Turia Tariana: Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Turia Tariana: Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14599] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: E nga pae maunga o Tawhiuau raua ko Tuwatawata tenei te maunga o Tongariro e tuo’u nei. E nga awa o Rangitaiki raua ko W’irinaki tenei te awa o Whanganui e rere humarie nei ko au te awa ko te awa ko au. Ngati Manawa Ngati Whare kei te mi’i kei te mi’i kei te mi’i. 
[ 
To the mountains of Tawhiuau and Tuwatawata on the horizon this mountain of Tongariro stoops before you. To the rivers of the Rangitaiki and Whirinaki this is the river of Whanganui flowing serenely. I am the river and the river is me. Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare I bid you welcome welcome welcome 
.] 
I move  
That the Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time 
. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Maori Affairs Committee that the committee report finally to the House on or before 31 March 2011 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions and during the evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Orders 187 189(a) and 190(1)(b) and (c). 
I am proud to acknowledge the inherent connection that we as an uri of Ngati Apa have to the people of Ngati Manawa through our ancestor Apa-hapai-taketake. In fact if we were going to Murupara today we would be welcomed into the meeting house which takes its name Apa-Hapai-Take-Take from our eponymous ancestor. It is with much sorrow that I remember that my last visit to that place was to honour the memory of a man who truly invested his last breath in the legislation that we debate tonight. In thinking about Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare one cannot go past the memory of Bill Bird and his absolute dedication to the settlement of these claims. One can never dispute the absolute commitment of that rangatira to the people of Ngati Manawa and we must view this legislation as part of the enduring legacy that he gifted to the whanau hapu and iwi. 
The legislation brings together the claims of Ngati Manawa alongside those of Ngati Whare. The two iwi share in close bonds of whakapapa and the experience of a historical context laid out in the legislation under their name. The claims of Ngati Manawa relate primarily to the consequences of their loyalty to the Crown during the New Zealand Wars; the Crown’s actions and omissions in respect of the operation and impact of the native land laws; the Crown’s land purchasing techniques particularly in respect of the land that Ngati Manawa wished to retain; and the 20th century development of lands rivers and forests. The legislation travels from inland Bay of Plenty and the lands of Murupara and the Kaingaroa plains to the tribal base of Ngati Whare which is located around Minginui the Whirinaki forest park and the Whirinaki Crown forest rental lands. 
The claims of Ngati Whare relate primarily to the Crown’s actions during the 1860 wars the impact of the Native Land Court and subsequent land alienation the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 Crown corporatisation the cessation of indigenous forest logging and the return of Minginui village without providing Ngati Whare with sufficient resources to bring village infrastructure up to Government standards. There is a devastating history under each of those events that is known only to the people of Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa but this legislation starts the process of healing the grief of their shared histories. 
The bill responds to the impact of the several wars that were fought between the Crown and other Maori in the eastern Bay of Plenty between 1865 and 1872 which this bill acknowledges had a prejudicial effect on Ngati Manawa. Through the passage of this bill we recognise the history in which the Crown has denied to Ngati Manawa their capacity to uphold their mana-o-awa and mana whakahaere over the Rangitaiki and Wheao rivers in which the Crown has failed to respect provide for and protect the special relationship of Ngati Manawa with the Rangitaiki River and its tributaries. 
The bill is a crucial step in acknowledging the deep regret of the Crown for the loss of lives destruction and harm inflicted on Ngati Whare during and after its 1896 attack on Te Harima Pa and significantly for the Crown an opportunity to unreservedly apologise to Ngati Whare for its actions. The bill also provides an important acknowledgment that the Crown regrets that Ngati Whare have borne the stigma of being labelled rebels. 
How then do we advance to a position in which the historical account Crown acknowledgments and the apology accorded to both Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare shape out a new future for their peoples? The bill gives effect to a cultural redress package designed around Ngati Manawa’s aspirations. Its aim is to reinvigorate the relationship between Ngati Manawa and sites of significance in their rohe and includes the transfer and gifting back of Ngati Manawa’s sacred maunga Tawhiuau; a classification to be known as Ahi-ka-roa that will recognise their sacred association with Tawhiuau; the vesting in fee simple of 17 sites of significance; identification markers for 27 pou rahui sites that set out the traditional boundaries of Ngati Manawa; and a special projects fund of $2.6 million to assist Ngati Manawa in undertaking various projects for cultural revitalisation. 
For Ngati Whare this bill sets out a cultural redress package designed to acknowledge the Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tane Conservation Park as a special place to both Ngati Whare as kaitiaki and Aotearoa as a whole; the designation of the new name for the park Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tane to express “Whirinaki the bounty of Tane”; the provision of a co-governance role for the Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tane Conservation Park between Ngati Whare and the East Coast Bay of Plenty Conservation Board; the establishment of a joint Crown - Ngati Whare trust for the purposes of regenerating the native forests destroyed over the last century by logging; the gifting of 609.4 hectares of land within the Whirinaki Crown forest land to kickstart the regeneration project; and a fund totalling $1 million for the purposes of managing the regeneration project. 
But what is really significant about this bill is that there is also the opportunity for shared redress for both Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa including the joint vesting of three sites of cultural and spiritual significance to Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare and the creation of the Rangitaiki River Forum made up of equal iwi and equal council representatives in order to protect and enhance the health and well-being of the Rangitaiki River catchment. The Rangitaiki River and its tributaries the Whirinaki Horomanga and Wheao Rivers are synonymous with Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare. This shared redress sets the benchmark for future relationships between iwi the Crown and local authorities and is a welcome initiative. 
Treaty settlements are always fraught with conflict and are distinguished by the memory of all those who have fallen in the name of pursuing their claims on behalf of future generations. This bill is no different. In giving effect to the deeds of settlement in which the Crown Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa agree to final settlement of their historical claims including a Crown apology this bill also provides a pathway forward a pathway in pursuit of the aspirations of their mokopuna. 
Na reira tena koutou Ngati Whare Ngati Manawa. Ka nui te mihi rawa atu ki a koutou kua tae mai nei i tenei po. 
[ 
So thank you 
 
 Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa.  
Huge 
 greetings to you who have arrived here tonight 
.] 
I commend this bill to the House.