SpeechANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou Ngāti Maniapoto. Nau mai ki te Whare. I just want to stand in acknowledgment of all of you who are here today—all of those who are at the marae down the road and all of those who are at home—and all of those who have passed before who have led all of us to today. I want to acknowledge you and acknowledge all of those negotiators and everybody who has contributed to this process across the House and across your generations. Your strength your patience and your grace to get all of us here today is something very special and as the Hon Willie Jackson has reminded us it is something to celebrate. This is—you are—what legends are made of. When I was in the classroom and we would draw upon your great stories and histories with my students in performing arts there were some wonderful wonderful lessons and it will be wonderful to see what happens with the stories that you have created in getting us here today—legendary. You are inspiring and you bring us hope not just to your whānau and your mokopuna but to the entire nation. Your tragic and brutal history is finally today acknowledged. The Crown apologises and we acknowledge the shame and the scars that you bear today from the loss of your language and from the loss of your land your people and your prosperity.Like I say to see you in good faith again and again despite the behaviour of the Crown—and you entered negotiations and agreements for more than 150 years whether it was about the main trunk line as we've heard acknowledged today or trying to do well for your people in education or with the whenua or with health. There was the enormous failure by the Crown to make sure that the benefits: economic employment or just for your wellbeing—they failed. It is the most humbling experience to be standing here and acknowledging your perseverance. Despite the Crown failing again and again to meet its obligations and its commitments you have persevered so graciously. I guess the other thing on top of acknowledging the fighting for justice and redress is that at the same time you simply got stuck in and did what needed to be done and you are doing what needs to be done for your people to build a future. We've heard the word hope" but you've realised that. Despite COVID and despite 150 years of people actively trying to eliminate you as a people you've got on to it and you're building a future not just with words but with actions. It's wonderful to drive up through Mokau—it catches a lot of sun up there—and to see the solar panels going up on the marae. The fact is that you are able to show leadership build relationships—real relationships—with the lines company and bring peer-to-peer energy-sharing and that push for decarbonisation and be so progressive and future-focused and positive and ambitious being able to ensure that for our rural communities and for our more vulnerable community members you're able to bring some equity to energy vulnerability. I know that sounds like a really small thing to some but I think it's a really wonderful example of how you just get on with things and I just want to acknowledge that. Again Maniapoto Whānau Ora with your beautiful new waka that I saw which is going to be able to again bring some equity to health services for our more rural communities—it is really inspiring. You're able to forge relationships and be innovative despite everything that has been done to you.Education: I come to this House as an educator and I acknowledge the very proactive use of education as a weapon. That breaks me to say that as a person who knows the value of it and who knows of the very proactive assimilation and attempts to destroy your reo your identity your tikanga and your mātauranga Māori. Despite this you've forged on again with perseverance leadership and hope. I understand that Te Wharekura o Maniapoto has been acknowledged internationally for all that you do for indigenous education. You bring hope not just to our nation but to indigenous people around the world and that hope is something that means that I'm really curious about how we can participate in building a new education system for all of our tamariki. It isn't just this history this really rich and important history that we need to bring to our classrooms and that will enrich the learning and the lives of all of our tamariki but the opportunity we have to be led by you to make sure that mātauranga Māori and tikanga is embedded and revolutionises our education system because we will all be richer and better off for it. We've got a scary future ahead with climate change and all of the other things that are happening and time and time again it is Te Ao Māori that is leading us to revolutionary and inspiring solutions. We're just really grateful that you've hung in there and that you're going to make sure that with your leadership and our partnership we're going to be able to build a future that is going to be a wonderful one for all of our tamariki.We've heard about the 150-year celebrations happening in December. When we see the hui that have been going on as far away as the Gold Coast I understand it's going to be one heck of a celebration and a party and I think that it is a wonderful thing to be marking for the future of your iwi. I just want to acknowledge again some wise words that have come to me in the past which are that we must conclude today by ensuring and committing that this House will never again pass legislation that will not uphold the mana of Maniapoto. We need to make sure and be vigilant that today is the start of that journey and it goes on. As we've heard from the House this isn't a settlement; this is about honouring Te Tiriti and is a recommitment to everything that we need to do with your iwi. So it is a very humbling experience to stand here and acknowledge all that has happened and it is with hope that I commend this bill to the House. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa."