Upston Louise: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Upston Louise: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 18 July 2012. Volume:681;Page:3720. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 Tena koe e te Kaiwhakawa. Tena koe e te Whare. Rau rangatira ma tenei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ra. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and greetings to you the House. To the many leaders I acknowledge you collectively in regard to the matter of the day 
.] 
It gives me great pleasure to rise in the second reading of the Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill. But it does trouble me somewhat to have listened to the last speaker Denise Roche who seemed to deviate quite significantly away from the bill and definitely away from the way that the Maori Affairs Committee operates in its business of progressing these very important Treaty settlements. So I do want to put that on record. This is not usually a place for political statements of that nature particularly where they are wide of the bill in question. This is a bill for Ngati Makino. 
I want to take just a few minutes to outline the process that the select committee uses because I think it is important that it goes on record. The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson was before the select committee yesterday. It was great to see that there were compliments across the select committee from every party in the room about the way the Minister and the Office of Treaty Settlements are able to progress these bills in a very efficient manner but not at all taking away from the significance and the need for diplomacy and negotiation to make sure that the wrongs of so many years gone by are put right. 
So I do want to acknowledge the Minister and his team and I do want to pay tribute to my fellow members of the Maori Affairs Committee because I do believe that it operates in a way that is a fantastic example of how this Parliament operates. We had visitors yesterday from the New Zealand Business and Parliament Trust who witnessed that and who also complimented both the Minister and the Maori Affairs Committee members on the manner in which they conduct their business. So I want to put that on record. 
I think there is another thing that is important and that I do want to talk about for just a moment more for those who are watching this debate. I was fortunate to attend last month the Raukawa deed of settlement signing and to have witnessed a Crown apology. It was a very very powerful moment a very humbling moment and a very moving moment for me as a local member of Parliament. It was fantastic to see so many members of the wider community there to witness that because I think that one of the things that we do not talk about enough is the fact that every step of the Treaty process is one that unifies not divides. It is important for the whole country that we are able to progress these settlements for Ngati Makino today. The second reading is another important step in that process. But I think we need to reflect as a country on how significant this work is and that is why I have laboured the point that we are making such significant progress under Minister Finlayson in getting these settlements progressed and these readings done with the acceptance of the House to sit and pass legislation in extra time. 
The two specific areas of the redress for Ngati Makino that I want to touch on are conservation and the restoration and revitalisation of the marae. I touch on conservation because as for many iwi in their settlement there are conservation or scenic reserves that are part of the settlement. I cannot think of any better group or organisation to take care of that land. As we know—for example I have got conservation projects in my own electorate where the iwi are significantly involved—it is conservation that is in their hearts and their souls and that spreads to the community. So I wanted to acknowledge that part of the settlement. I also acknowledge the six marae where the Ngati Makino Heritage Trust has already had a payment of $1 million so that they can get on with that very important work because the marae are also the heart for the iwi members and that is where their strength lies. It is fantastic to see that that investment has been put back into the marae to make sure that they are the sorts of places where young and old will gather. 
I will leave it at that. I do just want to say that for every part and every reading of these settlement bills it is important for us to focus on the future and not the past. It is not just the local communities that benefit but the country as a whole. Thank you.