Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT in support of the Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill. It's always a great source of amusement for me to follow Jan Logie from the Greens who has just on behalf of a party that wants to tax and regulate every aspect of your life—from what you learn at school to how you get around—been railing against Crown hegemony and excess State power. But that's the Green Party for you.ACT supports these Treaty settlements because they are an icon of New Zealand exceptionalism. Every country can look to its past and see things that it would rather not have to see—it can see things that violated people's right over their body over their property over their dignity—and a lot of countries get into a spiral of resentment and conflict that is impossible to prevent. Countries go through all sorts of truth and reconciliation commissions and all sorts of efforts to make good their past. I don't think that any country has done it as sincerely or successfully as New Zealand with its Treaty settlement process.It will never be perfect because when you start with such grave imperfections you can't achieve perfection but if you compare it with what other countries have done I think we should be very proud. That's not to take away from remaining grievances. That's not to say that everything is right. But I think it is a point of pride for New Zealand what we've achieved and are achieving with our Treaty settlement process and that's why the ACT Party always stands in favour of Treaty settlements—because we believe in the rule of law we believe in property rights and we believe in restraining the role of the State and the Crown.So I say on behalf of Parliament our House of Representatives—not the Crown as some have said—to those people in the Ahuriri Hapū who have journeyed to Wellington today who are unfortunately not able to be physically present in the gallery due to the COVID restrictions but have journeyed to be part of this historic moment for their people: welcome and I hope that this is a very special and pivotal point in the history of your people and your place.I also want to say that this bill has a minor personal connection for me. While my own original or oldest connections with New Zealand are from the Far North Ngāpuhi; Ngāti Rereahu to be precise I do have a connection with Ahuriri—New Zealand being a very small place. One of my old flatmates from just down in Taranaki Street when I was a slightly more wayward youth compared with now here in the city of Wellington was actually a member of Ngāti Pārau and Jan Logie was trying to read out a statement but got cut off because she'd left it to the very end of her speech and it's a pity she wasn't able to finish. He asked that we read into the Hansard something that they had tried to have acknowledged through their official process with the Crown but couldn't have acknowledged and it was simply that it be acknowledged that the Wai 2573 claimants those on behalf of Ngāti Pārau that is are still addressing outstanding historical matters with the Crown concerning those events at Ōmarunui. I encourage officials to conclude that agreement as quickly and sympathetically as possible.Those hailing from Ngāti Pārau I think are being very magnanimous in this instance because they were not entirely happy with everything that ended up in this bill. They still had some outstanding grievances; as I said it's not always perfect. But they said Look we are not going to interrupt this special day for those others in this agreement who after all are our wider whānau. We will not further contest this. We will not in any way be difficult. We will allow this to go ahead without protestation from us." But they would just like the Hansard of the House of Representatives to have that statement so that they are not unacknowledged in the passage of this bill. So I say to my old flatmate in this intimate country of ours I hope I've done you well by having that read into Hansard and for those of Ngāti Pārau I hope that you do indeed get the closure that everybody has been seeking as rapidly as possible so that everybody can move on with enjoying what this settlement has delivered for the different peoples in the region.With that I commend this bill to the House and give my best wishes on behalf of ACT for the future for all of those in the Ahuriri Hapū who are touched by this settlement bill."