Rurawhe AdrianADRIAN RURAWHE (Labour—Te Tai Hauāuru): Ā tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare otirā ki ngā whānau me ngā hapū o Taranaki Iwi anei au e tuku mihi atu ki a koutou kua tae mai ki Te Whare nei. Tēnei ahau e tuku mihi atu anō hoki ki a rātou mā e whakarongo mai e mātakitaki mai i runga i te pouaka whakaata tēnā koutou tēnā koutou ā tēnā tātou katoa.[And so thank you Mr Deputy Speaker but at the same time to the families and subtribes of the Taranaki tribe here I am acknowledging you who have arrived at this House. I also acknowledge those others listening and watching on the television so hello and greetings to you collectively and thank you to all of us.]There are a number of things I want to talk about. The first thing I want to talk about—and it is in relation to the Taranaki Iwi Claims Settlement Bill but also the other Taranaki settlements—is Subpart 5 Regional council representation". I just want to give my opinion on this because we have been told in this House today that this is about elected representation for the council and in fact it is not; it is absolutely not.The governors of the Taranaki region will remain the governors. This is about appointments on to standing committees. And as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations pointed out there are representatives from Federated Farmers. Why would you put iwi on there? You would put iwi on there because there are eight Taranaki iwi that are affected by everything that the Taranaki Regional Council does and the decisions that it makes. It is an acknowledgment of the mana w'enua and the considerable post-settlement contributions that all of the iwi in Taranaki are about to make or are already making. So it is really important that their voice is heard at those decision-making tables.It has been said that it is about elected representation. Well no although I agree that if it were the case then I would agree with that. But it is not about that. It is actually about the voices of the iwi being heard and I wanted to make that explicitly clear on this bill and reference it to the other two bills as well.I took the opportunity to read the historical account—not the abbreviated version in the bill but the full version that was signed in the deed of settlement. I had it on me. My flight was diverted. It was going to Palmerston North and it was diverted to New Plymouth. I had a copy of that deed on me and I took the opportunity to read it on a bus travelling from New Plymouth supposedly to Palmerston North but I convinced the bus driver to let me off at Wanganui. As we were passing Taranaki maunga I was reading this. Every historical account that you read is sad but there is an incredible sadness about all of the Taranaki historical accounts beyond anything else I have read.So I want to acknowledge the negotiators—all of the negotiators including the Crown negotiators because we know that this is a negotiated version of the historical account. That means both the Crown and the iwi have to agree to it. There were some pretty powerful things in there. As already outlined by the Minister the depth of resilience of the Taranaki iwi people particularly through Parihaka is now part of our legal history and our parliamentary history. I want to stand and acknowledge not only the negotiators but everyone who obviously would have had to contribute to the telling of that story. I know through my own experience that getting that level and that quality of kōrero to be told is not an easy task.The Minister also mentioned the financial redress. It is a step forward. It is a beginning. It is not the end of the financial and the economic well-being of Taranaki iwi; it is the start. I remember reading some of the statements that were made at the time that the deed of settlement was signed. What struck me was the incredible positive focus of those statements made by Taranaki iwi people.I have no doubt that Te Kāhui o Taranaki Trust is well positioned to turn what is a fraction of what was lost into a positive asset for future generations. I commend the trust for the work that it has done thus far and for the challenges that it will meet into the future. And it is great to be challenged I think. It is important not only that we are challenged in that space but also that we take heed of those who do not have a voice. And I am certain that will happen; I am not saying that will not happen. But I think that is an important thing to recognise within the economic and financial well-being and future of all of our iwi.I would like to mention the cultural redress of this settlement as well. For me these are settlements that are made up of those three important parts. The cultural redress for me is so important. It can re-establish a reconnection to our land with our culture and I note the number of different mechanisms that have been used within the cultural redress of this settlement bill. I think that coupled with the other mechanisms—the financial ones—this will provide the means for Taranaki iwi to move forward into the future.Can I also commend the negotiators who delayed the signing of the deed of settlement specifically to address the needs of Parihaka. Parihaka has to be mentioned in this bill and it has to be recognised in the House today and I support the words of the Minister. It is so important to get that part of this settlement right and I am really pleased that Taranaki iwi took the opportunity to delay that deed of settlement. In the end it has not delayed the legislation because they are all going through on the same day.I think that is something that the Taranaki iwi should be proud of—that they went through those extra steps to make certain that this bill was everything that they wanted it to be and needed it to be.Ā nō reira tēnei anō te mihi ake ki a tātou oti noa ki a koutou e kaha ana kia hara mai ki Te Whare nei. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia ora mai tātou katoa.[And so I once again acknowledge us and accordingly you collectively who were staunch in coming here to this House. Congratulations well done to you and my appreciation to us all.]"