Mahuta NanaiaHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Foreign Affairs): Piki ake kake ake taku manu ki runga o Taupiri. Tō piki tō haere ki te tihi o Moehau. Māwhiti te titiro ki te pae o Hauraki te whenua taurikura o ngā mātua tūpuna. Tatū atu te titiro ki Tīkapa Moana te kāpata kai o te iwi e. Tēnei ka mihi atu rā ki a koutou ka haere taku manu kei waenganui i a koutou Ngāti Hei tairoa te noho ki reira.Nō reira kei ngā mātua tūpuna i tēnei wā e kawea nei e koutou e Matua Joe ki roto ki tēnei o ngā whare e mihi ana ki a rātou ngā tini mate o te tau o te marama o nanahi o te rangi nei ā haere haere haere atu rā.Tatū atu rā ki a koutou tātou e huihui mai nei i tēnei o ngā whare mō tēnei o ngā kaupapa e kawea nei e koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[My bird ascends; it climbs Mount Taupiri—your ascent your travels to the summit of Moehau. My gaze crosses to the ranges of Hauraki the luscious land of our forebears. My gaze meets the Hauraki Gulf the pantry of the people. I greet you all. My bird of welcome goes among you Ngāti Hei spending time there. So to our forebears at this time that are brought here by you by Mr Joe into this of our houses I acknowledge our many dearly departed of the year the month yesterday and this very day. Rest in peace.I come now to you indeed us gathered here in this of our houses for this of our initiatives that you have brought here. Thank you all.]It gives me great pleasure to be able to offer some brief remarks to the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill. We are at the first reading and much of the substance of this bill will be heard by the select committee in fullness but I wanted to make a few comments and echo the sentiments of our Treaty settlement Minister the Hon Andrew Little to pay homage to those who have gone before and carried the mantle and have left it with those who are here with us now. In particular Joe Davis and Peter Johnston you represent I think many years of toil and aspiration and hope that we would get to this point. In saying that it's not an easy thing to go down the pathway of Treaty settlements. There is always the hope and aspiration that justice can be achieved but the Treaty settlement process is a difficult and fragile one. For those who have the fortitude to pursue a Treaty settlement they know exactly—exactly—some of the trade-offs and sacrifices that have been made within the Treaty settlement context and I want to acknowledge that in particular with Ngāti Hei. For the time that I've been a member of Parliament Matua Joe there are some things that you've brought to the Hauraki sentiment I guess or character that really impress upon me what are the things that are held dear and that is the environment—the taiao. We only need look back over the way in which Ngāti Hei have advocated in favour of the environment in favour of rāhui—to restore fisheries—and in favour of the right protocols for when we get tohorā that wash up on your shores or ihe or whatever and Ngāti Hei has always been at the forefront of protecting the aspirations of kaitiakitanga in a very real and practical way. The other element of Ngāti Hei that I've observed during my time as a member of Parliament has been the way in which Ngāti Hei has worked constructively within their community. When I've been in Opposition that has been the case and when we've been in Government that is the case and I am assured that when that time comes and we may be on different sides of this House Ngāti Hei's approach to their community will be absolutely consistent. That is why it gives me great pleasure to speak to this particular settlement because of the consistency of the way in which Ngāti Hei's leadership can be relied upon: in favour of the environment in favour of their community—in favour of every member of their community—and in favour of trying to make their small part of Hauraki a fantastic place to not only live but thrive. There are elements in this settlement that I think will be looked upon and perhaps even considered: Well where are the opportunities?" I know that Māori Affairs Committee members will be looking forward to your presentation as negotiators to identify where those associated opportunities are because Ngāti Hei's settlement sits within the context of some collective redress but also some critical relationships that exist across Hauraki which other members in this House are very well aware of. The component parts of this settlement especially in relation to overlay classifications and statutory acknowledgments I think give you a sense. You only need to look at the map of the area of association that Ngāti Hei relates to but it does give you a sense of the whakapapa connections the relational connections with other iwi across Hauraki that Ngāti Hei have that have been long standing—long standing—and some of those relationships even extend beyond its own area. For the most part I'm hopeful that we can progress in a considered way with respect acknowledging much of the aspiration that is intended to arise from this settlement and that the select committee process enables some of the perhaps challenging features or views held about this settlement to be explored and aired and then we progress on. He iti he pounamu tēnei kōrero kia tāpiri atu ki te hiahia o Ngāti Hei kia whakanikoniko i te tāhuhu o tā rātou nei whare kia noho taua whare hei āhuru mōwai mō ngā uri whakatupu. Nō reira koutou kei Ngāti Hei tātou katoa e huihui mai nei tēnā tātou. [This statement though small is valued to add to the desire of Ngāti Hei to embellish the apex ridge of their house in order for that house to be a safe haven for the coming generations. So to you Ngāti Hei to all of us assembled here greetings to us all.]"