Finlayson ChristopherRANGITĀNE O MANAWATU CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Rangitāne o Manawatu Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. The bill gives effect to a deed of settlement between the Crown and Rangitāne o Manawatu that was signed in November last year and that settles all the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to Rangitāne. I remember the signing ceremony very well. It was in front of the beautiful whare of Rangitāne in Palmerston North and in front of the whare there is this big pou and there are two people on it at the very top. One is the Rt Hon Sir Douglas Graham who was the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and believe it or not staring vacantly into space is the Rt Hon Winston Peters. I do not know whether he knows he is on that pou. I think it is a very good place for him to be because basically he has been up a pou most of the morning. The settlement comprises historical redress which records the breaches and the past injustices caused by failures of the Crown; cultural redress recognising the traditional historical cultural and spiritual associations of the people of Rangitāne with a number of their most special sites; and financial and commercial redress which reasserts the role of Rangitāne in the region. Rangitāne and the Crown have worked very well together to develop a settlement package that reconnects Rangitāne with its environment and that provides a good strong economic base for the iwi to grow. Can I acknowledge the excellent work of the Rangitāne negotiators particularly Danielle Harris who worked so very long and hard on this matter; my ministerial colleagues; and Government and other agencies who have contributed to the bill. As always—Rt Hon Winston Peters: And her mother.Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON: Oh that is a fair enough point actually—and Ruth Harris who passed away some years ago who started the matter off and did a very good job. I thank the right honourable member for one constructive contribution this morning. As always I want to thank and acknowledge the work of the Māori Affairs Committee which once again has done an excellent job in progressing this bill in a timely manner. The committee began its consideration of the bill only in May and considered nine submissions from interested groups and individuals and they heard from five submitters at a hearing in Palmerston North. The committee reported the bill back to the House early this month and recommended it be passed with very minor changes—they are of a technical nature and I am really pleased that that is the case. Rangitāne has done a great job. They chose a pragmatic approach to the redress they were seeking focusing on their core area of interest and they conducted an open and robust overlapping claims resolution process. The bill with its very limited number of amendments is a testament to the hard work of the negotiators. In its report the committee commended how overlapping claims issues were addressed during negotiations and noted that this settlement seeks to balance the interests of all iwi in the area with the underpinning rationale that commercial redress is intended to contribute to re-establishing an iwi's economic base." This perfectly captures what is intended through each Treaty settlement negotiation. It describes—and indeed it was here with the discussions that took place—the fine line that has to be walked between addressing the longstanding grievances of one group and giving them the means to move forward while ensuring that we are not creating further grievances with surrounding groups. One issue raised in the submissions and it has confronted the Rangitāne negotiations since the process began is the inclusion of the Ngāti Tauira hapū in the Rangitāne claimant definition a very difficult issue. The committee accepted that Ngāti Tauira's primary affiliation is with Ngāti Apa but found that "Ngāti Tauira clearly has whakapapa social and political links to both groups." I believe this settles this matter once and for all. Ultimately members of this particular hapū have the option to benefit from either or both settlements as long as they descend from the respective tupuna. Finally some submitters stated that although the settlement does not fully compensate Rangitāne for the injustices of the past it provides an opportunity for the iwi to find some peace with the past and a path to the future and I certainly hope that that is the case. This bill signifies an end point to the long process of negotiation for Rangitāne and it is now time to find some measure of peace and look to the future. I am going to leave my final thanks to the Rangitāne negotiating team until the third reading. However before I end I want to acknowledge the patience of the negotiators who must be anxious to reach their settlement of these historical claims after so many many years in negotiation. I want to assure them—and I am sure that everyone in this House shares this view—that we want to see a just and durable settlement for Rangitāne o Manawatu as soon as possible. So I look forward to the third reading of the bill and commend this bill to the House."