Horomia Parekura: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — First Readings 
Horomia Parekura: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — First Readings 
[Volume:678;Page:1024] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 Mr Deputy Speaker e mihi kau ana 
ki a koe e noho ana i runga i te turu ra e mau awhi mo te po nei. Kua tae ake tatou ki te whakawhitiwhiti korero mo te timata o tenei kereme mo ratou a Maraeroa. E mihi atu ki a Tariana e tuku i te pire nei ki roto i te Whare Miere. Me whakahoki atu oku whakaaro ki wera tau i tae atu au ki reira ki to ratou wahi i kite atu i te nui o te ngahere o te harakeke. Na te tino rekareka i roto i aku i tae atu ki reira i kite atu i a ratou e whai kaha a muri mo nga tuku i waihotia mai e nga mea pakeke o ratou. E tika atu me tautoko me mihi atu ki wenei kaiwhakahaere a Piripi Crown me Glen Katu a Brian Stanley a Deborah Maxwell a Tutahanga Tepu a Edward Moana me Thomas Tuwhangai na te mea i roto i aku e mihi kau ana ki a ratou me nga mea pakeke e kore e ora ratou i timata atu i te take nei.  
E whakaaro atu mo te korero a Tariana mo ratou ahakoa e tu atu i muri i te haki o Maraeroa na te nui o ratou he iwi ke he iwi ke. Wetahi no Ngati Rereahu wetahi no Ngati Maniapoto no Ngati Tuwharetoa no Raukawa me wetahi o nga iwi. Na te tino take i roto i aku he tino wahi tapu te wahi nei o Maraeroa. He nui atu nga mahi o nga koroua kuia e mohio atu te mahi o te ao kohatu. Na te pai hoki i tae atu tatou ki reira i kite atu i a ratou e whai kaha ana mo te mahi umanga te mahi pakihi. No reira mihi atu ki a ratou.  
[ 
Mr Deputy Speaker I acknowledge you sitting there on that Chair and bringing your assistance to this evening’s proceedings. We have reached the point where we start the debate on this claim for those of Maraeroa. I commend the Minister the Hon Tariana Turia who presented this bill before the Chamber. I cast my thoughts back to those years past when I arrived at their place and observed how big the forest and flax were. I was really pleased to be there and to witness how hard they had worked afterwards on initiatives left by their older ones. It is fitting that I endorse and salute these negotiators Piripi Crown and Glen Katu Brian Stanley Deborah Maxwell Tutahanga Tepu Edward Moana and Thomas Tuwhangai because within me I pay a tribute to them and the older ones who are no longer alive the ones who initiated this matter.  
I take into account Tariana’s statement about them when she stated that even though they stand behind Maraeroa’s flag many of them are from different tribes. Some are from Ngati Rereahu Ngati Maniapoto Ngati Tuwharetoa Raukawa and so on. The real issue for me is that this Maraeroa is a very sacred place. There are many elderly men and womenfolk who practise and know about rituals from prehistoric times. The good thing though was we visited and saw how hard they worked on business and economic initiatives. So I congratulate them 
.] 
As my learned colleague Tariana Turia said earlier on this settlement is not comprehensive. It settles claims to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks. The beneficiaries as has already been pointed out are those who are descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks and it is interesting that they include members of Tuwharetoa Ngati Maniopoto Rereahu and Ngati Raukawa. It is a blend that has learnt to mould together and I think if you go there today you can witness the effort that they undertake in relation to their commerciality in making sure that their assets are used for their people. I think they are a great example for other Maori iwi and tribes to follow and look at. That we have coupled these two the private bill and the Government bill together will bring expediency and we will get through the claims that arise largely from the introduction of the operation of the native land laws.  
It is fascinating when you study these whanau iwi and hapu who at some stage have had a principled direction from the Native Land Court that it all seemed to go askew. What they did have was large tracts of commercial native timber and a lot of that was milled but they never saw the financial benefit of that. It is important to understand that they have sort of followed through if you have a look at their forestry operation. They own the forestry truck companies they own the forestry groups that export it and it is really a lesson an exercise in how joined together you can make best use. 
 A provision for a partnership an agreement between the Department of Conservation and the settlement entity in respect of public conservation land and wahi tapu with Maraeroa A and B is important in this bill. I think one of the things that I have been taken with in dealing with Maraeroa is that they are quite an elegant people and they really are true environmentalists—the majority of them. I can recall going up there when they were opening their supposed international operation in relation to preservation of the harakeke flax and native plant species to ensure that they did not slide away.  
I think it is important to point out that as much as these descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B are identified in this order it needs to be recognised that they have got through toiled away and brought themselves into an order that I think is the envy of a whole lot of other Maori organisations. That is not saying that they were unpronounced in relation to the struggles and the poverty inflicted on them by the Crown’s nonsense of that time.  
The claims of the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks like I said relate primarily to the operation of the Native Land Court. Part 1 of this bill sets out the purpose of the legislation and it is important to understand that they already have a construct which is in the incorporation and the other part of developing the construction which will take the settlement assets and proceeds and ensure that they pass on and that they go to where they should go to. It specifies that the Act binds the Crown and I think the better part of it is the statutory acknowledgments of the 12 culturally significant sites the overlay classification of Pureora o Kahu and two geographic name changes: Mangakokakotaea Stream and Mangaparuhou Stream. I think it is great. I think a lot of these overburdened English-named streams need to be changed. So you might be able to do a bit more Minister.  
But look we join with the Minister launching this into the House and we are certainly supportive of and encouraged by getting Maraeroa and its claims through. Kia ora.