Waititi RawiriRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Ka tangohia taku pōtae e hika mā. Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou te iwi Moriori. Koutou te imi waina pono o Rēkohu o Rangihaute o Hororereoro me ngā moutere pātata ki Rēkohu. Ngā mihi anō hoki ki tō karāpuna a Rongomaiwhenua ki ō karāpuna kua riro ki te pō. Ko rātou te imi kaha nei ki te pupuri i te mana o te Waina Pono me te whakapapa o te Moriori. Nō reira tēnei te tangi tēnei te mihi. [Let me remove my hat oh friends. This is my welcome to the Moriori people. Those of the waina pono people of the Chatham Islands of Rangihaute of Hororereoro and the islands close to the Chatham Islands. I acknowledge your ancestor Rongomaiwhenua and your ancestors that have passed to the night. They were resilient people who held fast to the prestige of the waina pono people and the genealogy of the Moriori. Therefore this is my lament this is my acknowledgment.]I acknowledge the presence of our Moriori relatives the waina pono of Rēkohu of Rangihaute of Hokorereoro and of the islands that make up the Chatham Islands. I acknowledge your karāpuna Rongomaiwhenua and the many ancestors that have kept your story of resilience your song of truth belonging alive and well. I acknowledge the tenacity of your karāpuna Tommy Solomon and his legacy to ensure his people the Moriori the waina pono were not exterminated by the colonial history books or by the lens of early ethnographers colonial historians and educators that deliberately classed Moriori as extinct and racially distinct from and inferior to Māori in their School Journals—the impact still haunting imi waina pono today and also Māori for that matter. This history needs correcting to ensure that the colonials' misconception of false history and kōrero of the Moriori can be told and honoured. I would like to acknowledge the negotiators—E Maui tēnā koe; ko koe e hautū nei i tēnei kaupapa i roto i ngā tau maha [Maui I would like to acknowledge you; you have lead this important work for several years]—and your team for your tireless commitment to ensure the kaupapa of the Moriori was brought to light. I know the immense commitment and work negotiators have to go through therefore kia kaha kia māia kia manawanui. This House and what it has sponsored in the past have a lot to answer for. It should be ashamed of its history. This is why the Māori Party policy for history to be taught in schools correctly is so important as this ensures the Moriori can correct the shameful history portrayed by Pākehā academics and share their own stories according to waina pono tikane. I acknowledge the summary of historical account and it provides a good opportunity to acknowledge the Crown's atrocities and breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. No Treaty settlement should be considered full and final and the process for reconciling our past must never stop. As Moana Jackson often says treaties are not settled; they are honoured. Every generation has the right and obligation to continue the struggle for justice. Te Paati Māori looks forward to continuing to support this bill through the House and as a member of the Māori Affairs Committee I look forward to hearing more from the Moriori people about the importance of this bill for them and how the Crown can be doing more to honour their rights. As an active member of the Ringatū faith and as a tohunga I acknowledge te herenga Te Matua Tangata me te iwi Moriori ki runga i Te Kōpinga Marae and the Whakarau [the ties to Te Matua Tangata and the Moriori tribe from Te Kōpinga Marae and Whakarau].In ending as Rangitokona illuminates the path ahead waina pono affirms you to the land and the principles of me rongo live on. Ko Rangitokona ki runga ko waina pono ki raro. E ū te manawa me rongo. E ū te manawa me rongo.[Rangitokona in the sky above the original people on the land below. The heart holds strong 'tis peace. The heart holds strong 'tis peace. Acknowledgments to you.]Tēnā koutou.