Turei Metiria: Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Turei Metiria: Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 26 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:4034. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. E te Mangai o te Whare tena koe. Tuarua ki nga mema o to tatou Whare tena koutou katoa. Tuatoru e mihi atu ki te Wiki o Te Reo Maori tena koutou katoa. Ki a Rongowhakaata ki nga uri o Te Kooti Rikirangi tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker. Greetings to you Mr Speaker of the House. Secondly to the members of our House greetings to you all. Thirdly I acknowledge Maori Language Week greetings to you all. To Rongowhakaata and relatives of Te Kooti Rikirangi salutations to you all 
.] 
The Green Party is pleased to support the Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill at its third reading and to see this bill passed. I want to acknowledge the contribution made by my colleague Catherine Delahunty in the second reading. Catherine Delahunty was resident in this rohe as she talked about at that time and has a very strong personal connection to this area and to the people there. She talked about that personal experience of being a Pakeha women living in this rohe knowing these stories and the hardship that resulted or that was suffered by the mana whenua in these areas. 
Those kinds of contributions from particularly I think Pakeha are very important in this House because it recognises that each person stands to speak and say what their experience was and how they have related to those issues in their life. It acknowledges that tangata Tiriti have a role in this country and have a place to stand in this country and are as much a part of the history of the process of colonisation as any other. We can therefore take responsibility for our role as a citizen in a country that has been colonised and we can acknowledge the history of hurt that was caused by the State which represents us by the Government forces that have represented us and perhaps even by our own whanau in some circumstances in the past not with a sense of guilt but with a sense of acknowledgment peace and justice. 
It is a very important contribution to make. So I appreciate that I have the opportunity today to speak as a Maori woman Kahungunu Ati Hau woman on this legislation and to congratulate Rongowhakaata on all of their work in bringing this legislation into the House as well as all of those who have spoken before me on this legislation. Tena koutou katoa. 
The history of this of Rongowhakaata is probably one of the better known histories actually. It has been written about in various forms because of the extraordinary personality that was Te Kooti and the abuse of that history—of the genuine history of Te Kooti at this time. It is actually one of the stories that is perhaps one of the better known although probably quite badly misrepresented over time. I agree with my colleague from Labour who talked about the need for these stories to be told in their fullness and from the mana whenua perspective about what happened during that time so that the history that our kids have and that their kids will have is an honest and true one and shows both sides if you like. It is OK that those stories might be different but there are two stories to be told and both are essential. 
Twenty-two rangatira of Rongowhakaata signed the Treaty. They were invaded by military forces Government forces. Members of Rongowhakaata were killed a number were exiled they were rescued by Te Kooti and there was retaliation by Te Kooti against those who were part of that exile process. As a result the Crown forces came in very hard on the hapu and iwi there capturing the pa and executing a number of the prisoners caught in that process. That is set out quite well in the bill and I think it is good that it is because again that is a very explicit description of the story. But as a result Rongowhakaata lost virtually all their land and were left almost entirely landless. The titles were individualised—I know we have heard this story repeated a few times today—so that it became even more difficult for Rongowhakaata to retain any kind of control over their own natural resources. 
 The settlement process is designed to return some kind of compensation some kind of redress for the actions of the Crown. As well we talk a lot in this House during Treaty settlements about the generosity of iwi in accepting these settlements knowing that the redress the compensation for the harms caused is just absolutely minute compared with the harm and the hurt that they have suffered. I want to again acknowledge that generosity partly for Rongowhakaata and partly to Rongowhakaata because it is actually the rest of the community that needs to understand the extent of that generosity. 
The Green Party has always said from the time we started here in Parliament with our parliamentary presence that the Treaty settlement process was not a just one. We have without apology talked during Treaty settlement debates about the Crown failures. We consider it part of our fundamental responsibility when we stand up in this House and talk about Treaty settlements not only to acknowledge the iwi and all of the work that goes into seeing them come to the House at this point but also to hold the Crown to account for its failures. That is a necessary part of this process however uncomfortable for whichever Government is currently running the country. We said the same things when Labour was in Government as we say when National is in Government: the settlement process itself has flaws and those flaws create undue hardship for the iwi who in good faith genuine good faith are working with the Crown as best they can to find some redress for their whanau and for their iwi and hapu so that they can move on at least at this point. 
It is important in our view as the Green Party that we do hold the Crown to account because there are few others who are able to do so and that is part of our critical role here in Parliament. To that extent I feel compelled not only to acknowledge the importance of the return of the whare in this legislation and what that means for Rongowhakaata but also to express our real concern that Rongowhakaata are not required to carry the burden of the return of that whare. It is their right and entitlement to have it back as they see fit in a way that they see fit at a time that they see fit. It remains in our view an ongoing obligation on the Crown to make sure that Rongowhakaata have what they need to care for that whare as they see fit well into the future. 
This would be a clear demonstration by the Crown of what the Minister was talking about earlier which is that it is the actions of the Crown from this point on that will develop a relationship of trust with Rongowhakaata. It is the actions of the Crown that count from this point on. One of the actions that the Crown can commit to is to ensure that Rongowhakaata have everything they need at every step of the way to make sure that that whare is returned and returned in a way that it can be cared for well into the future. That would be a clear demonstration of good faith by the Crown to an ongoing relationship in our view. 
Finally I want to acknowledge those who have died during the time of the process of this settlement to Parliament. As we know settlements take a long time. People who work on them often do not see them to fruition. I acknowledge the work of all those who will see this settlement work into the future and I wish Rongowhakaata and Nga Uri o Te Kooti Rikirangi the best best wishes for the future. Kia ora.