Reti ShaneDr SHANE RETI (National—Whangarei): Thank you Mr Speaker. E rau rangatira mā e ngā iwi kia ora mai tātou.[My esteemed leaders the tribes greetings to all.]It's a pleasure to speak to this bill. Looking through the background of the bill on 9 April 2009 Wai 894 was addressed by the Waitangi Tribunal: the Treaty claims of iwi and hapū of the Te Urewera district. Three years later on 20 December 2012 Part 4 of the claim was released containing material particularly relevant to this bill. It concluded three things. First of all police used excessive force against the Maungapōhatu community. Secondly Te Tiriti o Waitangi was breached. And thirdly the arrest was unlawful taking place on a Sunday when arrest warrants were not allowed to be used.In traversing the background in 1916 Rua was convicted and spent 18 months in prison. He was tried on 17 October 1916 in the Auckland Supreme Court for the charges of sedition resisting police counselling persons to murder counselling persons to discharge arms counselling persons to wound and counselling persons to assault police amongst other things. He was acquitted of sedition charged with one year's imprisonment and 18 months' reformative detention for resisting police. The jury disagreed on the other charges and indeed they rejected the sedition charge and went to public domain complaining about the judge's eventual conviction which was 18 months of reformative detention and one year's imprisonment.This is actually a petition to Parliament as well. Rua remained in prison until 1918. When he returned home changes against his people—famine land loss and urbanisation—had taken effect. Shortly after returning home there was further devastation of a people already under threat. The 1918 influenza epidemic had a huge impact on the iwi and hapū of Whanganui. In 1918 the Whanganui Māori population suffered a death rate of an estimated 36.3 deaths per thousand. This figure was well in excess of the national Pākehā death rate of 5.3 deaths per thousand. In fact Whanganui had the 12th highest general death rate for influenza across the whole country. The Māori death rate due to the 1918 influenza pandemic in the Whanganui district was over six times the national average for the Pākehā population.From then to now Wai 894 describes a socio-economic chapter [that] is a sad history for the peoples of Te Urewera. … It chronicles over a century of neglect relieved only somewhat by the [large] impact of the welfare state and of the expansion of the forestry industry. Hardship poverty disease and lack of opportunity pervaded the twentieth century experience[s] of the peoples of Te Urewera." The Māori Affairs Committee received 60 written submissions and heard oral submissions also. Some of these submitters included mokopuna whāngai and a great-niece of Rua Kēnana. Officials concluded that the submissions were overwhelmingly in support of the bill in its present form and unanimously recommended it to the House. There is no question of redress across many domains. In 1895 Premier Richard Seddon speaking to a delegation of Te Urewera leaders in Wellington fully acknowledged the customary rights of the peoples of Te Urewera: "The lands are yours the forests are yours and the birds that flock there—they are yours." However that is a discussion for another time.This bill has the title Te Pire kia Unuhia te Hara kai Runga i a Rua Kēnana / Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill. This bill confirms the historical background makes acknowledgments an apology pardon and declaration to restore character mana and reputation. In essence it is a pardon for a criminal conviction.Once passed into law the statutory pardon will be only the fourth arising from Crown-Māori relations. The first in 1988: those of Ngāti Awa descent who were arrested tried and labelled as rebels in or about 1865 received a statutory pardon in Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act. The second in 2013: Mokomoko received statutory recognition of a previous Royal prerogative of mercy pardon for his involvement in the murder of missionary Carl Völkner. The third pardon in 2014: Kereopa Te Rau received a statutory pardon for his role in the murder of Reverend Völkner through the Treaty settlement with Ngāti Rangiwewehi.To that rare list we now today add Rua Kēnana. In conclusion then this was an injustice that we need to make right and today this House is unanimous in that endeavour. Today we pardon Rua Kēnana. Kia ora mai tātou."