Bennett David: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Bennett David: Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:4965] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika) Claims Settlement Bill. I must admit I am not a member of the Maori Affairs Committee so I speak with a certain amount of naivety as to what actually went on at the select committee. However I would like to make a few points that I think are important as to what we see in this House. The first is that Treaty settlements are always a special time for this House because the people who are affected by the bill actually come and watch the House pass the legislation. For the vast majority of other legislation that is passed through the House we do not necessarily have interested parties come and watch. The reason I think that is special is that it shows the degree of time that many people have waited to see the legislation being passed and the importance that those communities place on this House passing the legislation. It goes to the heart of Maoridom and the way in which Maori have approached many of these settlements in recent years. 
Maori have been waiting for a long time for the words of sorrow and regret from the Government about what has happened in the past. It has been a long time coming but now both major political parties have been pushing the settlement process over a number of decades and we are finally giving regard to the importance of the process that this Parliament represents. 
I thank the members of Taranaki Whanui for their attendance here today. What it symbolises to this Parliament is very important. I also thank those who were involved in the decision making and in the negotiation of this settlement. I know that it was started by the previous Government but I draw special attention to our Minister Chris Finlayson who has taken an active interest in progressing settlements and who has achieved a lot in a very short time. 
I also mention the select committee. I am sure that Tau Henare will be very disappointed that he was not able to be here today. He is in Auckland working on the Auckland governance issues but he would definitely want his regards passed on. Tau Henare is someone who has made a huge commitment to Maoridom and this House over many years. It would give him great pleasure to see the advancement of this settlement. 
I think it is also important to thank the other parties in this House especially the Labour Party in this regard and the Maori Party for their input and their desire to see this settlement progress. It shows a genuine intention on the part of this Parliament and its members to see some redress. 
As a farmer I can say that one of the things farmers have is an affinity with the land. One of the dearest things to us is the land. I can understand how Maoridom associates with the land and places prime importance on it. When one slaves on the land and works hard on the land one does have certain respect for it and a real desire to maintain it. I guess one of the most hurtful things that could be done to people like myself would be to take that land off us for us to lose it after having worked so hard to achieve on it. We have a great degree of respect for the Maori communities involved in the settlement processes who look beyond that and look for the better good of their communities and the country going forward. We take our hat off to those communities that work towards a settlement. It is a major challenge and a lot of emotion has to be dealt with to get to that point. It is something that I think resonates with a lot of people in our community because we understand the nature of the issues involved. 
I remember the history of Port Nicholson from when I was a school student. It was an important part of how New Zealand came about and the population growth from Europe and England. So historically a lot of sentiment is involved in the nature of this claim as well. In closing I thank all of those involved in the select committee the Minister the political parties and most important Taranaki Whanui for the way in which they have approached this issue. We wish them all the best with that settlement as they go forward. 
Bill read a second time.