Henare Peeni: Waitangi National Trust Board Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHenare Peeni: Waitangi National Trust Board Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 19 November 2015. Volume:710;Page:8334. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PEENI HENARE (Labour—Tāmaki Makaurau):Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. “Papā te whatitiri hikohiko te uira ka tanuku ki runga i te maunga o Hikurangi ki Te Tai Rāwhiti o Kahurānaki ki runga o Heretaunga. Ka rere ā-waikamo ki runga i Te Marae o Kohupātiki ki roto i ngā rangi kua pahure ake nei.” Kai tōku pāpā a Wīrangi Wīremu Whaitiri ōku whakaaro i tēnei wā. Ka kotahi ake te wairua o tōku pāpā ki a ia. Ka kotahi ake te wairua o te toa whutupōro a Jonah Lomu ki a rāua kia kotahi tonu ai te tangi mō rātou kua ngaro atu ki Te Pō haere haere haere!Ka whakahokia mai ngā rārangi kōrero ki a tātau me tēnei kaupapa kai mua i te aroaro o Te Whare i te rā nei. Ka tautoko ahau i ngā kōrero me ngā mahi a Te Minita ka tae mai tēnei pire ki mua i te aroaro o Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri i ngā Take Māori. Kua kōrero mai Te Whare ki roto i te pānuitanga tuatahi tuarua i ngā mahi e pā ana ki ngā kaiwhakahaere o te wāhi o Waitangi nō reira e mihi atu ana ahau ki Te Minita e mihi atu ana ahau ki Te Heamana o Te Rōpū Whiriwhiri i ngā Take Māori e Tūtehounuku tēnā koe mō ngā mahi kua tae mai tātau ki tēnei wā.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. “The thunder crashes the lightning flashes and crumbles upon Mount Hikurangi east of Kahurānaki and upon Hastings. Tears flowed on the marae of Kohupātiki in days just past.” My thoughts at this moment are with my father figure Wīrangi Wīremu Whaitiri. The spirit of my father will indeed be as one with him as the spirit of the champion rugby player Jonah Lomu will be with both of them so that there will be only one mourning period required for them lost to the Void. Go forth depart journey on!I will bring the contents of the presentations and this matter before the House today back to us. I support the statementsand the workof the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage that this bill be referred to the Māori Affairs Committee. The House has expressed its views in the first and second readingsin regard to the functions of administrators at Waitangi itself and so I acknowledge the Minister and the chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee. To you Tūtehounukuwell donein regard to what has been done to bring us here to where we are at this point in time.]I speak with a very clear and unashamed passion for this part of the country. Waitangi since I was born has been a place very close to my heart. I visit Waitangi not only to commemorate at the beginning of February every year. I have long held my connection to Waitangi and that connection I want draw to the attention of the House.Although we may speak of the gift of Lord and Lady Bledisloe I want to return for the record of the House the conversation to the time of my ancestor Maikuku from whom I am a direct descendant. Maikuku was resident in the area now known as the Waitangi National Trust estate. In fact the place right near the waka Ngātokimatawhaorua is known as Te Ana o Maikuku or the place where Maikuku lived. I want to remind the House of just how deep my roots are and indeed how deep the roots of this country are at the place affectionately known as Waitangi.The heritage of this country is really important to me. I cannot think of a more important place when I consider the history of our country than Waitangi. This is the very place where my ancestors and indeed the colonial ancestors of this country debated the merits of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They went on to sign the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi and thus we have this august institution and the fine country that we live in today.I want to just pick up a part of the Hon Nicky Wagner’s contribution to the third reading of this amendment bill. In her contribution she said that over 80 years ago Lord Bledisloe the Governor-General at the time and Lady Bledisloe showed enormous foresight when they acquired the Waitangi estate and gifted it to the nation. As with New Zealand Governors-General before 1972 Lord Bledisloe was British. Nicky Wagner went on to say that he lived in New Zealand for only 5 years yet during his time here he showed an interest in New Zealand’s heritage that would put many native-born New Zealanders to shame.I want to highlight to the House that at the end of the 1800s several Māori groups came together to try to rally central government to protect the estate known as Waitangi. They could see that the farmland was becoming a marginal farm. It was starting to become run down. They understood and appreciated the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tried to rally central government to ensure that the place was protected. Sadly their efforts were in vain.I also want to highlight the efforts of the member Mr Vernon Reed a former member of the House who I understand hosted Lord and Lady Bledisloe in the Bay of Islands and shared the rich history of Waitangi with them which as far as I am concerned—and what I would like to offer to the House—is what tipped the decision of Lord and Lady Bledisloe to purchase the land and indeed make the noble gift of gifting it to the country.Just as in the spirit of Te Tiriti of Waitangi a partnership was entered into I believe that in this particular bill a partnership again was reached. Why do I say that? Because for some time now there has been a groundswell of concern amongst the families in te Tai Tokerau in respect of the descendants of the ancestors who were instrumental in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Their concern was based around representation on the Waitangi National Trust. They felt that their voices were not being heard. They felt that their tupuna or ancestor had as equal mana as other ancestors who were being represented on the Waitangi National Trust.So I want to congratulate the House on this bill. One of the amendments is to ensure that the voice of Pōmare the voice of Nene the voice of Kāwiti and the voice of Heke will be now heard on the Waitangi National Trust. It is with some pride that as a descendant of all four of those ancestors I am recommending this bill to the House in its third reading so that those families can gain representation in the spirit of partnership that was entered into in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.This amendment bill also looks to the future of the Waitangi National Trust and that is a good thing for as much as we celebrate our heritage and our past it is important to protect the future of not only the estate but also the conversation the learnings and the taonga that come from the Waitangi National Trust.So it sets out a bit of a pathway forward and I think it does so at a very important time in the nation’s future. I know and many of the members in this House know that the Waitangi National Trust has looked to having the actual Te Tiriti o Waitangi to Waitangi returned where hopefully one day it will be displayed for all to see in the beautiful place of Waitangi.I am really excited about the future of the Waitangi National Trust. It has a plan. Part of that plan is to make sure that the education and the story of Waitangi is told to all young New Zealanders—and I am excited by that—so that that conversation does not end and so that that conversation does evolve.In conclusion I want to thank all involved in bringing this bill to this point in time and in particular the Waitangi National Trust. It may interest the House to know that upon the death of my father in May there was a vacant seat left on the trust board. Recently that was advertised and I was asked to consider applying. I did and I am proud to say now that very shortly I will be a trustee on the Waitangi National Trust Board.So in its third reading I want to commend this bill to the House. Tēnā koutou tēnā tatou katoa.