Tamihere John: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Tamihere John: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:624;Page:19336] 
JOHN TAMIHERE (Labour—TamakiMakaurau) 
: 
 E te rangatira rongonui a Hirini me te whanui o koutou a Ngati Awa kai te mihi kai te mihi kai te mihi nunui ki a koutou. Kei te tautoko i te mihi imihia e Parekura raua ko Mahara mo o koutou tupuna a moe mai moe mai i te moengaroa. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
To you Hirini the well-respected chief and to you the multitude of Ngati Awa greetings greetings and important greetings to you. I endorse the tributes accorded to your ancestors by Parekura Horomia and Mahara Okeroa. Rest there the ancestors. Slumber on and sleep the long sleep 
.]  
I want to commend the last speaker. It is most regrettable that Georgina te Heuheu is no longer the Opposition spokesperson on Maori Affairs. Her contribution was a marvellous contribution unlike the one made by her colleague. 
Before I turn to the bill and commend it to the House I want to comment on some of the gratuitous contributions that have been made by colleagues opposite. I tried as hard as I could to be awfully commending of the contribution made by the National Party’s spokesperson on Maori Affairs in the House today. However if I were to commend him for it I would be breaching the Standing Orders and Speakers’ Rulings and I do not want to mislead the House. The reality is try as hard as I might to defend the terrible comments made about him by the president of the ACT party I do think that he is a bright bulb on a very dim tree. So to that extent I want to acknowledge him. I also want to note very carefully that his knowledge of treaty jurisprudence is somewhat strange if not interesting. I strongly commend to him a seminar to be conducted by the Hon Georgina te Heuheu so he can be upgraded in his knowledge of the principle of partnership that has been clearly asserted with regard to treaty relationships by the Hon Doug Graham leading directly on to the evolution of treaty jurisprudence. 
I now turn to the position that New Zealand First has taken. Its approach is absolutely shameful and I can say only that it is an election year stunt. The reality is that Pita Paraone has made much ado out of chairing the Treaty of Waitangi commemoration committee in Waitangi. Today he stood up in this House and said—and I am sure Kawiti a signatory of the treaty must be turning in his grave to hear one of his uri say this—that he would not support the principles of the treaty. It is an outrage. Furthermore I say to Mr Paraone that it is not for Nga Puhi to stand up here and to tell Ngati Awa what to do. I can assure members that when NgaPuhi’s treaty settlement comes into this House Ngati Awa will not be in here banging away. The reality is that they will determine their hapu and their destiny. It will not be that member or any other person from the north who will do so—notwithstanding that rumour has it the member is somewhat related. As for the contribution from the ACT party—well that is a 1-minute silence. That party will be gone in 6 months. 
I now want to acknowledge the contribution made by Metiria Turei in the Maori Affairs Committee when she is here. It is always good to know that there is somebody who lives in a perfect world and who has a total perfect world view of how things should be. She is wonderful at making those sorts of contributions but I regret to say that the world does not work in that way. 
I commend first you Madam Speaker—prior to this incarnation that we see today—and acknowledge the significant work you have put in over the last 4½ to 5 years to a huge number of treaty settlements that are nearing closure. I also acknowledge the fine work done by the Hon Mark Burton in taking over and filling some rather big shoes. Georgina te Heuheu acknowledged that work and I support that. 
Of course I must make a comment about the Maori Party— 
Pita Paraone 
: Why? She’s not here! 
JOHN TAMIHERE 
: The reason I have to is that I do not know what the policy of the Maori Party is. At least I know New Zealand First will vote against the bill. That party has six Maori members but normally only Winston Peters is allowed to talk. But we do not know what the policy of the Maori Party is on treaty settlements. We do not know anything about the Maori Party. However we do know that a Labour Government delivers and continues to deliver to Maori communities whether in education in health or in here with our fingerprints all over this closure. Was it tortuous? Was it difficult? Yes it was. Is it hitting closure today? Yes it is. It is another delivery mechanism. As a consequence I want to commend Parekura Horomia for championing the entity bill for Ngati Awa. 
I commend the bill and I now pay a special tribute of acknowledgment to Ngati Awa. On a number of occasions I had the opportunity to hear some of the submissions they made at the tribunal. I regret that a lot of their leaders and elders are not here today to witness this closure. We acknowledge them and remember them. However I do say that they are one of the iwi contrary to what Mr Richard Prebble might say that are led by people of significant integrity and credibility. They will be sustainable and they will go forth and as Mahara Okeroa said multiply. I commend the bill to the House.