Ririnui Mita: Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:16827] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
: 
Otira Te Arawa waka Te Arawa tangata kua neke mai ra mai i nga roto o Te Arawa koutou ra nga karangaranga hapu kei waenganui nui i a koutou a tae atu ki te Whare Ariki a te Heuheu Ngati Tuwharetoa oku kaumatua kuia tuakana teina tuahine tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou. Tena koutou i te ahuatanga o te kaupapa i kawe nei koutou mai ra i te hau kainga a ki roto i te Whare nei e kia nei te Whare o nga Raiona kia tutuki kia tu enei ahuatanga ki roto i te ture. No reira tenei ra ta koutou mokai kanohi kai roto i te Whare nei e mihi ake nei ki a koutou tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa.  
[ 
To the canoe of Te Arawa and the people of Te Arawa who have moved from the lakes of Rotorua you indeed the subtribal callings amongst you including the chiefly house of te Heuheu the people of Ngati Tuwharetoa my elders elderly womenfolk older and younger siblings and my sister greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to you. Greetings to you in regard to the nature of the proposal that you have brought all the way from back home into this House referred to as the “House of the Lions” so that these circumstance are met and enshrined in law. So here indeed is your servant and representative in this House acknowledging you; greetings greetings and greetings to you all. 
] 
Madam Assistant Speaker it will come as no surprise to you that I stand in support of this very important legislation. In doing so I declare a conflict of interest. 
I join with previous speakers in welcoming this very very important delegation from Te Arawa. I acknowledge every iwi hapu and whanau that has come here today to represent what we call the Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill. I identify the iwi who are to take part in this very very important occasion. They are Ngati Ngararanui Ngati Tamahika Ngati Tuteaiti Ngati Kearoa Ngati Tuara Ngati Tura Ngati Te Ngakau Ngati Te Roro o Te Rangi Ngati Tuteniu Ngati Uenukukopako Tuhourangi Ngati Wahiao Ngati Tahu Ngati Whaoa and Ngati Pikiao. They are here today to stand with the Crown as its Treaty partner in the final stage towards the settlement of the historical grievance. 
It is not possible for this Government as previous speakers have stated with some sadness to compensate the iwi of Te Arawa for the full extent of the grievances that have been imposed on them by the wrongful actions of the Crown. I am humbled today by their courage and by their commitment to let bygones be bygones and to move on in a positive and constructive manner developing a future for the descendants of Te Arawa whanui. The affiliate Te Arawa group must be commended for its negotiation skills as outlined by my colleague the Hon Dr Michael Cullen and for its ability to view the process for which these negotiations were carried out with pragmatism and practicality. The group’s futuristic vision and willingness to come to a mutual settlement encompassing all the resources available to it is a testament to its dedication and commitment. 
The faith in which the Crown and the claimants came to a settlement is a result of the claimants’ astute participation in decision making. I am sure that would add much to the astonishment of various members of this House who in the past have accused the Government of offering “take it or leave it” deals to the Treaty claimants. That is simply not the case. I have never met anyone on the face of the earth who can produce a “take it or leave it” deal to Te Arawa. This Treaty settlement has been reached by the two partners iwi and the Crown sitting down and coming to a constructive and realistic agreement. I am particularly proud of that fact. We have reached the final leg of this journey—a journey not without trial and tribulation—yet we find ourselves standing in Parliament here today to introduce this historic bill. 
After the Crown and the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu signed the original deed of settlement in September 2006 there was much debate about the settlement and the best way to settle claims over the central North Island forests. In order to give the central North Island iwi sufficient time to develop a proposal for the collective settlement of their interests in those forests the Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa agreed to defer the introduction of the legislation to give effect to the settlement. That decision is of historic importance because it paved the way for the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu to join a collective of other iwi with interests in the central North Island forests and for the collective to present the Crown with a proposal for the settlement of those assets. The proposal replaces the commercial forestry redress included in the 2006 affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu settlement. Instead the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu will have a share in the central North Island collective’s forestry assets. 
The affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu have significant assets now and a bold claim to manage them going forward which will benefit future generations. That is a very very important fact. Such a plan will benefit the whole of Te Arawa in economic terms. I wish to acknowledge the leadership shown by the Kaihautu Executive Council and the success of Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa in terms of their flexibility unity and leadership. The longstanding issue of the best way to settle claims over the central North Island forests could not have been addressed if it had not been for their patience and indulgence. 
I would like to acknowledge the patience that the people of Te Arawa have shown since the deed of settlement that was signed in 2006. The introduction of this bill has been a long time in coming. The new settlement contains several new items as outlined by Dr Cullen of redress and is recognition of the flexibility shown by the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu. It is also indicative of the generosity of the Minister of Finance Dr Michael Cullen that it includes the gifting of the land under the five Rotorua schools and of the Ngatamariki geothermal assets. I credit the vision of the leadership of my colleague Dr Cullen second only to that of the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu leaders—and they are present in the House today; they were instrumental in reaching this very important point. I look forward to the continuance of such Crown leadership in settlement negotiations in the future particularly when we sit down to negotiate with other iwi in the wider Bay of Plenty or Te Waiariki. 
In 2006 as the Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations I stood to support the first reading of the Te Arawa lakes settlement claim. I stand again to support the introduction of another monumental bill that will benefit the people of Te Arawa in much the same way that the Te Arawa lakes settlement claim is now benefiting Te Arawa 2 years after the legislation was introduced into this House. However on looking back I take some comfort from the comments made by the previous speaker the Hon Georgina te Heuheu that National will support this settlement bill and I hope that that will be the attitude adopted by all the Opposition parties in the House today. I can recall standing in this House and listening to speeches that opposed the return of the Te Arawa lakes to the people of Te Arawa. Some very very patronising statements were made by members in this House in relation to the way in which the negotiations were conducted. 
This is very important legislation that is being introduced today and it follows closely behind the return of the Te Arawa lakes to the Te Arawa people. Tomorrow will also be an equally important occasion. Although I do not want to put pressure on my Maori colleagues in other parties we have to accept that the people of Te Arawa are making the decisions and no one else. It is our role in this House to support their decisions. Te Arawa like many other iwi around the country is into development mode. It is moving forward. Although we have a very very long history of grievance we have turned that grievance into development and we are going forward. Anyone who stands in the way of Maori development should look out. That is all I can say in relation to the support that these very important issues require in this House. 
My call at this point in time is a speech that is very brief and to the point. I want to finish by acknowledging all those who took part in the process leading to this point. My colleague the Minister of Maori Affairs basically gave myself Dr Cullen and the other Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Shane Jones all the support required to ensure that all the necessary milestones were met and that the channels of dialogue between ourselves and the Crown and the negotiators for Te Arawa affiliate were kept open. It is because of that commitment and support that we are at this point today. I say congratulations and well done to the people of Te Arawa who were involved in the negotiations. Tena koutou. Ka nui nga mihi atu ki a koutou otira ma te wa tonu ka tutuki pai ai. Kia ora tatou. 
[ 
Greetings to you collectively. I have much regard for you. It will be fulfilled well in time. Greetings to us 
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