Jackson WillieHon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Māori Development): Kia ora Mr Speaker. Tuatahi me taku mahara ki tō tātou Kahurangi a Georgina Kirby me ana mahi hei hāpaitia te iwi whānui i roto te kaupapa o Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora. Nō reira e te whaea moe mai moe mai moe mai rā. Ki ngā mate huhua o te wā haere koutou. Rere atu e kui e koro mā ki tua o te ārai haere haere haere atu. Nō reira āpiti hono tātai hono te hunga mate ki te hunga mate. Āpiti hono tātai hono te hunga ora ki te hunga ora. Tēnā anō tātou. Tēnā anō tātou Ahuriri ahakoa kāore i konei i tēnei wā e tika me mihi ki a koutou mēnā kei te whakarongo kei te mātakitaki i a mātou i runga i te pouaka whakaata i tēnei wā tēnei te tino mihi ki a koutou Ahuriri i tēnei wā. Koutou katoa tēnā koutou.[Firstly let me remember our Dame Georgina Kirby and her work supporting all people through the Māori Women's Welfare League. Rest in peace. To all those who have passed depart all. Fly elders beyond the veil depart from here. The lines are joined let the dead remain with the dead. The lines are joined let the living remain with the living. Greetings to us all greetings to Ahuriri as it is only right for me to greet you although you may not be present at this time. Perhaps you are listening and watching via television. This is a special greeting to the Ahuriri people at this time. Greetings to you all.]I take the opportunity first to mihi to a kuia and whaea who passed away two three weeks ago Dame Georgina Kirby who was of Ngāti Kahungunu descent and is very much hooked into this kaupapa as she was a big supporter of politics—not sure if it was Labour; sometimes it was National with her but she passed away a few weeks ago a couple of weeks ago. She was the former president of the Māori Women's Welfare League 1983 to 1987 and made a huge contribution in terms of Te Ao Māori. I went to her tangi spoke at her tangi with the Hon Meka Whaitiri and Rawiri Waititi and it was a wonderful tangi. The memories and the talks about these sorts of kaupapa were very very relevant. Her contribution must be acknowledged because these types of kuia the tuarā behind so many of these settlements the backbone—we must take the opportunity to acknowledge them. She was very special of course having led the Māori Women's Welfare League having led that kaupapa in terms of Māori business in terms of Māori health in terms of a lot of the health initiatives that the Māori Women's Welfare League embarked on. Of course politics was a major kaupapa for her and she was always liaising with politicians. I think one of her most memorable moments was in 1993 when along with Dame Marilyn Waring and Dame Jocelyn Fish she introduced the concept of gender representation. So we have a lot to mihi to her for. In that same year she introduced the Mana Wāhine claim which I'm overseeing along with Minister Jan Tinetti at the moment. So I take the opportunity to acknowledge her because she's very much part of this Ngāti Kahungunu settlement. Nō reira e kuia moe mai moe mai moe mai rā.The Ahuriri story very much mirrors the Māori story right around the country. Ahuriri wanted a partnership with the Crown but the Crown repeatedly broke its word and breached its obligations under the Treaty. They did not like many other iwi and hapū receive the ongoing benefits from European settlement that the Crown had promised. In 1851 they agreed to sell the Ahuriri block for the price that the Crown offered. After Ahuriri Hapū did agree to sell the block the Crown failed to ensure that adequate reserves were protected in their ownership. The Crown also negotiated to purchase contested lands in the Hawke's Bay despite being aware that its approach to land purchase negotiations could lead to conflict amongst Māori who asserted interests in the blocks and in 1857 conflict broke out. I'm just mentioning this history because it has been a bit lost and I want to get into it in more depth in the third reading. Obviously the elections are incredibly important here but we should not at all forget the history that went down in Ahuriri and the betrayal that went on. Despite the Crown's actions there was no fighting between the Crown and Māori in Ahuriri before 1866. However in 1866 the Crown initiated hostilities when its forces attacked Māori and as a result 13 Māori died defending themselves against Crown attacks which were launched before the Crown made a reasonable attempt to negotiate a continuation of the peace in the district.The Crown captured Ngāti Matepū and Ngāti Māhu individuals during this conflict and imprisoned them on the Chatham Islands without trial in harsh conditions for two years. After the wars the combined effect of Crown land purchasing and the Native land laws contributed to Ahuriri Hapū being virtually landless by 1930 which has had a devastating impact on their cultural social and economic wellbeing. This is the story wherever you go. This is the history wherever you go. I suppose it's an example of the colonisation that many of us have spoken about in this House over many years now and the effects of colonisation. What is colonisation? It's about dehumanising indigenous people and allowing the transfer of power and resources from indigenous people to the newcomers. If there was ever an example of colonisation then we have an example of colonisation in Ahuriri. As I said if you want to look at the effects they are immense. So it puts to bed some of the nonsense that Mr Goldsmith was talking about earlier in terms of how wonderful colonisation has been for Māori. We have seen the terrible effects through this kaupapa and through so many kaupapa that our people have been part of. I wanted to mention that today just briefly. I'll not touch too much on the trustee elections but I'm pleased that we have committed to that process. I heard a lot of good people being mentioned in that election process. I too know two or three people there and I'm tempted to tell everyone to vote for them but I won't. This is a process—and it's good to see Harete Hipango there. I'm glad the National Party have welcomed her back with open arms. Good to see you Harete and I'm sure she'll speak on this kaupapa. But this particular election process is incredibly important for the Ahuriri people. We have to get it right. We have to get the participation right. We must get the accountability right there so that everybody plays a part in this settlement and also everyone gets an opportunity to talk about the history and the betrayal that actually did go on. Let's not get too side-tracked here but let's get our process right going forward. I thank the select committee and the Waitangi Tribunal for their work the trustees who are doing their work and I wish them all well for the elections coming up. I'm looking forward to expanding on this kōrero in a third reading. Kia ora Mr Speaker.