Little AndrewThird ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Ngāti Rangi Claims Settlement Bill be now read a third time.Te Whare e tū nei te marae e takoto nei tēnā kōrua. E ngā mate i te wā haere atu rā. Ki a koutou te hunga ora tēnā koutou. Ki a koutou hoki Ngāti Rangi nau mai haere mai whakatau mai. Nā koutou tēnei rangi nā reira rau rangatira mā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[I greet both the House which stands here and the marae which lies before us. To the deceased of this time go well. To the living people I greet you. And to you Ngāti Rangi welcome welcome thrice welcome. This is your day therefore my esteemed ones greetings greetings greetings to all.]This is an immense day and as I stand here I am accompanied by this mauri stone that was gifted to me and to the Crown when we did the deed of settlement signing at the marae in the shadow of the great maunga Ruapehu in March last year. I'm honoured to move for this bill to be enacted into law and for Ngāti Rangi to finally receive the benefits of a settlement which are long overdue.We are joined in the House by Ngāti Rangi and I extend the warmest of welcomes to you all and thank you for making the journey to witness this the final reading of your settlement bill. That you are here in such force is testament to the near unanimous support this settlement has amongst your iwi. Today we can all be very proud of what has been achieved through this bill and celebrate the new beginning it promises for both Ngāti Rangi and the Crown.We have come very far since 1840. When Ngāti Rangi tūpuna signed the Treaty of Waitangi they envisioned a partnership. They made a commitment to work with the Crown for the betterment of their people and the iwi has remained true to this commitment since 1840. But it is with profound remorse that I acknowledge that the Crown did not do the same. The Crown in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi treated Ngāti Rangi with indifference and failed to honour the Treaty partnership. Instead the Crown started a war in the 1860s which ultimately forced Ngāti Rangi to make a stark choice: to join their whanaunga who were resisting the Crown or to join the Crown's forces. Ngāti Rangi tūpuna fought in the Whanganui native contingent of the Crown's forces. They did not make this choice lightly and the impacts of their decision have reverberated through the generations of Ngāti Rangi uri. They made this sacrifice because they wanted their future generations to prosper as allies of the Crown.Ngāti Rangi tūpuna believed that alliance with the Crown would limit the harm of the colonial system but this was not to be so. The Crown accepted the support of Ngāti Rangi willingly but did not reciprocate their generosity. The Crown introduced the native land laws in 1865 which enforced the conversion of communally owned land into individual private property undermining the communal social structures Māori had held for centuries. The requirement for Ngāti Rangi to defend their interests in land or risk being excluded from its ownership further damaged the relationship between the iwi and their whanaunga.Ngāti Rangi wanted to maintain their mana over their land mana which had been held by the descendants of Paerangi since the first people came to the central North Island. However the Crown purchased large areas of land that Ngāti Rangi sought to protect for their mokopuna. Ngāti Rangi made multiple attempts to protect their land over the 19th and 20th centuries but the Crown did not support Ngāti Rangi's attempts to retain control. Ngāti Rangi's association with their land is central to their history. Ngāti Rangi along with their whanaunga have a deeply felt responsibility as kaitiaki in the rohe that has been passed down through the generations. The Crown's Treaty breaches have caused Ngāti Rangi to endure significant socioeconomic disparity. Their language culture economy health and connection to the tūrangawaewae have all suffered from the Crown's colonial regime. With $17 million in financial redress and the option to buy the Karioi Forest I'm confident that Ngāti Rangi and indeed the entire community living at the foot of Matua te mana—Mount Ruapehu—will see the benefits of this settlement. This bill contains the Te Waiū-o-Te-Ika framework which will establish a joint river entity comprised of all iwi connected to the Whangaehu River to work together for the benefit of the awa. With statutory recognition for the river and the mechanism to anchor the Crown in the arrangement this bill provides for Ngāti Rangi and their whanaunga to practise their kaitiakitanga over the river mō āke tonu atu—for evermore. The bill establishes Te Pae Ao a joint management committee for 10 reserve sites. The Crown will also return land to Ngāti Rangi in six cultural sites including the beds of the sacred Rotokura Lakes. This bill will vest defence lands at Te Onetapu in Ngāti Rangi. In a gesture of their continued generosity and sacrifice for this country Ngāti Rangi will then gift this land back to the people of Aotearoa. While today signifies the conclusion of settlement negotiations for Ngāti Rangi the iwi and the Crown will have work to do regarding the future arrangements of the Tongariro National Park. The Crown established the park in 1907 without any consultation with Ngāti Rangi and failed for almost a century to provide any meaningful role for Ngāti Rangi over their most treasured maunga. Ngāti Rangi will play an essential part in these future negotiations. I'd like to acknowledge all of the people who have helped to realise this settlement between Ngāti Rangi and the Crown. Firstly I express gratitude to the Ngāti Rangi kaumātua and tūpuna who took the first steps on this very long road towards reconciliation with the submission of your first Wai claim in 1990. Those kaumātua and your tūpuna had a clear vision for your future and I deeply regret that many are no longer with us to witness this momentous occasion where their vision becomes a reality. I must also acknowledge the hard work of the Ngāti Rangi Trust. You took a risk in being the first iwi of your district to settle and to settle in accelerated time frames. You worked tirelessly and held the Crown to account in every detail of the settlement. You did not compromise on the values and aspirations at the heart of this settlement. It is because of your work that this settlement is so comprehensive. I have absolute faith that Te Tōtarahoe o Paerangi will continue to lead Ngāti Rangi into the future with the same foresight and integrity. I also thank all the Crown agencies that have contributed to this bill. The depth of relationship agreements in this bill is a testament to the commitment of the entire Crown to be a Treaty partner to Ngāti Rangi. In particular I acknowledge Dr John Wood for leading the Crown team; Briar Gordon from the Parliamentary Counsel Office who led the drafting of this bill; my officials at Te Arawhiti; and the officials across all agencies who worked on this settlement. This is a day on which all of you also can be very proud. Lastly I thank all of the people of Ngāti Rangi those who have come today to see this bill enacted and those who are not able to join us. Thank you also for receiving the Crown's apology at Raketapauma Marae last year. You have patiently led the Crown to understand how it has hurt your iwi and how it can change. Your courage to confront the past and your endless generosity to allow the Crown a second chance is inspiring. I believe that your faith in the Crown and our new partnership is justified and it will be reciprocated and will be rewarding for both sides. I thank you all. When the Ngāti Rangi deed of settlement was signed in March last year at the Raketapauma Marae the Ngāti Rangi lead negotiator Che Wilson likened it to a new Treaty between Ngāti Rangi and the Crown and in many ways that is true. Today we are reaffirming our relationship with hope and a vision for the future generations of Ngāti Rangi but it is also very different because on this occasion unlike with the Treaty of Waitangi the Crown intends to honour and will be legally bound to honour the new Treaty that we are making. Now the Crown is making commitments in this bill that it will honour for ever. Just as this settlement signifies a new phase of our partnership today symbolises a new beginning for Ngāti Rangi and the Crown. Where we go we will go together like that of waka hourua: two hulls working as one. I commend the Ngāti Rangi Claims Settlement Bill to the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.