Paraone Pita: Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParaone Pita: Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 04 November 2014. Volume:694;Page:572. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PITA PARAONE (NZ First):Ā tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Ngā mihi hoki ki a koe nā te mea i tae atu koe ki te taumata i Te W’are me koutou ō hoa arā ko David Carter Lindsay Tisch ā me tō tātou hoa a Trevor Mallard. Nā reira ngā mihi hoki ki a koe nā te mea ko tēnei te wā tuatahi i muri mai i taku ngarotanga i roto i ngā koraha o Ngāti Hine. Ka hoki mai i muri mai i ngā tau e ono. Nā reira tēnā koe tēnā koe tēnā hoki tātou o Te W’are.Nā reira e Te Kai’hakawā ka hoki au ki te kaupapa o Te W’are i tēnei wā ko te mea tuatahi hoki atu ki a koutou ngā uri arā ko Te Kawerau ā Maki nau mai haere mai. Pīkautia mai ngā mate kei waenganui i a koutou ā kei te tūhonohono ngā mate kei waenganui i a mātou o Te W’are nei. Nā reira e tika ana kei te tautoko ngā mihi i mihingia e waku tuākana ki tēnā o ngā rangatira a Eru. Kua tae kē te wā ka hoki atu koe kei te hoki ki a Ia ki te kāinga tūturu mō tātou mō te tangata. Tēnā pea e tika ana i tīmata i a ia tana hīkoitanga i mua i te urunga mai o tēnei pire kei waenganui i a tātou i te rā nei. Tēnā pea ko te ’hakaaro ko a ia te utu. He tohu rangatira tēnā! Nā reira haere e Eru haere haere! E kore e mimiti te puna kōrero mōu! I rongo i a mātou ō mahi rangatira kia kawe atu tēnei pire ki mua i a tātou i te rā nei. Nā reira e Eru haere haere hoki atu!Waihotia ngā kōrero mā koutou te hunga wairua kua hoki mai ki a tātou te hunga ora nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou ā kia ora mai anō tātou. Ā ko tēnei te tū mō Te Rōpū Aotearoa Tuatahi ki te ‘hakatakoto ō mātou whakaaro mō te pire nei arā Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. Nō reira koutou ngā uri i heke mai o ngā tūpuna arā Tawhiakiterangi e mōhiotia e tātou ko Te Kawerau ā Maki ko Mana ko Te Au o Te Whenua ko Kōwhatu ki Te Uru ā me Tuiau. Te āhuatanga o tēnei pire kia ‘hakatikatika ngā mahi hē ngā mahi kikino o Te Karauna ki a koutou.[Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and congratulations to you too because you have reached the pinnacle in the House with your colleagues David Carter Lindsay Tisch and our friend Trevor Mallard. Therefore acknowledgments to you also as this is the first time back since my disappearance into the barren lands of Ngāti Hine. I am back after 6 years. So greetings and accolades to you and to us all as well of the House.Therefore I go back to the matter before the House at this point in timeand I go back to youfirst the descendants in other words you Te Kawerau ā Maki welcome welcome. Bring forth the deaths that are in your midst and allow them to link up with the deaths among us here in Parliament House. Therefore it is appropriate that I endorse the tributes accorded by my elder colleagues to that esteemedelder Eru. The time has arrived for you to return to Him to the real home for the people. Perhaps it is fitting that he began his journey before this bill came into our midst to day. There is that thought that he might just be the sacrifice. That indeed is seen to be sign of greatness! So farewell Eru depart goodbye! The pool of stories about will never run dry.We heard of your fine work in getting this bill before us today. Therefore Eru farewell depart take your leave from us return!I leave my tributes about you the deceased there and return to us the livingso congratulations and well done to you collectively. My appreciation to us once again. I stand on behalf of New Zealand First to present our views on this bill the Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. Therefore to you the descendants of Tawhiakiterangiknown by us as Te Kawerau ā Maki Mana Te Au o Te Whenua Kōwhatu ki Te Uru and Te Tuiau thisbill is about the Crown rectifying its wrongful doings and actions against you.]I rise to take a call on behalf of New Zealand First in this the first reading of Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill. Since I was last in this House I have had the opportunity to witness a number of such bills enacted which have contributed to bringing this whole process of settlement of claims to the Waitangi Tribunal towards some finality for both iwi and our nation. This bill is part of that process. However many of those iwi who have settled to date have among their membership a number who still refuse to accept that the terms of settlement have been fair. Previous speakers so far have made references to that unfairness. I am not suggesting that this is the case in this circumstance. Certainly you have confirmed this by your comment in regard to the level of support from the iwi of Te Kawerau ā Maki of this bill.We will be supporting this bill being referred to the Māori Affairs Committee to allow for submissions from affected persons supportive or otherwise. As I understand it as with most other settlement bills this bill will settle all historical claims—in this case from Te Kawerau ā Maki—resulting from acts and omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992. The package that forms this settlement includes an agreed historical account Crown acknowledgment and apology cultural redress financial redress and commercial redress. I note that this bill has come to this House as a result of direct negotiations. A proposal was made to them in 2009 that they should take this course. We in New Zealand First do not deny any claimant group to opt for direct negotiations particularly in terms of reaching a speedy settlement. However we do wonder how much is lost in terms of detailing the extent of the acts and omissions of the Crown and their impact on the respective iwi.When looking at the historical background to this claim one is somewhat surprised that the Crown had very little contact with Te Kawerau ā Maki immediately post - signing of the Treaty. Prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi land transactions between other iwi and Europeans saw the alienation of lands belonging to Te Kawerau ā Maki. Further no evidence was found after being investigated by the Land Claims Commission of the time that Te Kawerau ā Maki rangatira were ever involved in this alienation of what was their lands. Their interests were never considered yet settlers were granted certain lands and any surplus of land was retained by the Crown. The purchase of the Mahurangi and Ōmaha lands in 1841 by the Crown included Te Kawerau ā Maki interests and yet they were not consulted. Their customary rights were never investigated nor was adequate compensation provided when Te Kawerau ā Maki’s interests became known. One can only imagine if that sort of activity were to take place in this day and age. Anyway why was this? Perhaps it might have become known if this claim had gone to a hearing rather than into direct negotiation.As I continue to read the historical background to this claim it is quite plain that the Crown abdicated its responsibilities to the iwi. Nowhere was this exemplified more than in the 1844-55 period when the Crown waived its right of pre-emption which allowed for private individuals to negotiate with Māori and failed to apply the regulations it had established to protect Māori in these circumstances. The next decade was no better for this iwi as the Crown undertook a programme of acquisition that saw much of their land interests alienated from them. Between 1920 and 1951 the iwi lost their remaining interests in Kopironui and Puketapu blocks to the Crown by way of compulsory purchase under the Public Works Act. To say that this iwi was left virtually landless would be an understatement. In reality the only title they hold is to the inaccessible title and another area.Part of this settlement includes payment of $300000 towards a marae. Can I suggest to this House that in this day and age $300000 would probably meet the cost of one toilet. I really believe that this is some insult—not denying the intention of the Crown—to provide only this level of payment. However we support this bill going to the select committee and hopefully the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki will take that opportunity. Nā reira e tātou mā huri noa ki tēnei o tātou W’are tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia ora mai anō tātou.[Therefore to every one of us throughout this House my congratulations salutations and thanks once again.]