Korako NukNUK KORAKO (National): Ā tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā e huri noa i Te Whare nei e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi ki te iwi o Te Atiawa me ō hapū a Ōtaraua a Manukōrihi a Taranaki Mauka a Tokomaru waka nō reira e mihi atu ana ki a koutou katoa. [And so thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and salutations to you all throughout this House. I acknowledge you the tribe of Te Atiawa your hapū Ōtaraua and Manukōrihi Mount Taranaki Tokomaru waka therefore greetings to you all.]As the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee I have to say that this has been one of the more difficult pieces of legislation we have considered and one of the most contentious as well. The New Plymouth District Council (Waitara Lands) Bill now at this second reading has had a lot of considerable work done over these past months. That is not surprising in some ways because here we are dealing with a 150-year-old issue that arises from the very regrettable history of Waitara which goes back to colonisation and the New Zealand Land Wars caused by the Crown's confiscation of Te Atiawa land and specifically that of Manukōrihi hapū and Ōtaraua hapū. What became very clear to us during the submission process was that there was considerable disquiet from multiple stakeholder groups about the content of this bill as it came to us from the New Plymouth District Council. The issues raised were significant and it was clear to us that there would need to be a very considered and substantial response to them.I want to acknowledge the immense privilege it has been to work with the hapū of Waitara and the New Plymouth District Council. I offer my appreciation also to the Taranaki Regional Council although I do believe that an earlier engagement with the hapū of Waitara could have seen a more inclusive process—I truly believe that. However what we have is the result of a lot of hard work by the committee and our officials particularly under the leadership of Nashwa Boys who was very very largely responsible for bringing together the Waitara hapū Te Atiawa and the two councils. What we have out of this is an example of the innovative solutions that can be found if we really try. I do not need to recite the history of Waitara; Mr Young has already done that. But what I will say is that I have witnessed at first hand the effects of the Land Wars and Crown confiscations. I had the privilege to attend the Parihaka reconciliation ceremony in June and what a day that was—what a day. What an incredible wairua was present there. It was a joy to see the real power of kotahitaka—of everyone coming together to forge a new pathway for the people of today and also their future generations. If Parihaka is the final chapter of the Land Wars then Waitara was the beginning—Waitara was the beginning. Even though the Crown renounced its purchase of the Pekapeka Block in 1863 the damage had already been done and was compounded by the confiscation of 1865. You also heard in Mr Young's speech just what happened after the confiscation and how the New Plymouth District Council is in its third attempt to right this matter. I think the councils are pretty close to succeeding this time because their hearts and minds are open and they have begun forging a new relationship with the Waitara hapū. I commend them for having the courage to see where the original bill was flawed and recognising that if things were going to be different then they had to act differently towards particularly the mana whenua of Waitara. I also want to commend the Waitara hapū and the leadership of Te Atiawa. Their conviction that the issue was of the utmost importance to them showed us through the hearings that the councils had not got the bill right and that we needed to work through some alternative ideas. I know that there is still some disquiet about what has actually been presented before them in this bill that we have in the House but I know that at least this heavily revised bill enables the leaders of the hapū to engage through hui and kōrero with their people and this stage of the bill I feel will provide a catalyst for that to actually happen. This second reading marks the beginning of a period of consultation for Manukōrihi and also Ōtaraua hapū to meet and decide whether they can agree with what is being proposed in the bill keeping in mind that they have really had only just over 3 weeks to actually look at this bill and discuss it—the bill that we have here in the House tonight. Mark my words: there could be Supplementary Order Papers containing any changes they agree upon with the councils. Ultimately if they cannot support the bill to the final reading at least there has been I believe a clear and fair process to get to this particular point rather than the original bill which was in some ways imposed on them. I am heartened though that the revised bill does enable some pretty unique things to occur. I want to cover a couple of them. First it allows the Hapū Land Fund Committee to have autonomy over the fund to buy developed and maintained land in and around Waitara. This is an essential pathway for the hapū to rejuvenate its connection to Waitara and also the Pekapeka Block. When we look at the Pekapeka Block this is a piece of whenua—a piece of land—that is of national significance because this was the immediate cause of the New Zealand Land Wars. As such a site of real significance it is appropriate that this bill provides such a strong co-governance arrangement between the mana whenua the hapū and the local authorities. The next part of the bill enables the Waitara River Committee—a joint council and Māori committee—to have autonomy over its decision making on the river. To the best of my knowledge that is a first in New Zealand and something to commend the Taranaki Regional Council for. As we know the Waitara River traverses through steep hill country as well as dairy farms and the Waitara community has raised issues about its cleanliness over many years—over a large number of years. While the Taranaki Regional Council has been improving water quality the bill will dramatically increase its ability to fund the improvements over and above the Government's freshwater reform programme. In short the bill turns a significant and contentious issue in the Waitara community into a positive opportunity for the Waitara community to grow and prosper. It enables the township to determine its own future in a way that promotes that growth. The bill also addresses the proceeds of the endowment lands. The New Plymouth District Council could sell the leasehold land today if it chose. However the proceeds of doing so would not be used for the benefit of the community nor would it provide for mana whenua. This bill provides a better outcome for the whole community than what it has in the present status quo. So in summary because this bill is very different to what we introduced I appreciate that the Waitara hapū now have work to do to work through this. They have the opportunity to actually kōrero and hui and then to discuss their way forward. I acknowledge the two councils again the two courageous hapū and Te Atiawa itself. If I am given the privilege to be in this House again in the next term and to be a member of the Māori Affairs Committee I look forward to seeing this bill through to the third reading and Royal assent to become law. It has been a huge journey for Te Atiawa but particularly I come back to the two hapū of Manukōrihi and also Ōtaraua. They have even in this 21st century borne the terrible non-communitive way that their ancestors were treated and so on that note I believe that they have shown really huge courage. I commend them and hope that they will find their way through and be able to accept what we have worked really hard to bring to this House. On that note I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.