Wall Louisa: Ngāti Kōata Ngāti Rārua Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWall Louisa: Ngāti Kōata Ngāti Rārua Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 16 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17430. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]LOUISA WALL (Labour—Manurewa): Kia ora Mr Deputy Speaker. E ngā mana e ngā reo Ngāti Kōata Ngāti Rārua Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu me Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. To the authorities and voices to Ngāti Kōata Ngāti Rāru Ngāti Tama at Te Tau Ihu and Te Ātiawa of Te Waka-a-Māui salutations acknowledgments and congratulations to you all.]It has been a pretty special morning being part of this entire third reading of the Ngāti Kōata Ngāti Rārua Ngāti Tama ki Te Tau Ihu and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui Claims Settlement Bill. I have decided to pick up on a theme that we seem to have started within this particular reading about saying sorry. So for me when I look at our Treaty settlement legislation I think of it as New Zealand’s truth and reconciliation process. When I look at the bills that have been before us what it speaks about to me is truth. The definition of truth is the real facts about New Zealand’s history. So when I look at this settlement legislation that we have in the House it is the truth from the iwi that have been involved this morning in the Te Tau Ihu settlement process—it is your truth. I hope that what you have recorded within your specific piece of legislation is a truth that you are satisfied with.The other part of the process is reconciliation. Reconciliation is about a restoration of relations. It is about a shared view and it is also about the Crown’s role. We have talked a bit in this particular settlement kōrero about the Crown saying sorry and the meaning of an apology. I think what I really want to have recorded is that the Crown was not passive in what happened to Māori and to mana whenua and tangata whenua. The Crown actually colluded with the settlement companies that came here to colonise our country. So the Crown was not passive; it was active. So for the Crown to acknowledge its deeds in our history is significant but for me it is significant because of the relations that happen after a reconciliation process. Those relations are actually about the geographic name changes the statutory acknowledgments and the deeds of recognition. It is now about how the Crown and Māori—the Crown and tangata whenua and mana whenua—work together as we move into the future.When I look at the opportunity that the settlement legislation provides it means that we will develop memoranda of understanding. It means we will develop principles about how we will work together. It is about how mana whenua and tangata whenua will take their rightful place in the administration of all the taonga that have been identified in the Treaty legislation. The challenge going forward is going to be about the reality of those relationships going forward the reality of the memoranda of understanding and the principles and everything that this piece of legislation now empowers. It is going to be incumbent on us as members of Parliament now and as MPs in the future to be accountable for these pieces of legislation.I want to pick up on something that Denise Roche has said about the Greens not accepting that this is full and final. In fact in a way she is right because if things do not work practically in terms of the relationship we can make amendments to pieces of legislation. So if you become dissatisfied in the future about how the Government is working with you—whether it be the Department of Conservation or whatever; it could be the Ministry of Education—actually you can come back to this House and say you are not satisfied with the relations that this piece of legislation has created for your working relationship in the future. So in some regards Denise Roche is absolutely right. I think what I want to put on record is that as members of Parliament here today and members of Parliament going forward the challenge is actually on us to make this legislation work. My commitment to you—and I know this commitment is across the House—is that if this legislation does not work then we need to keep working at it. There are mechanisms within the House of Parliament to ensure it does.As far as I am concerned as a member of Parliament this is the beginning of a formal relationship and there is always an opportunity for you to come back to us and say it is not working it needs to be clearer or you need more mandate to actually give effect to the whole reconciliation and apology part of these settlements. Otherwise they are not real and they will not create the real transformative change that we need in our society.So I will not speak any more other than to again congratulate everybody who has been involved in getting us to this point in time. I wish you wonderful celebrations not only here but actually at home on the marae where most of the whānau will be. So I hope that over this Easter period you will have gatherings and people will celebrate and be satisfied with this process. I again want to reiterate how privileged we all are to be part of this truth and reconciliation process for our country. I wish you all the best going into the future. I do hope that you disseminate this history within your rohe so that all of our tamariki and mokopuna understand for ever our place the place of tangata whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.