Hipango Harete; Williams PotoHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): E Te Mana Whakawā tēnā tātou e huihui mai nei i tēnei ahiahi. E mihi ana ki a koutou ngā uri ngā mana whenua ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou kua tae mai nei i roto i ngā āhuatanga o tēnei whare te Whare Mīere te Whare Pāremata. Tēnā tātou katoa.[Madam Assistant Speaker I offer greetings to all who are gathered here this afternoon. I acknowledge you the descendants the inheritors of the land indeed the tribes of Ngāti Porou who have descended upon this house the Beehive the House of Parliament. Greetings to one and all.]Listening to those who have spoken in the House before me I reference the Hon Andrew Little where he spoke about this being the beginning of a new era.May I just take us on a journey back some 14 years and four days ago to 4 May 2004. That is a day that's etched very vividly in my mind when I joined some 15000 other Māori and New Zealanders who gathered here and walked on to the grounds of Parliament in protest at proposed legislation by the Government of the day. I travelled from Whanganui with my husband and my pōtiki—my youngest—and we joined with the many others. That march was led at the time by Dr Pita Sharples and many of us here in the House today were part of that.I reflect on that coming from Whanganui. I acknowledge you Ngāti Porou for we have been on a very enduring passage and journey with Te Awa Tupua our Whanganui River settlement. Dame Tariana Turia whanaunga of Ngāti Apa and also of Whanganui has been part of that journey but she's also been part of your journey for the time and the years of service she was a member of Parliament and Minister formerly with the Labour Party. She crossed the floor in protest and that was the precursor to the journey and the passage of those waters traversed here today.This is the first stage. This is the first reading of the legislation that is yours and I stand as a servant of our community. However I stand as uri of Whanganui I stand as the member of Parliament representing Whanganui and I also stand and speak as a member privileged to serve on the Māori Affairs Committee.Aroha mai I apologise for not being present at the pōwhiri for you here today. I was in service on another select committee and it was interesting over the passage of time how our relationships traversed these waters. One of the submitters to the select committee this morning was a former law professor and lecturer of mine and she exposed my mind and my intellect to the importance of Māori customary rights and interests as my former Māori land law lecturer—Professor Jane Kelsey. As I look up at you also I acknowledge those who have gone before those of you who are here today. I hark and reflect upon the time when I was a younger woman working in the Department of Māori Affairs here in Wellington under the leadership of Dr Tāmati Reedy and of course Dame Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi who were very much mentors and shapers of my thinking and my passage and journey in life and here I stand today having the privilege of addressing the House and ngā uri o Ngāti Porou.Now I turn to speak about the importance and significance of this bill as you know because you have carried and borne this. Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou Bill (No 2) is I understand the direct consequence of that that I spoke about in terms of a former Government's policy which attempted to deny Māori customary rights. The progression of time now sees us where this bill proposed will seek to contribute to the legal expression protection and in recognition of the continued exercise of mana by ngā hapū o Ngāti Porou. It has never been in question. You have never questioned it although there have been attempts in Governments of days gone by to remove that right. This bill once passed into law will seek to entrench and formalise that under legislation.You know your history. You know your whakapapa. It's not for me to go over that with you. But I stand here very privileged to acknowledge you and also I acknowledge the Hon Christopher Finlayson who addressed the House and also all of you first as a senior colleague of mine who has been dedicated and committed as a National Party MP and also former Minister in the progression of Treaty settlements.I also acknowledge the Hon Andrew Little. I did not know about until the Hon Christopher Finlayson shared in the House the courage and the fortitude that he took in his stance to stand against his Government at that time. I believed that Dame Tariana Turia was the only one but I do acknowledge the Minister for that.I look at time and it does pass quickly when we're standing here speaking in the House but it doesn't when you're waiting all those years to come here to witness and to hear what we have to say. But more importantly it is about this House listening to you. As a member who will be presiding with colleagues on the Māori Affairs Committee we will be listening further in examining but also having perused the bill in supporting what has been arrived at.I just will traverse very quickly. The history is known. It is on the record and when we come to the second and the third readings of this bill into law there will be more detail about the roles but the focus is forward and into the future. I hark upon the time and the experience working as a younger woman here. I always pondered why there was such a strong presence of Ngāti Porou through our public service and sector. I know because you had the vision you had the strength you had the knowledge you invested in your young people many of whom are not so young but certainly experienced and have gathered on the wisdom of those who are here and have gone before.I look in closing in addressing the House by commending this bill to the next stage of select committee and I say that the National-led Government under which this bill was moved forward has made great progress completing final and durable settlements of Treaty of Waitangi claims and your bill is one of those. Your entrenched customary Māori rights will be enforced in this bill. I commend the bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): Kia ora. Just before I call the next member I do want to commend the member for your speech but I do need to remind you to address the chair—address the gallery. [Member stands] It's fine; you can sit. I know that in further speeches that you will make better attempts to do so but thank you very much. I call Kiritapu Allan. I understand this is a split call. You have five minutes.