Ririnui Mita: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:4952] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) 
: 
 Otira hei wahi tuatahi maku e Ta Paora koutou ra he ra whakahirahira tenei ki a koutou ake. Na ka roa koutou hikoi mai ana i runga i tenei huarahi kia rongo mai nga taringa o te Karauna i nga tukinotanga o te Karauna ki a koutou otira ki te iwi Maori whanui tonu i nga ra kua taha ake nei. Otira na runga i te ngakau mahaki na runga ano i te rangimarie kua tatu mai koutou i raro i te tuanui o tenei Whare e oti ai te hikoi i hikoi ai e koutou. E tika ana kia mihi ake ki a koutou ki a koe me o tamariki kua tatu mai a me ratou kihai te hara mai ratou kua wheturangihia ratou kua takahia atu te huarahi wairua ana kua tae atu i mua i te torona o Ihoa o nga mano. Nana ratou i tuku mai a i tona wa nana ano i tango atu. Otira kei konei ra koutou hei kanohi hei arero mo ratou kia marama ai te katoa i te ahuatanga o te huarahi i whai nei e koutou. No reira na runga i ena maumaharatanga mihi ake ana ki a koutou. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
The first part for me Sir Paul and indeed to others of you is to acknowledge that this is a particularly important day for you. You have travelled this path for a long time so that the Crown can hear about its past wrongdoings to you and indeed to Maoridom at large. Because of your humble and peaceful nature you have arrived here beneath the roof of this House to conclude the journey that you walked. It is apt that I acknowledge you and your children others who have arrived here those who did not come those who have passed on and those who have walked the spiritual path to come before the throne of Jehovah of the multitude. He delivers them and in time takes them. But you are here as a face and representative for them so that everyone understands the condition of the path that you pursued. So having made those reflections I congratulate you. Greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to you all. 
] 
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the presence in the House this afternoon of our very very esteemed guest Sir Paul Reeves and his supporters. It is on their behalf and for the many who have led the charge on this particular and historic event that we stand and speak in the House today. I congratulate them on being here today and on representing those people who are not able to be here—those kaumatua and kuia who have for many many generations and over many decades attempted to gain the attention of the Crown in order that it listen very very carefully to its wrongdoings towards their people. The second reading of the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill is significant. It has been a long journey and it has been a very very painful journey for many if not all of the people involved. 
I also acknowledge and congratulate the people on their tolerance their generosity and on the compromises they have made to satisfy the interests of not just their iwi but also of other iwi who have settled in their rohe and who have specific interests that they wish to protect as well. The generosity and the compromises have certainly been demonstrated in the manner in which the Port Nicholson Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika representatives have behaved. It has been an honour to work with them over many years and as recently as the last couple of weeks to be able to listen to their story. Whilst I acknowledge the commitment of the current Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to seeing the passage of this settlement bill I need to take the time to acknowledge the contributions of my former colleagues—the Hon Margaret Wilson the Hon Mark Burton and in particular the Hon Dr Michael Cullen. I acknowledge the passion and vigour that he gave to insisting that we make positive progress on this settlement bill. He understood that it had been a long journey for the iwi of Taranaki. 
Can I once again thank the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Christopher Finlayson for his support of the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill. I congratulate him on avoiding any delays in the passage of this bill; I wish I could say that about the Whakarewarewa transfer and I wish I could say that about the Waikato River transfer but it has not been the case. Certainly in this case we have had no delays whatsoever. The Minister provided a lot of detail about the particular components of this settlement legislation. He also provided detail not only of the benefits that will be enjoyed by the iwi of Taranaki but also of the benefits shared with and enjoyed by those iwi who have settled here in Te Upoko o Te Ika. 
I remind the Minister that over the next 3 years the only settlement bills he will be speaking to in this House will be those that have been signed up to by the previous Labour-led Government. But if he wants to increase the number of settlement bills passing through the House in the next 3 years so that he can stand in the House and say that he did it on his own—well I am looking forward to that moment. That is a challenge to the Minister. 
He spoke about some issues that were covered at the Maori Affairs Committee. When I spoke of the generosity of Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko o Te Ika it was at that point when those particular issues became more relevant and more obvious. The attempts by the representatives of Taranaki Whanui to satisfy the wider interests of the community were discussed by the committee hour after hour after hour. Congratulations must go to the chair of the Maori Affairs Committee the Hon Tau Henare on allowing that debate to continue although if I have anything negative to say about it he may have let the debate continue too long. We might have been having this debate much sooner than we are now. But as the Minister said certain areas of the Upoko o Te Ika settlement are of significant interest to the iwi of Taranaki Whanui. 
I say to members that the whole 271000 hectares is of significance to the iwi of Taranaki Whanui. All of it has a spiritual significance all of it has a historical significance all of it has a cultural significance and in particular for the welfare of its people all of it has an economic significance. When the Minister said that the actions of the Crown had a negative impact on the iwi of Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko o Te Ika I am sure he would have liked to use stronger language—but we cannot do that in this House—but the acknowledgment certainly is there. 
I described Taranaki Whanui as being generous because they have settled for much less than many would think they deserve. I am sure that all of us in this House shared that sentiment as we have in respect of previous settlement bills but in this particular case this is the capital city. This is the hub of Government. This is the brains of the Crown—here right here in Te Upoko o Te Ika. When many decisions were entered into in the past most of them were done in the absence of Taranaki Whanui. For that reason they were—shall we describe it as—wrongly treated. There is a stronger word for it but I cannot say it in the House and not today. Sir Paul Reeves and supporters are here today to acknowledge the second reading of this very important settlement legislation. 
I am sure that at the Committee stage when we debate some of the changes that have been made particularly for instance in respect of Pipitea Marae and other areas it will become more obvious why it was an issue for Taranaki Whanui and why compromises were made on their behalf. A number of issues were highlighted at the select committee but it was the view of the select committee that many of those issues if not all of them were for iwi themselves to resolve—iwi hapu and whanau. It was not the role of the select committee the Government or the Crown to act as an adjudicator in these particular matters. We have seen that on many occasions and in respect of many of the settlement bills. 
This is the second reading of the bill and I do not want to go on about this particular aspect of this bill but I will have questions to put to the Minister at the Committee stage. I am sure he has the right answers for me. My questions will be along measuring the strength of his support not only for this legislation but also for the other settlement legislation that the previous Government signed up to. 
Once again I offer my congratulations to the representatives and the negotiators for the Port Nicholson Block and those representatives of Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko o Te Ika. I am sure they are very anxious to have this particular matter resolved so that they can as the Minister of Maori Affairs said have autonomy over their future a certain measure of tino rangatiratanga and get on with their lives. No reira Mr Assistant Speaker thank you very much tena koutou.