Martin Tracey: Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMartin Tracey: Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9514. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First): Kia ora. Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko tēnei taku mihi nunui ki a koutou i tēnei wā. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Thank you and greetings to you all. This indeed is my huge salutation at this point in time to you collectively so greetings acknowledgments and salutations to you all.]I am honoured to speak on the second reading of this bill the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill. Before I address my notes I want to acknowledge two things personally with regard to this settlement. Firstly when I was elected to the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council one of the first meetings I was invited to was a meeting run byNgāti Whātua Ngā Rima o Kaipara where they brought together the Pākehā community of Helensville Shelly Beach and Parakai and said to them quite clearly: “Our argument is not with you; our argument is with the Crown. You are our neighbours and you have nothing to fear from us and nothing to fear from this settlement.”That embodies the history of Ngāti Whātua and the way they have dealt with Pākehā. They have always held the basic belief that one must stay in touch one must negotiate one must work together to move forward. It is that that they bring with them to this negotiation. It is that that they bring to the table when they speak with the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council about building a future for the people of this rohe. It is impressive. It has always been impressive.The other issue I wish to acknowledge is the calibre of the people who sat at the table. One of the hardest things to do when we are negotiating is to stay at the table. When people say “No.” or “I don’t agree.” or “This is not correct.” or “I don’t believe you.” the hardest thing to do is to stay at the table and keep talking. That is exactly what Ngāti Whātua have done. They stayed at the table. They did not sway from their purpose but they stayed at the table and in the discussions.In the gallery today is a gentleman by the name of Haahi Walker from Te Araparera marae. On the grounds of Mahurangi College there is a whare Te Whakawhitiwhiti. Haahi Walker helped raise that whare from the ground so I acknowledge his presence here today.I will now consult my notes. Before I address the Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara Claims Settlement Bill directly however I do want to remind the House of New Zealand First’s commitment during the 2011 election—the commitment it made to this House to stand up for a fair go for all. That is a fair go for all New Zealanders—New Zealand Māori New Zealand Pākehā/European New Zealand Chinese and New Zealanders from all ethnic backgrounds. A fair go for Māori is no different from a fair go needed by all New Zealanders. A fair go to gain First World wages so they can provide for theirfamilies; a fair go to gain jobs so that they can regain and retain their dignity—their mana—and gain warm housing and good health-care; and a fair go to have sound education and training systems that they can access and that their young people aspire to be part of and can see themselves attending because they can reach them.Great New Zealand leaders of the past both Māori and non-Māori knew their people. They worked hard to provide jobs health-care education and housing for everyone. That is one of the strengths I have personally witnessed in my dealings with Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. Unlike some other settlements where New Zealand First has held concerns that only an elite few inside an iwi has benefited or will benefit from settlement funds and property we see today a real and honest commitment by Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara negotiators to turn this hard-won settlement from grievance and grief over the past into excitement and real prospects for the future. It is this place that New Zealand First believes we as a nation need to reach.We need to acknowledge our past we need to stand in it and own it but we need to walk into our future with our heads held high. I am proud to be a sixth-generation Pākehā New Zealander. My ancestors benefited from actions of the Crown such as those addressed in these settlements. But although I may not approve of their actions I will not deny my ancestors. I refuse to be ashamed to be connected to this land through the bones buried in it just as my Ngāti Kahungunu aunts uncles and cousins are. I am very proud to be associated in a small way with Ngāti Whātua Ngā Rima o Kaipara.I look forward to seeing this bill go through the House so that once it is given Royal assent the real work can begin. The establishment of the co-governance board over the Parakai Reserve the pools the campground and the reserve itself—what an opportunity to bring back an asset that was a jewel in the 1950s that people could be proud of and that Aucklanders will flock to. What an opportunity. Imagine the potential for the young people not only of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara but also of the wider community of Helensville Shelly Beach Parakai and even further afield.We cannot wait to see the beginning of the papakāinga housing project a joint venture between iwi the Rodney Local Board of Auckland Council the Beacon Trust and Albany’s Unitec Institute of Technology. This pre-apprenticeship retrofit programme will provide a win-win for the people of Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara through the training of young people and by providing the more mature with access to papakāinga housing. These are just two of the many opportunities—the many opportunities—that this settlement will give this rohe.We believe that Ngāti Whātua Ngā Rima o Kaipara is in a position to grab with both hands and take this settlement and create a better future and that is the point of the settlement. New Zealand First joins with negotiators from iwi in the deep hope that this settlement will set the future in a positive direction that will address the social deprivation of Māori in this area. New Zealand First supports this bill. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.