Upston Louise: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Upston Louise: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:4003. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
Tena koe. Tena koe e te Whare. Rau rangatira matenei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ra. Tena koutou nga iwi rangatira o NgatiMakino. Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. Tenei Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori arohatia Te Reo. 
[ 
Thank you and greetings to you the House. I acknowledge you the many leaders in respect of the matter of the day. Salutations to the chiefly tribes of NgatiMakino. Greetings and acknowledgments to you all. This is Maori Language Week. Cherish the Language 
.] 
I am very proud to speak in this third reading of the Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill particularly as it is Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori. I want to echo the words of my parliamentary colleagues who have spoken in the House today about the relationship between iwi and the Crown and how it has strengthened with these final settlements and the fact that we move to a better place each time we conclude a third reading in this House. It is a significant moment and it is fantastic to see so many represented here today from Ngati Makino to celebrate it with us. I am sure that when you return home you will share the memories of this day with your whanau and I encourage you to do that to make sure that the story of today is etched in your history of the days that got us to this point. 
One of the things that we speak about when we talk about Treaty settlements is the economic benefits that are unlocked as a result. But the benefits are far more than unlocking economic potential. One of the things that I have been privileged to experience as part of the Maori Affairs Committee is to look at a number of the issues that the select committee is dealing with. Too often we are talking about people but on the negative side. Yesterday in our meetings there was significant conversation about deficit. Well I think the settlements unlock economic potential but more important it unlocks the potential of our people. I deliberately say “our”—yours ours the people of Aotearoa. I want to speak a little bit more about that further in this speech. 
We talk a lot about land but I think more important it is also the cultural and spiritual and historical significance of these settlements. I talked in my last speech on the Maraeroa settlement legislation about some of the economic benefits and the tourism opportunities in the area. But I want to move on to a couple of the areas that I see the settlements such as the Ngati Makino settlement provide. If I reflect it was the deed of settlement that was signed in April last year that set out the commercial redress and unfortunately sometimes what we focus on is the commercial redress—$11.9 million—and the return of culturally significant sites. 
I think one of the things that we do not talk about enough though and I wanted to talk about it today is Te Reo because I think that the cultural benefits of the settlements not only benefit Ngati Makino but also benefit us as a country. I want to take an opportunity to acknowledge Te Ururoa Flavell. He is the champion of Te Reo in this House in this Whare. Just this week he has reminded us that our pronunciation could and should be better. But I want to applaud the fact that there are many members of this House who have spoken for the first time in Te Reo this week. They have not done it quietly; they have done it publicly. I commended my colleagues on Facebook. I was rather disturbed to get some criticism that asked why it is only during this week—Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori—that we do that. I said: “Well actually I don’t think there’s any other better opportunity to stand in the House to be courageous in saying words that you may never have uttered before to run the risk of being criticised for getting it wrong but trying it anyway.” 
My personal belief is the more that we use the language—your language and ours—then the more comfortable we are with it and the more it will become woven into our language in Aotearoa. I think that is the thing that is so vital in terms of these settlements. It is not just about land and it is not about a cheque; it is about the fact that our cultures are woven more deeply than they ever have been before. 
That is why I am immensely proud to be part of this Government and the fact that we are progressing so many settlements. We operate with the cooperation of the House so I pay tribute to my parliamentary colleagues for allowing us—us collectively—to do that. All of us benefit and we benefit in our language we benefit in the wider culture and we benefit in what we are able to share. 
 So I do not want to talk about deficits today. I want to talk about profits I want to talk about wealth and I want to talk about richness—the richness that the partnership between iwi and the Crown provides for all of us. So when you leave here—when all of us leave here—I urge each and every one of you to share the story of today to share the story of what is possible each and every time an apology is made and accepted and that instead of having media headlines about where we disagree let us make media headlines about where we agree so that we can weave our futures more closely together you can share that with your children I can share it with mine and together Aotearoa will be stronger. No reira.