Jones Shane; Tolley AnneHon SHANE JONES (Minister of Forestry): Ko Kahukura kei te rangi. Tāwhana kau ana mai i ngā pae maunga i Kaimai tatū noa ki ngā pārae nui. Tae āwhio ana ko ngā awa e rere ko Piako ko Waihau Huihuia ki Te Moana te tūtakitanga o ngā tai ki roto i te rohe ka puta atu ki Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Māturuturu ngā roimata mai ngā marae ki uta tutuku noa ki te tai. Ko Ngāti Hinerangi nau mai haere mai te kanohi morehu te kanohi e hia noa atu te roa kei te ātārangi o ētahi kē atu e piri ana. Te kanohi mō te hia rā nei roa kei te rehurehu e rapuhia ana i tēnei rā ko tō koutou ingoa ō koutou tūpuna tō koutou rohe e whakapuakina ana ki roto i Te Whare Pāremata nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Kahukura to the sky. The mountain ranges of the Kaimai stand tall and extend to the vast countryside. Looking around you will see the rivers that flow Piako Waihau Huihuia to the sea the meeting of the tides and the opening to the Pacific Ocean.Our tear drops flow for those who have passed—on the land and out to sea.Ngāti Hinerangi welcome welcome the descendants the familiar faces of the multitudes who have lived in the shadows alongside one another for the longest of time; the familiar faces of the multitudes who have struggled and who have searched for your name your ancestors your land all of which is being acknowledged here in Parliament; therefore thank you thank you thank you all.]I've said in our Māori language that this is not only a historic day for the people that belong to Ngāti Hinerangi but the fulfilment of a journey. As colonisation displaced historic Māori tribal groupings many are the kin groups that have disappeared into the mists of history assimilated by different tribal names. This tribe Ngāti Hinerangi are here to affirm number one they are a legitimate identity in that part of the Māori landscape and number two they have rights they have interests and they have mana. We today in Parliament in the highest court of the land accord them our respect by binding together to pass legislation that acknowledges that despite the processes of colonialism the various wars and the ebb and flow of economic forces in that part of New Zealand they have found the tenacity and they have the spirit within them to continue to perpetuate their own identity.When the Prince of Wales in the 1920s came to Rotorua my mother's tribe were not recognised as a tribe as such. Their name was Ngāti Kahu from the Doubtless Bay area—unfortunately for me where my relations won't let Captain Cook's Endeavour replica waka arrive but I'll have more to say about that when I get back up home on the weekend. Ngāti Kahu's leadership stood before the various tribes who had assembled in Te Arawa to greet this figure of British royalty and they asserted that they were a distinct definable tribe.This wasn't a question purely of economic importance; it was something of the spirit. Fortunately for the quality of leadership that prevailed at that particular point in time in Ngāti Kahu they now sit with pride alongside the other tribes of the North. So no more will Ngāti Hinerangi be regarded as a fragment in someone else's house.This actually is important not only for generally educating us parliamentarians but for the next generation. Of course a number of us who have frequented that part of Aotearoa know these marae. A number of us have put on weight going with our Rātana relations to the Omeka Pā. No one ever goes skinny from that pā home. But this is an area of contrast. We have in the rohe an example of modern storytelling in the forms of Hobbiton which is in the broad area where our visitors to Parliament today hail from. We have to believe that by re-establishing with some pūtea reconnecting Ngāti Hinerangi with certain sites of historical significance and basically affirming the worth of their journey they can enjoy new opportunities in that part of Aotearoa.Soon we will be looking at what will comprise the context of New Zealand history. Naturally I expect to see my Tararā history there as well not only the Ngāpuhi history. But small but telling stories like this one I only hope—all members of the House when we have the ability to influence the final shape and character of New Zealand content and curriculum—that they loom large because in many respects what we're doing here today in the overarching size of the economy which is $300 billion it's a modest amount of money. That's the nature of the pragmatic Treaty of Waitangi settlement process but it's important that our words today and the way each of the parties affirm the importance of this legislation also encourages policymakers political leaders and other stakeholders to ensure that these stories are told and represent an epitome of what happened to vast areas of Te Ao Māori. It takes a great deal of courage to assert that you are a distinct tribe. I should know because I was the chairman of the fisheries commission and had a low level of tolerance for people writing themselves back into the pages of history. But you have to have a certain mana as well and that is not a mana that can be visited upon any group by Pākehā or Māori politicians in this House; it has to grow from te ūkaipō and those seeds have to be from Rangiātea. So we salute the group who sustained the journey who want to celebrate by deed by song by speech by carving by construction both material and spiritual the ongoing existence of their distinctive group called Ngāti Hinerangi. I'm told that Ngāti Hinerangi also have a group called Ngāti Tawhaki. In the Tai Tokerau the traditions are not really of the god of the forests Tāne but they are of Tawhaki—Tawhaki who ascended when two cords came down from the heavens as he sought to find the woman who he had shared a child with. The first cord that came down was a red cord and Tawhaki being something of a pragmatic chap sent his friend. Me kake ki te rangi mā te aho whero.[Fly high fly to the sky follow the red thread that connects us.]Up goes Tawhaki's friend on the red cord—I presume that was the Labour cord. Then the next cord—fortunately for my story there is no blue cord—came. According to the story we were brought up on te aho mā and Tawhaki ascended to the heavens and had the unbelievable quality of changing the character of his form. If he struck the wrong sort of people in the journey to find this heavenly maiden of his he would take on the features of an old man and then when he struck another group of people he would take on the features of a young man. I say that because the way in which Ngāti Hinerangi evinces itself through this legislation is a combination of young and old. If you descend from Tawhaki you are ancient but the journey that we are assisting through Parliament and this legislation faces new challenges. So we need the wisdom of Tawhaki and the strength and the endurance of the next generation. Tēnā koutou katoa.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I must apologise; I was so wrapped up in the story I forgot to give you the two-minute bell. I call Dan Bidois.Dan Bidois: Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā—Hon Shane Jones: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Thank you for noting that. I only hope I have a similar impact on the voters.