Robertson H V Ross: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Robertson H V Ross: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 17 November 2009. Volume:659;Page:7698. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON (Labour—Manukau East) 
: 
 Kia ora tatou. No reira e te Whare e nga iwi e nga reo e nga hau e wha tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. Ko Ross Robertson taku ingoa. Ko Gaeloc te waka ko Ngati Pakeha te iwi no Kotimana. Ko Tamaki te awa ko Hunua te maunga ko Tamaki-makau-rau te kainga engari kei te noho au ki Poneke. He mema Paremata ahau mo te rohe o Manukau mo te Pati Reipa. Tihei mauri ora. Tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
Greetings to us the House; the people; the languages; and the four winds. Greetings to you all. My name is Ross Robertson. Gaeloc is the ship and Pakeha of Scottish extraction is the clan. Tamaki is the river Hunua is the mountain and Auckland is the home but I reside in Wellington. I am a Labour Party member of Parliament for Manukau East. Behold the breath of life. Greetings to you Mr Assistant Speaker and to all of us 
.] 
It is an honour and a privilege to stand in this House and to speak on the Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill. I represent the electorate of Manukau East which is the home of 164 different ethnic groups. I am sure that in that electorate there is a significant contribution from Maori people and some of those people of course will be Ngati Apa. 
We support this bill and we acknowledge the leadership of Te Runanga o Ngati Apa for their able advocacy for their people. We acknowledge their determination their passion their commitment and their motivation for a better way of life for their future for their tomorrow and for their mokopuna. Together we serve and together we prosper both as a nation and as a people. I acknowledge the Minister in the House today Chris Finlayson and the Hon Tariana Turia and I also acknowledge my colleagues who signed the deed of settlement the Hon Parekura Horomia and the Hon Mita Ririnui. I thank them for the work they have done. 
In 1840 three members of Ngati Apa signed the Treaty of Waitangi near the mouth of the Rangitikei River. That is about midway between the Whanganui and the Whangaehu rivers— 
Hon Parekura Horomia 
: A lot of eels. 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON 
: A lot of eels says my colleague. They signed the Treaty there. In 1849 the Rangitikei-Turakina purchase stated that lands between the Whangaehu and the Turakina rivers would be reserved for all Ngati Apa to collect and settle on. But we know that later land native laws enabled those reserve lands to pass through the Native Land Court which awarded land interest to individuals rather than to all of the tribe excluding many Ngati Apa from ownership of the tribal reserve lands. In the 1860s more than 100000 acres of land in which Ngati Apa held interest were subject to native land laws in addition to the reserves from the Rangitikei-Turakina purchase. 
The operation and impact of the native land laws in particular the awarding of land to individual Ngati Apa rather than to iwi or hapu made the lands that Ngati Apa were able to retain more susceptible to partition fragmentation and alienation. This contributed to the erosion of traditional tribal structures of Ngati Apa which were based on collective tribal and hapu custodianship of the land. The Crown failed to take the steps that were necessary to adequately protect those structures. That had a prejudicial effect on Ngati Apa and was a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngati Apa have been raising grievances with the Crown for more than 100 years. On 8 October 2008 a deed of settlement was finally signed. 
The purpose of the bill is to record the acknowledgments and the apology offered by the Crown to Ngati Apa. The settlement includes a historical account the Crown acknowledgment of historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles and a Crown apology to North Island Ngati Apa. It also includes a cultural redress package featuring the transfer of a number of sites of cultural significance to North Island Ngati Apa including two lake beds. It also includes a quantum of $16 million including the opportunity to purchase four Crown properties in the Rangitikei region. 
The return of more than 6500 hectares of land as part of this settlement will have a positive impact on sustainable development. Financial and commercial aspects of the redress package should be considered within the context of the opportunities that it will provide for the people of the area. The cultural revitalisation package will be complemented by the development and implementation of a cultural redevelopment plan. 
This settlement is a historic moment in the relationship between the Crown and Ngati Apa. It will allow us to move forward into the future. It is important in doing so that we recognise the contribution of those who have gone before us and who have raised these grievances for more than 100 years. They are to be commended for their tenacity for their dedication and for never ever giving up. We in this House can be proud of those who are involved in bringing about the finalisation of this bill so that we can work together and in the true spirit of that word “community” serve and prosper together both as a nation and as a people. Tihei mauri ora! Tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa.