Tamihere John: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — Third Reading 
Tamihere John: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:624;Page:19263] 
JOHN TAMIHERE (Labour—TamakiMakaurau) 
: 
 E nga uri iraroi te maru o nga rangatira rongonui me Awanuiarangi kai te mihi kai te mihi kai te mihi nunui ki a koutou. Kaore e wareware ki a au nei me matau o tipuna ki a koutou haere haere haere atu ra. No reira e ngatuahine tuakanai roto o te Whare tena koutou tena koutou kia ora huihui mai ratatau katoa. 
[ 
And so to you the descendants under the care of the great chiefs and Awanuiarangi I humbly greet and acknowledge you immensely. I acknowledge your ancestors; indeed we all do and bid them a fond farewell. Depart go. And so greetings to my sister and brother colleagues in the House. Greetings to you and to all of us gathered here. 
] 
I acknowledged the people of Ngati Awa under their eponymous ancestor Awanuiarangi. I acknowledged the ones who have passed on and are not in the House today and I also acknowledged our brothers and sisters who are here today. 
I rise to support the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill and in doing so I want to correct a few statements that have been made by colleagues opposite. As usual when members of the ACT party stand in this House we regularly hear mean-spirited comments and that is just taken for granted these days. I do not think they will change their tune notwithstanding the fact that none of them will be returned to the House in 6 months. Having stated that I believe that there is no doubt that there is a range of protection mechanisms in place for beneficiaries. The fact that they do not necessarily fit the mind of the Hon Richard Prebble is neither here nor there to us. 
Furthermore the sustainability of Ngati Awa in regard to its governance entity has undergone a tortuous period in the negotiation process. That entity did not fall off the back of a truck. It will be a sustainable organisation and the people of the Whakatane area in particular should be gratified with regard to the quality integrity and credibility of their leadership that has steered that particular process. 
I comment now in relation to my colleague in the Green Party. There is no doubt that in terms of time in this House one of the best instruments available is a member’s bill. It is not a disingenuous approach on the part of Government. Quite to the contrary I want to support my colleague the Minister of Maori Affairs the Hon Parekura Horomia who championed the bill to go through as a member’s bill in order to give Ngati Awa space to get this bill passed consequent upon settlement legislation. It is not a disingenuous approach. I say to Metiria Turei that I think she has been sitting too closely for too long to ACT party members on that side of the House. 
Having said that I say that there are now enough people and there has been enough talk. Ngati Awa want to get on with the job and I want to stop there. 
I thank Georgina te Heuheu for her very good contribution on the Maori Affairs Committee. It is unusual to commend an Opposition member but she should be commended for her work. I am just trying to get in first so that she does not say anything mean-spirited in return. I say thanks very much to Georgina te Heuheu and to the other members of the committee which has been ably chaired by Nanaia Mahuta and prior to his— 
Mahara Okeroa 
: Elevation. 
JOHN TAMIHERE 
:—elevation as he puts it to better things by Mahara Okeroa. 
To the people of Ngati Awa who are here today I say that once again a Labour-led Government with Maori members is on the road to deliver. It might not have delivered in the time Ngati Awa wanted but at least the cheque is in the mail. Kia ora.