te Heuheu Georgina: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
te Heuheu Georgina: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:16916] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National) 
: 
A e aku koroua e aku kuia e nga whaea e nga papa e nga tamariki mokopuna tena kotou tena kotou tena tatou katoa. 
[ 
To my elders men and women alike the mothers and fathers the young grandchildren greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to you all 
.] 
Once again I am pleased to stand in Parliament and join with colleagues across this Chamber to contribute to the first reading of the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill. This follows yesterday’s introduction to the Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill and given the kinship and the whakapapa ties that span the iwi and hapu of the central North Island it is fitting that the House’s programme has been organised to have the one follow the other. That is very organised I might say. 
This is a great day indeed for the iwi of the central North Island—te manawa o te ika as one of the elders described it this morning and I have to say leaving aside what others may think of that description I thought that was a very fine description. But no doubt it is open to debate. Te manawa o te ika—if the presence here today of those representatives from that area is anything to go by then that heart is beating very strongly. 
I want to join with others in Parliament in congratulating Ngai Tuhoe Ngati Manawa Ngati Tuwharetoa Ngati Whakaue Ngati Whare Raukawa and Te Pumautanga on the settlement today. I also want to pay tribute to Ngati Rangitihi and I urge them to join. The door has been left open as Dr Michael Cullen has said. But I pay tribute to them for allowing this settlement to go forward today and I hope they will see their way fit to join. As I said the door has been left open. 
It takes great great courage and a form of leadership over and above the norm to secure and sign a settlement. All who have gathered here today can rightly feel a sense of pride for the leadership that has been on display. I am very proud to see it; indeed we all are in this House. It leads to an agreement that clearly has wide support. It represents over 100000 people. It is a significant settlement in terms of quantum. That means that all the work all the dedication and all the arguments—the raruraru—that no doubt have been part of this in previous times have all come to this and they have all been absolutely worth it. 
Let us make no mistake: exceptional leadership is required to sign off on a settlement the original injustice of which goes back several generations and the ramifications of which flow on to future generations. The responsibility for that cannot be underestimated. Sometimes the task can look so complex that lesser people might say: “I don’t think I can do this. I don’t think we should do this.” or might ask: “Should we do this for the sake of our mokopuna?” The answer clearly is yes. To do so shows vision and courage as I said and in my view it shows a great compassion and love for the people. Those values are not always on show in our national consciousness on a daily basis so it is a great pleasure to witness them on display at a time like this and exercised by te iwi Maori. Kia ora. 
This is a significant milestone in the life of the iwi as well as in the life of this Parliament. It is a little ironic then that these settlements being so historic are always so difficult to secure. But I suppose that makes them all the more significant. Indeed in respect of the settlement before us it was not 12 months ago that some of the parties to this settlement were in court to stop the Government settling one part of the central North Island forestry so as not to prejudice the interests of the other. 
The lesson to learn from that especially by those in this House is that Maori seek only what they believe is rightfully theirs in the law—both in Treaty law and in the common law we have inherited from England. Those are the rights that Maori have properly sought for the last 160 years and those are the rights that have been secured today and in previous settlements. That is a great legacy to pass on to our mokopuna—that we have sought only what was due in the law. 
In any event it is great to see a settlement like this come to the House and join the others that have passed into law on the basis of the platform for Treaty settlements initiated by Jim Bolger and the National Government in the 1990s and carried forward by the Hon Doug Graham and by the present Labour Government albeit as I said yesterday in the beginning with a bit of an attitude of fits and starts. But here we are today; I have given credit where it has been due and it is a great privilege to stand for this. 
I turn now to the settlement. Dr Cullen has talked about what it comprises. It gives effect to the vesting of central North Island Crown forest land and the transfer of accumulated rentals in relation to those lands it records certain principles and processes by which the allocation of the forest land is to be achieved and it records the allocation agreed by the collective for distribution of the accumulated rentals. Important for the benefit of those other New Zealanders who might be listening is that it excludes the jurisdiction of the courts and Waitangi Tribunal in relation to the historical central North Island forest land claims of this collective and there are other provisions that are also important but which I will not list. 
I want to flag just one area because it is likely that this settlement will not pass through all its stages during the term of this Labour Government. I am not sure what the Minister has plans for but in case it does not then clearly it may fall to a National Government to complete the legislation. One of the issues I guess we might be exploring at the select committee is the question of mana whenua as being the key to allocation. Far be it for me to question that because I must say it was a unique development and one that I saw with interest and I hope it will work in the best interests of not just the current generation but the mokopuna of the future. 
I flag that National would be looking for a process that even if based on mana whenua still has elements of transparency accountability and a record of the decisions that are made. In the future we want those who look at this settlement to be certain that the processes on which the settlement was shared was robust. That is the only comment I would make on the settlement today. 
I am so proud to have been in this Parliament when Treaty settlements have been a key feature of the legislation that has been passed. I also want to say that National stands on its record of Treaty settlements of the introduction of kohanga reo kura kaupapa Maori and wananga—even the broadcasting platform that the current Maori Television was developed on. We have a proud record which we stand on. If we occupy the benches opposite in a few months’ time we will be happy to do what we can to make sure that this and coming settlements are duly legislated for. More than anything we stand with iwi for economic development. No one will love us Maori more than we should love ourselves—no one. Everything that Maori have achieved to date basically has been because in the end compassion and leadership for the people has been important. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena tatou katoa.