van de Molen TimTIM VAN DE MOLEN (National—Waikato): Tēnā koe. To Ngāti Hinerangi: tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. It is wonderful to rise and take a call on this as the member of Parliament for Waikato the most beautiful region in the country and I need not explain this to Ngāti Hinerangi. They know it well already. Of course their rohe extends across the Kaimai Range into the Bay of Plenty but west is the best so we'll stick with that.Now I'm fortunate to know this region as well and having grown up at Te Poi and schooled in Matamata I appreciate the beautiful place that we share. I have fond memories of fishing at the Waiho river and without fail every time as a teenager that I would go fishing I would catch something in that river. Generally it was a tree overhanging the other side but every now and again on rare occasions it was a fish and that was magnificent.I spent many days hunting in the Kaimai Range as well and hiking those trails and again the hunting was more often a hike with a rifle than actually anything particularly productive. But it is a beautiful part of the country and I know you value that as do all people who visit and live in that area. There's a lot been traversed today in terms of the challenges of the past the issues around the land confiscation and nearly becoming a landless iwi and I can relate to that being a member of the only landless iwi in New Zealand—Ngāti Tūmatauenga—actually. So I am glad that you did not join them in having no particular lands and I am encouraged to see that now we have reached agreement. I would like to acknowledge also the negotiating teams for both the Crown and for iwi who have worked through this process over a number of years since the original signing back in 2014 to get to this point now so that we have an agreement in place—an agreed historical account—and a Crown acknowledgment and an apology along with a number of other aspects including the financial redress the cultural revitalisation and co-governance as well. But there is also the vesting of different sites and Wairere Falls in particular is one that is dear to me. The highest waterfall in the North Island and in a beautiful part of the country it gives a magnificent view out over the wider Waikato region and I would actually encourage members of this House to come and visit. I'd be happy to show you around and take you for a walk up the hill and I'm sure Ngāti Hinerangi would extend that invitation as well. It is a magnificent part of the country. We are very lucky to be able to call it home and I am encouraged now that future generations of Ngāti Hinerangi will be able to grow up in that area with a slightly different lens to what there has been in the past. It was wonderful to see the young tamariki today in the Beehive theatrette—a stoic young lad who's journeyed down with his father to be here today—and I'd like to acknowledge him. When he grows up he will have faint memories of this process and it will be I think a wonderful milestone that they are able to move forward—our children—from this time knowing that the future will be slightly different and slightly better as a result of what has been able to be achieved through this particular process. I'd also like to take a moment just to acknowledge the work of the Ministers both the current Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Andrew Little and the Hon Chris Finlayson the former Minister who began this process some years ago. It's not easy and we have seen a number of Treaty settlements progressed over the last few years under the last Government and continuing now under this Government as well. This is progress. It's encouraging to see as we move forward towards what I think will be a better future in each of those particular settlement areas. So look today is an exciting step for Ngāti Hinerangi. We are beginning on this journey. There will be a few more debates in this House but I look forward to it progressing through the remaining stages. I look forward to celebrating back home in the Waikato as well and seeing you no doubt on the streets of Matamata at some point although hopefully not like the gentleman who was there on the weekend for a stag do. I won't go into the details of what was happening there where he was attached to a tree on Broadway but this is part of your rohe—a beautiful area. Hon Dr Nick Smith: Tell us. TIM VAN DE MOLEN: I might share that story later Dr Smith but this is part of the Waikato. We have all sorts all different people and we enjoy many different experiences in a beautiful part of the country within that. So I commend this bill to the House and look forward to the final stages progressing.