Edmonds BarbaraBARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana): Fa'afetai tele lava Mr Speaker. As a Samoan woman and a member of this House I wanted to take the opportunity today to pay tribute to Ngāti Toa Rangatira the iwi that are tangata whenua in my electorate of Mana.According to their Treaty settlement Act By 1840 Ngati Toa … had established a powerful position in the Cook Strait region with settlements in the lower North Island and upper South Island … Several Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs including Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata signed the Treaty of Waitangi. … In 1839 Ngati Toa Rangatira signed the Kapiti deed with the New Zealand Company for approximately 20 million acres between Taranaki and north Canterbury. The oral translation of the English deed [like the Treaty] did not accurately convey its meaning and effect." This led to the opposition of the New Zealand Company surveys in Wairau. "In 1843 an attempt by an armed party of Nelson settlers to arrest Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata resulted in a violent clash and the deaths of twenty-two Europeans and up to nine Maori."Most know of this battle as the Wairau Affray. "During 1845 Te Rangihaeata and his section of Ngati Toa Rangatira supported the claims of their allies living on disputed land north of Rotokakahi in the Hutt Valley. These tensions led to several violent incidents between Maori settlers and Crown troops [including in Battle Hill which is in Pāuatahanui in Mana]. The Crown subsequently took political and military action against Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata in order to establish its authority and reduce the power and influence of the senior Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs. In July 1846 the Crown seized Te Rauparaha and several other Ngati Toa Rangatira chiefs at Porirua. The Crown detained Te Rauparaha without trial for 18 months. Crown forces pursued Te Rangihaeata who withdrew into [the] Horowhenua. … By 1926 most of the Ngati Toa Rangatira reserves at Porirua had been alienated."At the time of their Treaty settlement in 2014 Ngāti Toa Rangatira were virtually landless. The summary of these events are from the agreed "Summary of historical account" in the Ngati Toa Rangatira Claims Settlement Act 2014.Fast forward now to 2022. In less than 10 years Toa Rangatira through housing through the Te Āhuru Mōwai community housing arm manage over 900 social houses and have acquired the final stages of Kenepuru Landing Porirua's newest suburb.In health Ora Toa are one of the few primary health organisations in this region. They are the lead for the COVID response—that is vaccinations testing and community care in the Porirua area. Together with Te Ātiawa and Raukawa they are part of the joint-governance group which will help lead the region in health initiatives as part of the new Māori Health Authority.In education Toa lead the Mana in Mahi programme for our region and lead The 502 Rangatahi youth hub out of Whitireia Polytechnic.In infrastructure just this morning Ngāti Toa Rangatira gifted the name Te Ara Nui o Te Rangihaeata meaning "The Great Pathway of Te Rangihaeata" their ancestor who was fierce in the battle in the area we have come to know as Transmission Gully. Today I observed current and past chairs and CEOs of Ngāti Toa Rangatira—Tā Matiu Rei Dr Taku Parai Callum Katene and Helmut Modlik—and nannies and aunties of the Māori Women's Welfare League stand side by side with representatives of the Crown—our Prime Minister our Deputy Prime Minister and our Minister of Transport—to open a 27-kilometre highway that runs the stretch of the Mana electorate from Paekākāriki in the north to Linden in the south. This road represents the largest Government investment in New Zealand's infrastructure in a generation. We have invested a record $24.3 billion into transport initiatives—that is 74 percent more than the previous Government. So what does Te Ara Nui o Te Rangihaeata Te Āhuru Mōwai Ora Toa and Mana in Mahi have in common? It is partnership. Unlike the members of the ACT Party who are too scared to see a modern and sophisticated constitutional framework Ngāti Toa are an example of what only eight years post their Treaty settlement can achieve. Ngāti Toa CEO Helmut Modlik once said to me that Ngāti Toa know what their obligations are to tangata manuhiri like myself a Samoan woman who lives in Porirua. The member of ACT who spoke today said that the Government should focus on health education and welfare rather than constitutional frameworks. Like the Hon member Meka Whaitiri said today "We are." and so is Ngāti Toa and iwi alike throughout the country in housing education and infrastructure. I absolutely thank the strong iwi leadership throughout the country. Together we work better. Collective responsibility helps all.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.SPEAKER: I don't recognise the people standing up there as being diplomatic protection people and if they're not they're going to have to find themselves some seats. There are quite a few other seats around. They look the right shape but are not wearing the right clothes."