Sharples Pita: Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSharples Pita: Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9507. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of Māori Affairs) on behalf of theMinister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I moveThat the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. He mihi tēnei ki a koutou o Ngāti Whātua kua tae mai i tēnei ata nau mai hara mai rā. Kāore anō kia tīmata nā reira tēnā koutou whakapiri mai. Ngā mate kua pā ki a koutou waiho rātou kua mihia i runga i ngā marae maha o te motu. Ko te mea nui i tēnei wā ko koutou kua tae a-tīnana mai i tēnei hui nui mō tātou. Nā reira kai te rangatira tēnā koe koutou ngā kuia rangatira tēnā koutou whakapiri mai.[This is an acknowledgment to you of Ngāti Whātua who have arrived here this morning. Welcome welcome. It has not started yet so greetings to you collectively draw closer. As for the deaths that have affected you leave them on the many courtyards of the nation so a tribute can be made to them. The most important thing at this point in time is that you are here collectively at this important gathering for you. Therefore I doff my hat to you esteemed elder and venerable matriarchs. Welcome draw closer.]In moving that the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time I begin with a quote: “You don’t run a Treaty settlement on your own.” I quote a very humble descendant of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. That was her response when the media congratulated her after she was honoured by the Governor-General for her work in negotiating the settlement of her people’s Treaty of Waitangi claims. She told the reporter that the more she delved into the injustices of her people’s past the more she realised she was not venturing into new territories; she was merely following the well-trodden footsteps of those who had gone before her—generations of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara who spent entire lifetimes fighting for justice her own family members who have not lived to see this day.As only Treaty of Waitangi claimants can understand she said that standing there receiving her award at Government House was an incredibly lonely act and that there were so many other people who could equally share in that award. There were so many other people she would have dearly loved to be there to accept that award and I quote: “You don’t run a Treaty settlement on your own.” Nā reira tēnā koe Margaret Kāwharu mō ōu nei kupu. Tangi tonu mātou i tō pāpā.[So thank you for your words Margaret Kāwharu. We continue to mourn your dad.]So in the spirit of those humble words I would like to pay tribute to those who have gone before those sons and daughters of Haranui Reweti Kakanui Araparera and Puatahi marae. So many are not in the House today but if not for them we would not be here considering a bill to resolve an injustice that began 169 years ago. Nā reira koutou moe mai rā e ngā rangatira i te mōhio kua mau tonu koutou i a mātou ngākau i tēnei rangi nā reira okioki pai mai.[And so to you the esteemed elders rest there in the knowledge that you are in our hearts today for ever. So rest well there.]Ninety percent of the ancestral lands of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara were gone within a single generation. Could we imagine what it would be like to have 90 percent of our homes taken from us from our children and grandchildren—90 percent taken by law? And the 10 percent of the lands left for Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara for their families werefragmented uneconomic and hard to live off. Determined unrelenting and pervasive Government land buying and land fragmentation policies took not just hundreds but thousands of hectares of land off these families. By denying these families the lands and resources to take ownership of their own destiny these policies sought to deny Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara the right to determine their own economic and social well-being.But those policies failed miserably. The people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara are here in this House today seeking justice and taking ownership of their own destiny. Some are here in spirit their journey etched on the words in this bill. An injustice that began in 1844 with the Crown takeover of vast tracts of land in the upper Waitematā will soon be resolved by this Parliament and the people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. In coming to this agreement to resolve past grievances we honour all of the ancestors but also importantly we honour our descendants and we plan for the future.I stand to acknowledge Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara whose tenacity and leadership will soon see settlement for the hapū and marae of southern Kaipara. I commend the trustees of the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Committee and the trustees of Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Development Trust for their passion and for their commitment. They have shown incredible leadership by working alongside other iwi and hapū of Kaipara—Tāmaki-makau-rau and Hauraki both. The support of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara people for the settlement negotiated on their behalf is clear. Two ratification processes held in August 2010 and August 2011 returned approval rates of 96 percent and 92 percent respectively—a beautiful mandate. All those things the families of Haranui Reweti Kakanui Araparera and Puatahi have lost due to the actions of the Crown can never be totally restored and yet today Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara seek to settle their grievances with the Crown.The legislation before us is much more than a new law change. It is the history of a people and it is the future of a people. What has been taken from these families can never be totally replaced. Ninety percent of the ancestral lands can never be replaced and yet here the people are to settle with the Crown. I acknowledge the sacrifice the pain and the injustice suffered by these people those before them and their whānau. I thank Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara for their leadership generosity and mana without which we could not be here today. This bill provides for a strengthened relationship between the people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara and the Crown—a strengthened relationship as partners in the Treaty of Waitangi. I am proud to stand in support of this bill.Whāia te kotahitanga o Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. Nā reira tēnā koutou katoa e manaaki nei i ahau i te wā i tae mai au ki Tāmaki-makau-rau. Whakaae ana ki te whakatū i tētahi marae i Waipareira tautoko ana. Tautoko ana tātou i a tātou i roto o Tāmaki. Nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou.[Strive for the unity of Ngāti Whātua of Kaipara. Thank you all for looking after me when I arrived in Auckland. You allowed me to establish a courtyard at Waipareira and you supported it. We supported each other in Auckland so acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively.]I look forward to this bill proceeding to the Committee stage without delay. Thank you.