Horomia Parekura: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:637;Page:7845] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 He tika ake ano i runga i te tu nei ki te mihi ake ano i a koutou o Te Roroa tena koutou. Tena koutou mo te kaha rawa i roto i a koutou e tae kaha ake ano i konei mai i te wahi o te ngahere nga wahi pera i a Te Kopuru nga ahua pera tonu e mihi kau ana tena koutou. 
E whakahoki ake ano oku whakaaro ki tera ra i tae tahi ake ano taua me toku hoa mahi a Mark Burton i ro whare a te ngahere e kite ake ano i te kaha rawa te koi hoki te tino kaha i roto i a koutou e manaaki ake ano o taua e tae ake ano i reira hei oti ake ano i te korero mo tenei mamae roaroa hoki. 
To Te Tai Tokerau mai i Te Oneroa-a-Tohe e tae ake ano i te wahi tata ake ano i a Whatua. E mihi kau ana i a korua. E Pita me a koe e Hone me tera tino tangata upoko maro taku hoa ra e korero ake ano mo te kaita hoki a Ngati Hine me tenei tetahi o nga tino tuakana papa o te Whare nei pera i a Pita a Dover. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
It is appropriate as I rise to acknowledge Te Roroa as well: greetings to you. Your efforts to get here from Waipoua Forest from places like Te Kopuru are acknowledged. Greetings to you. 
I recall the time when fellow Minister the Hon Mark Burton and I visited you at Waipoua Forest and saw how industrious sharp and hospitable you were when we visited to discuss this lengthy and painful grievance. 
Of the north from the Ninety Mile Beach to Whatua I greet you Pita Hone and that hard-headed colleague of Ngati Hine also Dover one of the real elders of this House like Pita over there. 
] 
 I stand today to support the Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill. In so doing I wish to congratulate Te Roroa negotiators on their efforts in getting to this point. This bill gives effect to certain aspects of the deed of settlement that was signed by the Crown and Te Roroa on 17 December 2005. The deed settles all the historical claims of Te Roroa in Northland. The historical claims of Te Roroa relate to a number of Crown acts and omissions in relation to the operation and impact of the Native Land Court process and Crown land-purchasing in the 1870s. 
It is important to note that the deed sets out an agreed historical account and an acknowledgment of Crown breaches of the Treaty and its principles. The acknowledgments include: the failure of the Crown to deal with the repeatedly raised grievances of Te Roroa in an appropriate way; the Crown’s process used to determine reparation for the plunder of a store in 1861 which led to the cession of land at Te Kopuru; the Crown’s awarding of land to individuals of Te Roroa rather than to the iwi or to hapu; the cumulative effect of the Crown’s actions and omissions that have left Te Roroa virtually landless; the alienation of Te Roroa from their lands which hindered their economic social and cultural development; and the separation of Te Roroa from their wahi tapu and taonga which has been a source of great spiritual and emotional pain to Te Roroa—nga aureretanga o Te Roroa. 
The bill also includes a formal apology given by the Crown to Te Roroa and to their ancestors and descendants for the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Crown apologises for those acts and omissions as well as for its failure to acknowledge the mana and rangatiratanga of Te Roroa. The acknowledgments apologies and agreed historical account contained in the settlement redress establish a platform for the Crown and Te Roroa to build a relationship into the future based on mutual trust and cooperation and over and above the settlement will ensure that Crown agencies and services are built stronger and longer than before. In recognition of Te Roroa’s historical cultural and spiritual association with places and sites within their area of interest the settlement also includes the vesting of 25 sites of cultural and spiritual significance. 
The settlement is conditional upon the establishment of an appropriate governance entity to receive and manage the settlement redress. Te Roroa has also established a second trust Te Roroa Whatu Ora Trust which has a commercial focus and will receive and administer the commercial redress properties. This settlement will go some way in assisting Te Roroa to establish an economic base for themselves. 
Concluding settlements like this one is important for Maori. Currently 20 groups are actively engaged with the Office of Treaty Settlements and three heads of agreements in principle have been reached with a number of claimant groups. [ 
Interruption 
] At times it is too easy for people who are in Opposition for a period of time and who will remain in Opposition to cite what they would do—like what they suggested at Orewa. Yesterday I concluded a settlement like this one. Yesterday I was fortunate to be in Wanganui where I finished off and signed on behalf of the Crown an on account historical Treaty settlement with representatives of Whanganui iwi. It will provide Whanganui iwi with ownership of the Wanganui courthouse and the land it sits on. I think that is incredible in the sense of it having taken 12 years to achieve that because that lot on the other side of the House did nothing—zip! It was a great day—a historic day. I have to agree with this morning’s  
Wanganui Chronicle 
: “The iwi were in a joyful mood.” And there are things to celebrate when one does not sit and chastise other people be reckless with one’s tongue and skite about the size of one’s iwi. I know that Ngati Hine is a great iwi. As this Government continues to make strong progress in resolving Treaty grievances I expect to see more occasions like this and they will happen quickly. 
I want to talk about Hauraki. Having been at the land march having gone to Waitangi for 35 years and having gone to the koroneihana for 35 years I can say I have never ever seen those two members there even in recent times. I am sorry; I have seen Georgina there. I have seen Hone Harawira behave in a dastardly fashion and I have seen Pita Paraone behave in a greatly receptive fashion. Hone Harawira has now grown into doing that and I relish and celebrate that from my former workmate Hone—I really do. I used to remember when protestors went there with stones in bottles and rolled them on the ground so those damned National Ministers would fall over because they would not make decisions. The National members never make decisions. They say one thing out of one side of the mouth—things about the Maori seats or whatever else—then dream and make-believe about what they would do to make things better for Maoridom. They never do anything. 
In relation to Hauraki I say I my colleague Dr Burton and Minister Mahuta met with the Hauraki iwi for over 4 hours because they were having issues with their mandate. John McEnteer was there and Paul Majurey was there; so were those rangatira who are right in the middle. It was great that they talked about it. After we help them to get their mandate we will do the business. We will make sure that we do the business. We will not sit here and prattle like reckless cattle as National does; it tries to make out that it will do everything for Maori and it makes policy on the hoof. It is outrageous how the National Party wants to treat Maori. 
I will tell the House about when we rode into Te Roroa. It is a beautiful place. There is a marae there and a koroua was there—80-plus; he might even have been 90-plus—and he said he wanted us to hurry up because he wanted to go down and have a bit of nectar. The other great thing was that the kids were all up in the trees. It is a beautiful place. In case Georgina te Heuheu has never been there I tell her that it is a wonderful place. Those people’s tipuna were there and they live there. They do not live in urban Auckland which is a great place too. [ 
Interruption 
] 
I remind the member Tau Henare that when he was the Minister of Maori Affairs I used to go fishing with him on Thursday nights. I used to give him top-quality advice and he would not listen to me. He went down outside Te Papa and he fished— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Is it a point of order? 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I will be guided by you Madam Assistant Speaker as to whether it is. But can I tell members that the advice that I got was not very good because I did not catch anything. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: That probably was not a point of order but never mind. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I caught more fish than him. And I knew more about Maoridom than he ever did because most of my staff were Maori—Hone Harawira was one of them and he was a great operator as were a whole lot of other people. But I want to mihi to Tau I want to mihi to Ngati Hine and I thank Te Roroa for being strong and forthright— 
Keith Locke 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I just find it disturbing and I would ask whether it is right for the speakers who have spoken so far on this bill to turn this Parliament into such a fishy place. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Well that probably was not a point of order either. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: There is only one person in this world who is able to divide bread and feed the multitudes with fish and it is not Tau Henare—even though he thinks that it is. Thank you Madam Assistant Speaker.