Little Andrew; Salesa JennyNGĀTI TARA TOKANUI CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Tara Tokanui Claims Settlement Bill. SPEAKER: Kua tāngia taua tauāki ā ture i raro i te mana i raro i te mana o te Whare ā ka kitea ki te pae tukutuku a te Pāremata. [That statement has been written under the authority of the House; also you will find it on the parliamentary website.]Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Ngāti Tara Tokanui Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill. Tākiri mai ana te ata ki runga o ngākau mārohirohi korihi ana te manu kaupapa ka āo ka āo ka awatea tīhei mauriora. E mihi ana ki a koutou kua tae mai i runga i te kaupapa o te rā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. E mihi ana ki te hunga mate haere haere haere atu rā. Ki a tātou te hunga ora tēnā tātou tēnei au tēnei mātou te Kāwanatanga e mihi ana ki te kaupapa o te wā Ngāti Tara Tokanui tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa. [The dawn breaks on the stout of heart the birds sing out the sun rises it's the breath of life. Acknowledgments to you all who have arrived here to support this meeting of the day thank you thank you thank you all. I acknowledge our loved ones who have departed farewell. To us the living this is I this is the Government acknowledging the bill that brought us together Ngāti Tara Tokanui greetings to you all.]It's an honour and a privilege for me to be here today to speak in support of the Ngāti Tara Tokanui Claims Settlement Bill. This bill is the next step following the deed of settlement signing by Ngāti Tara Tokanui and the Crown here at Parliament nearly a year ago. It has taken many years for Ngāti Tara Tokanui to reach this point in their settlement journey. First I want to acknowledge the tīpuna and esteemed members of Ngāti Tara Tokanui who have since passed on and who are not with us to witness this significant day. I know you will hold their contributions and memory front of mind during today's proceedings. I want to acknowledge the Ngāti Tara Tokanui negotiators Russell Karu and Amelia Williams for their dedication to their people and this settlement since negotiations began in 2011. I also acknowledge the trustees of the Ngāti Tara Tokanui Trust the governance entity for this settlement who unfortunately could not be with us here today. On the Crown side I want to acknowledge the work of the chief Crown negotiators Michael Dreaver and also the Hon Rick Barker. I acknowledge my predecessor the Hon Chris Finlayson for the work that he did in the initial engagements with Ngāti Tara Tokanui and many other Hauraki iwi and I thank my ministerial colleagues and Crown agencies for their support to achieve this settlement with Ngāti Tara Tokanui. Negotiations with Ngāti Tara Tokanui began at Ngahutoitoi Marae in 2011 when iwi members formally gave the negotiators Amelia Williams and Russell Karu the mandate to negotiate a comprehensive historical Treaty settlement with the Crown on behalf of the iwi. An agreement in principle was reached in 2011 and the deed of settlement was initialled in 2017 and then signed here at Parliament in July last year. The deed of settlement records the Crown's acknowledgment of and the apology for the Crown's breaches of the Treaty in relation to Ngāti Tara Tokanui. Between 1865 and 1868 the Crown confiscated 290000 acres of land around Tauranga including lands in which Ngāti Tara Tokanui had interests. From 1868 the rangatira Te Keepa Raharuhi entered agreements for gold prospecting and mining on Ngāti Tara Tokanui lands in the hope that Ngāti Tara Tokanui could retain ownership of their land and gain income from leases in mining agreements. Instead the Native Land Court processes left Ngāti Tara Tokanui in debt and the Crown's lease arrangements for mining at Ōhinemuri did not provide Ngāti Tara Tokanui any income from goldmining on their lands. Later Crown purchasing and the operation of native land laws and public works takings further alienated divided and fragmented Ngāti Tara Tokanui land. In 1895 the Crown authorised the discharge of mine tailings including cyanide-treated waste into the Ōhinemuri and Waihou rivers. Ngāti Tara Tokanui used the rivers as water sources for washing and drinking and the poisonous discharges caused illness and in some cases death. Crown actions and omissions caused harm to Ngāti Tara Tokanui communities whānau hapū and iwi and left Ngāti Tara Tokanui virtually landless by the 1920s. To put that into context before the land alienations started Ngāti Tara Tokanui had literally tens of thousands of acres of land. By 1896 that was down to 2500 acres of land and then by the early part of the 20th century it was just 290 acres. That was the level of devastation of landholdings of Ngāti Tara Tokanui caused by the Crown's actions. In the deed the Crown acknowledges that until now it has failed to address the longstanding grievances of Ngāti Tara Tokanui in an appropriate way and that recognition and provision of redress for these grievances is long overdue. The Ngāti Tara Tokanui Claims Settlement Bill will give effect to the Ngāti Tara Tokanui settlement package and this includes financial redress of $6 million the vesting of seven sites of cultural significance in Ngāti Tara Tokanui including Mimitu Pā and Tawhitiaraia and two sites jointly vested with neighbouring iwi Hako and Ngāti Tamaterā including Karangahake. The Karangahake area is especially significant to Ngāti Tara Tokanui. It has been described as the manawa or heart of their rohe and I'm pleased their relationship with this area will be recognised by the redress through this bill. The redress also includes relationship protocols with Crown agencies statements of association for 14 areas of significance including the Ōhinemuri River and its tributaries and enhancing Ngāti Tara Tokanui's ability to participate in resource management processes. It also includes an overlay classification or whenua rāhui which provides for the Crown to acknowledge iwi values in relation to Karangahake Scenic Reserve and finally a cultural redress payment for Ngāti Tara Tokanui cultural revitalisation. In the coming weeks this country will celebrate Matariki. Matariki represents many things but most importantly new beginnings such as the beginning of the new year. In the same way this first reading of the Ngāti Tara Tokanui Claims Settlement Bill represents a new beginning for Ngāti Tara Tokanui and the Crown. While no settlement package could ever fully compensate for such a magnitude of loss suffering and prejudice it's my sincere hope that this package will provide a foundation for prosperity for Ngāti Tara Tokanui and provide a foundation for the Crown to rebuild its relationship with Ngāti Tara Tokanui based on trust cooperation and partnership as it should have been many generations ago. I propose that the bill should proceed without delay to the Māori Affairs Committee. I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou mauri ora ki a tātou katoa. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): Kia ora Minita. Ko te pātai kia whakaaetia te mōtini. [Thank you Minister. The question is that the motion be agreed to.]