Horomia Parekura: Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:16838] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
I a koutou o Te Arawa whanui e mihi kau ana. Tena koutou mo te kaha ki te tae ake ki konei ki te Whare Miere i te mau hoki ake ano te take nui nei me nga ahua katoa i roto i a koutou. E tino mihi hoki. Ae e tika i waihotia ake ano wetahi i waho ra. No reira tena koutou. E mohio ake ano tatou te roaroa hoki a te take nei. 
E tangi hoki te ngakau mo nga rere haere pera i te matua a Sonny tetahi o nga hoia toa o te ropu ra e mohio ake ano tatou e whai atu i tera wahi hei tu kaha penei tonu mo tatou katoa. No reira i a koutou katoa mo nga rere haere katoa nga mate e tuku ake ano e tangi hoki te ngakau. No reira tena tatou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
To you of Te Arawa at large I acknowledge you. You are to be complimented on your efforts in respect of getting here to the Beehive bringing this important matter here and all your thoughts about it. What a wonderful effort! Yes it is correct that some were left out of it. However that aside congratulations. We know that the process has been a very long one.  
The heart grieves for ones like Sonny who has since passed away a stalwart of the group and his efforts for all concerned. So to all of the departed I mourn your loss. Greetings to us as well 
. ] 
I stand today to support the Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill. I recognise the effort made by those people from the affiliate who are present here today. I recognise their tenacity their perseverance and their effort in getting here to express what they have been through. The journey has not necessarily been smooth; rather it has been rocky over generations. I mihi to Rawiri Te Whare the negotiator for the fashion of his practice in relation to those issues that were relevant to the bill being here today. I also mention Eru George and his trustees and everybody else. 
I a koutou o Whakaue e pihopa e mihi kau ana. E nui ake ano nga whakaaro i roto i a au mo wetahi e kore i konei e mau kaha mo te take nei. 
[ 
To you of Whakaue a real tribute to the bishops. There are others too who have since died whose contribution to this matter has been enormous. 
] 
It is in my mind that I sat with a whole lot of people who were on this journey and who are not here today—who have passed on. They were great people and this settlement could not have been reached without them. It is those people whom I want to remember today and some others I will leave out. I can recall sitting down and talking about this settlement with Kapiti Wikiriwhi and Patariki Rei—gentlemen of their own time. That has been espoused in the way that the people have dealt with the Crown and have managed the settlement and we need to respect and recognise that—even though they may be from other hapu te koroua ra te pihopa a ratau ma the bishops who have at times agreed and at other times have disagreed. 
It is important that we show unity today and that we are not sanctimonious and trying to prove what could have been what should have been and what has not been because it has been done under the fine stewardship of Dr Michael Cullen. And for that I recommend him to Te Arawa iwi who have had to deal with him and his two colleagues Mita Ririnui and Shane Jones. I also remember the effort that Margaret Wilson put in during our first session on the marae—and Mark Burton for that matter. They have been effortless in the sense of supporting this settlement. 
The speakers today from across the parties have supported the settlement. We can pontificate at length about what should have happened and what could have happened but this settlement is about to happen. Today is a historic day in this fine House. It is a day of coming together. The raupatu and the dastardly deeds that were done are etched in the waters of the lakes that Te Arawa iwi manage and control and the business assets that they have looked after. They do not need the Government to help them to tell them how to run them. I for one understand that there will be fine stewardship in managing this settlement. 
I commend Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa for the way that when things were getting ahua up and down they stepped back. They stepped back so that others could come forward then they stepped forward again then they stepped back again. That is real rangatiratanga even as there is disagreement. I want to say to one of my colleagues in this House that indifference is an unnatural thing and Maoris at times tend to set to arguing with each other. It is no different from what I dared mention that has happened in the Churches over successive generations. What is new though is that Te Arawa iwi have had the courage to step forward on behalf of all the future generations to agree that now is the time to settle and the time to move on. We do have a great future. 
The redress package has been cited and stated and I will not go over it. But I want to think of some people. I want to think of Auntie Bubbles. Another member mentioned all the blokes but I want to mention Auntie Bubbles and all the other great women. I want to mention Maria Tiini and other people whom I shared time with during this journey. It is really important that Te Arawa iwi go forward with this settlement. It is important that with the opportunities that are available it is managed well. Over time Te Arawa iwi will have the opportunity not only of managing their own forest but also as major producers of moving into higher-value areas of the timber industry. This settlement will represent an enormous step forward for the Te Arawa people. They will move from earning wages as workers for the big forestry companies to becoming industry leaders in their own right. We will not continue to have just a generation of manual labourers—although there is nothing wrong with hard work whether it is pruning thinning or whatever else. 
This settlement is a serious challenge to all of us. It is a commitment that the Government has made under Dr Cullen’s leadership to get on with the business. In this regard Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa has shown considerable flexibility to accommodate the needs of those Te Arawa iwi and hapu who are not party to this settlement. That includes arrangements with Ngati Makino in relation to the Matawhaura and Otari Pa sites. I refer to the agreement that an undivided half share of the Te Ariki site be held by the Crown in trust for other iwi with an interest in it and the agreement with Ngati Whakaue in relation to the Whakarewarewa family reserves. It takes a lot of leadership and courage to come to that sort of agreement. It is time that we recognise that. 
The thing that I have relished in watching this journey go forward is that our rangatira Michael Cullen has met and talked with the iwi’s rangatira and that is how business should be done. It should not be done as it was in the past me nga mea tamaiti hoki te tae atu hei korero ki nga mea pakeke. 
[ 
with the young ones also being able to talk to ones older than them 
.] 
The unique lakes and geothermal sites of the Rotorua district are of huge significance to Te Arawa iwi. That is reflected in the cultural redress sites mentioned in the Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill. These sites include land adjacent to lakes lake beds and land containing iconic geothermal sites. The cultural redress sites in this bill amount to over 670 hectares. The transfer of these sites recognises the cultural and historical ties of the affiliate Te Arawa iwi to the whenua of that area. 
I commend again those of Te Arawa who have come here today. I thank all my colleagues for the effort they put in—our team and the other parliamentarians who have supported the bill generally. I am really pleased that a member of the National Party has said that the bill will be passed quickly because it is business that can be done quickly if we all agree across the House. I come from a great area called Tai Rawhiti. We write songs and we are very good at it. We are not as good at te hakahaka haere o nga tamariki. [ 
the children carrying on 
] I know that Dr Sharples and others think they are better! But we are good at writing songs. 
E mihi kau ana tenei uri o te wahi i tuku ake ano te waiata o “Paikea” i a koutou e whai kaha mo to koutou waiata. Tena tatou. 
[ 
This relative from the place that gave you the song “Paikea” acknowledges that. Greetings to us 
.]