Horomia Parekura: Ngati Whatua Orakei Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Horomia Parekura: Ngati Whatua Orakei Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 14 November 2012. Volume:685;Page:6681. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
:  
Tena koe. Kia hiwa ra kia hiwa ra. Kia hiwa ra ki tenei take kia hiwa ra ki tera take. E nga iwi e nga waha korero i runga o nga marae whakarongo. Whakarongo ki te tangi a te manu e karanga nei tui tui tuituia. Tuia i runga tuia i raro tuia i roto tuia i te here tangata ka rongo te po ka rongo te po. Tuia i te here tangata i takea mai i Hawaiki-nui i Hawaiki-roa i Hawaiki-pamamao tihei mauri ora! 
E tautokotia atu nga mihimihi o to tatou Minita Maori i a koutou o Ngati Whatua tena koutou. Tena koutou mo to kaha i te tae atu i konei mo te rangi nei te rangi pai. Ahakoa he ahua itiiti atu te mauiui o te matua a Grant e mihi kau ana. Kia kaha kia maia. Tera ano te ahua o te kereme nei mai ra no. E tu te tangata e hinga te tangata. Engari na te pakari i mau kaha i roto i nga uri i te toto o koutou i noho e whawhai tonu atu mo to wahi i Orakei. 
I whakaaro atu mo ratou e kore i konei pera i a Ta Hugh pera i nga whaea e whawhai atu e Danny. Mohio atu koe ki nga koroua nga kuia ratou e kore i konei. Te pai hoki kua tae tahi ake koutou ki te manaaki. 
Rongo atu ki te korero i roto i a ratou o Ngati Manuhiri mo te tata noa iho o te pekanga atu o ratou tipuna ki te wahi ra o Narrow Neck a ka whai atu. Engari mo koutou tena koutou. Mai i te tipuranga o te tangata e whakaaro atu ko koutou anake te tangata whenua o Tamaki-makau-rau. I naianei kua rongo atu ki te nui o nga ingoa o nga iwi. E kare he korero takahia tenei engari pera ano te whakaaro i roto i a au. No reira e mihi kau ana i a koutou te tangata whenua o Orakei. Te whakaaro o te puta a-waha o te korero o to tatou Minita Maori mo te mahi koretake o nga pirihimana. I reira ke au e kite atu te taumahatanga i roto i a ratou e wero atu i a koutou. Na te rekareka hoki mo te rangi nei kua tae tata me te oti kua tae tata me te oti. 
Whakaae atu te nui o tatou ahakoa peka ana ki tera taha o te Ropu Kakariki; aua atu mahia atu. E whakaae atu tatou mo tenei. E tino kaha atu te koroua ra a Hugh mo tona whakaaro. Haere atu mai runga i te tuhinga e wero atu ki tauiwi e wero atu ki te Kawana me te korero i roto i a koutou. No reira mihi atu ki a Grant ki a koutou nga whanau katoa i reira. He tika atu i runga i te tu nei ki te mihi atu ki to tatou tangata a Hohepa—a Joe—te tangata e mau matatau ki te ahua o te Whare nei. Mai ra no tona kaha i te whai atu mo tena. 
No reira ki a koutou kia kaha kia maia. He rangi pai tenei. Kaha ake a Grant. He tangata tinanatia atu mo tenei take. No reira ma to tatou Matua e manaaki atu te haerenga o koutou katoa me to tatou rangatira a Grant. Kia ora tatou. 
[ 
Thank you. Be wary be watchful. Be wary of this matter be watchful of that matter. To the tribes and representatives of courtyards heed the call. Listen to the cry of the bird calling stitch it stitch it stitch it together. Stitch it upwards stitch it downwards stitch it inwards stitch it like the genealogy of mankind so that the night hears the void hears. Stitch it like the genealogy of mankind that originated from the great Hawaiki the long Hawaiki and the distant Hawaiki behold the sneeze of life! 
I endorse the congratulatory sentiments of our Minister of Maori Affairs to you of Ngati Whatua congratulations. Your efforts to get here for this day and a wonderful one at that are commended. Even though Grant’s condition is somewhat minor I wish him well. Be strong and confident. That indeed is the nature of this claim and it has been like that ever since. A person makes a stand and a person falls. However because of the resilience of the descendants and because it is in your blood the battle for your place at Orakei goes on.  
My thoughts go out to those who are no longer here like Sir Hugh like the matriarchs who continued the battle Danny. You know those elderly men and womenfolk who are no longer here. How pleasing it is that you collectively have arrived together to support.  
The comment by Ngati Manuhiri about their close ancestral association with that place Narrow Neck and how they are following it up is noted. But for you especially I salute you. From the time that Auckland became populated it was always the view that you were the indigenous people. But now we hear of many tribal names being mentioned. I am not being disrespectful here but merely expressing the thoughts within me. Accordingly I acknowledge you specifically as being the local tribe of Orakei. I am reminded of the words expressed by the Minister of Maori Affairs about the terrible action taken by the police. I was there and saw the heaviness in their approach in dealing with you. I am grateful for this day and that we are near the end and will soon conclude matters.  
We are mostly in agreement except for the Green Party; never mind it matters not. We are in agreement with this. That esteemed elder Hugh was strong-minded his actions included writing and challenging non-Maori and Government as well as carrying out discussions among you. Thus I acknowledge Grant and all you families there. It is fitting indeed that I stand here to extol your man Hohepa—Joe—a person who is very familiar with the nature of this House. He has been involved with the struggle for a long time now.  
So I say to you all be strong and confident. This is a great day. Grant will be that much stronger and groomed for this cause. Accordingly our heavenly Father will protect you all on your journey and protect our esteemed leader Grant. Thank you. 
] 
 In 1977 and 1978 there was some outrageous activity on behalf of the Crown through the police force that was just unnecessary. The great thing about Ngati Whatua was that they decided by themselves for themselves not one inch more and they stood up. They stood up and they held their ground. Today if you go to the marae you can look over the pristine sights and understand why Auckland continuously boasts about being the City of Sails. It is the scenic view sought by people who wanted to remove the iwi even going as far as burning the marae down the bottom and moving the houses. We can look over at Syria and Israel and think what a terrible thing they are doing. Those were days of shame for this country both for the Government and for the police force. Today that they have found their way here through the Minister and other people to put things right is a great day. 
The other interesting thing about Wai 1 Wai 9 and Wai 13 is that they were some of the initial claims made under the Treaty settlement process. It is important to recognise not just their stance with Joe Hawke and everybody else but also the way they have managed their affairs. I mean affairs of business not other affairs. There seems to be a fair bit of talk of that in the United States at the moment. They got an allocation in 1993 and they built it into a sophisticated arm a consolidated recognised economic base that they utilise now. That is not easy—that is not easy. I see the summary of hand-backs or properties made available that they can purchase back and I know they will use some of their own money to purchase some of that back. That takes a lot of gumption. 
The thing about Ngati Whatua having known them over a period of years is that their governance structures that they have formed are a great example for other iwi in the sense of moving through. They have had their ups and downs. They have had their pitfalls. But I want to say to the nation to take a lesson from Ngati Whatua on how you can go forward. Sure it might be a bit wobbly—a bit like some of these finance companies or some of these other ones that wobble at the moment—but it is stable enough to suggest that Maori do know how to govern and to create a platform by them for them. Future governance structures will be important to our people. Do not buy the models foisted on you by the legal fraternity or everybody else who want to say: “Guess what? I’ve got a framework for you. Copy this and you’ll survive.” Because there is a Maori-ness that we have to ensure and I know that Ngati Whatua through their governance are leading and will continue to do that. We must not be ashamed of trying to design structures or corporate—if there is such a word—that entails the employment of our people that makes sure that the benefits are for our people. I see a lot of it around the country. Maoris are great for buying an expert. They do not know what they are expert in but because they have been told it they buy them. I know Ngati Whatua have been through that. Trust yourself to do this. Future governance and those structures are really critical. 
You know internationally—and well done on winning for that Cloud thing or whatever it was; that rugby thing. Seeing as you brought up rugby if you want to sponsor the East Coast rugby team I will be very keen for you to do that. I will discuss it right now. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Why would they want to do that? That’s just a waste of money. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: But that is being Maori for Maori. We are the only regional team that has got their iwi brand on them. Ngati Whatua I want to say to you seriously that this is a brave heroic stand that you have taken. It is an incredible journey that you have made and to be here today to celebrate with you is something that we will remember for a long long time. You have been there; you have done that. But please make sure in the sense of your governance construct or where you go to when purchasing assets that you give our people the breaks because you will find a lot of new friends when you start doing this. 
I want to speak to the people of Narrow Neck and I can understand the frustration because one of the worst things in society is the fear of not knowing. When people do not know about something they kick up a lot of humbug and ruckus. Those people in Narrow Neck will understand that Ngati Whatua will be great neighbours and they will not strip them of their land they will not strip them of their houses or run them into the sea like they were. They will make sure that they fit into the society there. I want to tell the people over in that part of Auckland that they are damn lucky to get Ngati Whatua to be there and not entered there through a Treaty settlement process—