Horomia Parekura: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Horomia Parekura: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:669;Page:15877] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 I did well in the Iron Maori; I did the 21 kilometres. But I did not see the previous speaker Chris Tremain. 
I join with Chris Tremain and commend the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for doing 10 settlements in 2 years. I also commend Dr Cullen and myself for setting the platform over 10 years to make sure that this Government had 16 claims that it could quite simply finish off. We have done all the hard work and it is wonderful. 
I see the Minister in the chair the Hon Wayne Mapp passing notes to Chris Tremain. That is not the role of the whip; it is supposed to happen the other way. That is what this settlement is about—an interchange of notes. It is about transactions that people never stuck to. There were people from the Crown handing notes to the purchasers—Mr Spain and the other fellow. They went around the country buying up the land. They said one thing and did another. 
As my colleague Shane Jones said earlier in the early 20th century many Ngati Apa were attracted to spiritual leaders and movements. The first of these leaders was the North Island Ngati Apa spiritual leader and prophetess Mere Rikiriki. She was well known. Her followers showed concerns about their loss of land and mana. Following the First World War many of the Ngati Apa were also drawn to the spiritual and political leader Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana whose tribal origins included Ngati Apa. From the early 1920s the Ratana movement grew. The point is that Ngati Apa have stood the test of time with humility recognising that the deal had not been done properly. 
In the interchange of notes it is very interesting to see that the rangatira Aperahama Tipae was most indignant from the outset at the transactions of Mr Spain and the other purchasers who came in and talked about giving $1000 for so many acres but then trebled the size of the purchase. Some indecent things were done. He was indignant that he had not been consulted during previous attempts to purchase land. It is very very interesting. He negotiated hard with Ngati Apa to secure their consent to the Whanganui purchase in return for a small share of the payment that Mr Spain had recommended he make to Maori for their lands. It was fascinating because Aperahama Tipae said that the land was barren of Pakeha these new people and he wanted his house to be filled by all these new people who came off the boat—pale-skinned people. He was very very keen to have them come into his house which was his lands. He was of the view that if he got these people in he could mirror the success that he watched being built around him. It was a bit like those issues that are akin to the Kingitanga. 
I suppose what is important as the previous speaker mentioned is that it is wonderful to get to this point in time. The issue is that it is not a competition and certainly I hope we are not professing that this is about only accelerating or praising the economic position of Maori and building it on Treaty settlements. The Treaty settlement will never correct replace or build up what was taken. I am really pleased that that member noted that. We do hear of these people some of whom we know as kaki whero in this country but most New Zealanders are reasonably decent. They know when a wrong was done and they want to put it right. That is what I want to commend Mr Tremain for. At the end of the day this settlement will not correct all of those wrongs that were done but at least this is an attempt to take it forward. 
If we believe that there is not enough money—because it seems to be it is with this damn money which is used to correct those things where we impinge the Maori people as the Crown impinged the Maori people’s mana—then we have got something wrong. There has always been a fascinating differentiation between mana and moni. Some people have made out that they are talking about mana and really they are after moni. That happened with money in the early days. A lot of people promise a lot of money for a lot of mana but it did not work out. 
I am fascinated and I thank that member for reminding me about how we found $1.75 billion like that in a very short time to correct a lot of reckless gambling. But I wonder at times. Women were screaming at me on Saturday about Maori being mad bad and sad and that all they do is go to the TAB and play housie—those sorts of people are nutters. Thank goodness the average New Zealander is not like that. I wonder whether every Maori or every Pakeha for that matter who went to the TAB or to housie got their money repaid because they invested it recklessly. I say thank you to Mr Tremain. I really admire him for bringing up the $1.75 billion. 
Chris Tremain 
: $1.5 billion. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: No it was $1.75 billion. You see this is a distortion of the figures again—Pakeha to Maori. That is terrible! I know it was $1.75 billion but that member says it was $1.5 billion. It is still alive and well! Shame on that member! It is still alive! 
I am encouraged by that member. He recognised that I did the Iron Maori. There were 764 Maori who decided to swim for 2 hours bike for 90 kilometres and some brave souls walked 21 kilometres. What was that about? It was about participation. 
Craig Foss 
: You did a victory lap. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I say to Mr Foss that I was there; he knows that. I was trudging along. I held my head up high and I went down the track. That member knows that. Where was that member? 
I am encouraged by what Mr Tremain said. I am pleased that the Raupunga settlement is getting very close. On 22 December the deed will be done. I look forward to Mr Tremain ensuring that the Ahuriri settlement is done that the Tamaki-nui-a-Rua settlement is done and those out at Hineuru and Waikaremoana. I look forward to that. 
I encourage Mr Tremain to continually talk to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. He is not a bad joker actually. He will get there. He has a lot to learn but he has a reasonable nature and he was kind enough to invite us along to settlement sign-offs. But it is like anything else. The beginning is the most difficult and the middle part is more difficult as my friend from Whanganui knows. There are all these ups and downs and tensions and we get all this make-believe—the people who do well out of it are the legal advisers. But getting towards the end of a settlement is something that we should share and celebrate. I commend the Minister for that. 
Mr Tremain who is a mathematical wizard has made me understand that it is $1.5 billion—I do not know how he gets $1.5 billion for a Treaty settlement but they have done five in the last 2 years. I want him to remember that there have been 9 to 10 hard years spent negotiating at the top end pushing things around and getting it into a box where he is easily able to push it along a bit sign it off and be thanked and have praise heaped upon him and be told that he is the man because he has done all of this by himself. 
But you see Maori are not fools. They know what is going on. They know that more than 100 years is a long time to wait but that they will get there. Mere Rikiriki Wiremu Ratana and all of those great people are remembered at this time as are the older people who handed over to the young people to get this settlement. Minister Turia’s son was one of the key people in this as was Andre and the group of women who were there. They did a great job of this with a great Government at the time and they have certainly helped this Minister forward to get to a better place. 
Along with Mr Tremain I am looking forward to the Ahuriri settlement so that when I do the next 21 kilometre walk next year along with him and him swimming I will know that Maori own the land. That will be wonderful. It will be great to walk on land where the tupuna and kuia used to do that. They used to fish when the waters were clean and make sure that the food reserves were full. That this Government will replenish and replace that is certainly something to look forward to. 
Craig Foss 
: The earthquake mucked up the fishing. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: Mr Foss talks about the earthquake. He would not know an earthquake even if he visited one. 
Hon Shane Jones 
: Fiscal earthquake. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: It is a fiscal earthquake. That is the fiscal report I say to Mr Foss. That is why he is still on that side of the Chamber and my cousin is on the second bench. I commend my cousin Hekia Parata for becoming a Minister. She is my close cousin. The one thing in Maoridom is that we cannot deny our genealogy. Some Pakeha try to hide it away. We have got rangatira—chiefly kingly status.