Finlayson Christopher: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFinlayson Christopher: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9525. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): Can I begin by thanking Mr Horomia for that speech which displays his customary generosity of spirit. This is a very important settlement as he observed because it settles longstanding grievances between Waitaha and the Crown. As he observed it very importantly recognises the importance of Waitaha leader Hakaraia and the identity of Waitaha. Once upon a time this was a powerful iwi but because of the loss of land they became fragmented and have never been able to unite again. This settlement allows for Waitaha to reassert their tribal identity and to re-establish their tribal base.The Māori Affairs Committee has considered the Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill. It has submitted its commentary to the House and once again I want to thank Mr Henare and his team for the work they have done on this bill. They have dealt with it very quickly but very carefully and I acknowledge that. I want to also thank other Ministers and departments who have worked on the bill.The select committee hearings raised a number of difficult issues for Waitaha. They had to make a number of concessions so that their bill could be progressed. One particularly difficult issue has been the Crown’s decision to vest the Waiari Stream conservation area in Tāpuika which is a neighbouring iwi. During the select committee consideration a number of members of Waitaha raised concerns about the vesting of that particular site in Tāpuika. I certainly want to say that throughout the settlement Waitaha have shown great patience and perseverance in the resolution of their overlapping claims. Their leaders have been principled they have been courageous in their discussions with their neighbours and they have at numerous times agreed to what could only be described as innovative solutions to enable the settlement to progress on to a second reading.The ngā pae maunga redress which is the vesting of the peaks of Ōtara and Ōtānewainuku in six iwi that have cultural associations with these peaks is a positive result of overlapping claims discussions between the iwi. This is a part of the world as Mr Horomia would know where overlapping claims are intense and they can result in very lengthy and difficult discussions but we have achieved a very positive result here. I want to commend the effort of the chief Crown negotiator Patsy Reddy and the iwi themselves for reaching a result that all iwi could support and I am very happy with that. As a result of the amendments agreed to at the select committee the legislation will provide for the ngā pae maunga redress which will be implemented through an Order in Council once the final iwi reaches a settlement. I am very pleased and grateful to the select committee for the tremendous work it has done.I just want to emphasise the point that this is not a deal. If there is a term that irritates me it is the idea that it is sort of some kind of mere commercial deal. It is much more important than that. The Green co-leader sometimes comes down to the House to give us a lecture on social justice and talks about deals—resplendent in her Adrienne Winkelmann jackets—and really I think that she lets the side down when she talks like this because these are very important matters for the Crown and iwi. There is acommercial element and the first two speakers have both referred to that but it is much more than that. It is a very sacred compact between the Crown and Māori that has to be observed.The other thing that I would observe is that this is not the end. This is the end of the beginning. The post-settlement relationships are indeed very important which why we have set up an office following on from discussions I had with Mr Horomia last year to make sure that after the settlement and with the new relationship having been recognised—there is an office that we have set up; I believe it is going to be a very important one—there is a whole-of-Crown responsibility to ensure that what we say we are going to do in deeds of settlement we actually do not just while I am the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations but for years to come.I am very happy that we have reached this stage and look forward to the Committee stage so that we can have this very important settlement enacted.