Horomia Parekura: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — Second Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Horomia Parekura: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — Second Readings 
[Sitting date: 18 July 2012. Volume:681;Page:3704. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 Kia ora tena tatou. E mihi kau ana i nga korero a Tariana na te mea i roto i aku he roroa atu te tae o te kereme nei ki te wahi nei hei whakatikatika ma tatou i te mahi raupatu nga mahi taumaha o te kawanatanga e mahi atu ki wenei nga uri o Maraeroa. E taukototia atu te mihimihi ki a Piripi ki a Glen ki a ratou ma na te mea e pai ana e tae atu tatou ki te rangi nei hei whakatikatika 
[ 
Thank you and greetings to us. I acknowledge the sentiments expressed by Tariana because there is a feeling within me that this claim has taken a very very long time to get to this place and for us to consider how the acts of confiscation and the heavy-handedness by government has impacted on these ones the descendants of Maraeroa. I endorse the tributes to Piripi Glen and others because it is good that we have reached this day to make amends 
.] 
Together the two bills that we are discussing today the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill and the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill give effect to the redress contained in the deed of settlement between the descendants of the original owners of the Maraeroa A and B Blocks and the Crown for the final settlement of historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. The settlement bill records an apology to the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks for historical acts or omissions of the Crown including native land laws and the operation of the Native Land Court that led to the alienation of Maraeroa lands like the harvesting of the indigenous native timber and the benefits not being distributed to the owners so many years ago. I want to join in congratulating Te Maru o Rereahu Trust and the trustees Piripi Glen Katu and all of those people who put a lot of effort into making sure that they got to this stage. It is also appropriate to recognise the contributions of officials and Ministers present and past in the sense of the effort to bring this reasonably complicated settlement to this point. Mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. 
The settlement bill records the settlement package which comprises a historical account; an apology; cultural and commercial redress including the transfer of a number of sites of significance to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation; and an overlay classification over Pureora o Kahu which provides for the New Zealand Conservation Authority and the co-management and the authority given to the trustees in relation to the values and protection principles in relation to that area. As we said the second part of this legislation in the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill is something I will discuss later on. The bill “defines the descendants of the original owners of the Maraeroa A and B Blocks as the collective group comprised of individuals who—are descendants of the original owners of the Maraeroa A and B blocks as identified in orders made by the Native Land Court in 1886 and 1891; any whanau hapu or group to the extent that it is composed of the individuals referred to above.” It is interesting to know that the collective of the iwi of Ngati Tuwharetoa Ngati Maniapoto Raukawa and others affiliate to Ngati Rereahu. So it is quite an interesting composition and those people who belong to those other iwi and have other activities through a period of time have collectively come together and are supportive of the trust managing their affairs. 
The claims of the descendants of the original owners relate primarily to the operation of the Native Land Court and Crown purchasing including the failure to ensure the owners as I said earlier on benefited from the distribution. One of the glaring issues was the huge harvesting of the native timbers that were very profitable at that time and no benefits being given down to those people. There are elements of the settlement package in the bill that are quite interesting. Part 1 of course sets out the purpose of the Act but also records and acknowledges the apology given by the Crown. There has been some difficulty in ensuring that that happens and it is pleasing to see that we have got to that stage now. It also “deals with related issues including a consequential amendment to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the removal of certain resumptive memorials.” This has taken a lot of discussion in relation to getting that out of the road. 
In Part 2 there are statutory acknowledgments over the culturally significant sites which are very very important to these people and if anything in the discussions that have been put to the forefront in relation to the collective’s needs. There is also an overlay classification of Pureora o Kahu which is important to them and this measure gives them much pride in the sense of getting it back to where it was before the Crown took ownership and did what it did. The two geographic name changes are very interesting—Mangakokakotaea Stream and Mangaparuhou Stream have adjustments in their names. The vesting of the six culturally significant sites in fee simple totalling approximately 1789 hectares is appropriate protection of public interest conservation values and third-party rights—and they are well known for their environmental aptness as an iwi who have practised that long before it became fashionable and they need to be recognised for that. The Maori Affairs Committee has recommended that the definition of “settling group” in clause 11 of the bill should be changed to include citations of dates and minute book references for the relevant judgments and orders made by the Native Land Court so people are reminded through history of why this claim has come about. 
 The second part that we are discussing today the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill is really important. The bill establishes the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation as a Maori incorporation and applies specific provisions of Part 13 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 to the incorporation. The provisions applied relate to the constitution and powers of the incorporation and to its internal management. The Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill provides that the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation forms part of this settling group’s post-settlement governance framework along with the settlement trust. The incorporation will obtain ownership of cultural redress properties it will receive ownership of the licensed land it will have unrestricted capacity to dispose of settlement property other than that protected land that is vested in it and it will have a restricted capacity to dispose of protected land. 
The effort that has gone into this both by present trustees and people who are not here to see in these final days of this bill has been enormous. It is certainly one of the settlements that we should be excited about as a nation. It certainly tows along a very strong group of people who are kosher in the economic sense but also not just culturally but certainly forerunners for not only Maori people but all New Zealanders in relation to their beliefs in preserving and working with the environment. The Labour Party supports these bills.