Fox MaramaMARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Anei te mihi atu ki a koutou tēnā koutou te rohe o Te Wairoa Te Māhia Te Nūhaka koutou katoa i tae ā tīnana mai i tēnei Whare. Nei te mihi atu ki a koutou me ō koutou kaumātua ngā here whakapapa e hono ai tātau katoa i roto i te rohe o Ngāti Kahungunu ā nei te mihi atu ki a koutou! Kai te mihi atu ki a koutou ngā rangatira ngā hākui ngā hākoro kai waenganui i a koutou. Hari koa rawa atu ki te tūtaki i a koutou e noho nei i tēnei wā. Kai ngā iwi o te rohe o Te Wairoa: ko Rongomaiwahine ko Ngāi Te Rakatō ko Ngāti Rākaipata ko Te Whakakīnui-ā-Rua arā ko Ngāti Hinepua ko Ngāi Te Ipu me Ngāi Tahumatawhāiti ko Ngā Tokorima-ā-Hinemanuhiri ko Ngāti Hinemihi ko Ngāti Hinehika me ko Ngāti Hinganga. Koinei koutou kai te mihi atu ki a koutou hara mai hara mai ki tēnei Whare ō tātou ēhara tēnei i Te Whare o ngāi mātau o te ao tōrangapū—ehē! Ko Te Whare nei Te Whare o Te Tangata o Aotearoa; ko koutou tēnā ko tātou tēnā koinei tō tātau Whare. Tēnā koutou hara mai hara mai hara mai.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I acknowledge you each and every one of you of the Wairoa Māhia and Nūhaka region who have arrived here physically at this House. I commend you your elderly folk and the genealogical ties that connect us all in the territory of Ngāti Kahungunu so I salute you collectively indeed! I congratulate you esteemed ones elderly women and menfolk amongst you. It is indeed a real pleasure to meet you seated here at this time. Here you are then the tribes of the Wairoa region: Rongomaiwahine Ngāi Te Rakatō Ngāti Rākaipata Te Whakakīnui-ā-Rua namely Ngāti Hinepua Ngāi Te Ipu and Ngāi Tahumatawhāiti Ngā Tokorima-ā-Hinemanuhiri Ngāti Hinemihi Ngati Hinehika and Ngāti Hinganga. This indeed is you collectively and so I doff my hat to you welcome come forth to this House of ours which is not ours of the political world—hell's teeth! This House belongs to the individual of New Zealand; you are that individual we are that individual and this is our House. Congratulations come hither come forth welcome.]Today marks an important turning point in the relationship between ngā iwi and ngā hapū o Te Rohe o Te Wairoa and the Crown. The signing of the deed of settlement last year in November was a significant occasion—such a proud moment. It was such an honour to be there in your presence to see all those amazing photos of your tupuna lined up in front of the whare to be greeted by the ope taua in a pōhiri with the wero—so proud.It is a little bit you know confusing sometimes for Māori politicians to be walking in with the Crown to offer the apology on behalf of this Government to our people but I always take it as an opportunity just to live in the moment and embrace the wairua of the occasion. How proud I was to be there with you in all your glory with all your tupuna lined up on the mahau of that whare to recognise the significant work that you and your whānau and your kuia and your kaumātua for years and years and years have been doing to bring you to this moment and at that time to that moment.The task has not been undertaken lightly. It is a huge responsibility that we bear to rectify the injustices of the past to carve out a place for our present to ensure that our children and our tamariki are catered for in this significant deed of settlement and at the signing. We put our best negotiators on it to make sure we can get the best deal for the future of all our tamariki and mokopuna for the years and the generations to come. Indeed you feel the weight of the responsibility and the burden of that task and it is not the end; it is merely the beginning. So I salute you today.We need to acknowledge those who have passed rātau kua mene atu ki Te Pō pērā ki tērā a Te Ariki Mei ēngari anō ko ngā kaumātua katoa kua hinga i ā rātau e tatari ana mō tēnei wā [those who have assembled in the void like that Te Ariki Mei but also all the old people who died during the time that they were waiting for this moment].Kua mate atu rātou katoa.[They have all passed away.]We think of those who have passed on in the recent past but also in the 175 years coming to this point in time—all of those who have gone before and fought the entire way to ensure that they had the best for our tamariki and our mokopuna at every turn.I would also like to acknowledge Paora Whaanga Miniata Westrupp Seenie Kahukura and Pauline Tangiora who have continued to provide wisdom and expertise to ensure that the story of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa is told with integrity and that people are firmly focused on the many possibilities for the future. And so many have been involved—and of course Tāmati Olsen who has been acknowledged already and Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa which is ready to take you on into the future.The negotiation team which was led by John Whaanga is to be congratulated on what you have achieved. This is your story of your people of your historical account—your history in your words. The account and the acknowledgment of the breaches and the apology are important parts.This is the fifth-largest settlement to date—$100 million. I have been to Wairoa a bit over the last few years and spoken with your district council and I look at the population data and think 60 percent of Te Wairoa and the surrounding district are Māori." And I see that and go: "That's fantastic." Do you know what that means for your people—to look at those numbers and think about the asset that comes with that knowledge for the people who have never given up who are resilient who are strong who are here and who lead the way? I challenge the Wairoa District Council to look at those numbers and not see it as a deficit of "Oh no. What are we going to do? We've got a 60 percent Māori population." That is an asset and something to be proud of. You hold the balance of power in your rohe. I was proud to see that this year or last year Māori wards in Wairoa were agreed to be established in the last vote to have representative places. Whether or not you are Māori—but to have a place always there for your representation; that is significant.Te Rohe o Te Wairoa can be proud of their many many achievements and you only need to look at your own representative Tā Timi Kara Tā Turi Kara the first Māori Minister of Native Affairs who also can claim the accolade of being the first Māori Prime Minister as he took on that role in an acting position at least twice during his term.I am inspired by your tamariki and your mokopuna who have the vision of Te Wairoa Reorua 2040—a bilingual Wairoa. They inspire us. This future generation is already carving out a place for their future and it recognises that Te Reo Māori is part of my future part of their future part of their identity part of their cultural and language identity for Te Wairoa and it is no surprise—it is the home of Te Ātaarangi; no surprise at all.I have got a whole great big speech that I am not even going to get to. You know what? When I think about Te Wairoa—yes there is a lot of suffering there sometimes; there is great deprivation there. There is hurt there. People have to go to get their dialysis treatment down in Hastings. People have to sell their land. You cannot even get home dialysis because you are on water-tank supply. But the power is in your hands. You tell us. You have 60 percent Māori population. You have one of the largest settlement redress packages ever in the history of this nation. You have a powerful community. You have hard-working people who have learnt that by the sweat of our brow we will make our bread and you continue to do it today.My ancestor Nuku-pewapewa was lost at the mouth of the Wairoa River trying to cross that bar. We sing and we lament of him but he was one of many of Ngāti Kahungunu who led the way and forged a path. I do not even know what the rest of that speech said; I am just so proud to be here with you today. This is the first step the beginning of your road and you have got the future in the right hands with your mokopuna and your te tira whakaingoa [nomination company]. Pai te mihi atu ki a koutou koutou i tae ā-tinana mai. Kai runga i ō koutou pokohiwi. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia ora mai tātau katoa.[It is so nice to congratulate you collectively who have arrived here physically. The responsibility is on your shoulders. Well done congratulations to you collectively and to us all.]"