Horomia Parekura: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:650;Page:19122] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
Ki a koutou i tae kaha i tae tahi i te ra nei e mihi kau ana. Ahakoa kua mihitia atu nga mihi e tika ake ano ki te mihi ake ano ki a koutou katoa. E Hori mo nga patopato o te wai o Raukawa e mihi kau ana. Kai a koe e te whanaunga e Hemi kai a koe Bill e mihi kau ana. Ki a koe toku whanaunga ahakoa e noho ake ano koe i roto i te maru o ratou Manawa kaua koe e wareware anake mo to whakapapa o Te Tai Rawhiti tena koe. E Anaru e Rangi e Eru koutou katoa nga kaiwhakahaere ahakoa kare i tae atu ki te Pihopa e mihi kau ana ki a koutou Henare tena koutou. Ki a koutou o Tuhoe e mihi kau ana ki a koutou katoa. Tena koutou. Na te pai hoki e kite ake ano koutou e tu kaha a muri a te take nei. No reira ki a koutou o Ngati Whakaue Ngati Whare e koutou e mihi kau ana. Ki a koe Te Ariki e Tumu tena koe. Tena koe mo to kaha e mahi whakawhitiwhiti a te tino take nei. Ki a koutou te hoa o Rangitihi kia kaha kia maia. E rekareka ana ki te rongo ki te korero o te Takuta nei a Michael mo to koutou nohotahi. Ahakoa nga piki nga heke e rite ake ano tera ki te mahi a tauiwi i a ratau ma. Engari kia kaha kei tae tahi ai tae noho pai ki te taha o wenei e korero atu mo te ahua o te rakau. No reira ki a koutou katoa tena koutou. 
[ 
To those who have travelled from afar to be here congratulations. Although the formalities have been completed it is right that I acknowledge you. Greetings Hori of Ngati Raukawa. To my kin Hemi and you Bill congratulations. Hemi you have lived many years with Ngati Manawa but do not forget you come from the East Coast. Commendations to the leaders Anaru Rangi Eru and Pihopa although he could not attend today. Greetings to you and your group Henare and to the people of Ngai Tuhoe. This bill will prove resilient and effective now and into the future. Congratulations to Ngati Whakaue and Ngati Whare. I extend acknowledgments to the leader Tumu te Heuheu for his strength in the development of this bill. To my friends of Ngati Rangitihi be strong be steadfast. It was good to hear Dr Cullen talking about your stance. Despite the trials and tribulations non-Maori are no different from us they have similar disagreements amongst themselves. Be strong. We hope in time you will stand side by side with others of the collective. So congratulations to you all. 
] 
I stand in support of the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill. The central North Island forestry settlement gives effect to huge steps forward for Maoridom as Dr Cullen has pointed out. Through his able leadership and through the great leadership sitting in the public gallery we have come to a better place for this nation. If we are serious about talking about nationhood then this surely is a great example for other people to watch to ponder over and to take cognisance of as to the way that we can get to a better place even where there are difficult ups and downs. 
I was very pleased to see that the bill passed its first reading with overwhelming support from the House and I say to the other Maori faces in Parliament and to all members of Parliament: “Thank you for the support.” It was also pleasing to see that the majority of the submitters to the Maori Affairs Committee were supportive of the bill. The bill provides for the transfer of approximately $200 million worth of forest land and over $200 million worth of accumulated rentals to the iwi of the central North Island. This is significant for two reasons. First the commercial assets will provide a solid base for the iwi involved to participate in real and sustained economic development in the same way that this Labour-led Government has led and sustained the economy. The fact that we still stand strong as the rest of the world is struggling is certainly testament to Dr Cullen’s ability to keep the books well-balanced and enables the nurturing of Maori to play a more positive and an active part in that economic development. 
Secondly the transfer of those assets has been key to settling the historical Treaty claims of the iwi involved. In giving iwi a platform to develop their economic assets this settlement will benefit the whole country. It is really really important to understand that a lot of these iwi do know how to manage their assets. They understand clearly the fundamentals of the macro and the micro and of the future opportunities that will be available to them in relation to the timber to be exported milled at home or whatever. Dr Cullen mentioned the weigh station. Well when the truck pulls up at the weigh station to weigh those Maori logs those Maori trees it will be a great thing to celebrate. Certainly today that is the reason why we are here—to celebrate the participation of the Central North Island Iwi Collective and its ownership. 
It is pleasing to see that Pakeha New Zealanders are generally supportive of this bill. The collective is to be praised for agreeing to preserve current public access. I remind the members who are here in the House of all the doom and gloom that was preached about what would happen when this great asset was passed over to Maori. The fear that was brought about by scurrilous gossip from other members— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Ha ha! 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: —such as the one laughing over there was outrageous—outrageous! I say that it is certainly great and it is a privilege and an honour to sit amongst like minds who understand that Maori do know how to manage assets and that they want to create a succession plan that is real for the future generations who are about to come and take part in this development. 
Some of the submitters had concerns; the kaupapa was that they thought that the settlement would not happen. Dr Cullen with the support of the House has certainly brought us to a better place. In negotiating the central North Island settlement I was impressed with the spirit of generosity that iwi displayed towards each other. It is an example that other organisations whether they be Pakeha or other people could take a lesson from on how to get themselves sorted. There is a little bit that still needs to be sorted but it is encouraging to hear that a lot of effort was put in at the weekend. The central North Island collective leadership is to be commended. 
Hon Georgina te Heuheu 
: Who wrote that speech? 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: At times speechwriters leave out the true essence of what should be said. What has been created here is a sure partnership between a Crown-led initiative and the first people of this nation—the Maori people; the tangata whenua—and that is something to celebrate. This is a great day for Maoridom to celebrate. This is a great day for the nation to celebrate. This is about looking forward and about not looking over one’s shoulder because then the only thing that happens is that one gets a sore neck. 
A lot of these people have had sore hearts and sore minds but they will certainly leave this great bastion of politics and governance with a song in their hearts and they will be clear in their minds that they have done a deal. They have done a deal for future generations. They have done a deal that can be counted in this country’s history as being as good as whatever else has been done. Certainly as I drive through those trees down the Napier-Taupo road along the short cut through Reporoa I will look at those trees and think: “Kia ora trees! Kia ora Maori rakau what a great stand!”. I will be roaming through Maori tree country and that is a great privilege for any New Zealand citizen. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: And you wish Ngati Porou had some forests like that. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: I wish I had shares in those forests but I cannot whakapapa to these iwi! I say that these iwi need to be commended and the members need to be respected for the support that they have given to this settlement. 
I wish these iwi well like members do. This sure is a great example on the journey to our being serious about nationhood and not being glib about it and just doing other things. Kia ora tatou.