Sharples Pita: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSharples Pita: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9521. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of Māori Affairs) on behalf of theMinister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I moveThat the Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. The Waitaha story is significant in the history of our country. The Waitaha story is that of an iwi who never ceded sovereignty to the Crown. The story of Waitaha is that of an iwi who sought to uphold its mana. The story of Waitaha is that of an iwi who have been devastated by the cumulative effects of the Crown’s acts omissions and breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles during the 19th and 20th centuries. The story of Waitaha and its relationship with the Crown is one that almost saw the iwi itself disappear.The purpose of this settlement is to recognise and settle past wrongs of the Crown in relation to Waitaha. Although this settlement will see the Crown provide Waitaha with cultural financial and commercial redress as with all Treaty settlements full reparation for the losses suffered by Waitaha is not possible. This is something the Crown has to live with.I wish to acknowledge the work that Waitaha has done to reach this day. It has not been an easy journey and I am humbled to stand in the Parliament today to say that through this settlement the mokopuna can look forward to sharing a prosperous future together.Waitaha descend from Hei and his son Waitaha who arrived on the wakaTe Arawa. Over time the uri of Hei settled along the coast extending from Katikati to Ōtamarākau and to the island of Tuhua. Waitaha has close whakapapa links with Tauranga Waikato Ngāi Tahu Ngati Porou Ngāti Kahungungu and Te Arawa. By the 1840s Waitaha primarily occupied the land between Tauranga Harbour in the west and Waiari River in the east as well as staying inland. Waitaha never agreed to cede their mana to the Crown. Most Waitaha rangatira did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi. Only Te Kou o Rehua of Ngāti Te Puku o Hākoma signed the Treaty when it was brought to Tauranga.The Crown acknowledges that it breached the Treaty of Waitangi in its relationship with Waitaha. The Crown acknowledges that the acts omissions and breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles that it committed during the 19th and 20th centuries had the most devastating consequences for Waitaha which almost led to the extinction of that iwi. Waitaha brought their Treaty claims to tell their story and their fate of their tīpuna. Their tipuna Hakaraia is central to that story. Waitaha regard this settlement as a tribute to Hakaraia and his efforts to prevent the alienation of Waitaha land. So in the journey through the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry process continued through this settlement with the Crown the mana and reputation of Hakaraia has been restored.Hakaraia was a prophet and a rangatira. He was a man of peace. He sought to engage peacefully with Pākehā. However the Crown brought war to the province in the 1860s. In an attempt to subdue the influence of the Kīngitanga Hakaraia and Waitaha were subsumed by this conflict and its consequences. Hakaraia did not surrender and was considered by the Crown to be an unsurrendered rebel. The Crown punished Waitaha severely. The Tauranga raupatu effectively and efficiently undermined the economic well-being of Waitaha. After the death of Hakaraia the Crown inflicted furtherpunishment by withholding a large amount of Waitaha land. If this was not enough the impact of the Native Land Court served to extinguish what little Waitaha land title was left. Such was the impact of this alienation it almost led to the disappearance of Waitaha.I am confident that through this settlement the burden that has been carried by the whānau of Hakaraia and of all Waitaha will be lifted. At this time I acknowledge those who carried the burden of wrongs suffered by Waitaha who have passed away without seeing this day. Me mihi anō au ki a rātou. Moe mai ngā rangatira mau tonu koutou i ngā ngākau nei o ngā uri whakatipu.[I must pay tribute to them once again. Slumber there esteemed elders you will remain in the hearts of successive generations for ever.]What I have summarised only briefly touches on the mamae the pain that Waitaha has had to endure and carry. When things like this happen it is not just about land territory it is about the decimation of a social structure a tribal structure and their whole value system becomes decayed underneath a monetary economy and new laws. So the pain and what they have had to endure has been almost complete. Waitaha and the Crown began this process by signing terms of negotiation and agreement in principle in 2008. This led to the deed of settlement being signed on 20 September 2011 at Hei Marae in Te Puke.In summary the settlement will provide Waitaha with a cultural financial and commercial redress package. Cultural redress for Waitaha includes the $3 million education endowment fund in the name of Hakaraia Mahika. The Crown will vest in Waitaha two urban cultural sites a scenic reserve based on the Maunga Ōtara Maungaruahine Pā Historic Reserve and the land at Papamoa including important parts of those. An overlay classification known as Te Whakairinga Kōrero will be provided for in this bill. This is a Crown acknowledgment of Waitaha values and an agreement on protection principles applying to two important mountain sites.The bill will also provide for a deed of recognition of special association of Waitaha with five areas of conservation land along the ancestral mountains within the Waitaha rohe. The Crown will provide statutory acknowledgment of Waitaha statements of their cultural spiritual historical and traditional association within 15 statutory areas including the peak of Maunga Tipuna Ōtānewainuku the beds of several watercourses including the Kaituna River and the coastal area between Mauao and Maketū. I acknowledge that $1.3 million has already been provided to Waitaha to prepare full historical accounts of Waitaha and Hakaraia and as a contribution to the restoration of Hei Marae and for other cultural support purposes.The Crown will provide letters to Ministers to its own Ministers encouraging support for Maranga Waitaha—a link to Government initiatives to assist the social economic and cultural needs of Waitaha. The Crown will also provide letters of introduction to local authorities and the Crown will institute three ministerial protocols relating to taonga tūturu conservation and Crown minerals. Financial redress for Waitaha includes the payment of $7.5 million plus interest from an agreement in principle signed in March 2008. Commercial redress for Waitaha includes a right to purchase three land bank properties on settlement a right to purchase five sites on sale and leaseback properties and a right to purchase other land bank properties. I wish to thank Waitaha ahakoa kāre rātou i konei i tēnei rā [even though they are not here today] for the way in which they have resolved issues with neighbouring iwi both with Tauranga Moana to the west and Te Arawa to the east.I acknowledge that by choosing to enter into full and final settlement with the Crown Waitaha has agreed to forgo full reparation for the mamae suffered. For their generosity I really thank them and acknowledge them. This is also an opportunity forthe Crown to restore its own tarnished honour and I hope that this settlement will mark the beginning of a stronger relationship with Waitaha a relationship based on trust cooperation and respect for the Treaty of Waitangi. I commend this bill to the House and look forward to this bill proceeding to the Committee stage without delay. Thank you.