Rurawhe AdrianADRIAN RURAWHE (Labour—Te Tai Hauāuru): Ā tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare otirā tēnā tātou katoa ngā mema o Te Whare nei. Tuatahi ka tuku i taku mihi atu ki aku whanaunga kua tae mai ki Te Whare nei nō reira e ngā whānau me ngā hapū o Whanganui tēnei ahau e whakapiri taku mihi ki te tokorua nei ki a Metiria me Jo ko mātou nei nō Te Awa o Whanganui. E tuku mihi atu ki a koutou kua tae mai i tēnei rā nō reira tēnā koutou![And so thank you Mr Deputy Speaker but at the same time to all of us members of this House. In the first instance I extend an acknowledgment to my relatives who have arrived at this House and so to the families and hapū of Whanganui I extend my tribute and include this pair Metiria and Jo as we three are indeed from the Whanganui River. We acknowledge you collectively who have arrived here on this day therefore greetings!]It is an honour to speak on the second reading of Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill. As we have heard from all of the previous speakers this is a unique settlement. The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations used the word innovative". I also want to add my voice to what "Te Pā Auroa nā Te Awa Tupua" means to me. It is a rare occasion when the imperatives of the iwi and the people take precedence over the imperatives of the law and the Crown. I think this is an excellent example of how the imperatives of who we are of Te Awa o Whanganui have taken precedence in shaping the framework for us to move forward. So I join with others in the House who have congratulated all of the negotiators both the iwi negotiators and the Crown negotiators on bringing this framework together. I totally look forward to the day when this framework is fully operational. I think it is only then that we will see the fruits of the many days hours months and years of work that have gone into creating this framework. I congratulate everyone who has been part of the development of this framework.I want to join with the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee in acknowledging all of the submitters who had their voices heard during the select committee process. It can be a challenging process for those who are in support of the bill and those who have some reservations about it but in the end I think it is a very good process to go through and through it we the Māori Affairs Committee have made some recommendations to make the bill even better than it was and to make some corrections as well. That is the fine-tuning part of the process if you like.I totally agree with the words of Tutehounuku Korako that he has presented to the House today. I think that the opportunities within this piece of legislation are huge for the future of the people of Whanganui but more importantly for Te Awa o Whanganui. We have heard many quotes about the relationship between the people and the awa and in the whakataukī that was first mentioned by Jo Hayes and I join her in those sentiments. E rere kau mai Te Awa Nui mai i Te Kāhui Maunga ki Tangaroa ko au te awa ko te awa ko au.[The great river flows directly from the National Park to the sea I am the river and the river is me.]Hearing those words in this House so many times reminds me of being back at home and I think of all of the tamariki and mokopuna who will inherit a new legacy which this bill creates. It is a legacy enshrined in legislation but also already existed and now recognised in law so no one can ever touch that again. I am supremely happy about that. I think what the House should do is pass this bill as soon as possible. I do want to mention the comments—I am probably going to get into trouble for this but I will say it anyway—about empty chairs in the House. I just want to explain that the processes and everything about Parliament continues on during extended hours. The reason for that is so that we can get these bills through the House in the most expeditious way that we can. The alternative to having a full room would be considerable delay—and I am talking at least 3 months per reading.Hon Ruth Dyson: Oh more.ADRIAN RURAWHE: Or more as my colleague has said. So I just want to put some perspective there. It is not being disrespectful to the iwi; it is merely saying that the processes of Parliament continue on including the Māori Affairs Committee which this week has heard other bills before it. It would be lovely to have the room full for these bills. But I would just like to say on behalf of all Labour members that all of the members of the Labour Party fully support this bill and are pleased to do so and we commend it to the House.Bill read a second time.Waiata"