Turia Tariana: Mokomoko (Restoration of Character Mana and Reputation) Bill — In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTuria Tariana: Mokomoko (Restoration of Character Mana and Reputation) Bill — In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 10 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15442. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon TARIANA TURIA (Minister for Whānau Ora) on behalf of theMinister of Māori Affairs: I moveThat the Mokomoko (Restoration of Character Mana and Reputation) Bill be now read a third time.Ki a koutou te w’ānau a Mokomoko ka nui te mihi rawa atu ki a koutou kua tae mai nei ki te w’akanui i tēnei kaupapa ō koutou.[A respectful acknowledgment to you all the Mokomoko family who have come to honour this important event of yours.]Today we honour the Te Whakatōhea rangatira Mokomoko and the generations of his family. This bill gives legal effect to the agreement to introduce legislation to givestatutory recognition to the Mokomoko pardon signed by Dr Pita Sharples on behalf of the Crown and Tūirirangi Mokomoko on behalf of the w’ānau at Waiaua Marae on 28 September 2011. A large number of w’ānau gathered that day kaumātua pakeke and rangatahi and also signed in support. I mihi to the w’ānau today gathered in the House and acknowledge the long journey that they have travelled to see justice for their tupuna.As the world mourns the loss of a great leader and pays tribute to the long walk to freedom that represented his life it is indeed fitting to consider the influence of his example across many lands including those who act as a similar force for change here in Aotearoa. I want to note the contributions of Tūirirangi Mokomoko and Matenga Biddle. Both passed away shortly before the first reading of this bill. During their lives Tūirirangi and Matenga helped carry the burden of this kaupapa and guided their w’ānau forward. I think of them now and the enduring legacy that they have left behind for their mokopuna to inherit. Moe mai rā kōrua moe mai rā.This bill will formally restore the character mana and reputation of their tupuna Mokomoko a rangatira of Te Whakatōhea who was executed by the Crown in 1866 for his alleged involvement in the murder of Rev. Carl Völkner. Some in this House will vividly recall that 19 years ago a free pardon was provided to Mokomoko for his role in this event. For others that history may be less well known. My hope is that with this legislation we as New Zealanders understand the grief that has haunted successive generations and learn from it.I want to emphasise the significance of this bill to the descendants of the Mokomoko w’ānau. It progresses the Crown’s express undertaking to restore the character mana and reputation of their tupuna Mokomoko and of the w’ānau by providing statutory recognition of the free pardon. It represents the efforts of the leadership group to bring this issue to the Crown’s attention and to enable the w’ānau to finally start their healing process. The bill is a sign of the Crown’s commitment to restore its relationship with the w’ānau by expressing its regret that the shame and stigma carried by them were not remedied by the pardon that was provided in 1992.Tried and sentenced to death for the murder of Carl Völkner throughout his trial Mokomoko maintained his innocence. The suffering shame and stigma associated with his w’ānau from the alleged involvement of their tupuna in those events has been carried by generations. Today we address the shame and stigma carried by those generations—shame and stigma that should never have been theirs to bear.It has been a burden few families have ever ever had to bear—a burden that saw the public execution of their tupuna Mokomoko at the Mount Eden stockade just after 8 a.m. on Thursday 17 May 1866. It is a burden that months earlier saw their tupuna the hoa rangatira of Mokomoko Kimohia repeatedly raped and bayoneted to death by Government soldiers. What sort of shameful history are we all a part of? It is a burden that saw Crown soldiers who raided the lands of Te Whakatōhea killing civilians burning homes and destroying crops. It is a burden that saw hundreds of thousands of acres of land taken by the Crown within the rohe of Te Whakatōhea Ngāti Awa and Tūhoe. It has been a burden that has seen generations of these descendants wrongfully blamed for this unjust appalling raupatu and killing.Over 147 years through generations this family has fought to clear the name of their tupuna the name of their w’ānau and they have fought to see justice pass. After generations of struggle a free pardon was granted for Mokomoko in 1992. This should have been a constructive step for the w’ānau. The Crown’s intention was right but the way that the pardon was provided compounded their grievance. The Crown did not consult w’ānau on the wording of the free pardon. The wording in fact implied it was done only because of similar pardons provided to the co-accused of Mokomoko. It didnot expressly restore his character mana and reputation nor the character mana and reputation of his uri and it did not record the pardon in statute. As a result we the Crown perpetuated the shame and stigma endured by this w’ānau and for that on behalf of the Crown I fully and unreservedly apologise.This bill intends to correct those omissions. The w’ānau has consulted closely on the wording of this bill and I hope it will go some way to restoring the character mana and reputation of their tupuna and their w’ānau. I want to mihi to this w’ānau once more for their courage and foresight in proposing to the Māori Affairs Committee that the recognition for their tupuna be provided in both Te Reo Māori and in English. Enacting legislation in Te Reo and in English is a first for our Parliament. Currently Standing Orders enable members to conduct many aspects of the business of Parliament in Te Reo Māori if they choose. This is the logical next step. It is a truly historic development and I thank you. I want to acknowledge the committee for this huge step that it has taken in establishing a precedent that is based on Te Reo rangatira.The committee also noted the w’ānau request for the wider historical narrative to be told and for an apology from the Crown. The committee noted that these issues will be addressed appropriately through future historical Treaty settlements. Until then I will on behalf of the Crown apologise to the w’ānau for perpetuating the shame and stigma heaped on te w’ānau a Mokomoko.I do note that the preamble records the background to the treatment of Mokomoko and the men of Ngāti Awa in relation to the murder of Carl Völkner and the Waitangi Tribunal’s findings in 1992 of a free pardon. In this respect the bill is confined to correcting omissions related to the 1992 free pardon. It restores the mana of te w’ānau a Mokomoko. Much of the history has been recorded by the Waitangi Tribunal in itsNgāti Awa Raupatu Report andTe Urewera: Pre-publication Part 1 report. This history will form the basis of discussions to be held with the Crown to settle historical Treaty claims.When this bill first came before the House earlier this year a reporter asked a w’ānau elder to tell her what motivated him. The koroua replied that his motivation was quite simple: “Our tūpuna our w’ānau our hapū iwi and our children and their children and their children and their children. We may not be the greatest w’ānau in the world but we are loyal we have fought for our country we are humble people and we have big hearts.”We say to that w’ānau who have big hearts that this is a huge understatement. Their incredible spirit of generosity enables us to stand before them today. The Crown is standing alongside them today to look at the past with its eyes wide open and it does not look away. All those things that this w’ānau have suffered and lost due to the actions of the Crown can never be replaced or forgotten and yet today they are here. Their presence honours this Parliament.Arrested tried and convicted and finally executed by the Crown while in prison Mokomoko composed a waiata that has become a guiding philosophy for generations of w’ānau: “Tangohia te taura i taku kakī kia waiata au i taku waiata” [remove the rope from my throat so I may sing my song]. Today we pay tribute again to ngā uri o Mokomoko who like their tupuna have had the strength to speak up who have refused to let the truth be silenced who are the reason why we are gathered here today to pass milestone legislation not just in the history of their family but in the history of our nation.Today we consider legislation that seeks to restore the character reputation and mana of a man a rangatira and his w’ānau. The dying words of Mokomoko are words that have never been far from his descendants’ hearts:“E mate harikoa ana ahau. Tēnā koutou Pākehā hei aha.”[I die happily. Thank you Pākehā and so be it.]Tēnā koutou te w’ānau. Tēnā koutou. I mihi to you and to your tupuna for having the strength the mana and the determination to speak up so that the truth will not be silenced. Thank you for your courage your compassion your enduring patience and your willingness to forgive. This nation is better because of your generosity. Nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.