Davis KelvinKELVIN DAVIS (Labour—Te Tai Tokerau): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Ka haere tonu ngā kōrero ngā mihimihi atu ki tērā o ngā tūpuna rangatira a Wī Pere he tangata tino whai moemoeā mō ōna uri. Ahakoa kua whānau ia i roto i Te Ao Kōhatu i te tau toru i mua i te hainatanga o Te Tiriti o Waitangi ā kua whai moemoeā a ia kua whai whakaaro hoki a ia i roto i Te Ao Hou. Kua taea e ia te kitea ko te matakite pea te kupu tika i Te Ao Hou kei mua i a ia me āna tamariki. Koia te take nāna i whakatū i tēnei Tarahiti o Te Wī Pere hei whakahaere hei whakaū i te mana o ōna whenua hei whakatōpūngia i ōna whenua mō āna uri. E tika ana ngā kōrero o Te Minita a Te Ururoa Flavell mō ōna kaha ki roto i tēnei Whare. Kua pōtingia ia ki roto i tēnei Whare i Te Pāremata Tuaiwa. Kua puta ki waho a ia mō wētahi wā kua hoki mai ia i Te Pāremata Tekau Mā Rua. I te tau 1899 nāna i whakatū Te Wī Pere Trust hei tiaki i te mana o ngā whenua o ōna whenua mō āna uri. Kei te haere tonu taua tarahiti—118 tau i muri atu. I roto i tēnā wā kua whakawhānuitia ngā mahi ngā āhuatanga kei runga i aua whenua kia tae atu te wāriu o taua pakihi ki te 65 miriona taara. Nā reira koia te raukaha o te moemoeā o Wī Pere. Nā reira e tika ana mō tātou ki te mihi atu ki a ia. Nāna i tū ai hei tauira mō tātau katoa. Mehemea ka tirohia whānuitia e tātou Te Motu ka kite wētahi atu o ngā wāhi whenua Māori horekau e whai ana i ngā hua pērā i Te Wī Pere Trust. Nā reira kei te mihi atu ahau ki a ia ka tautoko i ngā mihi ki ngā tarahiti e noho ana ki roto i Te Whare nei Alan tēnā rā koe me tō rōpū i tae mai nei hei kitea i tēnei pire e whakamanahia ana e tēnei Whare. Te Kāhui Māori o Te Rōpū Reipa i haere i tērā tau hei tirohia i ngā mahinga o Te Wī Pere Trust. Kei te mihi tonu ki a rātou o te tarahiti mō ngā manaakitanga i ūwhia mai ki runga i a mātou i taua rangi. Kua mīharo te kitea i te pai o ngā whenua te rahi o te kāhui hipi e whaiwhai haere ana i ngā kaupoai o Te Tai Rāwhiti te kite i ngā hua whenua e tipu ana me wērā āhuatanga katoa e whakapakari ana i ngā uri o Wī Pere. I te wā o tōna matenga nā Tā Apirana Ngata i mea atu horekau he tangata i tua atu i a Wī Pere i whakapau i ōna kaha hei hāpai i tōna iwi. Nā reira e tika ana kia haere tonu aua mihimihi ki te rangatira rā! Ā i roto i tēnei Whare nā mātou i wānangahia kua roa e tārewa ana e whakahaere ana ki roto i tēnei Whare. I te tau 2015 kua uru mai te pire ki roto i Te Whare nei. Nā reira tata ana ki te rua tau mātou e wānangahia ana i tēnei pire. Kīhai te katoa o ngā kaitono i tautokongia ai i tēnei pire ēngari ki tāku nei whakaaro ki tāku nei titiro ā te mutunga kua ea ngā āwangawanga he pire pai tēnei! Ahakoa wētahi e whakahē ana ki te nuinga o ngā uri o Wī Pere he pire tino kaha tino pai tēnei! E tika ana hoki ngā kōrero a Te Minita. Ko wēnei tūmomo pire. pērā i Te Māori Purposes Bill he rerekē ngā wahanga o te pire. Nā i te kōrero mātou mō Te Wī Pere Trust kai roto i Te Tai Rāwhiti he wāhanga anō mō ōku whanaunga kei roto Te Rarawa kei roto i Te Tai Tokerau he wāhanga anō mō Te Rōpū Pouaka Whakaata ēngari e pai ana tēnā. Aua wāhanga atu horekau he raruraru mō aua āwangawanga ahakoa kua ohorere mātou i te wā o te whiringa o te Whare nei o Te Komiti o Te Whare nei i te urutanga mai o te pire te wahanga mō Te Rarawa. Ēngari i te pānuitanga o taua wahanga mō Te Rarawa kua kitea he mea pai hei āwhina hei tautoko i a Te Rarawa ki te whakahaerengia ō rātou pūtea e pā ana ki Te Ture mō Te Hī Ika. Nā reira kei te tautoko mātou e taea ana e Te Rarawa te whakahaere a rātou mahi ki te whakamanahia i tētahi rōpū hei pupuri i ngā pūtea.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. The comments and tributes continue about that one of the esteemed ancestral forefathers Wī Pere a person who really had a dream for his descendants. Although he was born in the stone age 3 years before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi he had a dream and a thought as well in the new world. He was able to visualise—prophesise is perhaps the correct word—the new world before him and his children. That in particular was the reason for Wī Pere to establish this Wī Pere Trust to administer reinforce the legality of his lands and consolidate them for his descendants. The Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is right about the efforts Wī Pere expended in this Parliament. He was voted into this Parliament during the ninth Parliament. He went out for a time but returned during the 12th Parliament. In the year 1899 he established the Wī Pere Trust to safeguard the legality of land and of his lands for his descendants. That trust continues to exist—118 years later. During that time operations and functions upon those lands have expanded and the value of that business has reached $65 million. So that indeed is the capacity of Wī Pere's dream. Therefore it is only right for us to commend him. He stood as an example for us all. If we were to look widely at the country we will note that some parcels of Māori land do not have benefits like those of Wī Pere. And so I acknowledge him and endorse the accolades accorded to the trustees seated here in the House. Alan I salute you and your group who have arrived here to see the empowering of this bill in this House. Last year the Māori caucus of the Labour Party went to examine the operations of the Wī Pere Trust and they continue to applaud the way the trustees hosted us that day. It was wonderful to see how well the lands looked the sheep numbers in the flocks being shepherded by the cowboys of the East Coast the crops flourishing and all aspects relating to the development of Wī Pere's descendants. Upon Wī Pere's death it was Sir Apirana Ngata who stated that no other person beyond Wī Pere had expended his efforts as he did to help his people. And so it is appropriate that we continue to acknowledge this leader. In this House we have debated this matter for a long time. In 2015 the bill came before the House and so we have spent nearly 2 years debating it. Not all submitters supported this bill. But in my opinion and as I perceive it most of Wī Pere's descendants are convinced that this is a strong and excellent bill. Therefore it is apt those tributes to that esteemed one should go on. In this House we debated the lengthy time of suspension and how it was proceeding in this House.In 2015 the bill arrived and it was introduced into this House. And so for nearly 2 years we debated this bill. Not all of the submitters endorsed this bill but according to my thinking and in my view the concerns were eventually satisfied. This is a good bill. Although some opposed it the majority of Wī Pere's relatives said this was a very good bill and a very strong one. The Minister's statements are correct as well. These kinds of bills like the Māori Purposes Bill have parts that are different. We have been talking about the Wī Pere Trust in the East Coast but there is a part as well about my relatives from within Te Rarawa in the Far North and a part that pertains to the Māori Television Service but that is fine. As far as those other parts are concerned there is not a problem about those concerns with those other parts although we were surprised during the debate time of this House in the Committee stage at the introduction of the bill the part relating to Te Rarawa. But during the reading of that part it was found to be a good thing helpful and supportive of Te Rarawa in the administration of their funding concerning the Fisheries Act. And so we endorse the ability of Te Rarawa to conduct their affairs and to empower a group retaining money for funding.]In the short time I have got left I would just like to continue the acknowledgments of Wī Pere himself. He was a man who we say was born in the stone age—te ao kōhatu—3 years before the Treaty of Waitangi but with his vision for his people he could see what was needed in the future for his people and so he established the Wī Pere Trust in 1899. And 118 years later that trust has flourished and grown to the extent that it has some $65 million in assets.That example that Wī Pere set is an example for everyone. We can look around the country and we can see other bits and pieces of Māori land and groups and they are sort of not really achieving the same results and that is really unfortunate because with the remaining bits of land that Māori do possess although it is a very small percentage of the total land mass of New Zealand there is still enough actually—if we got our acts together collectively we could actually emulate what the Wī Pere Trust has done and grow the wealth and the capacity of our people and our descendants.So I really do acknowledge the vision that Wī Pere had all those years ago and I also have to acknowledge the way the trust in those 118 years since he established it has managed to grow it to the extent it has. So you know just big accolades to them.The Minister for Māori Development is right too in regards to these Māori purposes bills. There are bits and pieces from here there and everywhere. The majority of the bill is about the Wī Pere Trust but a Supplementary Order Paper was introduced regarding helping Te Rarawa manage their business. There is another bit about the television service. Those are non-controversial and you know it is just sort of the nature of these Māori purposes bills that we have these disparate bits and pieces attached to them.But the main part of the bill is about the Wī Pere Trust. The Māori caucus of the Labour Party was fortunate enough to visit Gisborne last year and we saw the extent of the landholdings and the sheep farms and there were guys on the horses there rounding up sheep and we saw the persimmons the orchards and all the other interests that are going on at the Wī Pere Trust. It really is quite a magnificent site and as I said earlier it does stand as an example to other whānau hapū and iwi groups.So the Labour Party does support this bill. We wish the Wī Pere Trust all the best with its future endeavours. We hope that the bill serves its purpose and helps it to grow and strengthen itself. I also acknowledge Te Rarawa and hope that the small part that they have in this bill also helps them to grow their interests. Nā reira e Te Whare huri rauna tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Therefore to the House throughout I commend and applaud you collectively and appreciate us all.]