Coffey TāmatiTĀMATI COFFEY (Labour): Ko te manawarere ko te manawarere kia ū kia ū—trembling hearts trembling hearts be firm be firm. This bill has significance to me as a descendant of Rāwiri Puhirake and Pene Taka Tuaia the masterminds of the battle of Gate Pā who like Ngāti Maniapoto were leading a group of native hostiles into battle.Tauranga iwi Ngāi Te Rangi Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga were in the Waikato fighting alongside Waikato and Maniapoto and that was a favour that got returned when war arrived in Tauranga in 1864. Maniapoto were there alongside other iwi. When Tauranga iwi and their allies defeated the British troops in Tauranga it convinced General Cameron of the hopelessness of continuing offensive operations against modern pā. No other attack on the pā seemed likely to succeed as the one on Gate Pā. Extensive artillery pieces were brought to bear on the pā and the British had a huge numerical advantage. The fact that this was not enough to gain even a tactical victory hardened Cameron's opinion that it was futile to attack a completed pā.Now this had important strategic effects as the King movement was not defeated. It lay waiting behind two separate lines of defences. These lines consisted of flexible cordons of modern pā with one protecting Ngāti Hunua territory and the other protecting Ngāti Maniapoto territory. Neither of these lines were attacked as Cameron did not forget the lessons that he learnt at Gate Pā. Therefore I stand as a proud descendant of those that never gave up those that never backed down and today Ngāti Maniapoto we salute you we stand by you again and we navigate this battle: your settlement. Ka whawhai tonu mātou ake ake ake.[We will continue to fight for ever and ever.]The Maniapoto area of interest encompasses the King Country including the adjacent marine environment and part of the exclusive economic zone. The principal townships within their area of interest are the mighty Taumarunui Mōkau—not Mo-cow"—Ōtorohanga Te Awamutu and Kāwhia as well. Today marks a very significant milestone between Maniapoto and the Crown. This is the first reading of their bill the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill and this bill has taken just over 30 years to complete—30 years and it all comes down to these pieces of paper right here which is their claims settlement bill. Only less than a month ago—around a month ago—the deed of settlement was signed in the territory of Ngāti Maniapoto and actually it's great that only a month later we're standing here in the House delivering the first reading. The iwi will certainly benefit from the speed of this and from us standing here today delivering the first reading. It's been a long journey for them to reach a point where they are today and it was poignantly said by Keith Ikin who's been leading some of the negotiations for Ngāti Maniapoto "No settlement will ever compensate for the mamae we have endured for many generations. We reflect on the courage and sacrifice of our tūpuna and the generations of our people who have gone before us. We held fast to our mana whakahaere and achieving a relationship with the Crown that reflected the expectations our forebears set out in their signing of the Treaty of Waitangi within Te Ōhākī Tapu and within the Kawenata of 1903. Today"—this is the day of the signing of the deed of settlement—"we hold fast to the expectations our elders have set. The way forward is a new relationship with the Crown that is real partnership and respects the rangatiratanga of whānau hapū and marae within Te Nehenehenui."He goes on to say "For those whānau who have committed over the last 30 years to the Waitangi Tribunal process to informing the settlement and the design of the proposed new governance entity we acknowledge your hard work and commitment. At the forefront of [their] thoughts"—and we heard this today in the pōwhiri—"are those who committed to this settlement [many years ago] who are no longer with us today." and today on the day of the first reading we remember them.Can I acknowledge the Waitangi Tribunal process which has also played quite an important role in scrutinising the part of the Crown in the Ngāti Maniapoto settlement. It's an incredibly important part of the process because it creates an independent authority an authoritative view on the claims settlement. The conclusion was that the Crown failed to protect King Country Māori against the severe and the lasting impacts of the settlement. It released its report Te Mana Whatu Ahuru: Report on Te Rohe Pōtae Claims which addresses 277 claims concerning Crown actions. One of the chapters in their report addresses the claims concerning Māori health in the area and wellbeing from 1886 to the present covering subjects such as education employment te reo Māori and also racial discrimination.In the mid-1880s Te Rohe Pōtae Māori negotiated with the Crown to open their district to the North Island's main trunk railway a move which would bring the region's longstanding isolation from Pākehā to an end. The Crown did not uphold its promises and between 1890 and 1905 Māori lost ownership of more than 250000 hectares of land or comparatively a third of the district. The Crown ignored the assurances it gave them back then and that was the catalyst for the situation that King Country Māori find themselves in today.People have become disenfranchised with their lands. As my colleague the Hon Willie Jackson said earlier 90 percent of Ngāti Maniapoto do not live within their tribal territory. They've also become disenfranchised from health outcomes positive health outcomes which affects the wellbeing of the people and the identity. All of those impacts can be traced back to those decisions and those activities that were made by the Crown in the 1880s—all of this and a whole lot more I'm sure that we're going to hear about in the Māori Affairs Committee. It is an important part of the process albeit there's already been 30 years of reports 30 years of submissions 30 years of claims from the whānau from the iwi. But actually it is an important part of the process. So as soon as we can we're going to call for submissions on this and I call out to all of Ngāti Maniapoto who are scattered around Aotearoa who may be listening to this. We encourage you to submit into this process. This is a very important issue. It's a very important take [claim]. You must make sure that we hear your voices as we read the first the second and the third readings inside this Whare the House of Parliament. As the submissions will be called it will be one of the first orders of the committee in the Māori Affairs Committee in 2022 and I hope that we can do justice to a very long process for the people of Ngāti Maniapoto.I stand here today as a descendent of Tauranga Moana. I acknowledge Ngāti Maniapoto and their journey and I look forward to bringing them into Māui Tikitiki-a-Taranga to be able to hear their claims to be able to hear their submissions and to be able to give them some justice on this their Treaty settlement claim. I commend this bill to the House.Debate interrupted."