Finlayson ChristopherHINEURU CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLThird ReadingHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Hineuru Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time. I want to begin by welcoming the community of Hineuru here today. It is fitting that we are in this House where matters of law are discussed to address the wrongs that have been committed by the Crown against the people of Hineuru. I recognise a number of visitors in the gallery today. They will never have entered this House before and many will have a relationship with the institution of this building that is clouded by a long history of mistrust and grievance. I hope their experience today is going to be a positive one. Hineuru's journey to settlement stretches back decades. While I acknowledge those present it is only right to mention those who are no longer with us—the original claimants who carried the claims of their tīpuna but were unable to see their aspirations recognised in legislation. I pay tribute to those who were instrumental in reaching this day including Hine Campbell Rere Puna Kori Hill Nick Wall Emi Wall Puāwai Rāhui Hoani Hōhepa and Whetū Tipiwai. I also want to mention Nicholas Twohill. He was a former historian from the Office of Treaty Settlements whose final work before he passed away was directed at describing the injustice suffered by this people—injustices that have put a serious stain on the reputation of the Crown and need to be recorded in Hansard today as a reminder to future generations of the hurt borne by past generations of Hineuru. The tīpuna of Hineuru lived and cultivated land in the mountainous inland region between Napier and Taupō Moana. This was a strategically important area because it was one of the main thoroughfares between the central North Island and the Hawke's Bay. Unfortunately their first interactions with the Crown took the form of protests at the Crown's failure to include Hineuru in its negotiations to purchase the Ahuriri block. In October 1866 Crown forces attacked a group of Māori who were camped at Ōmarunui near Napier after the expiry of an unreasonable ultimatum calling on the group to surrender. On the same day Crown forces intercepted surrounded and subsequently attacked another group led by Hineuru rangatira Te Rangihīroa further north near Pētane. Crown forces killed him and also other Hineuru people during the attacks and then pursued Hineuru and other Māori into their rohe and plundered their kāinga. Thirty-four members of Hineuru were captured and were among the 86 prisoners who were transported to the Chatham Islands without trial. While these prisoners were being held captive the Crown proclaimed a large confiscation district in the Hawke's Bay that included a great deal of Hineuru land. After years of protest by members of Hineuru the Crown in 1924 promoted legislation that allowed the Native Land Court to award land in Tarawera and Tataraakina to Hineuru individuals descended from those who had been excluded from the 1870 grants. However this action was repudiated by the Crown in 1952 when it promoted legislation that overturned these titles. For Hineuru these actions resulted in decades of uncertainty about tenure significant financial costs and social and cultural dislocation and left them virtually landless. Yet despite all this they have persevered. I ask all members to stop for a moment and consider this—to consider how a people could go from a position of holding a fertile area of strategic importance to one in which they were left virtually landless alienated from their traditional homes and struggling to maintain leadership structures cultural practices and indeed their very language. I ask members to consider how the people of Hineuru sitting in the gallery today whose ancestors have been subjected to such horrific treatment and who have suffered economic and social marginalisation in their own rohe can find it within themselves to be able to sit at the same table and engage in this process of reconciliation with the very group who despite being entrusted to protect their interests were responsible for the loss that was suffered. It is a testament to the character of this people that we are here today. It is a testament to their generosity to their desire for a better future for their children that they have forgone full compensation for the losses they have suffered. By accepting this settlement the people of Hineuru give a great deal to their country and for this I thank them. I want to acknowledge the Hineuru negotiation team. I want to make a particular reference to Karauna Brown and Ivy Kahukiwa-Smith for their significant contribution as lead negotiators. I want to acknowledge the other trustees of their trust including Tirohia Bridger Rēnata Bush Toi Tāwhai Te Reo Spooner and Tūhuiao Kahukiwa. All these individuals have carried the heavy weight of their tūpuna and deserve praise for their services. Can I also acknowledge their advisers including Traci Houpapa and the team from Kensington Swan who have made a significant contribution to pursuing this settlement. Finally I want to thank the Crown team ably led by one of our own Paul Swain. Although this is undoubtedly a day for the Hineuru community I know that officials from across various departments share their excitement. At the deed's signing I spoke about the significance of rangatahi—those who will inherit the full benefits of this settlement—who will not be made to endure the same prejudices as their tīpuna and who I hope will remember their history and will share it with generations to come. I reiterate these comments in this third reading speech but say something more: the time has now come for you to persist and persevere. The weight of your tīpuna will now fall on your own shoulders to carry and through this settlement I hope your shoulders will not be overburdened. I want to finish by recalling the first negotiations meeting when the negotiators presented Crown officials with an old New Zealand flag. This was the last flag flown at the Te Hāroto School and it flew at their marae on the day the officials met with Hineuru. In the past the flag had been flown as a symbol of partnership with the Crown. During the meeting the negotiators said they have lost faith as a result of preparing their claims for negotiation. They lowered the flag they folded it and they presented it to the Crown with a challenge to the Crown to hold it until such time as Hineuru considered the relationship of trust and good faith had been restored. I have the flag today and look forward to presenting it to the people of Hineuru after this bill has been passed. I look forward to the flag flying again in Te Hāroto as a representation of the partnership and of mutual trust between the parties. It has been a long journey and I am delighted that we have reached this stage. I commend the bill to the House.