Sharples Pita: Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSharples Pita: Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 07 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17655. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of Māori Affairs): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Ā anō tēnā koutou kua tae mai nei ki tēnei hui ō tātou me te kaupapa e takoto nei i mua i a tātou i te rā nei. Tēnā koutou whakapiri mai.[And so salutations to you collectively who have arrived here at this gathering of ours and to the matter that reclines here before us today. Greetings to you collectively; draw closer.]I stand to tautoko the second reading of the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill and to note that the clear and pragmatic approach that Ngāti Hauā has brought to the settlement of their claims is a triumph and the product of their absolute belief and commitment. I endorse what Nanaia has said about the iwi and their commitment to their affairs. I quote Ngāti Hauā co-lead negotiator Lance Rāpana who said: “The key to arriving at this sort of outcome is … the ability of your iwi to pull together 100 per cent together and move as one.” So tēnā koe Lance. It was a result of hard work unity and the pursuit of justice by generations of Ngāti Hauā that has allowed us to reach this point today. Although the recent Treaty settlement negotiations that culminated in the bill before us were perhaps some of the fastest on record for Ngāti Hauā this path was instigated many years ago by their rangatira Wīremu Tamihana. Wīremu Tamihana anointed the first Māori King giving rise to the position of Tumuaki a role of local national political and spiritual significance that endures to this present day. The family is always involved in the appointment of Kīngi to Kuini Māori. I would like to acknowledge the role of the tumuaki whose leadership has contributed to the timely success of this settlement.In this settlement the Crown apologises for breaches of Treaty rights from the 1860s onwards. In doing so it has acknowledged the means employed by the Crown to strip Ngāti Hauā of their fertile lands their rivers and their maunga. Thriving communities with a strong economic base were totally destroyed. During the invasion of Waikato in 1863 and 1864 many Ngāti Hauā were killed or wounded. In 1865 the Crown confiscated a large area of Waikato land. The raupatu caused destitution within the Ngāti Hauā rohe and left them virtually landless.Until his death in 1866 Wīremu Tamihana sought the return of Ngāti Hauā lands—a course subsequently pursued by his son Tupu Taingakawa. Wīremu Tamihana submitted petitions to the Crown and his pursuit of justice and peace became a model for many generations of Ngāti Hauā who continued to be confronted by prejudiced Crown systems. By the 1880s private parties had acquired a large quantity of Ngāti Hauā land. The alienation was exacerbated through public works for roading railways schools and hydro electric purposes. This included a Ngāti Hauā longstanding grievance relating to the Crown’s public works taking of land at Waharoa. In World War II the land was taken for an aerodrome after which there was a complete failure to return that land. Slowly surely and comprehensively the landscapes and waterways within Ngāti Hauā rohe were forcibly taken out of their hands. The loss of land undermined their social and traditional structures removing the ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities.Despite the long history of seeking a meaningful relationship with the Crown and despite Ngāti Hauā’s insistence for peace and justice Ngāti Hauā has endured great prejudice at the hands of the Crown. So this settlement acknowledges the wrongdoings of the Crown in this regard. In doing so this settlement heralds a new chapter in the relationship between Ngāti Hauā and the Crown based on respect for the mana and rangatiratanga of Ngāti Hauā and its leaders. Tēnā koutou. Ngāti Hauā is already wellregarded within its community and around the motu and this bill will legislate in law the importance of their relationship to their whenua.The settlement includes eight sites to be vested in Ngāti Hauā totalling 706 hectares. This includes Maungakawa vested in Ngāti Hauā as a scenic reserve with public access maintained. Ngāti Hauā will also be involved in the co-management arrangements for the Waikato River as has been mentioned within their area of interest through Waikato-Tainui and if the Waharoa aerodrome land is no longer required for the aerodrome and ancillary aviation purposes and reverts to the Crown then it too can be vested in Ngāti Hauā. This and other redress including the settlement package actually in no way compensates for the huge loss of land experienced by Ngāti Hauā at the hands of the Crown. However I am really encouraged by the humility of Ngāti Hauā their graciousness their hard work their unity and their pursuit of peace and justice koutou as an iwi. It is inspiring not just to iwi in Waikato and around the country but to all New Zealanders. Joy tears and applause greeted this settlement when it was signed in July last year. Today I stand in support of the second reading of this bill with the same acclamation and commendation.Nā reira tēnā koutou katoa tēnā tatou. Kia ora.