Ngaro AlfredHon ALFRED NGARO (National): Kia orana tātou katoatoa i te aroa maʻata o te Atua.[Greetings everybody in the name of the Lord.]Ko au tangata no te Moana nui o Kiva no te moana te ʻenua no Rarotonga no Aitutaki no Mangaia. Ko au e tu nei e tangata ki roto i teia are e tu nei te Paremata e tu tātou ki roto i teia ra.[I am a man of the Pacific Ocean of the ocean the land of Rarotonga of Aituaki of Mangaia. I am man standing here in this House of Parliament we are all in today.]There is a pe'e [chant] from the islands of Aitutaki that goes something like this:Taku manu nui taku manu raʻiTaku manu ka rere tau ʻitiʻiti ki runga ki TokerauOki mai ʻoki mai ʻoki mai. [Oh big bird oh little birdBirds who have flown to the four corners of the earthOne day you shall return and when you do tell us your song.Tell us your words that you have to share.]I am honoured to be here to be able to speak on this bill. The truth be told I think I was the only Māori-looking guy that was left on our side had that opportunity I was about to walk outside the House and was given the bill. The only time that actually I was in the Māori Affairs Committee was once when the Hon Tau Henare was the chairperson the late Hon Parekura Horomia was in there and many others.I can remember it was very feisty it was alive it was engaging and one of my Pākehā colleagues who was sitting next to me said Geez is it like that all the time?" I said "Well that's the way it rolls in the Māori Affairs Committee. You either go hard or you go home." And at the end we had a karakia and we had kai. So if you really want a true experience there's only one select committee to go to; that's the Māori Affairs Committee. To tatou tupuna i roto i teia are e tu nei [to our ancestors in this House standing here] I'm honoured to be able to be here. I have to say in the nearly seven years that I've been in this House this would have been the first time that I've been honoured to be able to speak on a Treaty claims bill. So here it is the Heretaunga Tamatea Claims Settlement Bill. Our old people often would say that nothing happens just by accident; sometimes things happen for a purpose. And so as I sat here starting to listen I heard what the different kōrero and the different speeches were saying and I thought to myself "So what is it that this boy from Rarotonga could actually comment on and contribute today?"What happened is that in the kōrero when I heard the Hon Chris Finlayson talking about that and from Te Aute College—you see I was just a State school boy from Henderson High School in West Auckland. The closest that we came was playing Hato Petera which we won Tipene which we lost. We had many exchanges but we always heard of Te Aute College. They won the Moascar Cup. They're actually well-known for their feats in that but the name that stood out to me was the name of Sir Māui Pōmare. The reason for that is that because in the First World War it was Sir Māui Pōmare who actually came across to Rarotonga and it was through his kōrero and through his engagement that began the migration of over 500 Cook Island soldiers in World War I who fought alongside the Māori Pioneer Battalion. So because of that I also realised that there is an importance to acknowledge the connection that we have as well.The other connection that they have to Hastings and the Hawke's Bay is that in our Cook Island communities up and down the motu [country] we would have a thing called the Uapou Fellowship which is a gathering of all the churches. We would have services and cultural activities and from the Hawke's Bay they always had a group a very strong group but they also had the best-looking girls that would often come so that's what they were also known for as well.But more importantly this is an opportunity for the Heretaunga Tamatea claim to put at rest a treaty settlement that has been long waited for. Here it is. It is a full redress. It is both an apology and a final settlement. I want to acknowledge all of the tūpuna who have gone before those who have been the negotiators those who have unfortunately not able to be here with all of us today but would see that this is a day they wished and in their moemoeā and in their dreams had desired would come. And so it comes today to all of us for the betterment so that all people can move on as well.When we think about the Treaty claims and the negotiations I remember reading a piece where in 1840 when part of the translation happened with Henry Williams he had to try and understand and translate into Māori and English and English into Māori what this relationship was meant to be about. They used the word "kāwanatanga" which is about governorship still retaining a sense of sovereignty. But there was another word that he used which was "kawenata" which is about a covenant and actually that's what people understood—a covenant that binds parties in a permanent moral and irrevocable relationship. That's what it understood. Unfortunately it's not what the reality was.So today I think it's important to go back to that place to say that when it was first agreed to when a covenant was signed it was signed that there would be a permanent moral and irrevocable relationship. Today I think it is the hope of everyone here that this redress will not only be an apology for what was done before to put the wrong right but also create a settlement that in the days before previously in the signing of this Treaty settlement was to be able to ensure that the future of all our rangatahi our tamariki for the future generations will continue to see the prosperity and success that we all desire as well.So I bring these brief words. I actually then commend this to this House—this settlement. It is an important and appropriate way to be able to do that that all of us are here to be able to celebrate and commemorate this. That then will be the beginning of a new future a new future and a new hope as well. I want to acknowledge all of those who have gone before us in this time and for all that they have desired to achieve.Kia orana e kia manuia.[Greetings and best wishes.]"