Ririnui Mita: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee 
Ririnui Mita: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:655;Page:5062] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) 
: 
 It is a pleasure once again to take a call on Part 3 of the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill. As we mentioned earlier the cultural redress aspect of the settlement is a very very difficult one. It is difficult in terms of the cooperation of the Government agencies and also difficult in terms of the identification of certain sites that have historical significance to the claimant community—the list just goes on. The establishment of the protection protocols is also very difficult. 
Then we get to a completely different part of the settlement and that is the commercial redress which is the part of the redress that will provide the claimant community hopefully with solutions to all the issues that have been discussed in the Chamber this afternoon and this evening. Those are issues around the development of the claimant communities around the sustainability of any economic development activity entered into by the claimant group and around the durability of the settlement. By that I mean whether it is a fair settlement and whether the claimant community over time will accept that it is full and final. That is a particular issue for many claimant groups. In this case although the Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika have expressed forgiveness to the Crown there is also the issue around whether in the long term the settlement is durable. That will depend largely on the cooperation of the Crown representatives—and I mean those agencies that have been identified—and very largely on the ability of the Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika representatives to make the right decisions going forward. 
The issues there are in terms of how those representatives grow the commercial redress and how they ensure that all of the issues they have identified that could benefit their tamariki and mokopuna in the long term do in fact happen as a result of the decisions they make. Those will not be easy decisions for them to make because of the uncertainty around the future. As we spiral into a recession it must be more and more of a concern to them that the right decisions are made. As was mentioned earlier on from my contact over a number of years with the negotiators involved in the settlement—Dr Ngatata Love Neville Baker Kara Puketapu and many others; I do not want to go on mentioning names in case I offend some people by leaving them out—I have no doubt that they will take a very prudent approach to growing the settlement particularly the commercial aspect of it and will ensure that Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and all the beneficiaries benefit from the settlement. 
That being the case we can talk about whether justice has been done. We can ask the questions of whether justice has been done and whether we have a durable settlement. That can be determined only in hindsight. Some time in the future Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika will look at themselves at their situation and at the strength of their internal economy and they will answer that question. They may say yes the settlement is durable and able to sustain their communities or they may say no it was not durable. They may identify a number of reasons for that. That is entirely a matter for them to ponder over in the future. 
It was not my intention to take a very long call on this particular part of the bill because all that needs to be expressed is the acknowledgement of the difficulties that lie ahead for Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika when it comes to managing the entire settlement package—not just the cultural redress but also the commercial redress. Naturally we all wish them the best going forward and have confidence that they will make the right decisions. Kia ora. 
Part 3 agreed to.