Henare Tau: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Henare Tau: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:16919] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 A te mea tuatahi ki a au e aku rangatira tena koutou. Tena koutou i haere mai i tenei ra. No reira mihi kau atu au i a koutou. He honore nui tenei ki te tu ki te korero ki mua i a koutou. No reira tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
The first thing for me is to acknowledge you my leaders greetings. Greetings to you collectively who came here today. I acknowledge you greatly. This is indeed is a great honour for me to stand and speak before you. Therefore greetings to you all 
.]  
To Pumautanga Raukawa Ngati Whare Ngati Manawa Ngati Whakaue Ngati Tuwharetoa Tuhoe tena koutou and congratulations. To Rawiri Te Whare and Wira Gardiner congratulations on a sterling job. To the Hon Michael Cullen again—twice in 2 days—my congratulations on your passion— 
R Doug Woolerton 
: Careful! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Yes careful! I congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister. He has shown what passion can do when it is introduced to a job that needs finishing. I also want to mihi a mate of mine whom I have worked with only over the last couple of years—the unsung hero of the team Mita Ririnui. All of those people I have mentioned deserve a pat on the back a “Well done!” and a hot cup of tea. I tell them now to get on with the job that Maori have been waiting to do for centuries. 
I would like to turn my thoughts to Ngati Rangitihi and to suggest that whatever their decision is it will be respected and honoured. As they say at Wimbledon: “The ball is in your court.” Whatever decision is made by Ngati Rangitihi will be theirs and theirs alone and in the fullness of time we will see what their decision brings with it. I ask them to please not be too hard on those of our whanau who disagree with the settlement and there will be some. That I suppose is par for the course because we live in a democracy. We live in a society where it is good to agree and it should also be good to disagree now and then. 
I ask them also to be kind to our whanaunga Maanu Paul. We may raise our eyebrows at the decisions of individuals and even of hapu and iwi but it is their decision and we should honour those people. Let us not forget the sterling work that Maanu Paul and the likes of Maanu Paul have contributed to Maori society over the last 25 years—this is not just about today. 
The tribal historians will be burning the midnight oil again tonight. I think it is great that we are in the midst of change of moving forward. As my colleague Mita Ririnui said in terms of the honour he feels maybe one day Ngapuhi and Ngati Hine will be in the same boat so to speak as our whanaunga in the gallery—in a couple of years maybe. 
The significance of this settlement is not lost on a lot of people. I want to look at it another way. Some years ago we had the Sealord’s settlement and there will be comparisons with Sealord’s and—unfortunately—“Treelords”. I was not the one to use that phrase and I do not think the Government coined the phrase but unfortunately it has stuck somewhat. Sealord’s was not widely accepted and it still evokes a passionate discussion about whether it was right or wrong. Wherever we go somebody somewhere will jump up at a hui and say “Sealord’s sucks.” I do not think they will say the same thing about this deal. Sealord’s still evokes a passionate debate like no other. Sealord’s evokes some questions and some statements from people such as: “I’m still waiting for my fish. Even a chocolate fish would suffice.” 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: The member’s had too many chocolate fish. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: That is absolutely correct. I have eaten far too many chocolate fish and maybe I will eat a chocolate forest one day—a gateau. 
The “Treelords” deal has been absolutely widely accepted even the allocation method and this is where it strikes me as being brilliant to a T. The allocation method has been sorted out before the signing and not left until after. Those who thought of that must be congratulated to the fullest. Here is the collective’s allocation method: “The collective iwi have agreed to allocate their share of the land amongst themselves on the basis of mana whenua and in accordance with the process governed by the principles of tikanga Maori. The allocation process will be completed by 1 July 2011.” 
What that little wee bit says is I think revolutionary—not to some but to others. I think that it behoves us all when we are dealing with other iwi and even other methods whether it be in health education transport or whatever to have a look at that revolutionary thought process. So I too congratulate everybody who has been part of this deal. 
I want to raise just one more issue that has been brought to our attention. It is about the recreational use of the forests. We know there are people out there who love to tramp through the forest. They like to put on their boots stick a pack on their backs and wander through the bush. I do not like doing that but some other people do. So one of the questions is about access to the forests and the use of the forests and the lakes and rivers within those forests. It is something that the select committee undoubtedly will have a look at when the submissions come through. 
I have one more point about what the people saw before the debate. I take the point that Mita Ririnui raised with the House about what went on. It takes two to tango; that is the House and most of us love the banter and the style of debate. Can I say to whoever is listening that I do not take that outside the House. I love it and that is why I am here. 
Madam Assistant Speaker thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak again to you all; and to my co-grandfather Joe McDougall: nga mihi nui ki a koe e te matua. Mihi kau atu au ki a koe. No reira tena koutou tena koutou kia ora mai tatou katoa. 
[ 
Huge greetings to you sir. I acknowledge you greatly. Therefore greetings and greetings to you collectively and to us all 
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