Turia Tariana: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTuria Tariana: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 06 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12409. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Third ReadingHon TARIANA TURIA (Minister forWhānau Ora)on behalf of theMinister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I moveThat the Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate theMāori Affairs Committee to consider the bill. This Saturday is the unveiling of the headstone ofkaumātua GeorgeWhakatoiRangitūtia. Aswe remember him we remember his crucial leadership. George was the chair of the Raukawa Trust Board who started this latest negotiation phase and I know that today he would be very proud of this milestone. There are many others no longer with us but whose legacy is written into this legislation. This is a settlement built on the vision of honouring the words oftūpuna and building a strong foundation for tamariki mokopuna. Me hokiw’akamurikēahauw’akamua kaneke.The future is behind us.This settlement legislation is the absolute result of the Crown’s actions and omissions. In this first reading we acknowledge the impact of the Crown’s interventions upon Raukawa and on their commercial social cultural and spiritual relationships with the land and waterways in their rohe. There is no question that the Crown failed to prevent Raukawa from becoming virtually landless. This restricted their ability to participate in new economic opportunities and contributed to the economic social and cultural impoverishment of Raukawa. Inevitably then in anticipating what tomorrow will look like for them it is not just useful but vital that we look back over the history that has led us to today.In telling the story we must travel back to the wars of the 1860s. What this bill makes known now is that the Crown acted unjustly in sending Crown forces into the Waikato in July 1863 and occupying the land and the region between 1863 and 1864. The final battle of the Waikato War took place between 31 March and 2 April of 1864 atŌrākau. Approximately 300Māori a significant proportion of whom were Raukawa defendedŌrākauPā against up to 1800 Crown troops for 3 days. If ever there was a tale of David and Goliath this was it. One wonders at the courage and the grit and the determination of the people of this tribe in standing strong against great odds. As a result of the sacking of the peaceful town of Rangiaowhia many innocent Raukawa people were killed including women and children. Those who escaped found their way back to the paramount chief of the day Te Paerata who led Raukawa forces against the invasion atŌrākau. Some escaped but many were killed including Te Paerata.After that battle atŌrākau Raukawa participated in fighting in Tauranga particularly at the battles of GatePā and TeRanga including the bush campaigns. It was this support that led to the confiscation of the Raukawa lands and the earliest of the land courts. Raukawa trialled the land courts that would eventually sweep throughoutMāoridom. Because of their actions the Crown confiscated land at Tauranga and the Waikato that Raukawa had interests in as punishment for what the Crown regarded as rebellion. It is deeply ironic that the Crown returned some land to individual members of Raukawahapū residing in Tauranga but none to thehapū of Raukawa within Waikato. The loss of life and property because of war and raupatu had a severe impact on the overall well-being ofNgāti Raukawa.So today we think back to the confiscation of land and loss of life during those wars. We think about the alienation of land through the operation of native land laws and subsequent Crown and private purchasing and we acknowledge the impact of this history on the economic social and cultural impoverishment of this iwi. To give some sense of what we are talking about in a census at the end of the 1800s Raukawa were identified as one of the largest tribes of this country. Close to a century later in the 1980s Raukawa had been reduced to seeking alliances with surrounding tribes such asTūwharetoa Waikato Tainui and Te Arawa tribes to retain their identity. This then is when the transformation started to occur. At this time the descendants of Te Paerata and otherkaumātua of Raukawa resurrected the name of theirtūpuna under the mantle of the Raukawa Trust Board and filed their first claim Wai 443. These early trustees andkaumātua many of whom are no longer with us have paved the way for contemporary claims to be considered and negotiated. Some 28 years later in May 2008 Raukawamandated the Raukawa Trust Board to negotiate on their behalf for the comprehensive settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Raukawa. The Crown recognised the mandate on 23 September 2008. The rest is their history our history as a Parliament and our history as a nation.This is the day that we acknowledge Raukawa and their ancestors and their descendants. It is deeply interwoven through the hearts of the generations of Raukawa whose recent and past history is one devastated by suffering and hardship. It is a history that resulted in the loss of life and was destructive and demoralising to this tribe. In the legislation today it is noted that Raukawa has practisedmanawhakahaere kaitiakitanga and ahikāroa within their rohe. In saying this the Government pays tribute to the special relationship that Raukawa hold to the land and the waterways in this area. Waterways in particular have been the centre ofRaukawa’s commercial social cultural and spiritual life. So as a nui from the rivers ofW’angaehu andW’anganui I acknowledge Raukawa on this pivotal day.I want to thank Minister Finlayson for allowing me the privilege of opening the debate on this auspicious day. It is a day of tears a day of memories and a day to recall the enormity of the losses borne but also a day to anticipate the next steps forward. I have a deep affection for the peoples of Raukawa—in fact so much so that I have somehow managed to attract one of their brightest young leaders into my office.Tēnā koe Chris. Finally I mihi to VanessaEparaima the dynamic energy force who as the chair of Raukawa is tasked with implementing the outcomes of the settlement. I have to say that the pace of this settlement has been extremely slick and impressive. That reflects well on the leadership but also on the commitment tokotahitanga—the pursuit of a shared future horizon.There is a bold future plan included which other speakers will attest to today which encompasses a wide range of opportunities for development. I am particularly interested in two aspects of the settlement: the right of first refusal for 171 years over 84 properties owned by Housing New Zealand the Waikato District Health Board and the Crown should they be declared surplus to requirements; and the cultural fund and cultural redress package designed aroundRaukawa’s aspirations to reinvigorate their relationship with cultural sites of significance. There are particular aspects ofw’ānau ora—of our ability to thrive as people to plant a legacy for our mokopuna and to keep all our family safe and well now. I commend Raukawa for the vision and the commitment for this work. Finally I acknowledge Nigel TeHiko as the chief researcher and PhyllisTahere PatCowley Mal McKenzie and ThelmaReti as the backbone of that team. Most of all I pay my acknowledgments to the kuiakorohekepakeke rangatahi tamariki and mokopuna who seek to participate in new economic opportunities and challenges emerging within their rohe in the 21st century.Tēnātatou katoa.