Horomia Parekura: Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:678;Page:1542] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 Ko Hikurangi te maunga ko Waiapu te awa ko Ngati Porou te iwi whanau rua. Te rere haere atu te awa o Uawa e tae kaha i te moutere o Pourewa. I reira ke e tu atu te waka o Hinematioro. E whakahoki atu te kitenga o Te Whakatatare ki te whare o Ruakapanga i te taenga o Te Kani peka ana ki te wananga o Te Rawheoro nga karangatanga o Rangiuia tihei mauri ora.  
E mihi kau ana i a koutou nga koroua nga kuia o te kainga mai i Tikirau ki Te Toka-a-Taiau. E rekareka atu i te kite atu i a koutou e tae atu i konei mo te oti pai nei. Ahakoa nga piki nga heke. E whai atu e whai kaha atu koutou. E mohio atu tatau mo ratau e rere atu e kore e konei. Ahakoa e kore e konei e mohiotia atu ko wetahi o ratau he mahi wharikitia mo tenei otinga. No reira tena koutou.  
Te papa e Apirana tena koe. Ta Tamati e mihi kau ana. Ki a koutou o nga tokotoru tapu e noho i mua ra a te papa a Barlow Uncle Noel Tate e tino mihi atu i a koutou. Tahia koutou. He whakaaro mo ratau e kore e konei. No reira tena koutou tena tatau. E Ming tena koe. He nui atu o nga korero mo nga Hainamana e tae atu i konei i tango whenua. Kaua koe e haere kaha atu i reira. E Herewini ana koutou katoa. He tino kaha atu koutou. Tena tatau. 
[ 
Hikurangi is the mountain Waiapu is the river and Ngati Porou is the tribe on both sides of the family. The canoe sails on the Uawa River. It reaches Pourewa Island where Hinematioro’s canoe was. When Te Kani arrived Te Whakatatare was taken back to the house of Ruakapanga and then went to Te Rawheoro the traditional school of learning; to the descendants of Rangiuia behold the breath of life.  
I salute you the elderly men and women from home from Tikirau to Te Toka-a-Taiau. It is wonderful to see you here for the completion of this bill. You have pursued it with strength. We all know that those who have passed on are no longer with us. Although they are not present it is well known that they laid the groundwork so that this bill could be finalised. And so I thank you.  
To my Uncle Apirana greetings. Greetings Sir Tamati. To the sacred trio sitting in the front—Uncle Barlow Uncle Noel Tate—I congratulate you. Our thoughts are with those who are no longer with us. And so I salute you. Greetings Ming. There has been a lot of talk about the Chinese coming here to take land. Do not go there. To Herewini and to you all you are all strong. Thank you. 
] 
The only thing I ever promised Hone Harawira was a mamae during duck shooting season. [ 
Interruption 
] And I hope that instead of shooting mallard they try to shoot him. 
Can I say seriously that this is a wonderful day to celebrate. We have done five settlements today and it attests to the seriousness that some of us try to ensure is imbued through that great statement of nationhood. I want to recognise the Minister of Maori Affairs Dr Sharples and especially Chris Finlayson the Attorney-General who defended his right not to say anything yesterday. But I want to thank Chris for his effort and to remember my colleague Michael Cullen and Mita Ririnui and all of those who had something to do with this. I want to especially recognise my very close cousin who has good blood in her Hekia Parata the Minister of Education and to say that I am very proud of her being Minister of Education even though at times we may disagree.  
The redress is here. Everybody has read it. There are a whole lot of things in here that will make life better for our people. There certainly have been struggles. One of our tupuna—we have a whole lot of chiefs and chieftainesses in Ngati Porou no Tai Rawhiti—was Te Kani-a-Takirau who was a relation of my tupuna. He was well known. He hikoi-ed to Pukawa in November 1885 to try to ensure that unity was true and proper amongst Maori leaders. In all that he pervaded over Ngati Porou he lived with the great people of Hauiti and I want to remember that today. 
Tribes are not too unlike Pakeha Christian churches. They have the same God and the same goal but they differ at times. And that is what Treaty settlements seem to be to me. You want a good outcome and there is a good outcome here for our tribe. I am of Ngati Porou descent and my nanny said to me when I used to roam around on the road—she was from Te Horo—“Whatever you do e hoa don’t tramp on any Maori’s neck whether it is down in Te Wai Pounamu or up in Ngapuhi.” I said: “Why is that Nan?”. She said: “Because you might be tramping on your own neck.” Whakapapa is a great thing as my colleague Nanaia put forward about the mahi between Te Puea and Apirana Ngata. 
I took umbrage. I have really warmed to the Minister—the Attorney-General the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. He said a few great things today about finishing the Maniapoto settlement building the whare for the 28th Maori Battalion and ensuring that the rest of the Ngati Porou settlement will be done in this sitting. I think that is what he was leading up to and I want to thank him for that and I look forward to it. He made a bit of a faux pas in suggesting that Ngati Porou were sluggish in economic development. I want to tell you that Ta Apirana was way ahead of his time. He gave Taranaki the first 12 cows. They have forgotten about that now that they are the big shareholders in Fonterra. He built a dairy factory. He was ahead of his time. 
Then this damn Kawana legislation convinced our people in the late 1940s 1950s and 1960s to pack their gear up. I remember being a 5-year-old in 1955 sitting on the post of a cream stand—people do not know what a cream stand is any more—with my nanny watching the Haengas the Crawfords the Tautaus and the Kopas pull their houses down. They were going to this faraway land called Wainuiomata or Manuwera. It may as well have been New York for us because we hardly got to go to Tolaga Bay. Our people have been transient. In those 22 years 86 percent of our population left Ngati Porou. I am seeing them going to Aussie now. It is a repeat. But I would suggest to Minister Finlayson do not ever underestimate Ngati Porou’s economic prowess. They held on to their land. They are going forward. 
I was part of a group who decided to build an abattoir in Ruatoria I recall which Potter Swann designed. Everybody said we were mad. If only we had built that abattoir. 
Hone Harawira 
: You were mad not to! 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: That is right. We had the water. We had worked it all out and my cousin Martin Kingi said to me: “Build the abattoir.” Martin was a bit of a drinker. I think of the people who are not here. I think about Bill Te Kani and Uncle Noel and my Uncle Hinga two of the last of the 28th Maori Battalion. Let it not be said that Ngati Porou have not done their bit to serve their country. Honore Chesley had a smile like a million dollars. There are some great people in Ngati Porou. I think of Auntie Gaga and the famed prophet and scholar Koro Dewes who believed that life began and ended at Whangaokena. He was a great great warrior and a great partner for Uncle Api and them coming here and finding ways through for this settlement. I think of Maraea-te-Kawa Pehi Kaa who has just passed on Senior Tangaere Tip Tamae-te-Maro Tom—all of those people. Auntie Kate I want to mihi to but I do not see her here. And Ta Henare who has passed away. To all of the people up in the gallery here it is great to see you all. This is a good day. Take your time going home and keep an eye on everything that is going on. 
I thought I would use the last minute of my call again. You know Maori signed up for forestry plantations at 3 percent. It was a rip-off. It was terrible. They were chased with the Noxious Weeds Act to get rid of the scrub and the gorse. Then all of a sudden there was money allocated from the Government to do forestry. I am not too sure what it does for our people. So I can assure you that the guardians the runanganui in charge of this big effort will ensure that the best results with decent partners will happen for our people. Let it not be said that we rely on the middle people all the time. I want to say to our leaders quite seriously: trust yourself your own intellect and intelligence and believe in the people living there inside. It is important we get expertise from outside but not to chastise and control us like lawyers and accountants have done over several years. Let us ensure that we can do that and make sure that we can leap forward on it. 
It is a great day for Ngati Porou. I am certainly proud to be here with my cousin Hekia. Rino thought she was wearing Ratana colours. I told him “They’re not Ratana colours; we had those before you.” That is about Hiruharama. That is why Whaea Tilly has got the purple on too. So tena koe. 
E mihi kau ana i a koutou katoa e Vic. [ 
I congratulate you all Vic. 
] I want to mihi to my whanaunga Heeni and Maria Whitehead. You have really been consistent Maria. Tena koe. Tena tatou. 
Pai ana te rangi nei mo tatau o Ngati Porou. Kare mo te korero whakahihi hoki pai ki te kainga tukuna mahi atu te mahi pai mo nga uri katoa o tatau. Kia ora tatau. 
[ 
This is a great day for us of Ngati Porou. We will not speak with arrogance as well but return home nicely launch it and accomplish the positives for all of our kinfolk. Congratulations everyone. 
]