Mahuta Nanaia: Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairau Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairau Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 16 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17414. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato): Tēnei e tū ana ki te tuku mihi ki a koutou i tae mai mō tēnei āhuatanga. Nō reira ki a koutou Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Ngāti Kuia me Rangitāne o Wairau anei te mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa.[I rise to pay a tribute to you collectively who have arrived in regards to this circumstance. So fond greetings to you all Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairua.]I am sure that the comments that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations has made in relation to SILNA lands are well supported by those who have come to listen to the Treaty settlement legislation today. It got me thinking about the fact that I think it was the chairperson of the Māori Affairs Committee who was Minister of Māori Affairs at the time and I who are the members who were here when the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Bill was heard before the select committee. I am reminded of that time.It is significant that you Sir Mark and members of Ngāi Tahu are here to witness the passing of the Te Tau Ihu legislation the Ngāti Apa Ki Te Rā Tō Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairau Claims Settlement Bill. I remember as a new member coming to the House at the time when we were looking at the boundary of Te Tau Ihu trying to wrestle from the infinite knowledge of Sir Tīpene what was happening in Te Tau Ihu and getting a very long education on the relationships and how the boundaries came about. It got me thinking now that some years have passed about how Ngāi Tahu has matured in its settlement post-settlement and development opportunities. In terms of the relationship I think that no boundary can stop opportunity. That is the point Minister Finlayson has made which I too endorse.Now that Te Tau Ihu iwi have settled boundaries mean very little if relationships mean more. Those relationships can ensure that the opportunities that emerge out of Treaty settlements can be stitched together—weaved together to the power of 10 if you like—and create all sorts of unique and important commercial and cultural opportunities that will grow the full potential of what can happen in this House. So to those of Ngāi Tahu to the Te Tau Ihu people I want to recognise that today because I think it is very significant.Comments have been made in the House that it has taken a long time to get to this point. One need only look at Part 1 of the bill to see the number of Wai claims that are included within these Treaty settlements to know that a lot of internal discussions and negotiations and sacrifice have got you all to this point. I look at Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō and the Wai claims that sit within it—Wai 102 Wai 785 Wai 1987—and can only reflect that the inclusion of those claims within the context of your settlement will mean so much more to those claimant groups. For Ngāti Kuia Wai 561 Wai 829 and Wai 2092 include a range of claims that relate intrinsically to the Ngāti Kuia interests and your respective claims as do similarly the claims of Wai 102 and Wai 785. For Rangitāne o Wairau there are three Wai claims: Wai 44 Wai 102 and Wai 785.When people are taken into the settlement legislation and they look at what those claims relate to and who were the claimants and how that is then included within the context of the intention of these claims we need to satisfy ourselves as members of thisHouse that so much more negotiation has taken place to get to this point. I want to acknowledge all of that hard work today.There are some unique aspects of all the claims and to go through them individually I do not think would do them justice. I do want to endorse the local member Rino Tirikatene and his recollection of each unique aspect of the claims. But can I say that when we as members of Parliament are newly coming to Treaty settlements and we are trying to understand how things are fitting together we look to the various instruments within the settlement legislation. It is encouraging to see that in the context of statutory acknowledgments the relevant consent authorities have to have regard to the various statutory acknowledgments that each of you as iwi have in relation to your special areas—like having the Environment Court and the Historic Places Trust having regard to your connection and association. That is really important because as many of us know when the rubber hits the road it is at that level of local government and of what is happening in terms of resource management that we become intrinsically connected to the everyday decision-making that happens in our rohe. Those are really important I guess additions to the authority and voice that you have now as a result of this settlement.In the schedules there is a range of sites where both the statutory acknowledgments and the overlay sites are identified. Not being that familiar with the region to me many of them sound significant and beautiful: Pelorus Sound/Te Hoiere Maungatapu Kaiteriteri Scenic Reserve Te Ope-a-Kupe Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoroa. Then we have got the Maitai River the Wairau Ōmaka and Ōpaoa Rivers and the Waimea Wai-iti and Wairoa Rivers. They are all very significant parts of your rohe all recognising the unique relationships that each of the three have with their particular areas.I have often made my contribution in relation to Treaty settlements in the post-settlement space. It seems to me that the reason why people have taken a very brave step and made compromises along the way and carried a lot of injustice to get to this point is to enable others to look forward—those children whom you have your mokopuna—so that they can tell their history with pride share it with the people in their particular rohe and their community but more important forge an intrinsic sense of self-determination about how they want to be going forward into the future which is why the relationships matter so much.In the post-settlement space the durability of a Treaty settlement does require an ongoing relationship check between you as claimant groups—as iwi who have settled—and the Crown. So it will not matter who is sitting on that side of the House. The health check of a Treaty settlement requires that every member of Parliament who in this day and age has by and large agreed unanimously to the passage of Treaty settlement bills remains fully accountable to the intent of its purpose that is captured in the legislation. I stand here as a member of Labour in Opposition to support Treaty settlements on that basis. Whether it is National in Government or Labour in Government the responsibility of the Crown is to ensure that the five simple words “This Act binds the Crown.” which are captured in the legislation become durable and that people act with honour to ensure that these Treaty settlements are all that they are meant to be—something that the next generation can hold on to with pride and move forward on with confidence. Tēnā tātou katoa.