Korako NukNUK KORAKO (National): Ā tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā tēnā rā koutou ngā pouwaitaka ō tō tātou mātua tupuna. E ka mea nui ki te mihi atu ki tō tātou Matua Nui i Te Raki ko Ia te tīmātaka me te whakaotinga o Te Ao katoa. Nō reira ka mihi au ki Te Kaihōmai ō kā mea pai katoa! Ka maumahara mātou ki a rātou kai tua kua wehe ki Te Ao wairua. E nō reira e koutou rā o ia marae o ia iwi o ia waka e haere ruka ki te ara whānui a Tāne ko tua o te ārai haere haere e haere atu rā! Ā tēnei te mihi mō Te Iwi o Whanganu tēnei te mihi ki ngā uri ko Kupe Haunui-a-Paparangi Haupipi o Tamatea Pōkai Whenua. Nō reira e koutou rā e mauria mai ō whakaako ki te kaupapa nunui mauria mai mauria mai! Nō reira nau mai haere mai whakatau mai ki Te Whare Pāremata e huihui takata a tēnā koutou tēnā koutou e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa! Tēnei te mihi ki ngā rakatira o Te Whanganui Iwi tēnei te mihi mō Te Ariki Rakatira o Tūwharetoa ki a koe e Tā Tumu. Ā tēnei te mihi mō te rangatira whaea o Te Whanganui e Dame Tariana nō reira ka nunui te mihi.[Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and greetings to you collectively the pillars of our ancestral forefathers. It is indeed a thing of importance to acknowledge our Great Father in Heaven. He is the beginning and ending of all things in the world. Therefore I acknowledge the Provider of all good things! We remember those who have departed to the Spiritual Realm. And so to you collectively of each courtyard tribe and canoe traverse the broad path of Tāne to beyond the divide. Go forth depart farewell! I acknowledge the tribe of Whanganui and the descendants of Kupe Haunui-ā-Paparangi and Haupipi of Tamatea-Pōkai-Whenua and so to you collectively bring forth your teachings to this matter of huge significance. Bring it here come forth! And so welcome salutations pay homage to Parliament the gatherer of people. Therefore I salute and acknowledge you collectively and commend you all. I acknowledge the leaders of the Whanganui tribe and the paramount chief of Tūwharetoa you Sir Tumu. I acknowledge you Dame Tariana Tūria leading matriarch of Whanganui; the acknowledgment is huge.]Here we are at the third reading in the final journey of the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill. It is indeed my honour and my pleasure as the kaiwhakahaere of the Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori to be able to kōrero in this third reading. My kōrero is very much about the journey that has happened since the bill has come to the House. This bill is an innovative and world-leading solution to a very complex and at times a very very controversial issue. It is not easy to balance the competing interests of multiple iwi and those other users in the way they appropriately respect the river—tangata whenua and all who now use and benefit from the river. Before I go into more details on some of the aspects of this bill which was considered by the Māori Affairs Committee I want to acknowledge a few of the other key people in this process: first of all the Whanganui iwi who have been involved in this process right from the beginning. I also want to thank you for your manaaki your aroha and your tautoko to the Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Maōri when we came to Whanganui to hear the submissions kanohi ki te kanohi. There is also the leadership as I mentioned of the negotiators and the lawyers who have worked on your behalf. I want to acknowledge as the Minister did the Crown negotiator John Wood and also his staff who have played such a key part in this. I also know that in putting together such groundbreaking legislation there is an important part of this House a supportive part that is called the Parliamentary Counsel Office. It had a particularly challenging job so I acknowledge Briar Gordon for the role that she has played and her staff and the assistance that she gave to the Māori Affairs Committee. I also acknowledge the officials of the Office of Treaty Settlements who again worked tirelessly throughout this process from the very early stages of negotiation. I also want to acknowledge the members of the Māori Affairs Committee and I challenge anyone particularly from outside this House who believes that Māori MPs actually do not do a good job here particularly on these Treaty settlement bills. We are a very very pragmatic and hard-working committee. What we always have said is Let's park our political affiliations at the door and let's get on with what is the best for our people." and this is a reflection e hoa mā of the work that we do. I want to acknowledge also the Hon Nanaia Mahuta who is no longer actually on our committee but we miss you and we love you. We do miss you. We miss that very very sort of passive but strong leadership that you have shown—kia ora to you. Despite the bill being the result of a consultation and negotiation process that has actually already happened there was real work for the committee to do and we had to carefully consider some of the complex and controversial issues relating to the bill. I just want to highlight some of the changes that were recommended by the Māori Affairs Committee. In particular there were concerns that were raised about the reference to some groups as hapū—groups that would consider themselves to be iwi in their own right. What has happened here is that part of the foundation on which the bill is built is a report from the 1950 royal commission of inquiry into the bed of the Whanganui River which defined those groups with an interest in the river. Parts of this bill that refer back to that report will continue to refer to groups such as Ngāti Uenuku and Ngāti Hauā as hapū. However that is in no way an indication of how those groups should be referred to. To make sure this is clear we have recommended an amendment to state that Ngāti Uenuku and Ngāti Hauā may be viewed as iwi within the broader context of the Whanganui iwi. Another issue we encountered was the fact that this bill requires the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations to be responsible for appointing a Crown representative to Te Pou Tupua. However the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is a role that will not exist indefinitely. In fact thanks to this Government's actions in progressing the Treaty settlements efficiently it is a role that may cease to exist sooner rather than later. So for that reason we recommend an amendment that after the first nomination by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations future nominations will be the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment. We chose the environment portfolio as the most appropriate place for the responsibility to rest because Te Awa Tupua is a freshwater body that falls under the management of the Resource Management Act. We also recommended that when we make such nominations the Minister for the Environment should be required to consult with the Minister for Māori Development the Minister of Conservation and any other relevant Ministers. Finally I want to acknowledge the architect of this incredible piece of legislation. I have been to a number of conferences offshore and all they want to hear about is our Treaty settlement process. When I cite this particular bill they are in absolute awe as to how we have actually associated a river—a mighty river—with and given it the identity of the person and also as to the fact that that river is such an important and intricate part of people's lives indigenous Māori and non-Māori and they want to know how we have actually made that work. So I want to absolutely acknowledge the Minister Chris Finlayson. Finally it has been an incredible privilege to chair the Māori Affairs Committee to be a part of those wonderful people who make it up and then also to be part of the process of passing this really world-leading piece of legislation. I say to all of our Whanganui iwi members whānau tautoko all of you you should be proud—and I know you are—of this piece of legislation and as proud as we are to be able to assist this legislation and to try to make it better which is our role as members of the Māori Affairs Committee. Finally I commend this bill to the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora."