Little AndrewNGĀTI KAHUNGUNU KI WAIRARAPA TĀMAKI NUI-Ā-RUA CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) (remote): I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): 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 Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill. Tākiri mai ana te ata i runga o ngākau mārohirohi. Korihi ana te manu kaupapa ka ao ka ao ka awatea. Tihei mauriora. E mihi ana ki a koutou kua tae mai nei runga i te karanga o te kaupapa o te rā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou 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 tēnei au otirā mātou Te Kāwanatanga e mihi nei ki te kaupapa o te wā Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Dawn breaks a new morning and a dauntless heart. The voice of this issue now sings a new dawn leads to the full light of day. I now begin. Greetings to you all who have responded to the call of this issue to be here today. 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 stand here we the Government stands here acknowledging the present issue. Therefore to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua greetings to you all greetings greetings one and all.]I'm grateful to be here in this form to speak to the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Claims Settlement Bill. I'd like to begin by acknowledging members of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua some of whom I understand are in the gallery this afternoon. We've only been allowed in the last few weeks to welcome iwi back into the House to watch their bills being read and it's always special to be able to celebrate the event when this happens. I'd like to take time to remember and pay tribute to Ngāti Kahungunu leaders and loved ones who have passed on before they were able to bear witness to today's milestone. They're all in our thoughts and with us today in spirit. I also want to acknowledge the work and dedication of the Ngāti Kahungunu negotiation team. In particular I want to thank Ron Mark Ian Perry Robin Potangaroa Haami Te Whaiti and Hayden Hape. The negotiators have been well supported by their advisers Rawiri Smith Marama Tuuta and Lee Gray and their legal counsel Jennifer Braithwaite and Mike Colson. Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua have been served over the years by extremely courageous and committed negotiators and advisers and I acknowledge their tenacity and hard work.I also want to thank and acknowledge my ministerial colleagues chief Crown negotiator Rick Barker for his contribution to this settlement and officials from Te Arawhiti and other Crown agencies who've worked alongside Ngāti Kahungunu to develop this package.Today's reading marks a major milestone for Ngāti Kahungunu and their settlement journey. This comes after generations of struggle for their people seeking justice for the Crown to uphold its commitments under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and for recognition of the many breaches of Te Tiriti by the Crown. This settlement is grounded in the Crown's acknowledgment and apology for its repeated breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles. I want to mention that in particular the Crown acknowledges and apologises for the forced cession of tens of thousands of acres of land at Maungaroa in 1845; for the failure to act in good faith during rapid and extensive land purchases which left Ngāti Kahungunu virtually landless by 1900; for the failure to honour the chiefly gifting of Wairarapa Moana for which the Crown promised ample reserves on the shores of Lake Wairarapa but instead gave land at Pouākani north-west of Taupō much of which was subsequently taken back through public works; and for the failure to actively protect and encourage te reo Māori. Unfortunately when we signed the deed in October last year here in Wellington we were operating under COVID-19 restrictions and were unable to have a large ceremony. It's important the Crown apology is delivered to everyone and I look forward to a time when the situation permits me to visit Ngāti Kahungunu in their rohe and to deliver the Crown apology in full to Ngāti Kahungunu kanohi ki te kanohi. The redress contained in this bill will support Ngāti Kahungunu in realising their future endeavours and aspirations for their iwi and the many generations to come. The settlement redress package provides for 27 sites of deep cultural significance to be transferred to Ngāti Kahungunu as cultural redress. These include two properties in Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua a property at Remutaka summit two properties near Mount Holdsworth and three properties in South Wairarapa. Significantly I also wanted to mention that Ngāti Kahungunu will receive cultural redress shared with Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua through Te Rohe o Rongokako Joint Redress Bill which was read only a couple of weeks ago in this House. Through that joint redress bill the Crown-owned part of Wairarapa Moana will transfer to iwi. To complement that great taonga this bill provides for the return to Ngāti Kahungunu of the reserves surrounding Lake Wairarapa and Lake Ōnoke including the Wairarapa Lake Domain and Lake Shore properties and the bed of Pounui Lagoon. The bill will vest the Castlepoint Scenic Reserve in the Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua Settlement Trust which will then be gifted by the iwi to the Crown. This is a very important place and taonga within the Ngāti Kahungunu rohe that will be able to be enjoyed by all New Zealanders. This gift is testament to their commitment to the new partnership between Ngāti Kahungunu and the Crown and I thank them for their generosity. The total financial and commercial redress for Ngāti Kahungunu is $115 million and the bill also acknowledges the association of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua with their rohe by recognising 30 place name changes. I mentioned earlier land at Pouākani. The Crown's actions in relation to this land amounted to a breach of Te Tiriti not only through the Crown providing Ngāti Kahungunu the land of another iwi but through the subsequent public works taking back of those lands. Pouākani is acknowledged in this settlement and the prejudice suffered by Wairarapa Māori at Pouākani was taken into account in the development of redress included in the settlement. While not possible to provide redress in Pouākani the hope is that extensive redress in Wairarapa forest land and farmland along with redress at Wairarapa Moana which will return to Ngāti Kahungunu will assist in restoring Ngāti Kahungunu's social and economic position in the lands of their ancestors. The road to reaching settlement is a long and complex process and this journey has had many bumps along the way. Together we are addressing grievances which will cause hurt and pain today. It's the Crown's wish that this settlement marks a new day in the relationship between Ngāti Kahungunu and the Crown. Today is about acknowledging the past and looking forward to the future. It's been a long journey to come to this day. No settlement can fully atone for the wrongdoing of the Crown or compensate Ngāti Kahungunu for the hurt they have endured but I sincerely hope this settlement is the beginning of a stronger relationship between Ngāti Kahungunu and the Crown based on mutual trust cooperation and respect for Te Tiriti and its principles. I propose the bill should proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is that the motion be agreed to.