Quinn Paul: Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Quinn Paul: Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14612] 
PAUL QUINN (National) 
: 
 Tena koe e te Mana Whakawa tena tatou te whanau Paremata. Ngati Whare Ngati Manawa nau mai haere mai. Tena koutou nau mai ki te Whare Paremata. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker and to us the family of Parliament. Welcome Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa welcome. Greetings to you and welcome to Parliament House 
.] 
It gives me along with others great pleasure to join and welcome Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa. As my taina Mita Ririnui has already pointed out I have to declare not a conflict of interest but an interest because I am like him Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa. Having said that it will not stop me from voting in full spirit for the Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill right through its stages; indeed it will give me great pleasure to do so. 
Like previous speakers I too pause for a moment to acknowledge the outstanding leader Bill Bird. I attended a number of meetings before and after entering Parliament in terms of these negotiations and it is a great sadness that he is unable to join us to witness for himself this moment. It is one that he worked so hard and so diligently for. 
I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge some familiar faces in the gallery. In particular I acknowledge Bronco Carson and my friend and colleague James Carlson. James Carlson and I played rugby together for one of the great club teams Marist St Pats. In fact before I stood I was just reflecting on that great team which I think went 2½ years and 42 games without loss. It was interesting because in that team James let everyone know that he was part of the front row and that without him as the cornerstone tighthead nothing would have ever been achieved. Other interesting characters in that team went on to take leadership positions with other organisations: Brian Dickson is now the chief executive officer of Ngai Te Rangi and Tu Wyllie was our first five-eight. So it is great to be able to as James would say stand here and do his work for him in terms of joining to speak on this bill which is enacting the deed of settlement. 
I want to acknowledge my colleague Todd McClay the local constituent MP who has assisted the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in working with the local Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare people in progressing this bill. I think it is appropriate we acknowledge him. 
The reason I had to reflect on my taina is that during the course of his speech I think he was somewhat cheeky in terms of talking to the Minister who has done an outstanding job in getting this bill to where it is. I decided that like all taina he tends to be a bit cheeky and a bit disrespectful to his elders. I have to apologise to the Minister on my relation’s behalf for his cheekiness but I am sure it was meant in good spirit. 
I do not have much more to say—I think that most of it has been said—other than to say that I can assure our visitors and representatives from Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa that the Maori Affairs Committee works very well and diligently on ensuring that Treaty settlement bills are expedited through the select committee process. I can guarantee that this bill will be no exception. The committee is a very collegial one and we are at one in terms of making sure that Treaty settlements get the highest priority in our work programme. With those few words it gives me pleasure to join others in supporting the first reading of this bill.