Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill

I move, That the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.

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This is a special day as we reach the third reading of the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill, and I acknowledge the culmination of many years of commitment, perseverance, and effort. This morning, we had the wonderful opportunity and privilege to welcome members of Ngāti Ruapani here at Parliament, and thank you very much for coming all this way to enjoy what is a special occasion. I also want to extend my greetings to those who couldn’t make the journey here to Parliament and who may be watching or listening in at home to this final debate.

This is the final milestone in the settlement that lays the foundation for an enduring relationship between Ngāti Ruapani and the Crown. It reflects the commitment, the resilience, and the determination shown over many years to reach this point.

I acknowledge the tireless and demanding work that has gone into achieving this outcome, and, in particular, I thank those who have led the negotiations on behalf of both Ngāti Ruapani and also the Crown. I take this time to acknowledge those who have been part of that journey and are no longer here with us, and I acknowledge, at this time, their passing.

The Ngāti Ruapani deed of settlement is built on a foundation of acknowledgement of responsibility. The settlement legislation gives effect to commitments made through the deed. The redress provided through the bill includes the unencumbered return of cultural properties, such as Turi-o Kahu and Kaitawa, recognising Ngāti Ruapani’s enduring connection. Throughout negotiations, Ngāti Ruapani made it clear they wished for their uri to come home. In relation to that aspiration, the Crown has agreed to a financial and commercial redress package of $24 million. I hope this will enable future generations of Ngāti Ruapani to return home and enjoy economic prosperity while living according to the values of Waikaremoana.

Ngāti Ruapani also emphasised, during the select committee process, the duty and honour they hold as kaitiaki, and the bill provides for the inclusion of approximately 12,000 hectares of land into the legal personhood of Te Urewera to be cared for in common with Tūhoe and in recognition of their shared whakapapa. Although the Crown could never extinguish the mana whenua or kaitiakitanga of Ngāti Ruapani, Te Urewera has remained a place of deep significance, treasured by Ngāti Ruapani and valued by New Zealanders from across the country. The redress addressed recognises the responsibilities that arise from being tangata whenua to care for the whenua and to uphold the wellbeing of all those who walk within Te Urewera.

I do want to acknowledge those who Ngāti Ruapani selected to represent their values and aspirations through Te Whare Taupoki, trustees Neuton Lambert, Nicky Kirikiri, Wesley Turipa, Tumanako Waiwai, Lorna Taylor, and Kara Puketapu-Dentice. We heard the speeches this morning, and I certainly recognised the message from Kara about the resilience and endurance and the fact that Ngāti Ruapani were here long before Parliament and will remain long after we’re all gone. I recognise the hard work, and not many New Zealanders, I do think, appreciate just the amount of work that has been put into this process. I also want to acknowledge the Crown negotiators and the team, the workers at Te Tari Whakatau, my former ministerial colleagues, Andrew Little, in particular, and many others who made important contributions to this settlement—Tāmati Kruger, Kirsty Luke, Maea Rurehe, Waireti Amai, Te Iwa Rangihau, and Paygan Johns.

The day is also a reflection of the vision and determination of those who are no longer with us. It was kaumātua from Ngāti Ruapani who lodged this claim first in 1989, so we remember those who were part of that process. Those kaumātua understood that an achievement of this significance can only be achieved through collective effort, and in the spirit, I pay my respects to the late trustee Hēmi Waiwai. His legacy is woven through this settlement and endures in the work that’s brought to us today.

These settlements, as I said this morning, are one of the very few things that we share in unanimity across the House, across all the parties, and are part of a project that we’ve been working together on as a nation for at least four decades. It’s hard work. None of it is easy, but it is this generation of people here today who have taken this final step in the settlement process and then launch off into a new era based on recognition of the misdeeds of the past and the breaches of the Treaty, recognising some recompense for that and return of whenua, but also recognising that grace is required, but looking forward with hope and aspirations for the future. On that basis, I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): The question is that the motion be agreed to.

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It is a privilege to stand in this House for this third and final reading of the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill. It is an important day that’s marked a very long journey, a long road, indeed. It is an important day for Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana. The settlement represents determination, advocacy, negotiation, and work by people who have carried the aspirations of so many of their whānau and their hapū for generations.

Before anything else, I want to acknowledge Ngāti Ruapani. I want to acknowledge all of those people who have contributed along the way—many who may not be able to be here today and many who are no longer with us in person but are here today with us in spirit. I’d like to acknowledge Hēmi Waiwai for his effort in bringing this claim as far as today. There are many others involved along the way: Kirsty Luke, Tāmati Kruger, Kara Puketapu-Dentice and the trustees who have put in so much work to enable this claim to reach a third and final reading. I congratulate you all on being here today in reaching this point in time. I acknowledge those kaumātua and kuia who have carried the stories of the past, and I acknowledge those negotiators who have done the difficult work of bringing those stories and claims to the Crown. I would also like to acknowledge those mokopuna, those whānau, whose future is at the heart of Treaty settlements such as this one.

Treaty settlements require us to do something that is not always easy as a country. They require us to look directly back at our history, some of the most ugly parts of our history, and confront those—and confront not the version where difficult events just become footnotes but the real history of what actually happened between Crown and Māori and the consequences of the actions on the people, on land, on culture, and on communities. For Ngāti Ruapani, that history includes significant Crown breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and injustices that cannot be undone. A settlement cannot return every acre that was taken or restore every opportunity that has been denied, and it cannot erase the experiences of generations who lived through those consequences. But the Crown can acknowledge what happened, and that is part of what is happening today. It can apologise, and that is part of what is enshrined within this legislation. It can provide redress that gives iwi a stronger foundation to go forward into the future, and that is what is within this bill through having a financial redress of $24 million, including commercial interests and also a share in Patunamu Forest and cultural and commercial properties. Importantly, it also provides 12,000 hectares of land to be added to Te Urewera—central to the purpose of this settlement today.

These are significant commitments, but I want to emphasise that the most important part of any settlement is not simply what is written on the balance sheet; it is in fact the relationship that follows after today. A Treaty settlement should create a relationship that is different between Māori and the Crown—one that is built on greater trust, respect, and recognition. That responsibility comes with the passing of this legislation today.

Waikaremoana is a beautiful place, a place of enormous significance. For Ngāti Ruapani, the connection to this whenua is not something that can simply be drawn on a boundary map. It is a relationship grounded in whakapapa, history, identity, and ahi kā. That relationship has endured, and will continue to do so, and the inclusion of land into Urewera is therefore an important part of the redress being provided through this settlement today. It also creates an opportunity for the future stewardship of this extraordinary and most beautiful place in Aotearoa. We should want settlements to strengthen the connection between people and whenua. We should want them to support the ability of an iwi to care for the places that have sustained their community for generations so that can continue for generations to come. We should want generations to inherit not just the land, but also the knowledge—the stories, the tikanga—and the responsibilities that come with it.

There have been difficult questions raised around overlapping interests with some of the whenua connected to this settlement. Those issues remind us that the relationship between iwi and hapū can be complex. Whakapapa does not always come with modern administrative boundaries, and that is some of the challenge with this Treaty settlement process; we know that. It forces Pākehā structures into what are not Pākehā things. Whakapapa does not always fit, and the different communities have longstanding connections to the same whenua.

Those connections deserve respect, and the Crown has a clear responsibility to approach these situations not just with care, but with fairness and genuine willingness to listen. Recognising complexity should not diminish the significance of Ngāti Ruapani’s settlement, nor diminish any right, but the goal of settlements must, ultimately, be to resolve historical grievances and build relationships in the future. That requires all of us to approach these issues with respect for one another, and with an understanding that the future cannot simply be built by repeating the same mistakes and the same divisions of the past.

I also want to acknowledge the importance of the legislative process that has brought us here. The Māori Affairs Committee considered this legislation and recommended that it be passed with amendments. That scrutiny matters, and that part of Parliament being involved in this process is also important. It ensures legislation accurately reflects the settlement that has been reached, and that the necessary technical and practical matters are properly addressed and enshrined in the books within this House.

Today is about more than that, about more than the legislative process. It is about recognition. It is about acknowledging you, Ngāti Ruapani, and your role, your history, and acknowledging that the Crown caused harm. We acknowledge that those harms endured across generations, and this legislation has recognised your right to move forward with certainty.

There is an important lesson to be learned here for the Crown. A settlement is not the end of responsibility; it is just the start. The Crown has to honour the commitments that are written on that document on the Table, and it has to ensure that the lessons from these historical grievances now inform how Government engages with you in the future. Reconciliation is not achieved through just one piece of legislation; it is achieved through actions over time. It is achieved when commitments are kept, it is achieved when Māori voices are heard before decisions are made, not simply after them. It is achieved when the Crown treats the relationship created by Te Tiriti o Waitangi as something living and ongoing.

I believe that Treaty settlements are one of the most important nation-building projects undertaken in modern New Zealand. They allow us to confront our past honestly, while still having confidence in our future. We do not have to choose between acknowledging historical injustice and building a shared future; we have to do both. A country does not become weaker by admitting where it got things wrong. It becomes stronger. It demonstrates that its institutions can learn and can be better.

It also gives future generations the opportunity to inherit something better than came before. Today, I want to pause and congratulate you for being here and reaching this point in time. I know the perseverance of those who have carried this kaupapa. I acknowledge the whānau who have waited for this day, and I acknowledge the responsibility that now sits with the Crown to ensure the commitments being made are honoured. This settlement cannot rewrite the past, but it can help shape a future. A future where Ngāti Ruapani can continue to strengthen cultural identity, exercise aspirations, care for the whenua, provide opportunities for generations to come. That is what this House should be supporting today. I’m proud, as part of te whānau Labour, to support Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill at this third and final reading.

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Kia ora koutou, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana. It is good to have you back in this Parliament for the third reading, and it’s a fine reconciliation of a challenging process, and thank you for being here. Your presence gives credence to what is possible, where we make amends for the harms done in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In the first and second readings I reflected on the historic account of the evils that the Crown committed against your people, and the scorched earth tactics, and the repeated breaches of human decency and Te Tiriti. When we came as a Māori Affairs Committee and you welcomed us to your spectacular part of the world, it was a wonderful day that we spent there. You showed us around maunga and marae in your rohe, and up to Waikaremoana, where the surface of the lake moved like ocean waves—an indomitable spirit, an undefeatable spirit. That is what I interpret in the hearts and the souls of you as a people: undefeated.

These settlements are often a challenge, because there are those who are not happy with them. I wanted to acknowledge that on that day, we heard from those people in the hearing. As well as those who were there to support it, there were those who were concerned about it—from Kahungunu and others. Every settlement is unique, but there are some patterns of the division that are sown in the process of the Crown seeking to make amends for the harms it has caused.

Even in the settlements, the clumsiness of the Crown can cause other harms and divisions. This is not a reflection on Te Tari Whakatau—all those negotiating, all those in good faith, seeking to make amends. It is a problem of the structure of how we approach settlement. It’s a big challenge. As my colleague Hūhana always says, “the Red Book”.

We did ask a lot of questions of the officials around issues that were raised, and they presented a thorough account of the process that led to the settlement. They satisfied us as a committee that we should support it, and we, indeed, unanimously did support it.

The fact is there are overlaying interests in Māori land with neighbouring iwi, and while this is a means to amends for harms and thefts caused by the Crown, it still functions in an atomised view of the world.

I reflect on the desiccation of collective ownership structures by the Māori Land Court that imposed the individualist property right ideology on your people, and this happened throughout the country. That is another mentality of the Crown. What we see in the drawing of lines on a map wherein one is given possession and another is dispossessed, so the mentality of individual property rights still persists and prevails in our country.

But I want to say that the Crown is like a three-year-old child. Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, you are ancient and perennial and indomitable. I agree with the Minister when he says we come and go, but the iwi remain. You persist and your truths and values will, I hope, help to make good on those relationships with your neighbours. Remember, always, that it is the Crown that caused the first harm, and any harm caused by this process is also to be on the Crown’s head.

When we go and visit a rohe, as happened to us, we always hear other stories and accounts, and sometimes the most grievous parts of the historical account land in a way that’s incomprehensible. But other simpler stories we hear really strike us with the injustice. One of them was that it was recognised that the iwi had authority over the bed of the lake, and yet the Government came and lowered the lake level to build the dam and destroyed the natural outflow from Waikaremoana to put in place the hydroelectric scheme. It impacted the fishery. Yet another example of one of the consequences of colonisation was destruction of the ecology, the traditional relationship the iwi had to their place and their land and their taonga lakes and forests.

One story that struck me was that one of the promises that was made was that, at the very least, a tiny fraction of the electricity generated by the dam would go towards powering the marae with free electricity. How long do you think that lasted? A year or two, and yet another promise broken. Herein lies the part that always strikes me: the generosity of an iwi to forgive these injustices and slights and failures and repeated dishonesties—to be honest, that’s what they are—and to come and turn up here and accept this settlement as a fraction of what you lost. There’s no recompense for the incomparable harms caused, but in your generosity and your dignity, you come to this Parliament, and you say, “We accept this offering.” Thank you for that—thank you for that.

This is the bit that means you are paving the way for what our nation can be, always showing the way for what our nation can be, and always the Crown playing catch-up. Here today we stand in unanimity as a Parliament and show the best of what is possible. Surely, when we stand together, we are our strongest as a country.

The Green Party is happy to commend this bill to the House, and we wish you, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, a great and prosperous and good future. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Kia ora.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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I am unfortunate not to be on the Māori Affairs Committee, as I must remind the House whenever I speak on a settlement bill. But I’ve been listening to members who are on the committee about their travels up to the beautiful part of the world that you inhabit, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana. I do have some experience in that beautiful part of the world. In fact, three weeks ago, for my birthday, I chose to spend it in Te Urewera.

I always pay a lot of attention to whose whenua I’m on and where I’m being privileged to spend my time. The historical account in this settlement bill lays out what other members of the select committee and speakers today have said of the overlapping of whakapapa, whenua, and the complications therein. One of the ones that I’m looking forward to getting some more clarity on is the titles at Ngāputahi, up on the—I think that’s Ngāputahi up on the Okahu, yeah? I was quite surprised that, going from my tūrangawaewae of the other side of the Ikawhenua Range, in Kuhawaea and Pāpāmoa—to hear that Ngāputahi was part of your rohe as well was interesting, and also what happened at Te Whaiti being part of your history.

The historical account—which provides clarity to a lot of people, but more questions for me—and the breaches of the Treaty that are clear and apparent and have been recognised and apologised for by the Crown, and by this House on behalf of the Crown, are laid out in this bill. I hope very well that you all can take what little is in this settlement and build a bright and prosperous future so that your iwi can thrive in the future—so that we can all thrive in the future. New Zealand is going to be here for a long time; onwards for New Zealand—toitu Niu Tīreni. Thank you, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana.

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I am pleased and honoured to be speaking on behalf of New Zealand First to the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill today, now in its third reading. I bring to Ngāti Ruapani greetings from my leader, the Rt Hon Winston Peters, as well as Deputy Leader, Matua Shane Jones.

To the kaumātua and kuia who began the Ngāti Ruapani settlement—that journey that began 40 years ago—today marks a milestone in the passing of this legislation. My greetings to you to all of those who have been part of that journey, those who are here in the gallery today or watching at home, and also to those who aren’t with us and who may have passed.

Lake Waikaremoana is an incredibly stunning natural treasure of New Zealand. We heard from Steve Abel, our colleague, that he appears to have had some magical, majestical moment as part of the Māori Affairs Committee, on the hearings up in the area. That’s actually how my nieces and nephews—Marianna, Moana, Michael, Lydia, and Tamatea Winiana, who whakapapa to Ngāti Ruapani through Mauruuru Pango. When they visit—regularly they have whānau visits there—they talk about the wairua of the area and how important it is for them, living away from that area, to go there and reconnect with their whenua, and the place is so majestical, so magical, and so serene. It is the most beautiful part of the world. It’s a region in Godzone that is unrivalled in its mystery, in its majesty, and in its serenity. However, a long shadow was cast, over a century ago, up and down the Long White Cloud, and that long shadow fell over the area where Ngāti Ruapani are, but today, that long shadow, we hope, will begin to dissolve and dissipate as this Treaty settlement process comes to a close.

For more than 150 years, dating back to 1866, the whānau carried the heavy weight of historical Treaty breaches. They carried the grief of land loss, of displaced whānau, and of systemic erosion of their place as mana whenua around Lake Waikaremoana, but today marks a threshold with the passing of this bill—a commitment between Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana and the Crown. There have been generations of memories, some not so good—many not so good—but we have seen strength and endurance, which has led to this day. This settlement is a step towards justice, and it has been a collective effort to get to this point.

The settlement includes $24 million in financial redress, an undivided half-share of Patunamu Forestry Ltd, commercial and cultural properties, and the return of roughly 12,000 hectares into Te Urewera. This represents a long-overdue acknowledgment of what was taken and what is owed. Today, Parliament takes this vital step in acknowledging a dark chapter in our history, seeking to repair a relationship severely fractured by the actions and omissions of the Crown.

For generations, the people of Ngāti Ruapani experienced the full, devastating weight of Crown actions, and we acknowledge the severe military attacks on Te Kōpani and Onepoto in 1866, followed by repeated incursions into the Waikaremoana area between 1869 and 1871. We remember, also, the unwarranted treatment of Ngāti Ruapani as rebels, a designation that brought scorched earth tactics—the destruction of kāinga, crops, and livestock—leaving whānau to endure starvation, exposure, and loss of life.

This tragic history stripped Ngāti Ruapani of their ancestral lands, leaving them virtually landless and causing enduring damage to their cultural identity, economic standing, and social wellbeing. No sum of money, no transfer of property, and no statutory acknowledgment can ever fully erase the suffering or undo the past, but what this legislation can do, and what it must do, is provide a foundation for justice and restoration, and a platform for the future. This bill represents an act of atonement, but, more than that, it also represents—and what I’ve heard Ngāti Ruapani say—a bridge to the future. It honours their ancestors who suffered, it supports the whānau who fought for decades to be heard, and it lays the groundwork for future generations of Ngāti Ruapani to thrive.

There was overwhelming support demonstrated during the ratification process, with 85 percent voting in favour of the deed. It’s a testament to the community’s desire to move forward into a new era. When the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana negotiating group brought their aspirations to the Crown, they centred their vision on three foundational values: māriri—to heal and put past difference aside; kaha—to stand strong, independent, and prosperous; and ritenga—to return to customary ways, caring for the environment and for each other. This legislation is built on those values.

I would like to acknowledge and also honour the resilience of Ngāti Ruapani. That has never been in doubt. Today, that resilience becomes a foundation for growth, for opportunity, and for prosperity. We can leave the past behind. We can draw a line in the sand and look toward the future. As Ngāti Ruapani looks towards your future, which define for yourselves, and as that shadow of the past begins to lift, as it begins to dissolve, I hope that blessings come to all of Ngāti Ruapani whānau. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): This is a split call.

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As members of Parliament, I want to labour the point. It was great to hear both Cameron and Steve speak to the immense loss of the people of Waikaremoana.

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We didn’t experience scorched earth, but when you read the way that the Crown treated your people,

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Because you’ve overcome so much. And in the settlement, it reads on page 10, “Despite this deprivation and disconnection, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana have endured. They are resolute and tenacious in their connections to Waikaremoana.”

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We just had Whanganui iwi here. I cautioned the House, because I’ve only got five minutes. I cautioned the House:

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Don’t we dear breach it tomorrow. Once we sign, these are binding. Our people are so gracious in accepting one to two cents in the dollar and the management agreements, all of that. Iwi Māori are so gracious that it is upon us as members of Parliament not to breach these Treaty claims, not to breach the Treaty settlements, and to honour what we sign—honour what we sign. So my mihi is to you for being enduring. You are here tomorrow, you’re here today. We’re going to come and go, but

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Now is the time more than ever to defend what is important to you so your mokopuna can see a brighter future āpōpō. Kia ora tātou.

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As I said this morning, it is indeed a privilege to speak at any stage within a Treaty claims settlement. This being the third reading, the final step before it puts in the bill and enacts it and pays attention to the deed that was signed some time ago.

It’s mindful of me to think of the wrongdoings of the past. We as politicians sit in this debating chamber with the responsibility in some ways of representing what our predecessors did in similar roles so long ago. It deeply hurts me, really, to read the historical account and think that I have to answer for that, because I look at the historical account and once again it is an absolute terrible history of this country. We’ve done this on numerous occasions. If you’re not aware, this is close to being nearly number 100 of these iwi settlements we’ve done as a Parliament, as a Crown, and there are more to come. But every settlement has similar stories, similar facts—not stories—of our past that I can’t see anybody of today being proud of. It is an absolute horror to read what has occurred.

Every iwi that has signed the deed and then it’s been enacted through a bill such as this, I’m always mindful that you have agreed to accept recompense that is so small, so minimalistic in context with what you’ve lost. You have made that choice. I suppose, New Zealand, we thank you for making that choice, because we indeed want to be able to start again. We want to move forward. We want to restart relationships that failed to exist all that time ago.

This is what I believe these occasions are about—the signing, the enactment of settlements—a point of time for us to begin again, to correct the wrongs, to restart the relationships that are so important and that were actually signed up to with Te Tiriti, that understanding your iwi didn’t actually sign, but we know that the founding document of our country is about how we operate as a country. Let’s make sure that Te Tiriti actually has some standing of today. So thank you. Thank you, Ngāti Ruapani, for making the choice to accept this.

I’ve had the privilege of being part of the select committee—the Māori Affairs Committee—that plays a small part in the journey of this process. We had the wonderful opportunity to visit, to come up to Tuai. We had a little bit of a hīkoi afterwards, and thank you to Neuton and Maea and all those that drove us to some of the beautiful parts of your rohe, your whenua. We went up to your beautiful marae on the puke, up on the hill there, of Waimako, I think it was—Waimako. We went up past the numerous lakes. You’ve got the beautiful lake there out in front of the lodge, where we actually had our hearing, of Whakamarino; but you’ve got Kaitawa, Wherowhero, and, of course, the beautiful Waikaremoana. I’m almost ashamed to say that was my very first visit to Waikaremoana.

We went to Onepoto Bay. Steve spoke about the fact that mankind has made its adjustments to the lake, and that has an impact, as any man does have, on our taiao. He spoke of agreements that we heard of with regards to the supply of electricity to your marae, which, for whatever reason, has been reneged on over time. These are the wrongs that I think we need to acknowledge, and I just hope that there’s some rights that are before us.

It was a privilege to be part of the mihi whakatau this morning. Neuton, our kaikōrero—thank you very much for your words, the dignity and compassion that you showed. I also want to talk to Kara, as well. Kara, your words were very meaningful to me, and I went straight up to Kara—unfortunately, I had to leave to other parliamentary business of select committee; I couldn’t stay for the hākari. But I asked Kara if I was allowed to use his words to put into the Hansard of this Parliament, to record them in the Parliament and record them for life. If you don’t mind, I’m going to read those and do just that right now.

“Our whānau have travelled from Waikaremoana to here, from the lake to this House. Our tūpuna made this journey many times. They came with petitions, they came with claims, they came with the same message we carry today. They went home without any answer. Today, we do not.

We will not speak of their pain. That is theirs. They carry it, they endure it, and they brought us here. What I speak to today is who stands in this House—not a bill, a people. The hapū of Waikaremoana have stood together through distance, through absence, through time, bound by whakapapa and by that whenua. Some who began this journey with us are not here today: kaumātua, kuia, whānau who sat at the table and whānau who sat at the back. They saw key moments, but they did not see this day. But they are here, in every one of us who stand. I acknowledge those whose work is rarely seen but always felt; those who drafted, those who drove, those who kept the marae open while the rest of us were in Wellington. You do not stand in the front, but you are the reason we stand here at all.

Today, this House passes a law. That law records what was done. It records what the Crown now acknowledges. We receive that acknowledgment with dignity. But the law does not make us. We were here before the House, and we will be here after it. This bill does not define us. It affirms what has always been true: that Te Urewera remains; that Waikaremoana remains; that hapū who call this place home remain; that Ngāti Ruapani remain. When we leave this House, our whānau will return to the lake. It will not have noticed we were gone. It has outlived every generation that stood beside it. It will outlive us, too. We do not shape it. It shapes us, and it has shaped a people who do not disappear. We were never lost; we were always here. Come to Waikaremoana, stand beside the lake. Then, you will understand what you have passed today.”

Kia ora, Kara. Tēnā tātou katoa.

Kia ora koutou. To Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, nau mai, haere mai ki Pāremata. It’s an honour to rise to speak to the Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana Claims Settlement Bill, and I want to start by acknowledging the hapū and iwi who have gathered here today after many, many years of hard work to get to this point. It’s been a real honour to stand alongside you for some of that journey, but I know that it goes back for generations. Congratulations on getting to this point. It’s been a challenging road but, no doubt, one today that ends one phase of your journey, and I commend you on your mahi getting this bill to its third reading,

Kia ora koutouto the rangatira, the rangatahi, the tamariki and the mokopuna—the generations in the room today. I’ve had the privilege of knowing some members of your whānau for a long time, and they said I wasn’t allowed to speak about them today, so I won’t, but they know who they are and I want to just acknowledge those whānau members and the impact this journey has had on me because of that connection that I have to your hapū.

This bill records the acknowledgment and apology made to Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana when the deed was signed, and gives effect to redress in the deed that requires legislation. The journey to get to the place we are now, receiving this bill for its third reading, has been a long one for Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana. Wai tūranga, rongo a te tangata, toitū te whenua—as people disappear from sight, the land endures.

It’s been a long journey for the hapū: six years of negotiation to reach a long-awaited agreement. I hope this bill acknowledges the past and looks to a stronger future. The journey from 2008 speaks to the challenging relationship that we can have with the Crown and also speaks the persistence of iwi, hapū, and whānau to right the wrongs of the past. I commend the show of unity and determination from Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana in working with the Crown to get to this point. Nothing can right the wrongs of the past and the harm inflicted on your people. Nothing is enough to apologise for the actions of the Crown, which began for Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana in 1866, but I hope that this bill can bring some closure to the people, and I commend the iwi for working with the Crown to work towards some redress for the harm caused. We know that that harm caused continued over successive generations, as is highlighted in this legislation.

It was a real honour—as a member who sits on the Māori Affairs Committee, I was able to come to your whenua to hear your submissions on the bill, and I want to acknowledge our chairperson, David MacLeod, for his mahi in this space. I know that David MacLeod worked very closely with you to ensure that this bill could be passed before Parliament wraps up for the year. I want to mihi to the mahi that was done, because I know that this settlement and getting it done in this parliamentary term is important to you, and I’m very pleased that we’re able to do that. I also mihi to Minister Paul Goldsmith for his mahi in moving things around so that we can get this done before Parliament rises.

It was so wonderful to come to your whenua for the manaakitanga that you showed to us. We went on a beautiful tour up to the lake, and it was just mind-blowing and lovely to be there. I had visited before in a personal capacity, but being able to be there and hear directly from the whānau on the history of that place was really special. Thank you for hosting us, for the beautiful kai, and for your kōrero while we were there.

I also was honoured to attend the mihi whakatau this morning. Thank you all so very much for that. Other speakers have spoken about the very moving kōrero that we had this morning, and I wanted to mention a few words that Kara Puketapu-Dentice mentioned in his kōrero. He spoke about tūpuna making the journey to Pāremata many times, with the same message that you’ve carried here today, and every other time going home without an answer, except for today. He talked about people standing together through distance, absence, and time, bound by whakapapa. He acknowledged—and I would like to acknowledge, as well—the many whānau who are not here today, the kuia and kaumātua who have done so much mahi in this space and who are not with us today in person, who saw key moments on this journey.

He also acknowledged those who work behind the scenes and the incredibly important work that they do, and I think it’s so important. Thank you, Kara, for those words, because it makes such a huge difference. Everybody involved in Treaty settlements—and especially those within the hapū—contributes so much, and it’s not always those behind the scenes who are praised. I think it’s important that we do that in all aspects of life, and so this is a personal shout-out to my friend, who I can’t mention, who was in the kitchen preparing the kai when we were up at Waikaremoana. Beautiful—thank you very much for that.

The other point I wanted to mention from Kara’s kōrero was the invite from Waikaremoana to this Whare. Thank you for the invite, and the essence of it was that if Pāremata—members of this Whare, and of the Crown—can visit Waikaremoana, then they can truly see what has been passed today, which is that this is not the end, but the beginning. Waikaremoana remains and the hapū remains, and I think it’s an important message that we can talk about this in the context of it being one part of the journey today.

We know that the Crown can never right those wrongs of the past, and while we celebrate today, there is also a feeling that the work is not done. There is so much more to do. I wish the hapū so many good wishes for your journey forward, and for your mokopuna to return to their whenua, know their tikanga, and learn their reo and understand, like your ancestors have done. I hope that this settlement contributes to a small part of that journey today. With that, on behalf of Te Rōpū Reipa, I commend this bill to the House.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. To Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, wherever you have travelled from, I acknowledge you all for being here this morning. Most might assume that everybody has come down from Waikaremoana or Tūai, but, in fact, I had a conversation at breakfast with visitors from Kāpiti and Lower Hutt. That just goes to show that your whenua remains, but your people are everywhere, and Lake Waikaremoana and the surrounding lakes are what bring you all back together.

I have a number of acknowledgments to make, and I just want to share a few things from the perspective that I bring. Can I just thank you, Minister Goldsmith, for bringing this bill to its third and final reading, and I acknowledge that you have mentioned—as many have—the number of people who were part of this process. Of course, it does need to be signed, sealed, and delivered at some point, and so we’re grateful for that being here, with us, today.

I acknowledge the Māori Affairs Committee, led by David MacLeod. When the select committee went and visited Tūai and heard from the community and other participants in Tūai, I wasn’t able to join it. I was meant to and I was hoping to, but just on seeing some of the pēpi in the gallery, I have to say that at the time, my baby was about eight or nine months old, and so it was a little bit difficult for me to get up at sort of 5 in the morning to travel up and join you, as I’m sure most people can understand. But I was really heartened by the conversations that were had, the experience of the journey, and everything else that was involved, as well.

I got to speak in the first reading of the bill, and I know that so many of you in the gallery were here for that, as well, and I’m not expecting that any of you remember what I said, as part of a small speck on the history of this experience. But rather than to reiterate it, I want to just share the things that I’ve learnt and understood since then. Everything that we do in this House is an experience for us to understand better. None of us will really understand what it is that your iwi, hapū, and marae have gone through on this journey, and I’m just acknowledging the generations that have gone before, the generations that are to come, and the stories and history that you will share and that they will understand, going forward.

Since the first reading, I’ve been able to meet with a number of people from all sides of this experience, and I know that so many of our speakers beforehand, across all sides of the House—and I think it’s been mentioned a number of times—have said how we feel about Treaty settlements, in particular. We are all aware of the challenges and complexities, but in this particular case, whakapapa makes a difference, and that’s been acknowledged by a number of people. I talked in my first reading speech about the journey for Ruapani down from Tairāwhiti, from Gisborne, and from settlements at Waikaremoana; the discovery of the lake or the sea; and the journey that Ruapani took to then bring together the people of Tūhoe and the people of Kahungunu. There are the intricacies and the complexities that that whakapapa brings to this story, and I know that this has been said by many up to this point, but it is never easy.

A settlement is never easy, but this settlement, with Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, is and that has to be acknowledged. But Te Urewera is a place for people to enjoy, to be, and to exist. The invitation has been mentioned many times to come to Waikaremoana in order to understand the place and what that means to the people, and I think that that prevails. I really hope from what has been shared about Te Urewera and Waikaremoana being a place for people to be in order to experience the specialness of that place is something that will live on beyond this settlement, as well.

Can I acknowledge you, Kara Puketapu-Dentice and Neuton Lambert, this morning for your speeches and your address to us, as members of Parliament, but also to the broader House, for the picture that we have. Thank you for everything that you’ve shared, and beyond your words this morning, as well, Kara, thank you for the things that you’ve said about this settlement. Whether it’s in the media or to communities, those words prevail and they really mean something, and I think it captures the sentiment of the importance of the settlement to the people and to Wairoa.

Of course, as the member of Parliament for Napier, I acknowledge that the general electorate boundary and the Māori electorate boundary intersect in such a way—and I’m just acknowledging Cushla Tangaere-Manuel but also Rawiri Waititi—that Lake Waikaremoana and Tūai are part of the Napier electorate. But, actually, Waikaremoana and Tūai are part of the Waiariki seat, and then, of course, Wairoa and most of Kahungunu are part of the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti seat.

These boundaries, to us, are lines on a piece of paper, but to the people that experience the geography, the place, what makes it special for you, your whenua, those boundaries really don’t mean anything other than a box on a piece of paper. So we need to acknowledge the wairua that prevails over all of this. I think that is the most important thing to acknowledge. We always try to find a box for things to fit in, and it just doesn’t work that way.

I know and note the many people that are part of this story, but today, Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, is your day. This is your settlement; this is your story. I just want to say to the range of generations in the gallery, and the gorgeous little pēpi that was up in front of me before, to think about how the future that this is and what it holds for you is really, really special because it’s the start, as David MacLeod mentioned, of a new relationship. We lead by our actions, and to see the way that we work going forward and the benefit to everybody of these settlements I think just is a testament to the process.

So I’m grateful to be able to be a part of it, the role that I have played in the last few months, listening and understanding and learning, and I really hope that everybody that experiences what the settlement brings going forward will see and understand that from that perspective as well. So ngā mihi ki a koutou. Thank you very much everyone for being here, for participating in this really long process that so many people will see as one third and final reading but not understand the decades and centuries that have gone in behind it and what this represents for you. So, again, thank you—thank you.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: This is a split call.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

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Lovely to have you all here today. I was listening to the kōrero and thinking about settlements. This has been, if we’re being honest, one of the harder settlements in terms of te ao Māori, and I think we all know that in the House. It’s been tough for the Māori Affairs Committee; it’s been tough for yourselves coming here, and it makes us all wonder in terms of: have we got the process right? I don’t think we have, but I don’t think we’re far off.

I was thinking back through the years, and with the overlapping claims, it can be a nightmare for some people, particularly when you have whanaunga against whanaunga and friends against friends. I thought back to the Tainui settlement, for instance. You’ll recall, people—some of the elder lot in the gallery—that Eva Rickard opposed the Tainui settlement, and that was major given that she was a matriarch and a warrior for our people, you know. Not easy—not easy when you want settlement and you want to proceed.

We had the Ngāi Tahu settlement: Sandra Lee, who was deputy leader of the Alliance, Mana Motuhake leader, opposed the Ngāi Tahu settlement, and to this day, I think, Sandra still is very sad because she missed the reading down here in Parliament because of a plane trip not working out for her. So I just want to say today that, you know, we’re all still part of each other.

We put the Tenths kaupapa through—great day here, but a guy like Paul Morgan, who’s been a longtime negotiator for the people down there in the South Island, been an advocate, an old friend of mine, he wasn’t even talking to me at the end because Labour didn’t put through the Tenths settlement on time. To his credit, he came to the hearing, but I still don’t think he supports the settlement, because it’s not perfect, because it does not compensate our people how it should, even though you’ve got a $400 million settlement there.

The reality, though, is our people understand what loss is. To have only 2 or 3 percent in terms of what a loss is does irk a lot of people. The Ngāi Tahu settlement: in economic terms, our top economist said it was worth $15 billion; Ngāi Tahu settled for $170 million. These are the things that we have to traverse as Māori, as negotiators, we have to work through. We have to decide when is the time to settle, when is the time to say, “OK, we’ve just got to cut our losses here.”

You know, Ranginui Walker—a lot of you will remember his mahi. He was the chief negotiator for Whakatōhea. When the Treaty settlement process started, he had a few problems with the process and he put stuff up on behalf of his tribe. There was a disagreement, Whakatōhea went to the back of the line, and they had to wait 20-25 years.

So I just want to mihi to everyone here today, to the negotiators. To Kara: well done to Kara Puketapu up there; he’s a good young man—only problem is he wouldn’t stand for me in the current election. He decided he was too busy advocating for you—big mistake, Kara, big mistake. But he’s a fine young man. But I mihi to you, because all these pressures that come on us as Māori, but we made a decision. Well done to our Minister, the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations; to previous Ministers—Finlayson, Little. This has been going on for years and years, but we came together. But we know of the pressures. Just remember: your relations are still your relations. You know, you might not talk for a while, but you’ve got to whakakotahi for the kaupapa. But it’s still a good day for everyone. We got there, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Kia ora anō tātou katoa.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good afternoon, everyone. Tēnā koutou katoa. I am a new entrant into the Māori Affairs Committee, but happy that I’ve had the opportunity to be in that first trip to Tūai and Waikaremoana. I have experienced your community and the love that you bring into your community and into each other, and I have seen the leadership and the relationships, and I thank you. This is a day of thanksgiving—thanksgiving for all of you, for your forbearance, for your determination, and for your openness to move forward. I think that that is a self-giving that is difficult to match, because you give now by accepting to move forward, and that is an amazing, amazing self-giving. So we thank everyone who’s been involved in the process, for being open to listening and to hearing. Passing this bill allows all of you, and us, an opportunity to pass from the darkness, the great darkness of the past, into the great light of the potential good that a settlement like this brings into your own hands. It is about choice, the openness, and the ability to make decisions yourselves.

I think that the best contribution that I can make to this process in my nothingness is to recognise the mokopuna who are here who need to go and move because they’ve been here and waiting and they’ve been patient, like you—you have taught them well. So my best contribution is to say, now, that I commend this bill to the House.

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Because Māori would never have imagined a place like this. Why on earth would they?

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—means recompense, to restore, to balance and put right.

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This process is not, and Kara said it so beautifully in the words—thank you, e te tiamana—[Authorised reo Māori text to be inserted by the Hansard Office.]

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But this process is not, and never was, about establishing the

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Motion agreed to.

Bill read a third time.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I now turn to our guests in the gallery. We would love to hear your waiata.

Waiata—Kāore te pō nei

Haka—Kī mai nei koe

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Kia ora. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. today.

The House adjourned at 12.36 p.m. (Thursday)