te Heuheu Georgina: Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
te Heuheu Georgina: Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:650;Page:19105] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National) 
:  
Te Arawa waka Te Arawa iwi tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
To the Te Arawa canoe to the Te Arawa people greetings to you greetings to you greetings to us all. 
]  
I greet my relatives in the gallery. This is a proud day for them for us and I offer my congratulations again as I did in the first reading debate. Having been involved with this process for some years now I know how difficult it is finally for an iwi to reach this stage and those who are sitting in the gallery today can rightly feel proud of themselves for what they have achieved. 
I want to read the text of the apology in the bill because obviously without the apology it would be very hard for any settling group to move forward. Clause 8 “Text of apology” states: “(1) The Crown recognises the efforts and struggles of the ancestors of the Affiliate in pursuit of their claims for redress justice and compensation and makes this apology to the members of the Affiliate to their ancestors and to their descendants. (2) The Crown profoundly regrets and unreservedly apologises to the Affiliate for the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles acknowledged in section 7. (3) The Crown profoundly regrets and unreservedly apologises for the cumulative effect of its actions over the generations which have undermined tribal structures and had a damaging impact on the landholdings and development of the Affiliate. (4) Accordingly the Crown seeks to atone for these wrongs and assist the process of healing with this settlement and looks forward to building a relationship of mutual trust and co-operation with the Affiliate.”  
Thereupon lies the platform that enables Te Arawa to move forward from today and to do so in a new spirit of cooperation and engagement with the Crown. With that apology the Crown on behalf of the people of New Zealand atones for the wrongs it has committed against Te Arawa—and that is hugely important—and to itself then restores some of the honour lost when these breaches occurred basically starting from 1867. The Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill is the final settlement of all historical claims of the iwi and hapu represented by Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa. It results from acts or omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992 and it is made up of a package that the Hon Dr Cullen has basically put forward this morning. 
It is important for all to know particularly those within the Te Arawa area that no private land is involved in the redress only Crown assets. It is also important for the wider community to know that with the passing of this bill into law the ability for Te Arawa henceforward to bring further any matter that results from the claims that are settled here is gone. So I hope that the people of Rotorua and the wider surrounds see this as the positive step that it is because it is positive. 
Indeed the settlements that have been in place now since the early 1990s under the stewardship of the Rt Hon Douglas Graham have proven that these settlements are not just for Maori—they are not just for the tribe that settles—they are for the wider community and they are for New Zealanders. As I say they are something that we all can be proud of as a small country. Other jurisdictions look to us—they are quite admiring of our efforts in this regard—and all New Zealanders can be proud. 
I want to make reference to the select committee hearings. There will be those who made submissions on matters that we traversed yesterday in the Committee stage who will still be feeling aggrieved. I would like the affiliate to consider that the representatives—the trustees of this settlement—endeavour to bring into the settlement those who still lie outside of it because in the end the children the mokopuna and the tamariki are all ours and they all deserve to benefit. So to have some sitting to one side is of no benefit to anybody. I know that my whanaunga some of whom are here today will endeavour to do that—to bring into the fold of this settlement which is a hugely important settlement those who still sit outside it. I commend to the leadership that for the well-being of the tribe going forward they put those matters to the forefront of their minds once this bill has passed into law. 
I am very proud to be a member of this House when these settlements go through. Indeed the Treaty settlement process was a major reason for my entering Parliament in the first place. Now I see in the House settlements that emanate from my own area and I am very pleased that the present Government has negotiated these. It puts me in a position where I can offer some praise and take some pride in them without looking like I am taking any praise for myself. I know the Maori members on the Labour side understand that. This settlement will be a great boost for the central North Island together with the “Treelords” deal which we will be considering shortly. With the issues surrounding the Waikato River which flows into our area—which we will also be considering later in the day—these are very huge steps forward. 
I commend the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for the vigour the enthusiasm the passion and the understanding he has brought to this process in the last 12 months. I suppose I can only say that it is a pity he was not in that position earlier and I say that without any disrespect to his colleagues who held the position before him. But this process does require passion. It requires an understanding of the complex issues involved—and they are hugely complex—and it requires enthusiasm compassion and a love for the people of New Zealand for these matters to move forward. Without that—without love respect and humility towards New Zealanders—these things are harder to achieve. 
I guess the other thing that is shown here is that when the right conditions are in place the iwi will step up to the plate. I also commend Te Arawa for stepping back albeit that in the end there was no choice given the Waitangi Tribunal findings and also actions in the High Court. But I do commend Te Arawa for stepping back to allow the Crown to go into the central North Island and negotiate the other claim—the central North Island claim—which could have been done only with Te Arawa stepping to one side and letting those interests be explored and also concluded. 
So as a member of the Te Arawa waka this is a proud day for me. I am very pleased to be here and to see this day come for the affiliate and for all of us. I wish those in the gallery well as they move forward. The hardest part is probably now as the affiliate goes forward because now it actually has the assets and it has the responsibility of making sure that those assets are well managed and that more than anything those assets accrue benefits for all the members of Te Arawa each and every one and especially our children and mokopuna. 
I wish Te Arawa well in their journey. We are there of course; we are all involved. I congratulate Te Arawa on their patience their forbearance and on staying with the kaupapa that has been pursued by tipuna before them. No doubt if they are looking down now they will have a big smile on their faces and rightly so and Te Arawa can have that as well. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa.