Fox Marama: Papawai and Kaikokirikiri Trusts Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFox Marama: Papawai and Kaikokirikiri Trusts Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 02 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9338. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party): My apologies to my colleague. I was just at the flag referendum debate and came late back to the House so the lovely Jo Hayes took my spot. We have done a swap. However—ā tuatahi kei te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki Te Whare ki ōku whanaunga e noho nei ki roto i ngā tūru kei runga rāme te tuku whakaaro ki ngā tupuna ka mihi atu ki a rātau! Nō rātau tēnei whenua i whakarite nā rātou tēnei kaupapa i whakarite hai awhi hai tautoko i te hunga rangatahi o te kāinga kia tupu pai ake i roto i tēnei ao hurihuri nō reira tēnei te mihi.[And so in the first instance I want to acknowledge the House my relatives in their seats up there and spare a thought to the ancestors and accord a tribute to them. They considered this property and came up with this scheme as a means of assisting and supporting the young people of the local area to improve their growth in this evolving world; therefore I applaud them.]The Papawai-Kaikōkirikiri lands were gifted by the Crown after they were gifted to the Crown for religious and educational purposes in 1908. There was an intention to build a school at Papawai which never happened which is why they established this scholarship fund. The current trust was created in an Act in 1943; hence we are here.This bill has been with different members in this House for many many years and has never progressed. When I came into Parliament the whānau came and said: “Marama can you help us move this bill along. It’s been sitting on the table for a long time and under different people’s names it wasn’t able to progress.” In the discussion with the whānau we felt that it was a good idea to put it with the Government’s representative from the Wairarapa Alastair Scott thereby speeding up the process instead of waiting for the day when it might be drawn out of the ballot.I take on board the points made by Ron Mark cousin and member for New Zealand First and our colleague Meka Whaitiri the representative of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. There is still much to be debated and when this bill comes to the select committee we will all again have the opportunity to collectively work on the bill to ensure that it does do just that—that it upholds the rangatiratanga of our people to determine what they think is best to move the trust forward.My own children have been recipients of the scholarships proffered by the trust as have many in the Wairarapa. Papawai is a significant place. It was known as Ngā Wahakaka o Wairarapa—the great speakers and holders of the knowledge. In fact we found in our writings that when Ātiawa over here in the Wellington region were struggling with an issue of tikanga an issue that they could not settle they said: “Me haere tātau ki ngā waha kākā o Wairarapa hai whakatau.” [“Let us go to the Wairarapa representatives to settle it.”]Such was the renown of the people of Papawai—yes the seat of the Māori Parliament. But not only that the repository of knowledge of our tohungatanga of our whare wānanga. So it was right that they saw fit to ensure that there would be scholarships available for our young people growing up in a new and modern world even at that time even until this time—that they be supported in their education so that they can strive to take their place as we have done in the halls and the seats of this Parliament and in the world beyond.Today in this Parliament there are five members of this current 51st Parliament who whakapapa to Papawai Marae from five different parties. It is the legacy of a people who saw in a vision that they could be self-determining; hence the trust has come and asked that we make the changes necessary to the Act that governs the paying out of scholarships from the fund so that they too can continue to uphold that legacy of our ancestors. So I am quite proud to stand and speak on this basis.The Papawai block was 400 acres. The Kaikōkirikiri block is 177 acres. The trust then purchased a further 150 acres. The collective funds gathered from the good trusteeship and governance of that land is what keeps our children in school today. So I am proud to stand and support this bill.