Tremain Chris: Whanganui Iwi (Wanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Wanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Tremain Chris: Whanganui Iwi (Wanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Wanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:666;Page:13748] 
CHRIS TREMAIN (National—Napier) 
: 
 Ki te Whare tena koutou. Ki te Kaikorero tena koe. Ki nga mema Paremata tena koutou. I will make a few comments as we draw to the end of the day. First I acknowledge all of the people down in Christchurch who are working to rebuild their city as we speak all of the members of Parliament down there working hard and all our friends and colleagues down there. 
I will say a few words about the Whanganui Iwi (Whanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Whanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill and put it into the context of how settlements are benefiting Maori. When I am in my electorate I talk to a lot of Pakeha people and they still struggle with understanding the benefit of settlements and why the Crown is going on and on with these settlements. 
I will use a brief slot now to show an example. Probably the best example that crystallises some of the benefits of the settlements in New Zealand at the moment is the BNZ advertisements that are being portrayed on television. If we look at those ads we see that they talk about what has happened down in Kaikoura with Whale Watch Kaikoura. As the advertisements point out Kaikoura was a community with many on the unemployment benefit. They saw an opportunity with Whale Watch Kaikoura and they threw in a combination of entrepreneurism and in particular settlement proceeds that went through to Ngai Tahu as part of its settlement process. They were able to invest in a business that if the ads are to be believed—and I certainly believe them—now employs some 75 people. 
The people of that community are now employed. They are sending their children to university and they are investing in their rugby clubs league clubs and wider community through donations. They are now part of the wealth-creating engine of our economy. That is the nuts and bolts of what the settlements are about. The more we see of that and the quicker we can get through the Treaty settlement process the more we can help iwi hapu and whanau become part of the wealth-creating engine of New Zealand and the more we will get to the heart of the negative statistics that we see in this country that many of us in this House deplore. 
I am certainly in favour of these settlement bills. Today we are debating this particular Whanganui settlement which is quite a unique opportunity—and one out of the box—to make a settlement in advance with Whanganui iwi taking into account the Ngati Apa cross-settlement issues. In this case the bill settles some land issues in advance of the wider settlement with the Whanganui iwi. 
Again it is an example of the Government being extremely proactive and of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson thinking outside the square finding ways we can make settlements in advance and getting on with the settlement process. The more we do that the more we can create communities like the one that has been created down in Kaikoura. The more we can make those communities become part of the economic engine of New Zealand the better this nation will be and the quicker we will be able to put behind us the issues of past Treaty grievances. Thank you. 
Bill read a second time. 
Name changed to Whanganui Iwi (Whanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Whanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill.