Little AndrewThird ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website. Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.Tākiri mai anā te ata ki runga o ngākau mārohirohi. Kua rere ana te manu kaupapa ka ao ka ao ka awatea. Tihei mauriora.E mihi ana ki a koutou kua tau mai nei i runga i te karanga o te kaupapa o te rā. Tēnā koutou katoa. E mihi ana ki te hunga mate haere haere haere atu rā. Ki a tātou te hunga ora tēnā tātou.Kia whakamānawatia ngā mana o ēnei whenua e tū āhuru nei he uri Pākehā au i tupu i te aroha o Taranaki maunga o Taranaki whenua o Taranaki tangata. Tēnei au otirā mātou te Kāwanatanga e mihi nei ki te kaupapa o te wā. Tēnā koutou kia ora huihui mai tātou katoa.[Dawn breaks a new morning and a dauntless heart. This issue has taken flight a new dawn leads to the full light of day. I now begin.I greet you all who have arrived here in response to the call of the issue of the day. Greetings to you all. I acknowledge those who have passed; may you rest in peace. And to us who remain welcome one and all.To pay tribute to this comfortable land I state that I am a descendant of Pākehā who grew up under the protection of Taranaki maunga and Taranaki land surrounded by the love of Taranaki people. I stand here we the Government stands here acknowledging the issue of the time. Greetings be well all of us who have gathered here today.]It's a great privilege to stand here today in this House to support the third reading of the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the members of Ngāti Rangitihi who while not in the House are still able to be at Parliament this afternoon to witness this very significant historic occasion and they're watching this debate this afternoon remotely but within the precinct of Parliament. I greatly appreciate all Ngāti Rangitihi representatives who were able to travel here today so that we may mark this occasion together and it was indeed a delight and a privilege to welcome them at a pōwhiri earlier this afternoon. I also wanted to welcome Ngāti Rangitihi members who because of COVID-19 restrictions are having to watch this third reading online. E te iwi Ngāti Rangitihi tēnā koutou. I particularly thank Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust and the Ngāti Rangitihi negotiations team—Kenneth Raureti Stephen Tipene Perenara Marr Delwyn Rondon Peri Perenara and Ngāti Rangitihi lead negotiator and chairman Leith Comer—for their extraordinary dedication in reaching this significant milestone. I also wanted to thank Anthony Olsen who with the support of Bruce Stirling worked tirelessly with officials on the historical account. I'd like to acknowledge the work of their support team Ian Dickson Roger Drummond Alana Hunter Dougal Stewart Darcy Stoneham and Donna Semmens. Ngāti Rangitihi have endured a long wait to settle their historical claims and I acknowledge their patience commitment and fortitude. This settlement is a testament to the years of Ngāti Rangitihi's hard work in negotiating a deed of settlement with the Crown. I acknowledge the work of the Crown's chief negotiator Katherine Gordon and the officials at Te Arawhiti and partner agencies who led and supported the negotiations. Reaching the third reading of this bill is in no small part due to their ongoing and steadfast commitment to achieving a Treaty settlement between Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown. I'd also like to thank my ministerial colleagues past and present for their support. I particularly acknowledge my predecessor Chris Finlayson who as Leith Comer acknowledged in the pōwhiri earlier this afternoon managed to get the Ngāti Rangitihi claims settlement process up the queue from where it had been knocked back in earlier years because of the decision of Ngāti Rangitihi to separate out from other iwi in order to get their own settlement. I also want to acknowledge the former Minister of Conservation the Hon Eugenie Sage too for her work because a lot of the redress negotiation was around conservation the conservation estate and conservation issues and led to many discussions with the Hon Eugenie Sage. In the end we got there: we got an agreement that I think has not only enriched Ngāti Rangitihi and its cultural needs but has enriched the Crown as well. I know that all of the parties involved have worked extremely hard to support Ngāti Rangitihi in their journey towards settlement and will continue to provide assistance in the post-settlement phase. I want to acknowledge also the Tūhourangi Tribal Authority for engaging with Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown throughout the settlement process. In particular I appreciate the steady leadership of the former chair of Tūhourangi Alan Skipwith for the contribution that he made in working with Ngāti Rangitihi chairman Leith Comer to reach agreement between the two iwi that supports this settlement and provides a fruitful and positive future partnership together in the Waimangu Valley. Alan passed away in February last year and I know is deeply missed by many. Significantly I wish to acknowledge those from Ngāti Rangitihi who are not with us today to witness the outcome of years of hard work courage and commitment. We cannot and do not forget those who have suffered at the hands of the Crown and those who initiated the claims process for Ngāti Rangitihi. They are in our thoughts today. I acknowledge one other person and that is the person who accompanied me to Matatā on the occasions I visited to initial the deed of settlement and then sign the final deed of settlement. That is Stephen Ihaka who was working for Te Arawhiti who was such a workhorse in that respect and is somebody who I miss deeply to this day. Moe mai moe mai moe mai rā e ngā rangatira. Today marks the final stage in the progression of the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. This has been a long and arduous process for generations of Ngāti Rangitihi who through petitions submissions and claims from at least the 1860s have sought acknowledgment of the Crown's breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi that have caused immeasurable harm. Although no settlement can truly atone for the past injustices or compensate for the hurt that Ngāti Rangitihi have suffered it is my hope that we can look forward to a future where Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown will work in close partnership with each other to the benefit of future generations. It's now time for the Crown to acknowledge and provide redress to Ngāti Rangitihi. With the passing of the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill it will give effect to the deed of settlement between Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown. I was privileged to be able to sign the deed with Ngāti Rangitihi at the Rangitihi Marae in Matatā on 5 December 2020. The deed we signed acknowledged historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to Ngāti Rangitihi. In this bill the Crown acknowledges the injustices of its past acts and omissions. It breached the Treaty of Waitangi and recognises the resulting pain caused. Ngāti Rangitihi have suffered severe and lasting effects as a result of the Crown's breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi causing them to endure significant social and economic deprivation. The interests of Ngāti Rangitihi were not protected by the Crown when the Crown leased and purchased Ngāti Rangitihi land blocks. The Crown did not consider the impact of the native land laws where factors such as high survey costs led to major land loss for Ngāti Rangitihi. This was then compounded by the Crown taking an excessive amount of land at Te Ariki for public works. The Crown failed to ensure Ngāti Rangitihi had sufficient land to support themselves after the Tarawera eruption on 10 June 1886 which had a devastating effect on Ngāti Rangitihi. With their interior lands unusable the survivors became virtually landless their tribal structures were undermined and Ngāti Rangitihi were severed from their own whenua. Environmental degradation facilitated by the Crown has been the source of great distress for Ngāti Rangitihi over the years. In the 1910s the Crown was involved in draining the Rangitaiki swamp which depleted Ngāti Rangitihi food sources. Most significantly the Crown promoted legislation in 1954 that enabled the discharge of industrial waste into the Tarawera River and Lake Rotoitipaku resulting in heavy pollution. I remember working up in that area in the 1990s and going past the Tarawera River and seeing it running red with pollution from the industrial plants that sat on its edge. Despite the many challenges the iwi have faced Ngāti Rangitihi have a long and proud history of military service in New Zealand and across many parts of the world and I wanted to particularly acknowledge that service today. As I've noted no settlement package can ever fully compensate Ngāti Rangitihi for the enormous hurt and suffering they have endured across generations. It's a testament to the extraordinary grace and kindness of Ngāti Rangitihi that they have chosen to accept the current package and have decided to move towards a period of reconciliation with the Crown. The Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill seeks to give effect to the Ngāti Rangitihi settlement package as outlined in the legislative statement. The settlement package provides for the transfer of 19 sites of deep significance to Ngāti Rangitihi as cultural redress. These include two properties at Te Tapahoro Bay the beating heart of the Ngāti Rangitihi rohe; two properties in and around the Waimangu Volcanic Valley; and five properties at Matatā. It's my hope that through the acknowledgment of the historical Treaty claims of Ngāti Rangitihi today will signal the beginning of the newly strengthened relationship between Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown one based on cooperation mutual trust and respect. I am hopeful that this spirit of partnership will continue to grow through the years to come. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia hohou te rongo ki a tātou katoa.[Therefore greetings. May peace prevail for all of us.]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie): The question is that the motion be agreed to.