Henare Tau: Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Henare Tau: Ngati Whatua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 19 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5472. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
Kia ora. Me timata i te tihi o Te Atua Nui. Ko te maunga whakahi tenei o Te Manawanui te marae o Puatahi. A ka huri ki te tonga ka kite au i te tihi o Taranaki te maunga whakahi tenei o te pa o Te Aroha kei Arapareira. Tu atu i tenei ko te toka kamaka o Tuhirangi e tu mai ana i te mania o Kakanui o Paneira. Ko te marae tenei o te Kiora. Waho atu i tena ka kite au i a Tauwhare te maunga whakahi tenei o Whititera te marae o Reweti. Na ka huri te titiro ki te uru ka kite au i te maunga Tarawera te maunga whakahi tenei o nga tai i turia ki te Marowhara te marae tenei o Haranui. Ko nga maunga whakahi enei o nga marae o Kaipara moana. Ka huri au ki a koutou e aku rangatira e aku tuakana no reira nga mihi nui ki a koutou. Nga mihi nui ki a koutou mo o koutou tautoko o koutou tautoko ki nga tamariki mokopuna o Aotearoa o Ngati Whatua ranei. No reira nga mihi nga mihi nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. 
[ 
Hello there. Let me begin at the summit of Te Atua Nui. This is the proud mountain of Te Manawanui the courtyard of Puatahi. I turn to the south and see the summit of Taranaki this proud mountain of the village of Te Aroha at Arapareira. Standing beside this one is the solid rock of Tuhirangi on the open plain of Kakanui and of Paneira. This particular courtyard is that of Kiora. Further out and beyond I see Tauwhare this proud mountain of Whitireia and Reweti’s courtyard. Now from here I look westward and spy Tarawera this proud mountain of the tides that stop at Marowhara this courtyard of Haranui. These are the proud mountains of the courtyards at Kaipara Harbour. And so I turn to you now my esteemed ones and elder kinfolk with the greatest of welcomes to you collectively. I have huge raps for you collectively in respect of your support towards the children and grandchildren of New Zealand at large or of Ngati Whatua. And so much appreciation regards and big ups to you all 
.] 
As an urban Maori as a person who was born and bred in Otara who—[ 
Interruption 
] My first involvement in politics was I met this gentleman back in the 1970s in the library of Otara. He is sitting in this House today the Rt Hon Winston Peters. Throughout my career I have spent time doing little bits and pieces of youth work community work so on and so forth— 
Hon Member 
: Union work. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: —and union work and parties and all sorts of things. Throughout that I have had an enormous respect not only for the people up at Boot Hill up at Ngati Whatua— 
Hone Harawira 
: What what? 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: —no you did not hear me say that—but also for the people up in the Kaipara region who have continually tried to put their best foot forward in terms of their own people without too much help from the Government without too much help from the Crown. I remember people such as Tuck Nathan from Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust who did an enormous amount of work not only in Henderson and in and around west Auckland but also up in the Kaipara region. So I suppose today for me personally it is a day of congratulations to not only Ngati Whatua o Kaipara but also the Crown the Minister and the Office of Treaty Settlements officials on getting this on. Can I say this that although we might remonstrate— 
Hone Harawira 
: What? 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Remonstrate—have a read of it; it is a really good word. Although we might remonstrate with the settler Government of the past I would suggest that we try to look at it from its point of view at that time. It is really easy for us in terms of our ability to look at things historically to make a judgment. Do not be too hard on the settler Government. The settler Government was looking for land. The settler Government was looking for a new way of life and the settler Government— 
Hone Harawira 
: Come on. You’ve already got our vote—Mr Speaker. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: This might not be for you. The settler Government was actually trying to look for a new start. Unfortunately the way it went about it was to kick the indigenous people around. Unfortunately the way it went about it was to steal land and make up laws to make it easier for it to acquire land. So the story sort of rolls out over time. I think that what we need to accept and congratulate Ngati Whatua on is that they had one of two options. First they could have said: “No we’re waiting for a bigger settlement. We will wait until we get what we want.” Or second they could say: “OK we’ll settle and we’ll make the best of our situation that is in front of us now.” I think that iwi Maori have to be congratulated on taking the second option. That is not cutting and running but actually seeing that you have an opportunity to go forward instead of waiting for some lotto draw to happen because essentially that is what it would have been. I think that I will use today’s proceedings to congratulate iwi Maori and in particular Ngati Whatua o Kaipara on taking that option of seeing the opportunities in front of them and knowing full well that it is a minuscule amount knowing that it is a small settlement in the larger game of settlements. But they have taken the opportunity. 
I know and have known some of Ngati Whatua personally and for a long time. Sharon Hawke is sitting up there. I have had an enormous respect for her work and an enormous respect for our friendship over the years. Right back in 1981 we were on a youth march. We actually came to Wellington and we were invited to the Prime Minister’s office—Muldoon’s office. I tell you what he gave us a pretty good hearing and so did Bill Birch. So I just want to recognise Sharon and her kaha in all that she has done for Ngati Whatua and on behalf of Ngati Whatua. 
There is the Ngati Hine connection as my whanaunga across the way says and it is not the toenail. It is the heart of Ngati Whatua—no I was just joking. Apparently the Ngati Hine connection is through the battle at Te Ika-a-Ranginui in 1825. There was a swap a gift between the two. I am sure that there are also other connections. There is one lady whom I must mention in the House. She has been a stalwart forever. She was the one who started off the kia ora campaign from Ngati Whatua Naida Glavish. I want to pay my respects to her for being he tino wahine toa mo nga reo mo te reo Maori mo era mea katoa. No reira nui atu taku mihi ki a ia anei ra. 
[ 
She is a real champion in terms of languages the Maori language and all things like that. So I regard her greatly and here it is 
.] 
This is a Treaty settlement day and like the Minister of Maori Affairs said these days are really really important for us to know our past to know where we might go as a nation and get behind the people who are here today settling with the Crown a part of their history. Know your past know your present so we can all know our future as a nation—a nation of different peoples but a nation none the less. Kia ora.