Korako NukNUK KORAKO (National): E Te Mana Whakawā e tuatahi ka mea nui ki te mihi atu ki tō tātou Matua Nui-i-Te Raki ā ko Ia te tīmātaka me te whakaoti o te ao katoa nō reira ka mihi au ki te Kaihōmai o kā mea pai katoa! Ka maumahara mātou ki a rātou kai tua kua wehe ki te ao wairua nō reira koutou rā o ia marae o ia iwi o ia waka e haere i ruka i te āra whānui a Tāne ki tua o te ārai haere haere haere! Ka hoki hoki ngā maumaharatanga mō Tō whānau whānui o Te Whare Pāremata e haere atu rā Lewis Moeau nō Rongowhakaata haere atu rā Rangi Karaitiana McGarvey nō reira e te rakatira haere atu rā ki Te Pā o Te Whakawairua e takoto mai takoto mai takoto mai! E takoto i te rangimārie i runga i tō waka hoe atu tō waka ki tua o te ārai haere haere e haere atu rā! Nō reira tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā ka whakamihi au mō nā nohonā a Te Pika mō Te Pāremata e rima tekau mā rua. Nō reira huri noa i Te Whare nei nā mihi hoki ki ngā mema o Te Paremata hōu o ngā taha ruarua hoki me tō koutou rapu ara o Te Pāremata nō reira huri noa i Te Whare e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.[Madam Assistant Speaker firstly it is an important thing to acknowledge our Great Father in heaven. He is the beginning and ending of everything in the world so I pay a tribute to the Provider of all good things! We reflect on those on the other side who have departed to the spiritual world and so to you collectively of each tribe and each canoe who have traversed the great path of Tāne beyond the veil go forth journey on depart! Memories also go back to Your family at large of Parliament that one who has passed away Lewis Moeau from Rongowhakaata; farewell indeed Rangi Karaitiana McGarvey go forth to the spiritual world esteemed one; rest there lie there sleep! Lie there at peace upon your canoe paddle it beyond the veil go forth go on farewell! And salutations to you Mr Speaker; I congratulate you for becoming the Speaker of the 52nd Parliament. Congratulations therefore throughout this House to all members of the new Parliament on both sides plus your search for an avenue via Parliament and so I congratulate you all throughout the House.]I would first of all just start my mihi by acknowledging this House but also by acknowledging two very important people who actually worked tirelessly in this House and who have passed away during the transition from the 51st to the 52nd Parliament. Lewis Moeau had a long career in Te Puni Kōkiri or the Ministry of Māori Development. He was also the cultural adviser to Prime Ministers and also Governors-General. The other one was Te Rangi Karaitiana McGarvey of Ngāi Tūhoe of Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Whakauē. I had the pleasure even though it was a short space of time in the 51st Parliament as the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee to work very closely with Te Rangi. He was a tohuka of Te Reo and he worked tirelessly for the Waitangi Tribunal and also Te Whare Pāremata. I went to his tangi in Ruatōki—one of those beautiful people of the mist—where they made me welcome that I could tangi with them on such a sad departure. So I wanted to acknowledge those two who have passed away.Madam Assistant Speaker it's also great for me to acknowledge you and also as a member of Parliament from Christchurch and also to acknowledge the Hon Ruth Dyson and also the Hon Megan Woods—and particularly Megan Woods who is actually our only Cabinet Minister in Christchurch. I also want to congratulate the new MPs from right across the House and returning MPs into this 52nd Parliament. I want to acknowledge also the former Minister for Māori Development and also former Minister for Whānau Ora the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell and also the former Attorney-General and former Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Christopher Finlayson. It is their work that we will actually see moving through this 52nd Parliament. It is the type of work that they did the legislation that was put through and that is still pending that we believe will actually create better opportunities for Te Iwi Māori.Also—just to go to the Governor-General's speech—in this 52nd Parliament it was acknowledged that we have in the history of this Parliament more Māori and Pacific Islanders than ever before. There are in fact just over 30 MPs of Māori or Pacific Island descent. This was also highlighted—and I congratulate the coalition Government—but also they actually have more Māori and Pacific Islanders in Cabinet than ever before. Ngā mihi.I think it's very very important to acknowledge Te Tiriti o Waitangi because this will have I believe a bearing on what I have just said. The largest number of MPs of Māori and Pacific Island descent in this Parliament creates the opportunity that we could collaborate together to move forward in the interests of our people and all New Zealanders. So under the Treaty of Waitangi it is always said that this is a Treaty for everyone. In a maiden speech last week there was quoted something from Dame Whina Cooper—that was by Willow-Jean Prime. But Dame Whina Cooper also said that the Treaty is for all New Zealanders so I just want to make that point and hopefully we'll take advantage of that and be collaborative right across the House itself.There is one thing I want to acknowledge: the new Minister for Māori Development the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and also the Associate Minister for Māori Development. I want to acknowledge the work that we did together in the Māori Affairs Committee and I hope that she will take up the wero also to continue that work. It has been acknowledged around Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill. I would hope that Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill is going to continue through that committee stage because when we look at Te Ture Whenua Maori Act we have to acknowledge the fact that under the current Act there are still thousands of owners disconnected from their land. Fragmentation is getting worse as opposed to getting better. There is little in the current Act for those small managed blocks. The other part of it is that there is nothing in the current Act to resolve disputes. So a lot of the work was done. A special committee was set up to identify these issues in Te Ture Whenua Maori Act. In the new bill the owners will finally be able to set rules making it harder to dispose of Māori land. Before 1987 there was only 5 percent of land in the whole of New Zealand under Māori ownership. So Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 was actually about the retention of Māori land. This new bill is actually about the utilisation of Māori land to free it so that our people have tino rangatiratanga over it. So I would hope that this bill will continue through the House.It is also great to know that the new Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Andrew Little will actually continue to move those Treaty settlement bills through the House. Also it's great to know that he is working already on the Ngāpuhi settlement. I wish him well—we all do.On that note in the final parts of this speech again I want to acknowledge the kotahitaka that needs to take place across the House. It is theatre in here a lot of the time around question time but the real heavy lifting and the work is done in select committees. Hopefully that can reflect the kotahitaka that we're talking about. I want to acknowledge the new chair of the Māori Affairs Committee Rino Tirikatene and also to acknowledge the deputy Marama Davidson. Hopefully we can continue as we have in the convention of the Māori Affairs Committee which is to try and park our political affiliations at the door and move and work together for what's best for our people. I acknowledge again that fact; let's all try and work together. We'll throw rocks now and then but it's actually about good legislation at the end of the day and it's actually about our people—Te Iwi Māori and Pasifika but also the whole of New Zealand.Nō reira e Te Mana Whakawā huri noa i Te Whare nei e mihi e mihi e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa kia ora![Therefore Mr Speaker I greet acknowledge and compliment you all throughout this House. Thank you.]