Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's a privilege to rise this afternoon on behalf of the National Party to speak on the third reading of the Moriori Claims Settlement Bill. E ngā mana e ngā reo e ngā iwi e rau rangatira mā tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. [To the authorities to all the voices and to all the esteemed leaders greetings one and all.]E te imi o Rēkohu tēnā katoa tena koutou. [To the people of Rēkohu you are all acknowledged.]First I wish to extend my sincerest greetings and acknowledgments to all the people of Moriori imi who are watching and listening to these proceedings and unfortunately cannot be here in the House today but we feel you in spirit. One of the unique features of a third reading of Treaty settlement legislation is usually the strong presence of members of the imi or iwi—the claimant group—in the gallery. However because of the COVID-19 situation they cannot be here with us today but despite their not physically being here it is our privilege to continue this forward in the spirit with which this began many many many years ago to provide a solution to provide a settlement and to provide a basis for which Moriori can continue forwards.As always I wish to acknowledge the many years of hard work that have gone into this both of the Moriori negotiators and on behalf of the Crown. I wish to acknowledge all the officials who worked on this. I wish to acknowledge the chief negotiator Māui Solomon who's worked very very hard on this over many years. I also wish to acknowledge Minister Little for his work in bringing this here today and I acknowledge the Hon Christopher Finlayson who worked on this under the previous Government.The settlement package legislated for in this bill provides a Crown apology to Moriori for the acts and omissions which breached the Crown's obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and for the damage that those actions caused to Moriori. These include the failure to have acted in a more reactive and proactive manner to end the enslavement the failure to protect ta rē Moriori the failure to protect Moriori from become virtually landless the collection and trade of Moriori human remains and Crown's contribution to the stigmatisation of Moriori as a racially inferior people who became extinct—all incorrect. Various mechanisms including the transfer of eight sites will be offered as cultural redress and $18 million plus interest will be offered as financial redress in this bill.I wish to speak briefly to the history that has led to here. No settlement package can ever fully redress or compensate Moriori for their losses and for the prejudice which they experienced over generations but through this settlement the Crown on behalf of all New Zealanders hopes to atone for past injustices and alleviate the acute sense of justified grievance experienced by Moriori and to provide resources to lay a foundation for a brighter future for imi.Moriori were the original inhabitants of Rēkohu Rangihaute Hokorereoro and the other nearby islands that make up the Chatham Islands group arriving some time after 1000 CE. Moriori developed a unique culture on the islands where there was little differentiation of rank and warfare and killing were outlawed. It wasn't until 1790 that there's a record of European bringing the islands into sight when Lieutenant William Broughton the commander of the armed tender Chatham on 29 November 1790 sighted the islands. In 1835 Ngāti Mutunga travelled to the Chatham Islands and that began the history which has brought us to the House today. They were one of two iwi who had travelled from the Taranaki region and the Moriori customary laws of peace meant no resistance was raised to the iwi when they used force to overcome resistance and take over the Chatham Islands.While the Chatham Islands became part of the Realm of New Zealand in 1842 the Crown took no action to free Moriori from the enslavement that ensued subsequently and it wasn't until 1862 after repeated petitions from Moriori that any steps were taken to address the plight of Moriori. Further in the 1870s the Native Land Court ruled that 97 percent of the land of the Chathams belonged to the iwi and only 3 percent to Moriori. So effectively landless the Moriori population once numbering in the thousands fell to just 31. But for more than 100 years individuals and institutions including Crown institutions collected Moriori remains taken from the Chatham Islands. These remains were tapu or tchap' in the Moriori language.Finally during much of the 20th century New Zealand school journals falsely taught a history that the Moriori were the original inhabitants of New Zealand before being driven to the Chatham Islands by the Māori. This whole history used the Moriori to create false impressions about the history of Māori in New Zealand and portrayed Moriori as an inferior race. This false history had a significant impact on Moriori especially Moriori children who learnt this history at school.As a result of these myths generations have been reluctant to identify as Moriori but I'm very pleased to say that having been part of the select committee that travelled to the Chatham Islands to Rēkohu and having spent time on Kōpinga Marae what I saw experienced and heard was the proud revitalisation of the Moriori imi a proud revitalisation of their history and a very proud and promising future which they will see and which this bill will help lay a foundation for. An enduring memory for me will be standing in the kōpi groves on the Chatham Islands in front of the carvings in one of the kōpi trees and listening to the stories being told of the history of Moriori of the bones of their people which is just over the sand on the beach and the sense of peace and the sense of history that I felt and heard in the kōpi groves those ancient fruit forests of the Moriori people. It gave a real sense of the history of Moriori and also listening to and seeing both the elders and the young who care for those forests and care for that history and who will care for the future of Moriori.Moriori have given something I think very special to the people of New Zealand which is Nunuku's covenant of peace: the decision taken by the Moriori not to engage in warfare and killing. But they've handed down this story this ancient covenant which is something which is quite unique and quite special for our country and they're certainly not a conquered people. They are people with a proud past and a proud future and we certainly saw and heard that as well when we spent those days at the Kōpinga Marae which is built as a monument to the legacy bequeathed by their ancestors as a place for gatherings for the people from Rēkohu from New Zealand and from all over the world.Since the late 1970s Moriori descendants have been working hard to rebuild and revitalise their identity and their culture as a distinct people with a unique heritage and what has been achieved over the past 40 years is a testament to their resilience as a people their determination to reclaim their rightful place in the history of Rēkohu in Aotearoa. Notwithstanding the tragic past and oppressive environment that Moriori had to operate in for many many decades they are proud as a people in honouring their ancestors their legacy of peace and their values of sharing inclusivity and commitment to high standards of human behaviour. Moriori have been able to overcome impossible odds and emerge once again into the sunlight of Rēkohu. This is a testament as much to the vision of their karāpuna as it has been to the resilience and determination of their mokopu—their grandchildren—to right the historical wrongs of the past.On this side of the House as on all sides of the House we hope and we anticipate that this bill lays a foundation for the continued restoration of the social the cultural and the economic wellbeing of Moriori. In progressing this bill this afternoon we look forward to a new relationship between Moriori and the Crown one that is founded on cooperation mutual respect and respect for the Treaty and its principles and for the relationship between Moriori imi and the people of New Zealand. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira tēna kotou tēnā kotou me rongo kotou.