Parata Hekia: Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Parata Hekia: Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:658;Page:7578] 
HEKIA PARATA (National) 
: 
 Tena koe e Te Mana Whakawa otira huri noa i to tatou Whare tena tatou katoa. E tu ana ahau i te whakaiti i te honore hoki ki te mihi atu ki a Te Arawa waka i to mai nei i tenei ra i runga i tenei kaupapa o te pire whakamana o Te Whakarewarewa me te Roto a Tamaheke. Na reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker Roy. Indeed greetings to all of us throughout the House. It is with humility and honour at the same time that I rise to extend salutations to the canoe of Te Arawa which has drawn here today for the passing of the Whakarewarewa and Roto-a-Tamaheke Vesting Bill. So greetings to you collectively and to us all. 
] 
I should also like to acknowledge the passing of Sir Howard Morrison whose tangi I was privileged to participate in. I pay tribute to the farewell that Ngati Whakaue and Te Arawa whanui paid him in the celebration of his life to the manaakitanga extended to those of us who went on to the marae and to the elegance and respect that was obvious in all that was done in farewelling not only a son of Te Arawa but also a son of Aotearoa New Zealand. I am sorry that I was not able to get to the passing of but I pay my respects to Arapeta Tahana as well. 
Coming back to the purpose of our gathering here today I will take a short call and congratulate both Ministers who have been responsible for seeing through the passage of this legislation. To the former Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Parekura Horomia I commend him for the work that he did during the last administration and I particularly congratulate the current Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Dr Pita Sharples on picking up this bill and ensuring that it could pass through all its stages together with the support of my colleague Te Ururoa Flavell. 
It is not an easy task to see through legislation that was started in one administration and passed through to the next and which is characterised by some ruffled waters. Nevertheless I acknowledge that ministerial leadership and also the support of many officials and some in particular who go through the piki and the heke of all the challenges of sewing together ministerial instructions arbitrary select committee questions the people with whom they have been working and with most difficulty keeping the State sector on course and behind what needs to be done. So I also acknowledge and congratulate the officials. I also congratulate the chair of the Maori Affairs Committee the Hon Tau Henare and the members both those opposite and on this side of the House who have together seen through the last stages of this legislation. 
It has been remarked on already by colleagues on both sides of the House that this legislation is not a Treaty settlement. I think that is both remarkable and positive because it is important to recognise that the relationship between the Crown and iwi is not simply about Treaty grievances but it can also be about rectifying relationships of a much more general nature and the restoration of lands that properly belong with their original owners. So it is appropriate that we acknowledge this as a milestone in an ever-increasing relationship between the Crown and iwi and that both the Crown and iwi benefit from the strengthening of that relationship. 
The challenge that is before us as a result of the passing of this bill into law is the management of relationships. Ironically those between the Crown and iwi are relatively easy because as my colleague the Hon Shane Jones remarked earlier it is sometimes much easier to combine against an adversary than it is to work on the relationships within and between those most familiar and intimate to us. There are important relationships within and between Te Arawa. Those of Whakaue Tuhourangi and Wahiao are represented in this bill. It is easy to develop a habit of blaming external parties and it is much harder to look within and to work on internal relationships but it is so much more worthwhile and so valuable. 
Governments come and go but our whakapapa our relationships with one another endure and go on into succeeding generations. That common whakapapa those common traditions and those common his and her-stories are the ones that we have to keep alive and honour not only in the rhetoric that trips so easily from our lips but also in the actions of today so that we may secure those relationships for future generations. 
That future must be characterised by all those concepts that our rhetoric so easily articulates: whanaungatanga kaitiakitanga mana mana whenua manaakitanga and of course kotahitanga. The challenge is to ensure that the decisions of today can be elaborated and developed for real and meaningful opportunities for all kin of the three iwi and that in developing managing and governing that whenua and those taonga it is done in ways that strengthen the links between those iwi so that their descendants can together go forward to a stronger future. I wish Whakaue Tuhourangi and Wahiao the rich blessings of their whenua and a generous practice of their tino rangatiratanga. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. Thank you. 
Bill read a third time.