Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): I rise on behalf of the National Party to speak on the third reading of the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. Tēnā koutou katoa e koro mā e kui mā e rau rangatira mā. E Ngāti Rangitihi tēnā koutou. Nau mai haere mai ki te rā whakahirahira.[Greetings to all the female and male elders to the many leaders. To Ngāti Rangitihi greetings. Welcome welcome to this important day.]It is a privilege to speak on the final reading of the bill which will bring finality to Ngāti Rangitihi's settlement with the Crown for historical grievances. It is a sign of the times and perhaps a unique distinction for the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill that it is the first set of Treaty settlement legislation that has been passed in this hybrid configuration of the House of Representatives. I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to everyone from Ngāti Rangitihi who is watching virtually both here and around the country and tuning in to witness this historic occasion. This legislation which we are about to read for the final time is about the hapū and whānau of Ngāti Rangitihi. It is about Ngāti Rangitihi tūpuna and uri. Every time we gather to progress a Treaty settlement we look to the past in reflection we acknowledge the resilience and generosity of tangata whenua and in the spirit of kotahitanga and reconciliation we look to our nation's future with optimism knowing that our best days as a nation lie ahead of all of us.Arama Karaka Mokonuiarangi the renowned Ngāti Rangitihi chief in 1884 lamented that During the days of the Ancestors our people were numerous and the land was held against all comers." Today as in Arama Karaka Mokonuiarangi's day Ngāti Rangitihi remain effectively a landless people dispossessed of their tribal lands with now an interest in less than 4 percent approximately 9000 hectares of their original 250000-hectare tribal rohe. Forced out of the inland rohe land by the eruption of Mount Tarawera Ngāti Rangitihi relocated into what was left of their limited coastal rohe lands at Matatā and Hauani. By the time their inland rohe was again fit for human habitation the Crown had taken over almost all of it as public conservation estate and forestry.Today many Ngāti Rangitihi who choose to remain on their traditional lands lack employment opportunities and exhibit poor health low levels of education and poor housing. For generations the people of Ngāti Rangitihi have sought redress for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi by the Crown that have had significant impacts on them. From the 1860s they have made petitions submissions and claims to seek redress for Treaty breaches. In recent decades Ngāti Rangitihi have filed more than 20 Treaty of Waitangi claims with the Waitangi Tribunal over various Treaty breaches some of which have finally been addressed in this settlement legislation.Against this background this bill re-orientates the relationship between the Crown and Ngāti Rangitihi towards the future. Through this legislation the Crown recognises and apologises for the many historical injustices brought upon Ngāti Rangitihi for its failure to uphold its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. Crucially the Crown commits itself to a renewed and strengthened relationship with Ngāti Rangitihi. Moreover on behalf of all New Zealanders in this bill the Crown acknowledges its failure to protect the tribal structures of Ngāti Rangitihi to act in good faith when leasing and purchasing Ngāti Rangitihi land blocks to protect Ngāti Rangitihi from becoming virtually landless to protect the Tarawera River from pollution to actively protect te reo Māori and encourage its use and to protect Ngāti Rangitihi from excessive survey costs and it failed to act in good faith by taking excessive land at Te Ariki for public works purposes.The Ngāti Rangitahi settlement package includes total financial and commercial redress of $11334820 plus interest which comprises a share of Crown forest land in the central North Island valued at $7334820 plus $4 million in financial redress. Nineteen sites will be transferred in the iwi's cultural redress settlement and three place names will be changed through the settlement legislation. The deed of settlement also provides for the establishment of the Tarawera Awa Restoration Strategy Group which will operate as a permanent joint committee of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The group will support coordinate and promote the integrated restoration of the mauri and well-being of the Tarawera River catchment. I will just say that I spent some of my childhood in this region and remember well going to Tarawera River as a child. I look forward to the future growth and wellbeing of that river which is a very important part of the settlement.The deed of settlement includes a range of relationship redress to foster a good working relationship between Ngāti Rangitihi and Crown agencies. And to the hapū and whānau of Ngāti Rangitihi it is not possible to fully compensate for the loss and prejudice that generations of Ngāti Rangitihi have suffered. However I hope and trust that this settlement will forge a new relationship between the Crown and Ngāti Rangitihi and will be a real catalyst for positive change for present and future generations of iwi.I'd like to make some brief acknowledgments to those who have gone before and have done the hard work all the way back to centuries past through till more recent times when the previous Treaty negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson began this process through to the present Minister Andrew Little. I also want to acknowledge all of the negotiators from Ngāti Rangitihi and also from the Crown who worked tirelessly and in good faith to get us to where we are today. I would like to acknowledge as Minister Little did the military service of Ngāti Rangitihi in the past. We are in a House which recognises those who have sacrificed for our nation and I want to specifically thank Ngāti Rangitihi and their tūpuna who have sacrificed for all of our nation and that is something that is dear to me as someone who has also spent some time in the armed services.In conclusion today is an important day for Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown. Again I reiterate that no settlement can ever atone for wrongdoings of the past. However this is a very good and very positive step forward for our combined peoples. I sincerely hope that this legislation will be a new starting point that will lead to a strengthened relationship between Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown based on cooperation mutual trust and true respect for the Treaty and its principles.Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. I commend this bill to the House."