Sharples Pita: Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 19 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5463. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
 on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move  
That the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Maori Affairs Committee. From the sands of Papakanui and Muriwai in the west to the waters of upper Waitemata in the east to the sons and daughters of Haranui Reweti Kakanui Araparera and Puatahi marae the descendants of Ngati Whatua Te Taou Ngati Rongo and Ngati Hine nau mai haere mai koutou. Whaia te kotahitanga o Ngati Whatua o Kaipara. Seek to unite the people of Kaipara. These simple yet profound words were a constant theme for the impressive claims negotiators at the helm of a journey that today brings Ngati Whatua o Kaipara to the New Zealand House of Representatives. I stand to pay tribute to those who began this journey but who now live on in the memories and lives of their children—they live on in those memories—and their descendants. Importantly in coming months these visionaries will also live on. They will live on in the laws of this nation. 
Moe mai ra koutou e nga rangatira moe mai ra. Na reira e tautoko ana nga mihi ki a koutou nau mai hara mai ki tenei Whare kia whakatau pai tenei kereme. Pera i a ratou tino roroa rawa te hikoi engari kua tae mai ki tenei rangi i tenei ra tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
You the esteemed ones rest and sleep there. And so I endorse the tributes to you the ones who have arrived here at this House to settle this claim well; welcome welcome. Like your forebears your journey has been a very long one but this day has arrived so congratulations to you all. 
] 
The Crown’s alienation of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara lands began 168 years ago and has been carried by generations of families. It began in 1844 with the Crown’s takeover of large tracts of land bordering on the upper Waitemata. The Government’s persuasive and unrelenting land-buying policies meant that by 1868 the mana whenua of southern Kaipara had lost 281000 acres of land. The Native Land Court fragmented and alienated lands further by awarding title to individuals rather than to iwi and hapu. Tenei tetahi he nui tae noa ki tenei rangi kahore ratou e mohio ana ko wai tatou a tatou tikanga kia mahi tahi ai. 
[ 
This is one huge fault right down to this day. They do not know who we are and our custom to work as one. 
] 
By 1900 and within a single generation Ngati Whatua had lost 90 percent of their lands in southern Kaipara. This unprecedented loss of land has for ever shaped the lives of the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara people. Without the land and the resources to take ownership of their own destiny Ngati Whatua o Kaipara’s right to determine their own economic and social well-being was denied. This land loss also meant that the right of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara to uphold their own mana motuhake and to exercise their own rangatiratanga was denied. So I stand to acknowledge Ngati Whatua o Kaipara whose tenacity and leadership will soon see settlement for the hapu and marae of southern Kaipara. 
I commend the trustees of the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Committee and the Nga Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust for their passion and commitment. They have shown incredible leadership by working alongside other iwi and hapu of Kaipara Tamaki-makau-rau and Hauraki. I was honoured to participate in the ceremony of mana whenua o Tamaki-makau-rau a few weeks back alongside Ngati Whatua o Kaipara representatives. The spirit of whanaungatanga and rangatiratanga demonstrated by Ngati Whatua o Kaipara has enabled the resolution of claims across the Tamaki-makau-rau region. 
Ngati Whatua o Kaipara and the Crown negotiated an agreement in principle which was signed on 22 December 2009. A deed of settlement was initialled in June 2011 and ratified by the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara community with a signing on 9 September 2011. What a great day that was. A post-settlement governance entity to receive and manage settlement assets was launched in April 2011. From that time the mandate to negotiate the claims of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara passed from the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Committee to the trustees of Nga Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust. 
The support of the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara people for the settlement negotiated on their behalf is clear. Two ratification processes held in August 2010 and August 2011 returned approval rates of 96 percent and 92 percent respectively. That is marvellous—a terrific mandate. As part of this acknowledgment nine reserves and conservation sites of significance will be transferred to Ngati Whatua o Kaipara as cultural redress. These sites include Atuanui Scenic Reserve Mairetahi Landing Mauiniu Island Moturemu Island Tipare Makarau Makarau Bridge Reserve Parakai and Ten Acre Block Recreation Reserve. Although the bill does not provide cultural redress in respect of Kaipara Harbour it does not prevent Ngati Whatua o Kaipara from negotiating redress with the Crown in the future. 
This bill provides for statutory acknowledgments of areas which will enhance the ability of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara to participate in specified Resource Management Act processes including Papakanui Conservation Area Papakanui Spit Wildlife Refuge Rototoa Conservation Area Lake Rototoa Scenic Reserve Motutara Settlement Scenic Reserve Goldie Bush Scenic Reserve and a coastal statutory acknowledgment area. Ngati Whatua o Kaipara will receive financial and commercial redress valued at $22.1 million plus interest. This includes the transfer of Woodhill Forest and the right to purchase part of Riverhead Forest. 
All those things the families of Haranui Reweti Kakanui Araparera and Puatahi have lost due to the actions of the Crown can never be totally replaced—nowhere near it—and yet today Ngati Whatua o Kaipara seek to settle their grievances with the Crown. Today we remember we acknowledge and we seek to resolve historical grievances. It is an important day for Ngati Whatua o Kaipara and an important day for the Crown. 
Although this House this deed of settlement and this claims settlement bill can never change this history of a people this House can help shape the future of a people. This bill provides for a strengthened relationship between the people of Ngati Whatua o Kaipara and the Crown—a strengthened relationship as partners in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Whaia te kotahitanga o Ngati Whatua o Kaipara. 
[ 
Seek to unite the people of Kaipara. 
] 
I consider that the Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill should therefore proceed without delay to the Maori Affairs Committee. I commend this bill to the House.