Jones ShaneHon SHANE JONES (Minister of Forestry): A kāti e te iwi koutou katoa kua tau mai ki Te Upoko o Te Ika a Waiapū awa Hikurangi maunga Porourangi tangata. E kī e kī ko te whakarangatira o Te Ao Māori kei te tihi o Hikurangi mei kore te tihi o Hikurangi kua kore a Te Ika-a-Māui e kitea.Tuarua e kī ko Ngāti Porou e heke mai rā runga i te tohorāha mā te haerenga mai o Paikea ki Aotearoa. Tua atu i tērā kāhore he rākau pōhutukawa tua atu i Te Waha o Rerekohu. Arā ko tēnā te āhuatanga o ō tātou whanaunga o Ngāti Porou. Mā rātou i roto i te rangi a Tamanui te Rā e mihi i te tuatahi ia rā ia rā ia rā. Engari pai ana kei ahau a Ngā Puhi ko Te Paipera Tapu ko Te Tiriti o Waitangi me Te Rerenga Wairua. Kia ahatia? Tēnā koutou katoa.Me mihi atu ki tō tātou manukura ki a Api tana hoa haere a Poro. Whātorotoro haere ki tō tātou ki tōku hoa ake tō koutou huanga a Parekura. Nāna anō te kaupapa nei i whakakorikori i te taha o Dr Cullen i tōna wā. Te mea pōuri kīhai rāua rātou i toe kia kai kanohi mai rātou ki ngā mahi rangatira e oti ana tātou i roto i tēnei rā. Nā reira Ngāti Porou whānui tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[To one and all all of you who have descended upon Wellington today Waiapū River Hikurangi mountain the people of Porourangi. Well well the epitome of the Māori people is at the peak of Hikurangi if it weren't for the peak of Hikurangi Te Ika-a-Māui would not have been seen.Secondly you don't say Ngāti Porou came on a whale when Paikea journeyed to Aotearoa. And what's more there is no pōhutukawa more outstanding than Te Waha o Rerekohu. That is indeed the way of our relations from Ngāti Porou. During the day it is them who first greet the sun day in day out. On the contrary I am happy that we of Ngā Puhi have the Holy Bible Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Rerenga Wairua. What's to be done about it? Greetings to you all.I must acknowledge our leader Api and his companion Poro. I reach out to our friend my personal friend your progeny Parekura. He himself moved this matter along alongside Dr Cullen in his time. The sad thing is that those two all of them aren't remaining to see with their own eyes the excellent work that is being completed by us at this time. Therefore wider Ngāti Porou greetings greetings greetings to you all.]As I've said we think fondly of the people who carried this kaupapa. I recall going with Dr Michael Cullen at the invitation of Dr Apirana Mahuika with the late Hon Parekura Horomia after the tumultuous times of the original seabed and foreshore issues and then to begin the negotiations with this tribe that has enjoyed uninterrupted ownership since the Treaty of Waitangi of the whenua adjoining the takutai moana. Their tupuna Sir Apirana Ngata who graces the walls and the corridors of this House played a key role in leading the consolidation and the holding of their land so that it didn't go the way of other tribes.I come from Ngāpuhi nui tonu and Sir Apirana Ngata came to the Far North. He said in Māori to my mātuas Tēnā he toki anō tāku. Kua tapahia e ahau te hiku o tēnei ika kia tere atu ki te puku o te moana." which meant "If I had an axe I would cut off the tail of this fish for fear of its sting infecting the rest of Māoridom and allow it to float away into the sea." So that man—we celebrate his legacy today as modern-day parliamentarians and it's very rare in modern-day parliamentary life that we go that far back in history.There was some anxiety about this piece of legislation—that it would impede the rights the interests the habits the usages the customs of people who enjoy the East Coast. We have put those fears to bed. There were concerns from the fishing industry that their activities might be impeded. They will never be impeded by the party that I belong to and given that this tribe are key owners of substantial fisheries resources they treat fish with a great deal of respect—and so they should because their tupuna Porourangi upon catching the fish was poisoned by the fish. Ko te ingoa o tērā ika ki roto i ahau ki a Ngā Puhi ko Te Pokati. Ki roto i Te Tai Rāwhiti nā wai rā nei i mea mai ki a au ko Te Nuhu. Nā mau tēnā ika ka puhipuhi ka puhipuhi ka tetere te hanga. Katahi ka werohia te tangata nā mahi nui tēnā kia ora ai te tangata i tēnā werohanga[The name of that fish where I come from in Ngā Puhi is Te Pokati. In Te Tai Rāwhiti it follows that it was told to me it is Te Nuhu. So this fish was caught shot shot and was in prime condition. A person was then pierced and this was a huge task for someone to survive this piercing.]So this is a group and I'm proud to represent the party and stand with my coalition partners and the Opposition parties to say: this shows there is little to fear as we evolve the law as we evolve our frameworks for managing resources and we join together because the foundation influences of Aotearoa are to be found in the Treaty—the missionary influence the Crown influence and the indigenous leaders. Those of us who are of Māori extraction and claim to be the inheritors and the custodians of our foundation heritage as many of my Pākehā friends and brethren do must cling; we must at every opportunity celebrate it so that it does not fall prey to strong globalising influences that threaten what it means for us to be New Zealanders.So to the people of the East Coast tēnā koutou katoa. I acknowledge the efforts of Chris Finlayson. He has created a fine legacy here. To his great sadness he never emulated it amongst my own people of Ngāpuhi. Thank you very much."