Ririnui Mita: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:656;Page:5327] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) 
:  
Otira hei te Whare me pehea ra te korero maku. He tamaiti tenei na te Moana-a-Toi mai Nga Kuri a Whare ki Tihirau mai Maketu ki te tonga kua tu nei i runga i te papa tapu o Pipitea hei aha hei mangai korero mo te hau kainga kua tatu mai ki raro i te tuanui o tenei Whare.  
No reira kei nga rangatira aroha mai aroha mai. Ehara tenei te tu te takahia to koutou mana i whakarere iho nei o koutou matua tupuna i te wa i a ratou. E tika ana kia mihi ake na ki a koutou ka roa koutou hikoi mai ana i runga i tenei huarahi kia tutuki pai ai te kereme i whakatakotohia koutou i mua i te Karauna te aroaro o te Karauna. Koina ano ka roa koutou hikoi mai ana i tenei wa tata tonu te mutunga o tenei hikoi. Otira na runga i tenei mohio mihi kau ana ki a koutou wa koutou tipuna kihai te haere a-tinana mai otira te wairua hihiko o ratou kei runga i o koutou pokohiwi i tenei ra kia rongo mai te katoa o nga tukinotanga a te Karauna ki a koutou ano i nga ra taha ake nei. No reira e tika ana kia mau tonu ki tenei o wa tatau reo rangatira tae noa atu ki te mutunga o taku korero. E mihi ana ki a koutou te humarietanga kei roto i te ngakau o tena o tena o tena o koutou. Anei na te Minita kua whakatauhia kua tapaehia ra nga hara o te Karauna ki o koutou aroaro a kua murua. Kua murua i ona he ona hara ki a koutou me te maumahara ano i te kaupapa o tera o nga matakite o nga poropiti i te wa i a ia e arahi atu ana i a koutou i te huarahi o te tika o te pono o te rangimarie ko taua tupuna a ko Te Whiti ko taua tipuna ana ko Tohu. I tenei wa kua puawai kua whai hua hoki ana korero ki a koutou ano. 
No reira kei nga kaumatua kei nga kuia kei nga kaiarahi kei waenganui i a koutou tenei te mihi atu ki a koutou me te mihi ano ki te moana e tere mai ra ki nga awa ki nga maunga tae noa atu ki tera maunga tipuna. Me te maumahara ano ki tera korero ahakoa ra he maunga titohea rere nga manu ki reira inu ai. E kore e kore e mimiti. Ko te wairua o te korero kei te koropupu tonu koropupu koropupu kei waenganui i a koutou. No reira kua tae mai a koutou hei tauira mo a koutou uri whakatipu kia marama ai a ratou i te ahuatanga o te huarahi i whai nei i a koutou i te humarietanga i hapai nei i a koutou i waenganui i roto i nga whakawhitiwhiti korero i roto i nga tautohetohe ki te Karauna i roto i nga ahuatanga katoa kei runga tonu ra kei a koutou. 
No reira kai te Kaihautu o te Whare nei aroha mai tenei te ki ki te iwi kua tatu mai tatu iho nei ki a koe kei taku hoa rangatira te Minita o nga ra ki muri e Mahara nau tonu te tono ki a matou nga mema Maori kia kamakama ra ki te whakatutuki i tenei kereme a to iwi a Taranaki ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. No reira hari koa ana te ngakau kua tatu mai na runga ano i nga kupu tawhito nga korero poropiti a to tipuna a Whiti a to tipuna a Tohu i whakatauhia mai i whakamaramahia mai i au te wa i a taua e mahi ana i wetahi atu mahi. 
Kua whakamaramahia te Minita mo Nga Take Kereme i nga ahuatanga e pa nei ki tenei pire. E tika ana hoki kia mihi ake ki a ia mo tana tautoko. Kihai hoki te wareware te timatanga mai o nga whakawhitiwhiti korero i waenganui i te Karauna me te Kawanantanga Reipa; tera wahine Minita a Makerete Te Wirihana nana nga korero i arahi i tona wa ahakoa te taumaha o te korero ka haere tonu. Pera ano ra i te Minita mai i a Ngati Tuwharetoa a Maaka Burton ka tau te mana ki runga a ia kia arahi nei i nga whakawhiti korero mo te kereme na tae noa mai ki tena rangatira a Takuta Michael Cullen; nana te tono ki ana minita katoa kaua e pouri haere kaua e poturi haere otira kia kamakama ra ka roa a Te Ati Awa mai Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara e tatari mai ana kia puawai kia whai hua nga korero o tua whakarere. 
E tika ana kia mihi ake ki a ratou nga Minita kua puta ki waho ra i te anga o nga raiona a me te mihi ano ki te Komiti Motuhake Maori i whiriwhirihia i nga ahuatanga e pa ana ki te pire; ki te heamana a Tau Henare te tino honore me ona apiha katoa mai ra i te timatanga mai o tenei Kawanantanga tae noa ki tenei wa. Kore kau he raruraru ki waenganui i a matou na runga i tena komiti ahakoa nga kupu taumaha kua karawhiua nei mai i tena mai i tena mai i tena kaha hoki te heamana ki te arahi nei i nga korero kua tutuki pai ai. 
Me pehea ra te korero maku i roto i te pire nei aroha ana au ki te iwi kua tatu mai i te mea ra tae noa mai ratou i te marae i te whenua o Pipitea kua tae mai nei hei manuhiri ehara hei iwi kainga. Toku nei wero na ki te Kawanatanga no wai no hea ke tera kaupapa? Tae katoa matou nga mema o te Whare nei mai nga topito e wha o te motu hei kaikanohi hei kaitautoko hei kaiwhakamarama mo a ratou kei roto i nga marae kainga ehara hei rangatira mo te iwi kua tatu mai. No reira kai te Kaihautu me tika te whakaaro tenei na te whenua a Pipitea nei na tona iwi kua tatu mai ko ratou kua tatu mai ki roto i te Whare nei kua tatu a-manuhiri mai no reira na runga i tena e mihi kau ana ki a ratou na ratou i noho wahangu i noho marie i runga i te whakahe o te Kawanantanga o te Whare Paremata.  
Kaore e tino roa atu enei korero kua tutuki ra nga mahi whakahirahira e pa nei ki tenei pire o tenei kereme o te iwi whanui ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara kihai i te wareware Te Ati Awa mai i te maunga titohea na kua tae katoa mai ratou. No reira kai te Whare nei mihi kau ana ki a tatau otira ki te kaupapa kua wharikihia waenganui i a tatau. No reira kei te Kaihautu kei te Whare katoa tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. Mr Deputy Speaker hei aha noa te whakamarama he korero a-wairua ke taku ki te iwi nei. 
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Greetings to the House whilst seeking the words befitting the occasion. I stand here asa child of Te Moana-a-Toi the lands from Bowentown in the west to Whangaparaoa in the east; and of the region from Maketu to the south. I stand here on the sacred ground of Pipitea offering words to the home people who have come to this House. 
To the home people I greet you in humility and ask for your forbearance. I do not stand here to trample upon the mana bequeathed to you by your ancestors. It is right to acknowledge the long path you have travelled to reach the settlement of your claims here in the presence of the Crown. Journey’s end is at hand. So I acknowledge and commend you. Although your ancestors are not here their spirit and energy are upon you this day that all may hear of the ill-treatment by the Crown of you in the past. So it is right that my contribution today be entirely in our noble language. There is much to be admired in the acts of grace you have displayed. Today in your presence the Minister has settled and acknowledged the wrongs of the Crown. In an act of grace you have forgiven the Crown for its wrongs against the people. This calls to mind the prophets Te Whiti and Tohu who led the people on the path of righteousness truth and goodwill. Today in your presence those principles have borne fruit. Acknowledgments must be given to the elders and leaders. 
I also want to acknowledge the surging seas yonder the rivers that flow from the mountains and the ancestral mountain [Taranaki]. I recall the saying that although it is a barren mountain birds fly there to drink from the wellspring that never runs dry. Similarly the spirit and the words of the prophets shine on in you their descendants. They are here for the children and the grandchildren so that they may know the path taken and so that the negotiations and discussions with the Crown were conducted by the home people in a spirit of goodwill.  
So Mr Deputy Speaker I ask you to bear with me. I acknowledge the people who have come here including my friend and former Minister Mahara; it was you who exhorted the Maori members of this House to work energetically to settle the claims of your people of Taranaki ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. So the heart is glad that you have come to witness the realisation of the words and prophesies of your ancestors Te Whiti and Tohu. You enlightened me about these things when we worked together here.  
The Minister for Treaty Settlements has explained the details of this bill and I thank him. Lest we forget the negotiations between the iwi and the Crown were instigated by the previous Labour Government led by the then Minister the Hon Margaret Wilson. Despite difficulties the work continued and progressed under Minister Mark Burton who hails from the domain of Ngati Tuwharetoa. He was succeeded by Dr Michael Cullen who urged all ministers to eliminate unnecessary delays and maintain the focus and impetus of discussions for Te Ati Awa of Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara had waited for so long to realise the aspirations of the people. I thought it proper to acknowledge the work of former Ministers who are no longer in this House.  
Acknowledgment must also be given to the work of the Maori Affairs Committee from the day this Government took office to this day to the chairperson the Hon Tau Henare and to the staff. Although discussions between committee members were at times heated the chairperson’s leadership ensured the focus remained on the outcome. 
I search for words befitting the stature of this bill. Great is my regard for the people present here for they have come to the marae and land of Pipitea as guests not as the home people. I turn to the Government and ask whose idea was this? Members come here to this House from all parts of the country to represent the interests of their people. It is not right that this iwi should be here as our guests. We must get it right. The name of this piece of land we stand on is Pipitea and the people of Pipitea have come to this House but as guests. Despite this and the opposing view of the Government on this matter this iwi has displayed nothing but restraint and grace. 
I will not take much longer. The significant work on this bill that addresses the claims of these people in Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara has been accomplished. Let us not forget to acknowledge the presence here today of those Te Ati Awa still living under the shelter of Taranaki mountain. On this matter that has been presented before us I say to the members of the House “Well done!”.Mr Deputy Speaker fellow members and the people present in the House I acknowledge you all. And Mr Deputy Speaker I ask that my words not be interpreted as they were from the heart 
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