Whaitiri Meka: Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1293. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti):Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Ā tēnā tātou katoa ngā mema o te Whare nei. Ngāti Korokī Kahukura e te iwi e ngā pākeke e ngā rangatahi nau mai nau mai hara mai. Nau mai hara mai ki tō tātau Whare Te Whare Mīere o Aotearoa. He mihi maioha he mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa nō reira tēnā tātau.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings to us all members of this House and to you Ngāti Korokī Kahukura to the tribe elders and young people welcome welcome welcome. Welcome draw near to our House of Representatives of New Zealand. A sincere and warm welcome to you and all of us.Thank you.]I bring warm greetings from Te Tai Rāwhiti from Ngāti Kahungunu from Rangitāne and from Te Ātiawa—the iwi who make up the electorate that I proudly represent Ikaroa Rāwhiti. I stand here proudly to acknowledge the mahi and the passage of this very important bill the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill in its third and final reading.Can I please acknowledge those who have travelled long distances to join in this great day of celebration to acknowledge the work that many of your people have done who are no longer amongst us. I acknowledge the tipuna who have passed on and may they sleep well. I want to also acknowledge particularly the rangatahi the mokopuna whose mahi we are here for so that when they come into their own it is a better place than when we inherited it. So I want to acknowledge the rangatahi the tauira I see in the gallery to be witness to the passing of this important piece of legislation.Forty years ago in 1974 the Labour Prime Minister at the time Norman Kirk spoke at Waitangi with a special message for all New Zealanders when he said: “… we are a distinctive nation unlike any other in the world. And this is so largely because Maoritanga—the history the culture the life-style of the Maori—is woven as rich gleaming threads in the fabric of our society.” Those words were true in 1974 they remain as true today and Labour stands for a strong enduring relationship between the Crown and Māori.I want to spend the short time I have in acknowledging the day today by talking about a particular place that is dear to these people and that is Lake Karapiro and to share my affinity with that particular lake since the early 1990s from mid-January I have always made a hīkoi to Lake Karapiro. I was a member of the Māori Affairs Committee in the 50th Parliament and we went to Karapiro to hear the submissions on this particular bill. It was the first time I have ever been back to Lake Karapiro when I did not actually have a paddle. So I stand here to acknowledge the contribution that that place plays in the fabric of the waka ama nation across Aotearoa.I have to say that many many years ago when I first went Te Tai Rāwhiti groups from Horouta Marae used to clean up all the races but in recent years I have to acknowledge that the Waikato clubs have now come into their own and we are lucky even to get a medal. So I want to acknowledge the special place that Lake Karapiro has particularly in my heart and I acknowledge the good people of Koroki Kahukura who manaaki us when we come there—who look after us. I know that my sister Nanaia talked about the rowing capital being Lake Karapiro but I also want to acknowledge the significant way that the people of Koroki Kahukura look after the waka ama whānau when we arrive at your lake. Can I acknowledge you and can I also say perhaps Rowing New Zealand could take a leaf out of the book of waka ama about how we manaaki our visitors to your beautiful lake.With that small contribution can I say thank you to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for getting us to this point and to all the negotiators including my whanaunga Willie and his lovely wife Linda. We can say things like that when you are whanaunga; you cannot change whom you are related to. To all the negotiators to the Office of Treaty Settlements and to all officials I say nō reira e te iwi. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.