Mr Phillips said, “Though our iwi sought peace, we were met with war. Though we sought to engage, we were manipulated. … The consequences of these injustices are still deeply felt today: social and economic deprivation, cultural dislocation, and the loss of tino rangatiratanga. Yet through all this, Ngāti Hāua has endured. We have held fast to our identity, our mātauranga, and our aspirations. The settlement … is a symbol of our endurance and a step towards justice. We cannot undo the past, but we can begin to restore balance.” I commend this bill to the House.

Bill read a second time.

This bill is set down for committee stage next sitting day, and the House now stands adjourned until 2 p.m. today. I’m not sure if our guests came prepared with a waiata, I don’t have it on here, but as the House is adjourned, it’s entirely up to you.

Waiata—“Ruapehu te maunga”

The House adjourned at 12.56 p.m.