Little AndrewNGĀTI TŪWHARETOA CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Ngāti Tūwharetoa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill.I'd like to extend a warm welcome to members of Ngāti Tūwharetoa who have travelled to be here today to attend this first reading of their settlement bill. Nau mai haere mai. I want to begin by paying tribute to Ngāti Tūwharetoa's ariki Sir Tumu te Heuheu and his forebears of Te Whare o Te Heuheu. Sir Tumu and seven generations of paramount chiefs before him have worked unflaggingly as advocates for the advancement of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa people. I also want to acknowledge all the people who have contributed to this settlement and who have worked for so many years to hold the Crown to account for those acts and omissions that breached the Treaty of Waitangi. Sadly many of them have passed on and are not here to bear witness to this milestone. Today let us pay tribute to and celebrate the dedication of those individuals.It is important to also acknowledge the unflagging determination of the members of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa negotiation team throughout the negotiations. The Hon Sir Michael Cullen has been the lead negotiator for the Tūwharetoa Hapū Forum since 2010 and has worked diligently for settlement. His team has included George Asher Eru George Te Ngaehe Wanikau and Gina Rangi as well as well as Hinemoa Wanikau Morgan te Heuheu Merehira Savage Jacqueline Iorangi and Karen Feint in crucial supporting roles. Together they have worked long days and many nights negotiating settlement redress with the Crown and made many personal sacrifices in order to build a comprehensive redress package for Ngāti Tūwharetoa.I would like to acknowledge the work of my predecessor the Hon Chris Finlayson as well. I also acknowledge the Crown negotiation team led by chief Crown negotiator John Isles with support from the Office of Treaty Settlements the Department of Conservation Land Information New Zealand the Department of Internal Affairs and the Ministry for the Environment.The first reading of a settlement bill is traditionally an opportunity to reflect upon an iwi's relationship with the Crown. I would like to highlight some of the key moments in this history to provide context for this bill. The New Zealand Wars and early Crown purchasing marked the beginning of widespread disruption to the social political and economic structures of Ngāti Tūwharetoa life. Later the introduction of native land laws in the 1860s further contributed to the alienation of Ngāti Tūwharetoa's lands by undermining their tribal control and much of this land today forms large portions of the public conservation estate. In the 1880s the Crown sought to establish a national park around Tongariro maunga. In 1887 Horonuku te Heuheu Tūkino IV made a tuku of the three volcanic peaks to the Crown to protect and preserve the mountains for Ngāti Tūwharetoa other iwi and all New Zealanders. Although Te Ariki intended to enter into a partnership with the Queen legal ownership of the mountain peaks was vested solely in the Crown and this began a process whereby Ngāti Tūwharetoa's authority over the taonga and the Tongariro National Park has been greatly reduced.Throughout the 20th century the Crown's prolonged imposition of orders against private alienation of lands owned by Ngāti Tūwharetoa locked up much of Ngāti Tūwharetoa's land and resources particularly indigenous timber and precluded the iwi from developing these assets. Since the 1870s the Crown has taken Ngāti Tūwharetoa land for a variety of public works many of which have disrupted or uprooted whānau and communities. Many of these public works projects have been of considerable benefit to the people of New Zealand but have polluted destroyed or irreparably harmed many of the natural resources within Ngāti Tūwharetoa's rohe. Economic marginalisation unemployment and underdevelopment have also contributed to the extensive migration of Ngāti Tūwharetoa peoples as they have left their rohe to seek opportunities elsewhere.This long history of sacrifice and trauma provided a clear rationale for settlement negotiations with Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Ngāti Tūwharetoa had already reached several partial settlements and agreements with the Crown on claims not included in the comprehensive settlement. These include the Ngāti Tūrangitukua claims settlement in 1999 the Lake Taupō or Taupō Moana deed in 2007 the central North Island forests land settlement in 2008 the Waikato River co-management deed in 2010 and the Te Awa Tupua settlement in 2016.Although Ngāti Tūwharetoa's journey to the comprehensive settlement of their historical grievances began in 2003 with the establishment of the Tūwharetoa Hapū Forum it wasn't until December 2013 that Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the Crown signed a high-level agreement. In March 2015 they signed an agreement in principle and then their deed of settlement in July this year. The redress included in this settlement seeks to provide Ngāti Tūwharetoa with greater influence over the management of a number of historically and culturally significant sites and to facilitate the iwi's collaboration and partnership with the Taupō community on projects that will build prosperity for the people of the Taupō region. This settlement includes the return of 32 sites to Ngāti Tūwharetoa including properties at Five Mile Bay Huka Falls Parakiri Taurewa farm and the Tongariro National Trout Centre. It also brokers a range of new relationships with agencies establishes a new statutory board Te Kōpua Kanapanapa which will provide Ngāti Tūwharetoa with a mechanism to exercise mana and kaitiakitanga over the Taupō catchment in partnership with the local authorities and establishes a new joint trust to manage and administer the Tongariro National Trout Centre.Although no settlement could ever fully compensate Ngāti Tūwharetoa for the loss and the prejudice they have suffered the introduction of this bill heralds our entry into a renewed relationship that will rejuvenate the cultural social and economic mana of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. I consider the bill should proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.