Mahuta Nanaia: Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 31 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:12231. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato):Tēnā koe tēnā tātou katoa. Tāpiri atu aku mihi ki a koutou kua tae mai mō tēnei wāhanga o tō koutou pire Ngāti Rangiteaorere Ngāti Rangiwewehi Tapuika nei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.[Thank you and acknowledgments to you all. I add my salutations accorded to you collectively who have arrived here for this part of your bill: Ngāti Rangiteaorere Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Tapuika. I greet you all. ]Unlike previous contributions on other settlement bills I am quite optimistic about the opportunity that is happening here. I am assured and affirmed from some relationships that I have in the Te Arawa area that much will be done with what is contained here in this particular bill the Ngā Punawai o Te Tokotoru Claims Settlement Bill. It provides not a new chance but it confirms relationships that are already well established within the Te Arawa area for these hapū in terms of what they want to do going forward.The very mechanical part of this stage in the House is that the bill comes here for the first reading and it is referred to the select committee where we will hear submissions. We are going to make sure that we give full hearings to everybody who has something to say on the bill. It is important because a lot of people feel that maybe they have not had the opportunity to be heard in public or to go through some of their whakaaro around whether or not they agree with the settlement and the select committee can give attention to those types of whakaaro.But at the end of the day what has been agreed to with the Minister with your negotiators and with Crown officials is something that must bind all members of this House towards assuring the members of hapū who are present that they can go forward with some commitment. That has really been the tenor of the contribution I have made in the House today—that Treaty settlements go beyond the Government and must endure when all members of the House commit to supporting them because Governments come and go but iwi stay and you need that type of assurance to make sure that the implementation and expectations in terms of what is wanted to be achieved in settlements will stand the test of time.For my part I really did not want to take up too much time in the House because members before me have given book line and verse about the terms of the settlement the history and the like. However there are two things I would like to say. Firstly we have impending local body elections and it is my strong view that not enough local government politicians get themselves well kind of immersed in the Treaty settlement process so that they understand at a local level the importance of the relationship and perhaps some of the cross-cutting aspects of Treaty settlements that dovetail into local government politics.To those people who may be listening and watching the debate aspiring local body politicians for Environment Bay of Plenty and for the Rotorua District Council my plea would be to give some urgency to getting to know what the terms and conditions of Treaty settlements are in your area and getting to know those people who really want to make things happen.The second point I would like to raise is really in relation to the technical aspects of implementing Treaty settlements. Every iwi and every hapū who have gone through this process are prepared for it but do not really realise the time taken to try to work through many of the more technical aspects and how time-exhaustive it can be. For that part of the process my strong plea again is really to the Office of Treaty Settlements officials: do not walk away from the process once the settlement has been achieved because there are expectations that dovetail into responsibilities of other Government departments that the Office of Treaty Settlements should by some measure ensure that everyone is always coming up to the plate bringing their best game and being as committed as the office has been to achieving the settlement and to implementing the technical aspects and undertakings in the legislation.So with that said I am looking forward to this bill going to the Māori Affairs Committee. I am very optimistic. This is not a start from nothing situation for the hapū involved in terms of having capacity and having a track record I guess you could say in terms of doing things for their people. Unlike some other settlements where people kind of use their settlement as a push to create something I think this will be another cog in a wheel that has been turning for a while and that will just gain momentum and go faster. So in the second reading—it remains to be seen—there may not be too much change coming back to the House. I look forward to the speedy passage of this legislation so that people can get on the road and do their thing. Kia ora koutou.