Whaitiri Meka: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 06 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12423. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Third ReadingMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti):He reoparikārangarangai te Wharenei karanga mai karanga mai karanga mai. Karanga mai engā uri mokopuna o te tipunamāreikura o Heretaunga aMāhinarangi o te waka tapu oTākitimu. Ka moe iai aTūrongo o te waka Tainuiarā kaputanā tekakara o terākaurongonui ā ko Raukawa. Katū mairā koutoui te WharePārematanei. Hepānuituatahi o tewhakataunga ongā whenua raupatu ongākerēme o te Tiriti o Waitangi. Mihi mai mihi mai mihi mairā.[A resounding voice calls this House calling calling and calling. Call the grandchildren and descendants of the noble ancestressMāhinarangi of Hastings and of the sacred canoe ofTākitimu. She marriedTūrongo of the Tainui canoe and Raukawa was born as a consequence of the aromatic scent from the famous tree. You stand in this House of Parliament here. It is the first reading of the settlement of confiscated lands of the Treaty of Waitangi claims. Extend your greetings salutations and acknowledgements. ]It is fitting that I take my first call in this House of Representatives to stand in solidarity with myMāori Labour caucus members and the House as a whole in supporting this bill the Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill to the House. It is fitting because I am a descendant of theNgāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa people who were through the actions of the Crown dispossessed of Lake Wairarapa and relocated toPouakani. By standing in support I acknowledge the remaining mamae that this action causes the people of Raukawa.Nōreira e tewhānautēnā koutou katoa.But today is a day of celebration. It is a day of acknowledging the hard mahi of the people of Raukawa and the commitment to getting to this point. As a former mandated negotiator forRongowhakaata I can share with you my emotions sitting where you are today for the first reading of our bill. There were mixed emotions tinged with sadness for those no longer with us and mixed emotions of excitement for what lies ahead. So from me to all of you here today I mihi to you for getting us to this point.To Minister Finlayson thank you for your support in bringing this bill to the House. It is not an easy journey to get here but I know the efforts of all—be it the negotiators be it the officials—to get us to this point and I congratulate you all.Members on this side of the House have touched on the details of this bill but for me and as I said in my maiden speech last night it is about economic development in a post-settlement era. You the people of Raukawa have not been given all the tools but you have been given a good start to aspire to those aspirations and those goals on behalf of yourhapū and yourwhānau and your iwi. So I commend you again for your commitment and your undertaking to bring this bill to the House.I am just sitting here thinking about how quiet this House becomes when we are dealing with Treaty bills. Maybe the House can take a lesson from that—when it joins together in unification on settling Treaty settlements.I just want to touch on the particular parts that I am interested in around the mechanisms that will unleash and unlock your economic potential particularly around your overlay classifications your statutory acknowledgments and your deeds of recognition. Can I commend and support theiwi’s desire to not only protect your taonga in terms of waterways and whenua but also unlock their economic potential should you so wish.There is a role for the Government to support the people of Raukawa. The burden of addressing what has befallen your people should not rest on your shoulders alone. Settlements are merely to help replace in some small part what has been taken away from you as people many many years ago. I know that with the support of my Labour Party colleagues particularly theMāori members we are committed to supporting the aims and aspirations ofwhānau ofhapū and of iwi. I have not much more to add but it has been an absolute honour to stand and commend this bill to the House. Can I say in closingnō reirairōi tewhakataukīnei aNgātai Huata ka ora tewahinepuapua ka ora tewhānaupuāwai ka ora tehapūpuawānanga ka ora te iwipūrotunō reiratēnā koutoutēnā koutoutēnā koutou katoa.[So in this aphorism fromNgātai Huata it says if the woman is cherished then the blossoming family the satellite subtribe and the beautiful tribe will do well greetings salutations and acknowledgements to you all. ]