Mahuta Nanaia: Ngati Tama Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Mahuta Nanaia: Ngati Tama Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5654] 
NANAIA MAHUTA (NZ Labour—Tainui) 
: 
Tenei ka tu au ki te tautoko nga mihi ki nga morehu o Ngati Tama tena koutou. Ka mihi atu ra ki to koutou nei maunga a Taranaki ki nga kawai korero e pa ana ki o koutou nei matua tupuna e pa ana ki te whenua. Ko nga hononga kei waenganui i a matou nei no Waikato e pa ana ki nga whenua i raupatutia i riro whenua atu me hoki whenua mai. No reira tenei te mihi atu ki a koutou tena koutou katoa. 
I just want to acknowledge the survivors of Ngati Tama and to acknowledge its ancestral maunga Taranaki and the things that have been handed down from the ancestors of Ngati Tama to their descendants who are negotiating the return of their lands. There is a binding korero that joins both Taranaki and the Waikato and it is a saying left by our ancestors when our lands were confiscated: as land was taken so should it be returned. It is on that principle that I greet Ngati Tama here tonight. Tena koutou. 
Ka hoki oku mahara ki nga whakaaro o te taraipiunara i roto i ta ratau nei ripoata e pa ana ki tenei take. E ai ki o ratou nei whakaaro ko te tuturutanga o tenei take e pa ana ki nga whakaaetanga kei waenganui i te Karauna me nga iwi katoa o Taranaki me noho tuturu te Karauna i raro i o ratou nei whakaaro. I want to return some of my contribution to the tenor of the report that was released by the Waitangi Tribunal regarding the Taranaki claims as a whole. It is really about the durability of the agreement between the Crown and all Taranaki iwi when they seek the return of their lands and all the agreements therein. 
No reira ko te tino patai kei roto i toku nei ngakau ka whakatakoto mo nga mema o te komiti whakahaere ma koutou tenei patai mena e hiahia ana a Ngati Tama ki te tutuki i o ratou nei whakaaro e pa ana ki te whakahokinga o ratou nei whenua ka ahei ratou hei noho tuturu i raro i nga korero i waihotia i mua i te aroaro o te Karauna? I guess that the challenge for all members of the Maori Affairs Committee is to question the durability of the settlement. It is a hard thing for any iwi—and Ngati Tama is no exception—to make an agreement with the Crown but the issue is around the durability and sustainability of the agreements that Ngati Tama has reached with the Crown. No doubt that iwi has had a number of difficulties in trying to get to this point and there are probably still more outstanding difficulties. This is a first reading debate so we will send the bill to the select committee for members to ask some of those questions. I hope that the question of durability is one that pervades a lot of their thinking. 
Why is that? It is because the nature of the agreements that are set out by Ngati Tama is about a long-term relationship. Ngati Tama it is not a short-term player in the whole picture when it seeks the return of its lands. It wants to see a relationship that extends beyond central government to local government. It wants a relationship that ensures that this settlement is an opportunity for it—albeit that this is a difficult choice for it to make. So when Ngati Tama talks about the issues regarding coastal tendering and the issues around relationships with central and local government the question should be how those agreements are to be made durable. 
I hope that members from the Opposition parties who have been pervasive in the debate in this House about ancestral and cultural landscapes and wahi tapu will take note of some of the agreements that Ngati Tama is seeking to ensure protection under from here into the future. It is the nature of how Ngati Tama wants to define those types of issues that we should hold in the forefront of our considerations. That is for Ngati Tama to determine and I have no problem with that. There will be a whole plethora of other Acts that impact on the nature of how Ngati Tama determines the effect of its relationship with regard to those issues. The Local Government Act the Resource Management Act and other Acts overlay some of the rights and interests that Ngati Tama has. I certainly commend all efforts that Ngati Tama has made to date to try to ensure that it is getting the best opportunity that it can—it is no easy business. One is never ever liked for going down the road of settlement but that is a way to ensure a forward-looking opportunity. 
I do not want to make too long a contribution on this bill; I am not on the select committee. However in terms of the electorate that I now represent Tainui there has been some toing and froing between Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Tama over the overlapping issues and those are ongoing issues. I would hope that in the course of time things can be resolved although we do know the dynamics of iwi politics. But that is not to say that either Ngati Tama or Ngati Manaipoto should be penalised in any way for having some kind of dispute around their boundary issues. That is a natural dynamic debate that happens amongst iwi. I would stand here to defend the right of Ngati Tama to come back to this House and ensure that the durability of its agreement with the Crown will stand the test of time and will withstand any change in Government policies and politicians in this House. 
No reira ko oku nei korero whakamutunga ki nga morehu o Ngati Tama ka mihi atu ra ki a koutou i tenei wa ahakoa ko tenei te wa tuatahi mo nga mema katoa o tenei Whare hei kite i nga ahuatanga e pa ana ki o koutou nei take. Ka mihi atu ra ki a koutou tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
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And so my concluding remarks to the survivors of Ngati Tama: I acknowledge you at this time even though it is the first time that members of this House have had to view the circumstances relating to this matter of yours. I really acknowledge you. Greetings greetings and greetings to you all 
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