te Heuheu Georgina: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — First Reading 
te Heuheu Georgina: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — First Reading 
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Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National) 
: 
Tenatatou katoa. Tenakoutoutokuwhanaukua tae mai. He mihi aroha mai i te whare o te Heuheu iteneirawhakahirahira. No reira tenatatou katoa. 
[ 
Greetings to us all and to my family who have arrived. Loving regards from the house of te Heuheu on this wonderful day. So greetings to you all 
. ] 
I wish to add my greetings to Ngati Awa and my congratulations to them on reaching this point in a long saga of seeking restitution from the Crown for the confiscations and other acts that were done to their people in previous times. I want to say how proud I am to be here still in the Parliament to witness this day which basically starts a process to enable Ngati Awa to put behind them although never to forget those things that have happened to their families whanau and iwi and to look forward to a future that they will determine in accordance with their own preferences. My humble greetings to them and to us. 
As the Minister has said the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill puts into place the entity by which Ngati Awa will receive and manage the assets that will come to them upon the passing of the Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill which has been tabled in Parliament but is yet to have its first reading. I have no notice of when that might be but I am hopeful that it will be in the near future and I am hopeful that the Minister will use his good administrations to ensure that essentially these two bills might be progressed as one. 
I have spoken to the chair of the Maori Affairs Committee today Nanaia Mahuta and as deputy chair I would be very supportive of the select committee process being managed in a timely way so that the saga that has preceded this bill might quickly be brought to its conclusion and that the passage into law of the settlement of Ngati Awa might also proceed in a timely fashion. 
As the Minister has basically set out the provisions of this bill and particularly of the new runanga that will be created I want to make some comments about the process. I am pleased we are here today for the first reading because with regard to the Ngati Awa negotiations and settlement process I do not think either the previous Government or this Government can feel at all happy with the length of time it has taken to get to this point. Ngati Awa started negotiating their claims as far back as 14 years ago I think and no doubt have some very potent things to tell us about the way the Crown negotiates with claimants as to whether those negotiations are always in good faith between parties which after all is the only way that these settlements will be concluded. 
As I say their claims process and settlement process would probably make reading for those of us who say—and all New Zealanders say this—that we would like these historic claims put behind us. It probably behoves us all to come to grips with what this tribe has had to go through to get to this point today. Of course the negotiations started under Sir Douglas Graham when National was in Government. They were not quite completed by the time we went out of Government and the deed of settlement was finally signed off in the term of the current Government. As if that had not taken long enough Ngati Awa had to face the hardship of starting to engage with the Crown on the entity that they might have to manage their assets. 
I understand that when the Labour Government first came to power notwithstanding the fact that the previous NgaiTahu and Tainui settlements had resulted in the setting up of special legislation to establish their governance entities this Government seemed to me to be reluctant to allow that course of action to follow with subsequent settlements. I understand that Ngati Awa has for the best part of the last 2 years had to deal with officials and Ministers of the Crown to get this special legislation here today. As I say I think it is a bit of an indictment on this House that having acknowledged wrongdoing on the part of the Crown vis-à-vis the iwi the process is further dragged out by discussions over whether Ngati Awa should have their governance entity in the form of legislation already available—such as a charitable trust—or whether they would be entitled to have an entity of their own choosing. 
It is a proud moment to be here today but it is also with some regret that I voice the fact that it has taken so long for this to occur. When the Minister congratulates Ngati Awa they certainly deserve to be congratulated. The untiring patience of iwi—in this case Ngati Awa—to keep plodding along and pursuing these things when there has long been an acknowledgment that the Crown has done them wrong in the past I think is an example to people other than those of us in this House. 
I heard the Minister congratulating Mita Ririnui as the electorate MP. Whether those congratulations are due I am not sure but no doubt it is proper for him to say that. But what I would like to think and I have raised this issue with the member several times now is that Mita Ririnui is using his office to bring to bear positively on this whole governance structure issue—first of all with the mandating and then once the settlements are about to pass that he might apply his thinking to making this process a lot easier than it has proven to be in this case and something that will stand us in good stead into the future because there are still a number of settlements to go. If he would do that then maybe we will have learnt something and maybe we will pay proper tribute to Ngati Awa by making sure that no other iwi has to go through the drawn-out saga that they have had to so as to conclude their settlement and have their preferences embodied in the bill that sits before us today. I would like to think that the honourable Mita Ririnui is using his power and his authority such as it is to see whether we in this place can come up with a format that is a lot more respectful of iwi Maori and that achieves the outcomes we all desire in a much more timely fashion. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
BILL GUDGEON (NZ First) 
:  
A te meatuatahimaku me mihi atu ki a tatou e huihui mai i roto itenei o tatou Whare iteneiahiahi. Greetings to us all who have gathered to meet and speak in this House today. 
A ki a koutou Ngati Awa tena koutou kua tae mai nei ki te whakarongoingakorero e whakawhitiwhitianaiteneira. To Ngati Awa greetings to those who have arrived to listen to the toing and froing of the debate and the speech-making in the House today. 
Let me begin by relating the key elements from the bill. The settlement represents the result of extended negotiations conducted in good faith and in a spirit of cooperation and compromise. It is difficult to assess redress for the loss and prejudice suffered by Ngati Awa. It is not possible to compensate Ngati Awa fully for all loss and prejudice suffered. The foregoing of compensation by Ngati Awa is recognised by the Crown as a contribution to the development of New Zealand. The decision of Ngati Awa in relation to the settlement is one that Ngati Awa take for themselves alone. It does not purport to affect the position of other tribes. 
Let me go back into a bit of history at this point. Modern history probably begins with the year 1479 BC and treats as epic that time in the story of our race which we may call the era of territorial imperialism. For 34 centuries all political ambition whether of individuals or races has aimed at geographical extension and the subjugation of neighbouring tribes and peoples. There have been other theories in men’s minds—dim adaptations of new concepts of human society—ideas of nationalism of republicanism and of self-determination. 
But all have had as their basis the occupation of land. The different social organisms have been separated one from another by more or less clearly marked geographical frontiers. The Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill originated from the era of territorial imperialism and since then has had dim adaptations again. 
Today it seems that we stand on the verge of a whole new order in which the division of mankind is no longer. Then again I am reminded that New Zealand First is still concerned about the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi as up to this date no one has made them clear. I say to Ngati Awa that their proud heritage has brought them all to this point in time and the spirit of their ancestors abound here today. Patience has been Ngati Awa’s virtue supported by endurance. Their whakapapa has been the driving force and to this end hopefully their concerns and the concerns of their whanau hapu and iwi will finally be settled. 
As a recipient of land handed down from generation to generation I understand only too well that feeling of being a caretaker. But let me remind us all that it is not only the beginning—when our placenta and pito are buried—that symbolically ties us to our turangawaewae but the forward-moving motion of what Ngati Awa is going to generate for their up-and-coming generations. That is what will matter. The general public will scrutinise and on occasion be critical but Ngati Awa must go forth and do the best they can and be accountable not only to their past but to their present and future as their heritage demands that of them. Let not the weevils of discontent erode their ability to achieve and be an example of the highest order for their whanau hapu and iwi. The name of Awanui a Rangi expects nothing less. I remember a saying that I was quite fond of when I was lecturing at the Waikato Institute of Technology. It was given by one of the Rangitira of Ngati Awa Hirini Moko Mead: he toiwhakairo he mana tangata; where there is artistic excellence there is human dignity. I am sure that with the leadership Ngati Awa has that will come to fruition. 
No reira e hoa ma tena koutou kua tae mai neiiteneiahiahi ki te whakarongoingakorerokuaputaiteneira. Ahakoakaoreano kia whakahokia mai te whenua katoa kei a koutou tenainaianei. Greetings to Ngati Awa who have come together gathered and listened to this debate this day. New Zealand First supports this bill going to the select committee and hopefully with the direction guidance and ideas that will be given and shared there the bill will come to its completion. E hari e koaanangakaui a matou o Aotearoa Tuatahi. Within our hearts New Zealand First is happy that this bill is before the House this day. 
Engarikaua e wareware ki o koutou mahi ki o koutou tamariki mokopuna o Ngati Awa. I say to Ngati Awa not to forget the responsibilities they have for their children and for the mokopuna of Ngati Awa. 
When I look ahead and hear about the other claims now on the waiting list I stand in humility because there is this one that is finally going to be settled. Let not the weevils of discontent erode the ability of Ngati Awa to achieve and to be an example of the highest order for their whanau hapu and iwi. The name of Awanui a Rangi expects that to happen. In conjunction with that name I quote that whakatauaki again—that proverbial saying: he toiwhakairo he mana tangata; where there is artistic excellence there is human dignity. 
No reira kuamutuneiokuneikorero. I have come to the end of my speech today. Ki a koutou ki a koe e te Minita tena koe e awhi mai nei koe o matou whanaunga o Ngati Awa. 
[ 
And to you the Minister greetings to you for embracing our relatives of Ngati Awa. 
] 
Tena koutou Ngati Awa e noho mai nairungana. E hari e koaana te ngakaukuawhiwhi koutou etahi o nga taonga ingaro. Tena koutou tena koutou kia ora tatou katoa. 
To Ngati Awa greetings and for the gifts that have been returned to them: tena koutou tena koutou kia ora tatou katoa.