Paraone Pita: Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParaone Pita: Te Kawerau ā Maki Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 08 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6395. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PITA PARAONE (NZ First):Ā tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker tēnā hoki tātou e noho nei i roto i te Whare i te wā nei. E tū ana tēnei ki te tautoko i ngā mihi i mihingia e tōku tuakana ki a koutou ngā uri a Te Kawerau ā Maki. E ai ki te kōrero nau mai haere mai piki mai kake mai i runga i te kaupapa i karangahia i a tātou kia ‘hakahuihui tahi hoki tātou i te rā nei nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou. Tēnā hoki koutou i ngā tini mate kei waenganui i a koutou ka nui taku mihi ki a rātou kahore kau kē i waenganui i a rātou ā-tinana ēngari e mōhio nei i a au kei konei rātou ā-wairua. Nā reira wēnā te take i maumahara i a au tētahi a Eru Thompson tana hingatanga i mua i te urunga mai o tēnei pire ki te Whare nā reira e tika ana ki te mihi atu ki a ia me ērā atu o ngā hunga ahakoa kahore kau kē i waenganui i a tātou ā-tinana mai i te rā nei ēngari nā rātou i tīmata mai tēnei hīkoitanga. Nā reira ka nui ngā mihi ki a rātou! Ka hoki mai ki a tātou te hunga ora nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou.Tēnā hoki kōrua e Bob kōrua me Penny ā ki a koe hoki e te whanaunga e Alf! Ka nui taku hari kei konei koutou nā te mea i raro i te kaupapa o tēnei pire kei konei tētahi kaupapa mēnā e hiahia ana tātou me te iwi kia ‘hakatau kei konei i a koutou ki te āwhina te kaupapa nei ēngari waihotia i muri nei! Māku e ‘hakamarama te āhuatanga o ēnā tū momo kōrero.[Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and also greetings to us all seated in the House at this moment. I stand to endorse the tributes accorded to you by my elder kin to you the descendants of Te Kawerau ā Maki. As the saying goes welcome come hither climb and mount up upon the matter that has beckoned us here to gather together today; so acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively. Acknowledgments to you in regard to the myriad of deaths in your midst; huge condolences to them even though they are not amongst us physically but I do know they are here spiritually. That is the reason why I reminisce over one of them Eru Thompson who passed away just before this bill was introduced into the House so it is only fitting that I acknowledge him and the rest of them who are not here in person amongst us today but they who started this journey. And so I have much respect for them! I come back to us the living; therefore welcome acknowledgments and greetings to you all.Salutations to you Bob you and Penny and also to you my relative Alf. My happiness is huge that you are here collectively because here under the purpose of this bill is a proposal if we and the tribe desire to adjudicate over it we are here to help this proposal along—but leave it here for later. I will explain the ramifications of that sort of detail.]Nā reira I stand on behalf of New Zealand First to lend our support to this bill. I want to say that this bill is the culmination of a great deal of cooperation between a number of parties. It is also the culmination of a long journey that the iwi have taken to have their claims settled and to have this bill come to this stage today. The bill helps to confirm the iwi’s mana whenua status and I know that there has been some difficulty in doing that. Although in their minds they have had no doubt as to the mana in which they stand within the rohe that this bill covers to have it confirmed in legislation will assist those coming generations to establish and to continue to maintain what mana whenua means to them.The bill also makes comment about the lack of a marae in the area. I made special mention in my mihi to a former mayor of Waitakere City; and to Penny Hulse who is still involved in local body politics; and the current councillor Alf Filipaina who sits on the Auckland Council. I know that when the iwi begin—[Interruption] Sorry Penny Webster. My apologies; that is why I have a leader. But the point I want to make is that when the iwi commence their marae-building project they will need all the assistance that they can get from the local body and to have former representatives of the local body present today—I hope that they go back and take this message with them when Te Kawerau ā Maki are ready to start their marae project.The bill also includes amongst the quantum $6.5 million. For some iwi that is but a mere drop in a very big pool. For Te Kawerau ā Maki although it may be an amount that obviously they have signed up to it reflects like all claims the contribution that iwi who settle their Treaty claims make to this nation by accepting a settlement that really does not reflect 100 percent compensation to which they are entitled.I also want to make a comment about the term of access for certain parties to the block known as Te Henga. I make this reference to it because it is an example of the generosity that this iwi are displaying to their neighbours. Within the bill it gives access to an equivalent period of two generations with the right of renewal of a further two generations. Although the affected parties may have wanted access for time immemorial I think the fact that they have come to this point shows they have realised just how generous the iwi have been and quite clearly they have accepted it. But I must say that during the Māori Affairs Committee hearing process we were certainly alarmed that that particular party had not been aware of this settlement until its members read about it in a local newspaper.Another thing that the bill actually records—and I want to contribute to the discussion to ensure that it is in the Hansard—is that within a generation of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi this iwi became landless due to the actions and I am going to be polite here that the Crown had been involved in. The settlement is a credit to the negotiators. The team that made up that group of negotiators has been named and I want to lend my support to them. But it is really a credit to their tenacity and their ability to negotiate such a settlement.I want to conclude by saying that negotiations in the whole Tāmaki area have been somewhat difficult for all parties not least for the Crown. One of the difficulties is the reluctance on the part of the Crown to allow access to information about the terms of settlement with other iwi when negotiating particularly with Te Kawerau ā Maki. Again I want to acknowledge the tenacity of the iwi.I just want to conclude by acknowledging Te Kawerau ā Maki. Although they may have felt that the journey so far has been an onerous and burdensome one can I just assure them that as leaders the real challenge is still ahead of them. As my father always said to me if you purport to lead your people never forget to look behind to see whether or not they are there because if they are not then you have to ask the question: who are you leading?Nā reira e tātou mā Mr Assistant Speaker koutou e Wārena koutou e te rōpū nei ngā mihi hoki mō ngā rā kei te heke mai nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou huri noa ki tēnei o tātou Whare kia ora mai tātou.[So to us collectively throughout the House to you Mr Assistant Speaker to Wārena and this group congratulations accolades and good tidings also for the future and my appreciation to us all.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party): Ā kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Tuatahi kei te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou kua tae ā-tinana mai ki te Whare nei. E tautoko ana ngā whakatau kua tuku e āku hoa me taku parata nei a Te Ururoa ki a koutou. Anō nā ki te karakia i whakatau nei i a tātou ahakoa pēnei te hanga o tēnei Whare āhua rerekē i ētahi wā ā kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koe e te parata i whakatau i a tātou i te karakia i te ata nei nā reira tēnā koutou nau mai! Nau mau haere mai ki tēnei Whare Te Ana o Te Raiona e kī mai ētah. Ētahi o koutou kāre pea e mōhio mai ki tēnei Johnny come lately ēngari ka tū ake au hei māngai mā tātou mā tātou Te Iwi Māori i roto i tēnei Whare nā reira kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.Karanga mai karanga mai ko Te Kawerau ā Maki ko Te Wao Nui ā Tiriwa mai i te korekore ki ngā tai ā Rakataura ko Rangihina ko Whangaparāoa ko Mahurangi. Nā Maki te mana me te rangatiratanga![Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. Firstly I would like to acknowledge you all who have arrived here in person to this House. I endorse the words of welcome extended to you all by my colleagues and in particular my parliamentarian brother Te Ururoa. Now regardless of the prayer that welcomed us today the procedure of this House can be somewhat different at times but I do want to acknowledge you brother in welcoming us with a prayer this morning; so salutations to you collectively and welcome. Welcome come hither into this House the Den of the Lion as some would call it. Some of you may not know this Johnny come latelybut I stand as a representative for us the Māori people in this House so consequently I want to extend this greeting to you collectively; welcome to you and to us all collectively.Hark the call listen to the call it is the call of Te Kawerau ā Maki it is the Great Forest of Tiriwā from not a thing and from the shores of Rakataura Rangihina Whangaparāoa and Mahurangi. The control and autonomy is with Maki.]Close to 18 months ago an esteemed group gathered at Makaurau Marae in Māngere to witness the signing of the deed of settlement for all outstanding historical Treaty claims. There was the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Christopher Finlayson; the Minister Responsible for Whānau Ora and former Māori Party co-leader the Hon Dame Tariana Turia; and the Minister for Pacific Peoples Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga.The signing was witnessed by members of Parliament Claudette Hauiti and Tau Henare and Te Kīngi Tuheitia and representatives of other iwi also attended. But of all the dignitaries present and all the historic kōrero laid down one stood out from the rest and it was the message from Te Wārena Taua the chairman of Te Kawerau ā Maki Iwi Authority who said: “There were many elders who fought hard to retain our ancestral taonga. They fought hard to see our grievances brought before the Crown and now today it is all about them and our grandchildren to come. I am happy.” Today we remember those elders and we reflect on the opportunities ahead for all our mokopuna. That five-letter word “happy” is all the more remarkable when one looks through the litany of lies and deception of mistruths and inappropriate actions that have been laid bare before the House.Te Kawerau ā Maki’s claims are based on the Crown’s actions and omissions including extensive Crown purchases in the three decades following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. In other words it started badly long before there was any sight of a Treaty to sign. The Crown recognises that it breached the Treaty of Waitangi through the pre-Treaty land transactions and pre-emption waiver purchases for lands in which Te Kawerau ā Maki had an interest. This includes land in west Auckland in the Upper Waitematā Harbour. It also relates to the purchase in 1841 of an extensive area called Mahurangi and Ōmaha. Less than a year after signing Te Tiriti o Waitangi the Crown failed to conduct an adequate investigation of customary rights when it purchased the land.The way in which the land was surveyed the way in which the transactions were approved the way in which regulations were overlooked and the process whereby the Crown granted land to settlers within the Mahurangi and Ōmaha purchase area—all of this—caused confusion and uncertainty for Te Kawerau ā Maki. This was land that had been set aside as Te Kawerau ā Maki land and land that was never protected leaving the people alienated from tribal control.In effect Te Kawerau ā Maki were rendered virtually landless. This has had a severe impact on the health and well-being of its people. The effects on the community continue to be felt today. Indeed step by step decade by decade the circumstances of Te Kawerau ā Maki are in themselves a riveting example of how not to express a genuine and meaningful partnership.The 1853 and 1854 purchase deeds for Hikurangi Paeōterangi and Puatainga are other fascinating examples of what not to do. In each of these cases the deeds contained provisions that 10 percent of the proceeds of sale were to be expended for the benefit of Māori and for specific payments to be made to the vendors. Yes one could even say that 10 percent was at best tokenistic but it gets worse. The Crown failed to keep adequate records after 1874 and the vendors including Te Kawerau ā Maki received no further identifiable benefit under that 10-percent provision.The Crown went on on its sorry way to purchase a large amount of land in the Waitakere region between 1853 and 1856 failing to actively protect Te Kawerau ā Maki by ensuring adequate lands were reserved from the purchase and protected from alienation. To add insult to injury the Crown then introduced native land laws without consulting Te Kawerau ā Maki. The individualisation of title imposed by these laws was inconsistent with tikanga. Te Kawerau ā Maki had no choice but to participate in the Native Land Court system but the title determination process carried significant costs including survey and hearing costs that at times contributed again to the alienation of Te Kawerau ā Maki land.As we have seen with so many other iwi the introduction of native land laws simply made the land more susceptible to partition fragmentation and alienation contributing further to the erosion of tribal structures which were based on collective ownership of lands. There was no form of collective title enabling Te Kawerau ā Maki to administer and utilise their lands until 1894 by which time far too much had already been taken.Then there were the lands of Kōpironui acquired by the Crown for sand dune reclamation between 1920 and 1951 including compulsory taking of land. The loss of these lands has been a major grievance for Te Kawerau ā Maki hindering their access to urupā kaimoana and other resources. The wholesale taking of land the failure to provide adequate compensation and reserves and the loss of Te Kawerau ā Makiwāhi tapu has drastically and dramatically hindered the social economic and cultural development of Te Kawerau ā Maki as a tribe.I have taken the time to trace the Crown’s pattern of destruction over subsequent decades for a specific purpose today and it brings us back to the meaning of happiness. How humbling it is to think of the words of the kaumātua Te Wārena Taua when we traverse the breakdown of trust and honour in terms of the Crown’s actions—actions that undermined the ability for Te Kawerau ā Maki to protect and manage their taonga their wāhi tapu and to maintain spiritual connections to their lands.Financial redress will see the tribe receive $6.5 million which will help to buy back 85 percent of the Riverhead Forest but how can any amount of financial recompense ever address the impact felt on the well-being of Te Kawerau ā Maki today? Te Kawerau ā Maki has waited a long time to reach this day and I do believe the $300000 contribution towards supporting them to achieve their dream of creating their own marae is a really important starting point for a new future. Although no contribution or fiscal address will ever rectify the wrongs of the past perhaps the aspiration for their own marae will enable the people of Te Kawerau ā Maki to focus full steam ahead on developing a strong cultural and economic future and that fellow members will be a commitment that we can all feel happy about supporting. I am sure even koro Eru would be smiling down today happy to move forward.Yes last year was the time when I came and first listened to this claim with a box of tissues just overwhelmed by the utter destruction that came to our people but today we put that five-letter word into practice—“h-a-p-p-y”—despite all of that so that we can move forward. I commend you and I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.