Burton Mark: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Burton Mark: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:640;Page:10073] 
Hon MARK BURTON (Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
: 
 I move  
That the Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time 
. This bill is an important milestone for the people of Te Roroa. It addresses the significant and longstanding grievances suffered by them as a result of acts and omissions by the Crown. It will not only enable Te Roroa and the Crown to move forward together in a positive Treaty relationship but also provide the foundation for Te Roroa to build a better future for its people. 
Te Roroa have travelled a long and difficult journey to get to this point and I want to underscore that for members: they have travelled a long and difficult journey to get to this point. I suggest to members—and I will return to this theme—that it is for Te Roroa to have determined that they were ready to reach this point and it is not for others to derail or attempt to derail. All Treaty settlement negotiations are complex and take time but Te Roroa know this better than any other group. Not only have they sought redress since 1861; they have been negotiating their Treaty settlement claim with the Crown since 1992. 
Settling this claim is another important step towards settling all historical Treaty claims. It continues the progress evidenced by other recent milestones such as the draft agreement in principle for the settlement of Waikato-Tainui’s Waikato River claims and the signing of terms of negotiation with Turanganui a Kiwa claimants recently in Gisborne. 
I encourage every member of this House to read the preamble to the Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill with considerable care. It sets out the history of the claim and records how the Crown breached its Treaty obligations in respect of Te Roroa. It tells us why it is so important that this bill is before us today and why it should not be hindered by any in this House in its progress. 
The negotiations for this claim have covered a lot of ground. They have been wide ranging comprehensive and certainly challenging. Both parties have demonstrated commitment and I think tenacity in achieving a settlement despite the obstacles along the way. The people of Te Roroa themselves have demonstrated their support for the settlement with a ratification approval rate of 92 percent. 
I want to emphasise again to members of the House that in considering their position on this bill they remember that the people who are affected by the bill—the people to whom this settlement belongs—have ratified this settlement with an approval rate of 92 percent. 
I acknowledge the efforts of Te Roroa kaumatua and kuia who are no longer with us but who years ago sought redress for the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ka huri atu ki nga mate o tena iwi o tena iwi haere haere haere. 
[ 
I turn to each of the tribes and acknowledge their deaths. Depart the dead farewell depart. 
] 
I also acknowledge the commitment of members of the Te Roroa negotiating team over the 13 years of negotiations and the members of the Te Roroa governance entity who have been working hard over the past 12 months in order to see this settlement go through to fruition. 
The Te Roroa settlement includes a wide range of redress designed to meet the interests of Te Roroa as well as to provide a foundation for their future. This includes financial redress of $9.5 million which Te Roroa have chosen to receive mostly as property; cultural redress including an overlay classification over the Waipoua Forest; protocols; statutory acknowledgments and deeds of recognition all designed to facilitate Te Roroa’s role in Crown decision-making and to enhance the Treaty relationship; and the gifting of 24 sites of cultural significance comprising an area of over 2000 hectares. 
The Maori Affairs Committee has considered this bill and has submitted its commentary to this House. The majority of the committee has recommended that the bill be passed with minor amendments. I thank the committee for its thorough consideration of the bill and I do believe that that consideration has been thorough. 
In their submission to the committee the trustees of the Te Roroa governance entity spoke of the pressure of exercising the first stage of the right of deferred selection. The Government was pleased to be able to address these concerns by offering to extend that for a further 6 months after the settlement date. I note that this change does not require an amendment to the claims settlement bill. However an amendment to the deed of settlement is being made by agreement. 
I am aware that concern is expressed by some that Kaharau and Te Taraire are not included in the land to be transferred to Te Roroa in the settlement. Kaharau is predominantly in private ownership which is a matter that members need to be clear about. It is predominantly in private ownership. The committee’s report states that some members find this unsatisfactory and they say that the quantum should be increased to allow Te Roroa to purchase both properties or to allow for the acquisition of those wahi tapu already identified within the two blocks. The National Party members say that the settlement is not durable because these properties are not being returned through the settlement. 
This settlement has also been criticised for not addressing issues raised by the Waitangi Tribunal in its reports. I remind members opposite that the Te Roroa report was released—and I remind members opposite of this—in 1992. In the report the tribunal made recommendations that affected private land including the area of Kaharau. It was the National Government of the day that determined the response to the Te Roroa report. I am sure that many members will remember the division and the dissent both in the local Dargaville community and indeed nationally when the Crown tried to purchase other private land that the tribunal had recommended be returned to Te Roroa. As a result the Treaty of Waitangi Act was amended by that Government shortly thereafter to prevent the tribunal from making recommendations in respect of private land. 
Kaharau is discussed extensively in the Te Roroa negotiations and as the people of Te Roroa know the fact that it is not part of the redress is not about the sufficiency of the quantum. Te Roroa have said that it is inappropriate for them to purchase Kaharau and that they do not want wahi tapu areas identified publicly. Thus in negotiations the parties focused on enabling Te Roroa to secure the return of the maximum amount of land while ensuring they were in the best possible position to obtain Kaharau themselves should it become available. The Crown is also gifting the one small part of Kaharau that it owns to Te Roroa as cultural redress through this settlement. 
We also strengthened other elements of the package in recognition of the fact that Kaharau is not being returned. For example Te Roroa is being gifted over 2000 hectares of land as cultural redress. I point out to members that that is the highest figure for land gifted in any settlement since that of Ngai Tahu. 
The Te Roroa settlement includes a wider range of redress than was recommended in the Te Roroa report. Additional redress includes the quantum much of the land being gifted as cultural redress the relationship redress such as the overlay classification of the Waipoua Forest and protocols issued by a number of Ministers. 
Te Roroa do not need others including politicians to tell them of the significance of the lands we have discussed. Ultimately the decision as to whether this settlement is acceptable to Te Roroa should be a decision for the people of Te Roroa. During the ratification process there was a vigorous debate about the merits of accepting this settlement. The overwhelming majority of Te Roroa chose to proceed. As I noted earlier 92 percent of those who voted voted to accept this settlement. 
We all know that settlements cannot and do not fully compensate Maori for the losses they have suffered either in economic or in cultural terms. We all know that for every wahi tapu on Crown land returned to tangata whenua there are many in private ownership that are not. But compromise on both sides has been a critical ingredient of every Treaty settlement since the 1990s—on both sides and of every Treaty settlement. Every settlement is about the Crown and Maori reaching a point where they can agree to shift their focus from the past to the future. So although Treaty settlements cannot be about full compensation they should be—and I believe that each has been since the early 1990s through to this day—an honest attempt to heal the past and provide for the future. The Te Roroa settlement is about Te Roroa making the decision to build to plan and to look to the future. 
This settlement enables the people of Te Roroa to look forward with anticipation and to view the years ahead with optimism and enthusiasm. It provides them with a platform of their own building to grow and develop. This settlement establishes relationships to ensure Te Roroa are involved in the decision making that affects them and it returns land to them from which they have been separated for too long. 
Perhaps most important this bill gives effect to the settlement that Te Roroa have determined to ratify. Their decision should be recognised their decision should be respected and their decision should be honoured by this House. The Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill should proceed through this House without delay.