Davidson MaramaHon MARAMA DAVIDSON (Co-Leader—Green): E te Māngai tēnā koe. Ki a koutou o Whakatōhea tēnā koutou tēnā tatou katoa. Tēnā tatou katoa ngā mema Pāremata o tēnei Whare nei rā taku mihi aroha ki a koutou o Whakatōhea. Ki ngā hapū Ngāti Rua Ngai Tamahaua Ngāti Patumoana Ngāti Ngāhere Ngāti Ira me Te Ūpokorehe. Nei rā taku mihi aroha ki a koutou i roto i ēnei wero kei mua i a tatou mō tēnei mea te kereme.[Madam Speaker thank you. To you all Whakatōhea greetings to you all. Salutations to all parliamentary members of this House I express my sentiments to you Whakatōhea. To the subtribes Ngāti Rua Ngai Tamahaua Ngāti Patumoana Ngāti Ngāhere Ngāti Ira and Te Ūpokorehe I would like to express my sincere acknowledgements to you during these challenging times in regards to this claim.]I stand to speak today as I was the Green Party member on the Māori Affairs Committee who was also so privileged to go to Ōpōtiki to be hosted by all of the whānau in Ōpōtiki and most importantly to listen really deeply and really closely to all of the views and the journey that this—as we all know—difficult Crown process has put on to Whakatōhea. I really want to acknowledge the challenges that we faced as the Māori Affairs Committee but I think these are challenges that the Crown has faced for quite some time in how do we actually restore healed relationships between Māori and the Crown and also between hapū of iwi.I wanted to start by saying that since this is the second reading it focuses on the submissions that we heard in Ōpōtiki and there were also some follow-up submissions that we later heard as the Māori Affairs Committee. We were also really privileged to go on some of the site visits around part of the rohe of Whakatōhea. I was looking at some of the submissions refreshing the words and the sentiments that were expressed to us at the Māori Affairs Committee. I wrote down here from hearing some of the submissions some notes to capture some of the sentiment that I think is going to be the most important as we support the passage of this bill—and the Greens are supporting this bill Whakatōhea.Now we are not doing that without an acknowledgment of the valid concerns that were raised as the select committee report has articulated—yes—but I really do want to acknowledge this quote in particular which is where Whakatōhea said to us It is up to us—Whakatōhea—that we repair and heal with hapū." We know that that is absolutely what has happened in the process of claims settlement in Aotearoa. We know that it goes back to iwi back to the claimants who have that mahi. We cannot expect that mahi to be able to happen without firstly an ongoing acknowledgment of the way that Crown processes have continued to breach Te Tiriti and the way that Crown processes expect things to be settled as opposed to having an enduring positive relationship between people including between iwi and the Crown and between hapū.Rawiri Waititi: "Situationships".Hon MARAMA DAVIDSON: Absolutely as my colleague the member from Whakatōhea Rawiri Waititi is referring to. We as Māori members know deeply from our own rohe and iwi processes and experiences and that lived experience—we know deeply that in the settlement process as it is called many hapū have validly felt that their voices have not been heard and that their voices and their stories and their tpuna have not been heard and they have not been acclaimed to them to their whakapapa. We know this hose concerns are valid and we must acknowledge that in this House.The support from the Green Party to progress this Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill through the House at the second reading I mention again does not go without the acknowledgment of those valid concerns: the acknowledgment of mandate concerns the acknowledgment of what the processes of votes that hapū and iwi are left to rely on and the acknowledgment of—oh actually I was looking at one of my notes here. It's the acknowledgment that—and this is not just about Whakatōhea but it is where lands have been used to settle other claims across iwi and we've seen it time and time again. You've got this convoluted situation of iwi lands being used by the Crown to settle another iwi's grievances.All of these issues were raised with us. We visited—was it Tarata? We visited many different sites including the sites of great mamae and injustice actually. There were the generations of injustice that followed and how lands have gone into private ownership—and this has happened all around the country. How significant significant hapū lands have ended up in private ownership how the Treaty settlement process is not always able to—well the Treaty settlement process has never been able to be a justice settlement and let's get that right first. We know that despite that our iwi our hapū members give blood and sweat and tears and generosity to achieve what is possible and to achieve for mokopuna to come—for all the hapū.I know that many of us members in fact across the House on that Māori Affairs Committee—a very good select committee—held authentically the concern that Whakatōhea were going to be left with the mahi of repairing and healing relationships. We put that to the officials. We put that to the members of Whakatōhea. I also want to acknowledge that when we're talking about Ngāti Ira and Ūpokorehe I do acknowledge that we had members of those hapū who also want to see the continuation in the support of this bill. So it's never clear cut and it never has been but we did hear some valid Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira concerns.I stand here being straight front and confronting how difficult a decision it has been but yes the Greens are supporting this bill. But we can't leave the relationship and the responsibility of the Crown here through supporting this bill through the House. We have to be able to support Whakatōhea to validly pick up those concerns and those kōrero in whatever way Whakatōhea knows is best in order to validly pick up those concerns to ensure that Ūpokorehe and Ngāti Ira are cared for and are worked with. That is the constant reassurance that we sought as committee members and that is the constant reassurance that we received from Whakatōhea and from negotiators.So I did focus intentionally in the majority of my contribution—this is my first contribution on Whakatōhea because the fantastic former Green MP Jan Logie did our first reading speech. I then became a member of the Māori Affairs Committee and was privileged to have the visits and hear the whānau directly.To those whānau of hapū—those whānau members—who put their case to us about wanting to get support for their hapū to be pulled from this Whakatōhea settlement you have absolutely been heard deeply outside of those submissions. We had deep conversations across us as members to really acknowledge your voices. Your voices were so impactful that we had profound conversations about how to ensure that it did not feel like your words were uttered in vain.Now the last word I think is to say why I am confronting and owning outright the decision that the Greens have made to be in support recognising that I am accountable to those voices who came to me directly to put their case for the bill to be pulled back at this time and for their hapū to be pulled out—I acknowledge that. I also want to acknowledge the nannies of Whakatōhea who said "Come on Marama don't delay our mahi." We've always got as MPs these issues and challenges and we do the best we can with them. Thank you very much Madam Speaker."