Finlayson Christopher: Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFinlayson Christopher: Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 08 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6404. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I want briefly to address just a couple of points in the bill. The bill had its first reading on 4 November 2014 and was considered by the Māori Affairs Committee earlier this year. Supplementary Order Paper 113 of 8 September makes minor technical corrections to parts of the bill that require updating. It corrects the definition of the Ngāti Kahu Accumulated Rentals Trust and corrects the legal description of Te Rerepari a cultural redress property transferring to Te Aupōuri. The second Supplementary Order Paper Supplementary Order Paper 114 splits the omnibus bill into six bills so that allows for Ngāti Kuri Te Aupōuri NgāiTakoto and Te Rarawa to have individual claims settlement Acts reflecting the mana and the rangatiratanga of the Te Hiku iwi.The other two bills to be enacted are the Ngāti Kahu Accumulated Rentals Trust Bill which preserves rental moneys from Aupōuri Forest for Ngāti Kahu to receive in the future and an amendment bill to repeal section 17 of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Act 1977 a provision that has not been used but caused confusion over the status of the land for Te Rarawa.Can I briefly also refer honourable members to clause 519 of the bill dealing with the ability of the Crown to transfer properties to give effect to part 9 of the deed and that includes properties that will be the subject of a deferred selection property process to the trustees of the various iwi.A question has arisen in recent days about the status of Kaitāia Airport and because of public interest in the matter I thought it would be useful to spell out just what exactly is going on because there have been a number of reports thatare shall we say mildly misleading—that is very charitable. Ngāti Kahu and NgāiTakoto have Treaty claims over Kaitāia Airport and anyone who has a problem with that should go to the 2013 Waitangi Tribunal remedies report where it is all spelt out for people.Kaitāia Airport is a Land Information New Zealand property. The Crown has pursuant to the 2013 tribunal remedies report offered both NgāiTakoto and Ngāti Kahu the right to purchase the property in 50:50 shares. It is a deferred selection property. It is referred to in schedule 4 of the deed of settlement which is indeed in turn referred to in part 9 of the deed dealing with deferred selection properties. The offer is conditional on the land remaining an airport and it is important to note that because it is a deferred selection the right to purchase becomes active in 3 years. If Ngāti Kahu have not concluded a Treaty settlement within 3 years of NgāiTakoto’s settlement date around December 2018 then NgāiTakoto will have the sole right to purchase the property as a deferred selection property. This approach was taken because the Crown had to balance the interests of both iwi while ensuring certainty about the future of the airport.Kaitāia Airport was included on the basis outlined above in the Crown’s settlement offer to Ngāti Kahu. Both Land Information New Zealand and Far North Holdings Ltd the commercial arm of the Far North District Council are due to begin renegotiating lease arrangements for the airport. Both NgāiTakoto and Ngāti Kahu will be offered the opportunity as potential future landowners to be involved in those discussions.So that is the position. Ngāti Kahu has not been locked out. I would very much like Ngāti Kahu to get involved in negotiations and let me say this: I have received a number of notes from people in Ngāti Kahu who are very keen to begin negotiations and I would hate to think that they are going to be criticised as Ngāti Kahu occupying the airport because it is not. There are a few miscreants who are doing it. They do not reflect Ngāti Kahu. I hope that the day will come very soon when the miscreants will get lost and Ngāti Kahu negotiators—be they the current ones or new ones—will sit down with the Crown to sort out these arrangements. There is no place for this kind of oafish behaviour and I say no more than that because it is a matter for the police. It is an operational matter and politicians do not get involved in operational matters.