Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National): E te iwi ngā uri o Whakatōhea e huihui mai nei i tēnei wā tēnā koutou mō te pānuitanga tuatahi o te pire Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill.[To the iwi the descendants of Whakatōhea that have assembled here at this time congratulations on the first reading of this bill the Whakatōhea Claims Settlement Bill.]As a list MP for the National Party but also as uri of Whanganui Ngāti Apa Ngā Rauru I greet and I welcome Whakatōhea to this Whare this afternoon on this very important and significant occasion. These Māori members of Parliament seated here in this Whare we know what it's like to be seated up where you are today. We have been with our own people when legislation has been passed through this House for the settlement of the long journey—the grievance the mamae the hope and the aspiration that with the progression of legislation through this House we move from and we move forward into the future. So I welcome you all here today.I seize the opportunity also to address New Zealanders who are listening in from afar. I acknowledge Whakatōhea gathered here in this Whare but also those further afield not able to be here today but also New Zealanders listening to the story. Whakatōhea has journeyed generations of the mamae towards fulfilling the hope and aspirations within this claims settlement bill.The process that it takes in order to arrive into the future is by way of addressing within this bill to be made into law at the third reading what is outlined in clause 8 the history which my colleague Joseph Mooney has addressed in part and Minister Little also and others will. In clause 9 there's the Crown's acknowledgment to Whakatōhea of its abysmal breaches and conduct through generations which has carried from generations past present to the future but should be addressed within hopefully this claims settlement. In clause 10 is the apology which should I have the opportunity and privilege again to rise at the third reading I will speak to.It's important that New Zealanders do know the history of Whakatōhea. I invite New Zealanders to read the bill. It is detailed there at clause 8. Just to canvass that briefly on 27 May 1840 seven Whakatōhea rangatira signed the Treaty of Waitangi. On that same day 183 years later the deed of settlement was signed. Clause 8 details much of the mamae and the histories and the herstories of these grievances. A significant part of the mamae has been the killings the murders of our tūpuna and they are named within this bill. They are etched within the hearts and the memories that are carried through the generations. Crown forces invaded Whakatōhea rohe in September 1865. Crown troops adopted a scorched earth approach. We've heard this on occasions when Parihaka was in the Whare with their bill and here we are yet again today hearing the story that many New Zealanders turn a deaf ear to and a blind eye away from. We need to be reminded of the facts of the history and the herstory and the mamae that is carried to be able to address that and move forward.I remember as a law student at Auckland University—and I had the privilege of being a student of Professor Ranginui Walker—and hearing the story and the mamae of Mokomoko who in 1866 a Whakatōhea rangatira was convicted and executed for Völkner's murder. I remember as a law student going past Mount Eden on my bike to netball practice at the netball courts knowing the story of Mokomoko and the wairua and the kēhua at that place—and for the Crown finally to acknowledge the return of the tupuna to the whānau in 1989 with a free pardon in 1992. New Zealanders need to know the history to realise and appreciate what it is we come from and we carry and what needs to be addressed and redressed within these settlement bills. The detail is there and is to be inscribed and captured in law and it will be there not only in Hansard but in legislation.Clause 9 details the acknowledgment. As I've said the apology will be addressed in detail at clause 10 which Minister Little did when he went to your lands for that formal apology.I acknowledge my parliamentary colleague Rawiri Waititi member of Parliament for Waiariki. I make that acknowledgment because as part of the process after this first reading this bill will come to we who have the privilege of sitting on the Māori Affairs Committee to listen further to the evidence of the submitters to listen to the evidence of uri of Whakatōhea and for us to work collaboratively and collectively as members across this House from all political parties recognising the importance of ensuring that if this bill needs to be improved for the benefit of Whakatōhea and the uri that that is done.My colleague Joseph Mooney made mention that as part of the settlement there is the innovation of aquaculture and fisheries. That is something that we will listen to with interest in terms of the future opportunity and potentials to be seized and to maximise and to gain moving forward.In closing I turn to the bill to note that the purpose of this Act when it is passed into law—and it will—is to record the acknowledgments and apology given by the Crown to Whakatōhea in the deed of settlement and to give effect to certain provisions of the deed of settlement that settles the historical claims of Whakatōhea.Those of us who sit on the Māori Affairs Committee are cognisant of the duty the responsibility and the care that we will give to the examination of this legislation but importantly that we will listen further to the stories and the evidence of those many of you seated in the gallery who may well share with us in enhancing what we have to address in this legislation.Before I close I turn to some notes that have been made in terms of commentaries that have been recorded about the process where it can be divisive and where there are differences of views and opinions but importantly it is how we focus forward into the future moving from the grievance and the mamae and maximising the potential that is there.Minister Jackson noted a comment from Te Kāhautū Maxwell: We all know the Crown is the thief and the Crown is the Judge and the Crown is the juror so it works in the Crown's favour. But we are very very grateful because $100 million dollars will allow us to forge new frontiers and heal our people".So as I look up into the gallery I see the future generation with our young ones. It is with hope and it is with aspiration that this bill is commended to the House."