Mahuta NanaiaHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): Ka hono aku whakaaro ki Te Runga Rawa me te karakia whakarite i a tātou i tēnei rangi. Ā tēnei anō e mihi atu ki a koutou Ngāruahine ki Matua Te Tapu te maunga Taranaki ki a koutou kua tae mai nei i tēnei wā; tēnā koutou. Kia kaua e pōhēhē koutou ko tēnei te tutukitanga mō Āraukuku ēngari e tika ana me kōrero tātou ki tēnei take. Ā waihotia mō te pānui tuatoru ki te whakawhānui ake i ngā whakaaro mā koutou ēngari e pā ana ki te momo o ngā kaupapa i puta mai i mua i te aroaro o Te Komiti Māori ka tika ka whakamārama pai kia waiho ki konei. Ka mutu te wāhanga o te tutukitanga ki te pānui tuatoru.[I link my thoughts to the Almighty Above and to the prayer that readied us for today. I acknowledge you once again Ngāruahine and Matua Te Tapu which is Mount Taranaki to you who have arrived here at this point in time; welcome. You must not think mistakenly that this is the final settlement in regard to Āraukuku but it is appropriate that this matter is discussed by us. Leave the elaboration of viewpoints for your consideration at the third reading but in terms of the kinds of proposals that emerged before the Māori Affairs Committee it is right that they are explained well and left here. The part relating to the settlement will reach a conclusion at the third reading.]I just want to offer some comments with regard to the substantive issues considered by the Māori Affairs Committee and raised through the submission process. This is a second reading so it is important for us to ensure that all the matters that were considered and traversed by the committee are clarified here so that by the time we get to the third reading and the substantive matters of the Ngāruahine settlement we are able to move forward confidently and in a way that gives Ngāruahine a level of assurance that it is an opportunity for the iwi to move forward.Kei whea te rongoa mō tēnei tūāhuatanga te muru te raupatu i pā mai ki runga i a koutou i a mātou; te tangohia o ō tātou nei whenua nā te ture i mahia nā te pakanga i mahia taua tūāhuatanga hei patu i a tātou whakapapa? Ā kua puta mai aua kōrero katoa.[Where is the remedy for these kinds of situations—plundering confiscation—that you and we experienced; where these lands of ours were taken possession of and that the law and warfare effected and whereby those situations subdued our genealogy? All those sentiments emerged.]So it is a very difficult situation in terms of trying to traverse some of the historical realities of what happened and reconciling some of those through a Treaty settlement process. My colleagues before me have spoken at length on that. But can I say at the select committee level when the submitters came to the committee—albeit with some specific issues of contention with where interests were best represented—ultimately the committee did not get a strong sense that this was about a contest between iwi or between hapū; actually this was a frustration with regard to the Crown process. So I acknowledge that in the first instance.In the second instance—and I happened to be the local MP when the Ngāti Ruanui settlement was reached. Let me just for the purposes of those listening to this debate consider the Āraukuku matter within that context. Members of the select committee had heard that the Ngāti Ruanui settlement had substantially addressed Āraukuku interests. They had been recognised in terms of having a seat on the governance board and they were included in the claimant definition. However the matter that came to the select committee under the Ngāruahine settlement was that the Wai 552 claim was not extinguished. So your common-sense approach would say: Well if Āraukuku's interests were settled under the Ruanui settlement why wasn't the Waitangi Tribunal claim extinguished at that point if the Crown was so confident?". We pursued all those types of questions to try to understand the submissions coming to us under the Ngāruahine settlement. With that said I think in my mind what it whittled down to was that there were some interests that may have been thought to be outside the Ruanui settlement that may have been addressed in the Ngāruahine settlement. Even if I whittle it down further the matter really could be condensed down to the power station which is why the select committee made comment on it. Minister the way in which you referred to the Stratford Power Station land and its inability to be utilised for settlement purposes while recognising that that is an issue that remains outstanding is helpful I think as people try to ensure that the nature and extent of their interests in specific areas that have not been addressed by either settlement can still be recognised. That is really important because Āraukuku did say quite clearly that the extinguishment of their Wai claim within the context of the Ruanui settlement was something that they did not consent to. However this committee did not change that—it did not take that out. It recognised that this bill will continue with the Wai claim Wai 552 and the recognition that it will be extinguished.A couple of other matters that the committee concerned itself with as a result of the Āraukuku submission were mainly that in clause 13 of the bill there was no specific reference to Āraukuku and the issue was around the whakapapa connection. It was a really difficult situation on our select committee—we were not there to arbitrate over whakapapa. We would much rather prefer that those matters had been dealt with well before the bill came to our committee. However we understood that these were matters that were so inextricably linked to your connection to the whenua that they would undoubtedly come to the committee. So when we were informed that Āraukuku's connection to Ngāruahine was through Kānihi-Umutahi and Ōkahu-Inuawai hapū we could only but accept that that was the case. Even though we heard that the Ketemarae Pā was outside the interests affected by the Ngāruahine settlement we understood that to the extent of the Ngāruahine settlement there was an opportunity for Āraukuku interests to connect back here. Imperfect as it is for Āraukuku—and we tried very hard—you will see in much of the select committee's report that we tried very hard to try to whittle through every issue that was raised. Imperfect as these explanations may be for Āraukuku the committee resolved that actually there was very little we could do other than recognise the extent of their representation to our committee and the importance of ensuring that for the public record there potentially may remain matters unresolved. But the relationships with Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine for the time being are absolutely critical to enable Āraukuku to move forward and also to enable Ngāruahine and Ngāti Ruanui to continue to move forward. Can I just reiterate to the House so that there is no misunderstanding there was not a high level of animosity between Ngāruahine and Āraukuku—there was not. It was very much a frustration with the process.Minister you have heard all the contributions from the committee at this second reading of the bill. Can I just for your benefit acknowledge the extent to which the officials went to the degree of giving us the advice that we needed to make a confident decision in the report that we are providing here today. Can I thank my colleague Adrian Rurawhe for sitting on this committee. As was mentioned by our chair Nuk Korako he offered sage advice to us and a level of wisdom that was helpful to the committee. Nō reira tēnei te tino mihi atu ki a koe Adrian mō tērā tō mahi āe i Te Rohe o Te Taihauāuru.[And so I really acknowledge you Adrian for that in terms of your work in the Western region.]Lastly in terms of the technical amendments and the transfer of responsibilities for the post-settlement governance entity and just making sure that no liabilities will transfer we saw that as a very worthy amendment and we are happy to recommend it to the House on the third reading. Ka waihotia te whakawhānui ake o ngā painga katoa mō te tutukitanga o Ngāruahine ki taua wā ēngari mō tēnei wā anei he pitopito kōrero he paku whakamārama mō ngā āhuatanga i tae mai i mua i te aroaro o te komiti. Ka nui te mihi atu ki a koutou kia tātou katoa tēnā koe. [To the actual elaborations of all benefits relating to the settlement of Ngāruahine—to that moment—but for now here are some little bits of information and explanations in regard to the situations that came before the committee. I have much admiration for you collectively and for us all; so thank you.]"