Rurawhe AdrianADRIAN RURAWHE (Labour—Te Tai Hauāuru): Ā tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare otirā e tū ake au i runga i ngā kaupapa o ngā poropititanga o Taranaki. Nō reira kia tau anō te rangimārie ki a tātou. Taku kōrero atu ki Te Whare nei kia ū kia ū kia ū" ki ngā kaupapa kōrero o ngā poropititanga e pā ana ki tēnei pire. Nō reira e tika an kia tuku mihi atu ki ngā hapū katoa o Taranaki Iwi ki a Ngāti Haumia Ngāti Haupoto Ngāti Kahumate Ngā Māhanga-ā-Tairi Ngāti Moeahu Ngāti Kamarongo Ngāti Tara Ngāti Tūhekerangi. Nō reira Taranaki Iwi tēnei ahau e tuku mihi atu ki a koutou: nau mai haere mai whakatau mai nei ki tēnei te ana raiona nō reira tēnā koutou katoa.[And so I say thank you Mr Assistant Speaker but at the same time I stand upon the philosophies of the Taranaki prophecies. Therefore allow peace to prevail over us once again. My word to this House is "be firm staunch and resolute" to the philosophical talk about the prophecies as they relate to this bill. So it is fitting that I extend a welcome to all the hapū of the Taranaki iwi: to Ngāti Haumia Ngāti Haupoto Ngāti Kahumate Ngā Māhanga-ā-Tairī Ngāti Moeahu Ngāti Tamarongo Ngāti Tara and Ngāti Tūhekerangi. Therefore I say to you collectively the iwi of Taranaki: welcome come hither and alight here into the lion's den salutations to you all.]I am pleased to take a call on this bill—this bill here the totality of this bill and its history in getting to the House today. Ki a koe e Mahara Okeroa tēnei te mihi ake ki a koe mō ō ma'i ka ma'ia mai e koe me koutou katoa e whakatū ana i t'ēnei nō reira tēnā koe tēnā koutou.[To you Mahara Okeroa this is an acknowledgment for all your work and that done by all of you as well in putting this up so acknowledgments to you Mahara and to you collectively.]I have said it often and I am going to say it again on this bill: this is an expression of the generosity of an iwi to this country. When you accept a negotiated settlement that has a far lower value in commercial terms then that is a gift to the country and that needs to be acknowledged—despite everything around it and in spite of all the issues that have been raised that are not really relevant to this bill within this the lion's den and I suppose that we have to acknowledge that that is what it is. I acknowledge all of the negotiators—both the Crown negotiators and the iwi negotiators as well—for bringing this issue to the House. I started off by recognising our poropititanga and I join with other members who have acknowledged Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi for their visionary way of taking action in a way that never ever diminished their integrity their mana and the interests of the people. That is why I say to the House today this is an act of generosity. I support the bill because it is supported by all of the hapū of Taranaki iwi—that was very clear through the Māori Affairs Committee process. The changes that the Māori Affairs Committee has made are technical and they make the bill a better one. I do want to address the issue of the Taranaki Regional Council. I think it is absolutely incorrect and wrong for anyone in this House to stand up and say that these clauses are race-based—they are not. These provide positions on a standing committee not on the council itself. I think the issue that we also have to acknowledge is that Taranaki iwi along with all the other iwi that have settled or are about to settle their claims are a significant group within Taranaki just like Federated Farmers are and they have similar arrangements as well—without an Act of Parliament without a deed of settlement. This is not about being Māori; this is about a large group of people within Taranaki who have—[Interruption]The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! I apologise to the member but two of my friends and colleagues are having a conversation that is somehow getting into the sound system and neither of them have quiet voices.ADRIAN RURAWHE: Thank you e Te Māngai o Te Whare. As I was saying this is a standing committee of the Taranaki Regional Council not the council itself. It will play a very important role in the future of all of Taranaki and a major voice of Taranaki iwi needs to be at that table. They need to have their voices heard in that context and I mihi to the mana whenua. It is not all Māori who live in Taranaki. This is not about race; this is about iwi rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I acknowledge my colleague Louisa Wall in her earlier contribution and Catherine Delahunty in her contribution who highlighted those very facts. This is about upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I spoke earlier about ensuring that all settlements are enduring. It would be a travesty for this Parliament to pass a piece of legislation based on a deed of settlement and then to try to back out of it. Parliament is better than that. It is wrong for Parliament to even attempt to do that. A deed of settlement between the Crown and the iwi is a binding contract—binding. We as a Parliament have an obligation to make sure that we work through all of those processes and that we try to make the bill a better bill—not to change the substantive issues within it but to address technical issues and make changes where there is an agreement between the iwi and the Parliament. So I stand here to refute everything that was said by the Rt Hon Winston Peters on this issue. Aroha mai e te matua kai te hē kai te hē.[I am sorry sir that is incorrect and wrong.]I want to speak about the major part for me and for many which is around cultural redress. The cultural redress mechanisms cannot be quantified in monetary terms but it is huge in this bill within this settlement. There are well over 20 statutory acknowledgments and there are deeds of recognition. There are all the cultural redress mechanisms within this bill which add and acknowledge the mana of Taranaki iwi. I want to acknowledge those negotiators who had the tenacity to bring together such a comprehensive cultural redress mechanism within this bill. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou. Quite often I think those issues are lost within the context of the discussion in this House. I do not want to prolong this discussion. I think in the second reading we need to move this along and make sure that we get to third reading at the earliest possible time. Nō reira e Te Whare tēnei ahau anō e tuku mihi atu i roto i ngā āhuatanga o ngā poropititanga; kia tau anō te rangimarie kia ora mai tātou.[Therefore to the House I once again extend a tribute of acknowledgment in the circumstances of the prophecies; allow peace to prevail once again my appreciation to us.]"