Coffey TāmatiTĀMATI COFFEY (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. I join in the rest of the House in acknowledging that this is the third reading of this bill. I acknowledge our whānau from Ahuriri who have travelled a long way to be here today. It's unfortunate that they couldn't be here but I know that they are listening to every word that we're saying and this is the end of a very long road. As they say one door closes; another one opens and I know that they are keen to get the show on the road and actually to be able to embark on the future that they want for their people. So to ngā hapū o Ahuriri we acknowledge you at this time.The select committees had a—and I say select committees" because there wasn't just one. This has been around for a wee while now and members have come and gone from the Māori Affairs Committee and it's landed with us to be able to deliver it over the line here today for the third reading. But the select committees and the select committee members that have been part of this have all sat there and understood the depth of this. This is not an easy Treaty settlement; it has not been a straightforward process. This has been as many Treaty settlements are sometimes a complicating and frustrating process on both sides but can I acknowledge the patience and the tenacity of ngā hapū o Ahuriri for actually getting to this point today.One of the main things that determines a Treaty settlement piece of legislation from any other bill is that it contains statutory acknowledgments acknowledgments of the Crown for historical acts gone wrong and it puts into ink and into the historical records of this House the way that the Crown treated Māori in days gone by. This is another settlement that will add some pages to that awful book of history where the Crown acted way outside of its remit at a different place and time but it sought to—it had very different policies in the past to the policies that we have now. So the statutory acknowledgments are one part of a Treaty settlement legislation.But the other big thing is also the apology and I know that many of the people that will be here listening to it from within the halls of Parliament but also those whānau back home will be hanging out to hear the apology. Not enough do I hear the apology said in this House. It often goes unsaid. It often is something that is documented in their bill and sometimes read on the marae back home but never usually in this House. So I'm going to take my time today to be able to verbalise the apology that we the Crown give to the hapū of Ahuriri. I want them to hear this and I want them to feel the sentiment behind it because it's something that has been worked on from both sides. It's a point where both sides have landed on what that apology should look like should sound like. I know that they scrutinise every single word in those apologies too. So to the whānau and the hapū of Ahuriri this apology is for you.And I read: "The Crown makes this apology to Ahuriri Hapū to their tipuna and to their mokopuna. (a) For generations the relationship between the Crown and Ahuriri Hapū has not fulfilled Ahuriri Hapū expectations of a mutually beneficial partnership. Crown acts and omissions have hurt Ahuriri Hapū and caused long-held and deeply felt grievances. Ahuriri Hapū have pursued their claims for justice and redress from the Crown over many decades but the Crown has failed until now to find an appropriate way to respond to them."(b) The Crown profoundly regrets its many failures to live up to its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi in its dealings with Ahuriri Hapū and unreservedly apologises for the immense damage caused by its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles."(c) The Crown is deeply remorseful for the prejudice it created by purchasing so much Ahuriri Hapū land in the 1850s and for using divisive purchasing methods that involved Ahuriri Hapū in conflict. The Crown deeply regrets that many Ahuriri Hapū were dispossessed by the operation of the 10-owner rule. The Crown solemnly apologises for its policies acts and omissions that have left Ahuriri Hapū virtually landless and for the severe impacts the loss of ancestral lands and resources has had on the capacity of Ahuriri Hapū for economic and social development and physical cultural and spiritual well-being."(d) For too long the Crown has failed to recognise the special relationship between Ahuriri Hapū and their taonga Te Whanganui-ā-Orotu. The Crown profoundly regrets the distress and anguish [that] generations of Ahuriri Hapū have endured due to the Crown's acts and omissions in relation to Te Whanganui-ā-Orotu."(e) Through this settlement and this apology the Crown seeks to atone for its past wrongs and begin the process of healing. The Crown looks forward to building a new positive and enduring relationship with Ahuriri Hapū that fulfils the expectations of their tipuna and mokopuna a relationship based on mutual trust [on] partnership and [on] respect for the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles."I was able to go to the small pō'hiri that we had for the Ahuriri Hapū just prior to coming into question time and in that from their paepae the koroua got up and talked about the long road that it's taken to get them here. Can I acknowledge their pae today. Can I acknowledge their people. Can I acknowledge the whānau back home that are looking forward to the next chapter in their journey. May the Crown for once be a partner with the Ahuriri Hapū and walk hand in hand with them and really showcase the partnership that was signed up to under Te Tiriti o Waitangi all of those years ago. I commend this bill to the House."