Robertson Grant: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee 
Robertson Grant: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:655;Page:5044] 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to follow Paul Quinn that well-known diplomat. If he were put in charge of the Treaty negotiation process it would be over by 2014 but there would not be many happy people. I think the problem for Mr Quinn is that the Treaty negotiation process has two sides and it also has to go at a pace that works. It has to go at a pace that brings people along with it and creates an enduring and a lasting settlement. I am proud of the work done by previous Treaty Ministers from my party. Margaret Wilson Mark Burton and Michael Cullen had a lot to do with bringing this agreement back to the House and I know the Taranaki whanui appreciate the work they did. When I was at Pipitea Marae to see the deed of settlement signed there was a great deal of acknowledgment on that occasion of the work of those former Ministers. We know that the diplomacy skills that Mr Quinn has not shown a great deal of in the time I have seen him in this House are what are required in a Treaty settlement process. 
Once again it gives me great pleasure to speak in this debate as the MP for Wellington Central. A lot of the lands and areas being discussed in this bill are in the electorate that I have the honour to represent and it is a true privilege to be here. The purpose of Part 1 of this bill is to give effect to the deed of settlement which as I said was signed at Pipitea Marae last year. I will quote from the deed of settlement because I think sometimes when we are doing these Treaty settlement bills in Parliament we rush through things a little bit. A lot of us here in this House may know some of this history but perhaps people listening do not know it and it is skipped past. I read from the conclusion of the historical account that is in the deed of settlement: “From the 1840s as the result of the actions of the Crown and its agents Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika have been deprived of almost all of their lands in the Port Nicholson Block. They have also suffered the loss of their connection to Wellington Harbour and their forests waters and natural resources in the Port Nicholson block. The deprivation caused by these losses cannot be measured. These losses have inflicted profound pain and suffering.” As one reads through the full historical account one can see the specific examples of those losses. 
As a Wellingtonian I greatly appreciate Wellington Harbour and the role it plays in our city. To see the importance of the harbour and its islands to the Taranaki whanui was something that made me realise that as a place of rest growing of food defence and protection it has a remarkable role in the history of this city and area and for the peoples who have been here. When I see the historical accounts I always feel that if we can get them out and understood by the residents of a particular area then there would be a much greater understanding of the importance of these kinds of settlements. 
The other element of the deed of settlement a key part of Part 1—and my colleague Kelvin Davis has already referred to this—is the apology and statement of forgiveness. Again I will briefly read from both of those in order to give some notion of the importance of the apology and in turn of the unique feature of this particular settlement of a statement of forgiveness to those who are listening. The last couple of paragraphs of the apology state that “The Crown unreservedly apologises to your ancestors to their descendants and to the people of Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika today for its actions which have hurt and caused prejudice to you. Through this settlement the Crown is seeking to atone for its past wrongs towards you restore its honour which has been tarnished by its actions and to begin the process of healing. It is the Crown’s hope that this apology will mark a pivotal point in the rebuilding and enhancement of our relationship with you. We look forward to building a relationship of mutual trust and co-operation that can flourish in the future.” 
The important element of the apology and in turn of the statement of forgiveness is that it is about building for the future and this picks up what Tau Henare said at the start of this debate. It is about the kind of city and area that Wellington Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara can be in the future because it is built on a solid basis of understanding past wrongs redressing those wrongs and acknowledging them. The statement of forgiveness has already been spoken about by a number of people and it is a unique element of this particular agreement. The very last bit of the statement of forgiveness which I may not have the time to complete states that “Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika have exercised kaitiakitanga manaakitanga and whanaungatanga over many decades in the Capital City of our nation …”.