Eagle PaulPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai): Tēnā koe te Māngai o te Whare and it's an absolute privilege to be able to talk on the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. Can I just acknowledge Te Rohe Pōtae and the people of Ngāti Maniapoto hapū and whānau and to those who are watching this today. What a moment it is for those particularly with their ancestors and their mahi and their pain to finally be put to rest in a way that has some acknowledgment—maybe not full in some people's view but some acknowledgement—of restoring their mana as a people as an iwi. Can I also acknowledge the role that the Hon Nanaia Mahuta has played—my whanaunga—and her whānau in steering this to where it is today and notwithstanding the roles of our Treaty negotiations Ministers the Hon Andrew Little and the former Minister the Hon Christopher Finlayson. I sit on the Māori Affairs Committee and I look forward to working with the komiti Chair Tāmati Coffey and our select committee on the mahi to ensure this gets taken through the parliamentary process. I look back at the historical background that has underpinned this right back to 1840 when Maniapoto rangatira who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi at the heads of the Waikato River at Kāwhia and I look at the rangatira who were represented from Maniapoto. They were under the leadership of Rewi Maniapoto and others who fought Crown troops at places I know well like Meremere Pāterangi and Ōrākau and it has a sad painful history that others have recounted here in the House this afternoon. There has been talk about the boundary Te Rohe Pōtae. That in itself has a deep significance and plays into the naming of the rohe or the area as King Country and the establishment of that aukati or boundary around the territory to preserve the rangatiratanga and mana motuhake over the remaining land. I think that was important and to note no Pākehā could pass into these lands without permission and the rangatira despite everything continued attempts to have their authority over their rohe recognised by the Crown. We're still talking back in the early 1880s and there were certainly negotiations a series of agreements and I guess assurances that sought Crown recognition over their mana whakahaere—over their lands and peoples—in return for the agreement to lift the aukati and allow the construction of what's talked about as Te Ara-o-Tūrongo or that part of the North Island main trunk railway line to proceed through Te Rohe Pōtae. That continued right through to the current day. So I at this point acknowledge the chief Crown negotiator the team from Maniapoto led by the chair Keith Ikin who we've talked about from the trust board. It was pleasing to see that earlier this year they reached the milestone in that three-decade journey to the Treaty settlement and got I guess enough—that the Crown accepted that iwi in Te Rohe Pōtae who make it up had had enough support to enter a settlement agreement following that tribe-wide vote on resolutions in the Maniapoto deed of settlement the proposed post-settlement governance entity and the transfer of those fishery assets from the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board to that new governance entity. So I acknowledge Keith as the trust board chairman for that significant step and I know that there's a lot to be done. I mean when you look at what is required here you have to shut down the trust board you've got to set up the new governance entity get the settlement signed and—in the words of Keith Ikin too—set up that five-year plan for an election of trustees for that new governance entity. I make comment about these things because they haven't been spoken about this afternoon but they do mean a whole lot of work within a tight time frame within the next 18 months and so it will be busy. Can I also acknowledge the Minister for Māori Development the Hon Willie Jackson who has said that iwi were happy with the voting process and the robustness of it. So it's always good to hear the good news from our Minister there. Just in terms of just some of the detail those three issues that I mentioned garnered more than 80 percent and I know that all parties were pleased and recognise that achievement really noting that it was the highest voter participation from iwi that they had had. So I think it's appropriate that we reflect on the efforts of the many generations of Ngāti Maniapoto the iwi who over that time frame of three decades—30 years—have engaged in as I say the Waitangi Tribunal and that process and have brought this contribution to where it is today.That name of the new settlement entity will be the Te Nehenehenui Trust and they will take on the board's current assets as well as the settlement which is worth that $178 million made up of financial redress of $165 million and combined with rentals and interest accrued on Crown forests. Others have detailed what they are and look should they get the opportunity on decisions to buy further Crown forest lands then that's something that the new entity would do the analysis of. But the key focus—and it's pleasing to see the trust board chair reiterate this in his kōrero—was to work with iwi to hear their views. We know when we look at this process there are plenty of eyes on those iwi who have done well and opinions on those who haven't done well and I do wish Ngāti Maniapoto all the very best in the next step in their journey on their waka to set the future direction for their iwi. Can I just acknowledge the fact that this will be a critical stage particularly in the time frame of the next 18 months. I know that communications with iwi members can be difficult but look this can be offset by modern communication methods. I know that 90 percent of Maniapoto live outside of the region in the Waikato Hamilton City but also in Auckland and like many of our Māori population they are transient. They live anywhere at any time and it's important to acknowledge the desire of the iwi to continue those conversations and have those face-to-face conversations wherever they can because ultimately they need to feel and own the settlement that's been signed. So this I think is significant. I'm always proud that we get to a stage in this House where we bring these claims to first reading. I'm even more excited when they're at the third reading but there is a process to go through. I have enjoyed working on the other Treaty claim settlements and we learnt so much and I'm only hopeful that we can get to Te Rohe Pōtae meet the people of Ngāti Maniapoto those who have put the mahi in and celebrate with them on the next steps for the future. Kia ora Madam Speaker.