Turia Tariana: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee 
Turia Tariana: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:649;Page:18347] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Madam Chairperson. Tena tatou katoa. When we come to the Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill we recognise the wider framework in which all Treaty settlements take place and we say it is vital that we get that right. Inevitably when we think of those who are putting forward claims—we recognise the statutory registration threshold which is that claimants must be Maori and then cite the actions of the Crown that were prejudicial in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi—we think also of all those who have signed up to those claims and their descendants. 
In the case of Te Roroa I will never forget one particular submission to the Maori Affairs Committee that was put forward by Te Roroa Manawhenua Trust and Te Roroa Whatu Ora Trust. That submission suggested that Te Roroa will not be in a strong financial position following settlement but the trusts were prepared to concede that following 14 years of difficult negotiations the settlement reached was the best possible deal available in the circumstances—I repeat in the circumstances. 
Those circumstances were brought to the world’s attention last year by a damning report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The United Nations committee was concerned about our Government’s routine ignoring of Waitangi Tribunal recommendations and noted that “such arrangements deprive claimants of a right to an effective remedy”. Those are circumstances that are tabled in the House on an ongoing basis—the views of the people that the Treaty settlements process is an exhausting abusive process that grinds claimants into a position of defeated acceptance. But as Te Roroa Manawhenua Trust and Te Roroa Whatu Ora Trust reminded the select committee this was the best possible deal available to Te Roroa in the circumstances. 
What made that submission stand out in my memory forever was a simple statement followed by a list of names a roll-call three and a half pages long. The trustees wished to note the people who have passed away during this period; that was the full extent of their submission. The sense of absolute defeat and emptiness is very palpable. Ka maumahara matou ki a ratou—we will always remember them. What is even more poignant of course is that we know that list will be longer now. The cost to Te Roroa both at a financial level and in relation to the suffering and loss of its people has been really high. 
We are mindful that those costs extend outside the boundaries of its rohe. The select committee report noted the late introduction into the debate of concerns from the Hokianga Whanau Hapu Land and Resource Claims Collective. The collective’s view was that the Te Roroa settlement would jeopardise its claims and it sought an assurance from the select committee that such an injustice would not take place. The Office of Treaty Settlements confirmed that during negotiations it had consulted groups that have claims inside Te Roroa’s area of interest but that the work on claims in the surrounding areas was incomplete. Although the committee noted the situation was unsatisfactory it stated that no amendment to the bill could improve it. So again an injustice continues. 
What happened to Te Roroa must not be relegated to history. The record of continued breaches by the Crown against Te Roroa is a matter for public record and we must all learn from that. The House must take responsibility for the Crown’s confiscation of the Te Kopuru block and the destruction of Ngati Whiu and Ngati Kawa communities. The House must take responsibility for the unconscionable seizure of the multibillion-dollar flora and fauna of the Waipoua Forest. The House must take responsibility for the Crown’s theft of Te Roroa wahi tapu its attempted destruction of the Waipoua community its violation of taonga and its persistent failure to listen to Te Roroa’s grievances. Those are not matters that can rest easily on the nation’s conscience; neither should they. 
Given the extent seriousness and continuation of the Crown’s breaches against Te Roroa the Maori Party has placed on record its immense dissatisfaction with the quantum that is under proposal. Our recommendation has been that the quantum must be increased sufficiently to allow Te Roroa to purchase both Kaharau and Te Taraire and also to ensure the durability of the settlement. The Crown refused to include Kaharau and Te Taraire in the Treaty settlement or to find a way in which they could be included. I want us all to reflect on what such obstinacy does to the soul of a people. 
Kaharau is a large area that includes burial caves— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Marian Hobbs) 
: Do you want to call again? 
Hon TARIANA TURIA 
: Sorry. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Marian Hobbs) 
: That is all right. 
Hon TARIANA TURIA 
: Madam Chairperson. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Marian Hobbs) 
: The Hon Tariana Turia. 
Hon TARIANA TURIA 
: I have been here long enough to know I should have sought the call again. Te Taraire is an area of similar cultural significance to Kaharau and both areas are located at Waimamaku. They are the sites of critical cultural redress and the failure to see them as such compromises the settlement. Not only was nothing included in the quantum for the express purpose of buying back those areas but many in Te Roroa found the suggestion that they be forced to buy back their own wahi tapu including koiwi of their tupuna and wakatupapaku insulting offensive and degrading. 
We have been particularly concerned about the negative impact that poor settlement processes have on the durability of any settlement and about the deep rifts that have arisen because of the effect of flawed processes on overlapping claimants. The processes have often created enormous harm within tribal relationships that have existed for generations. In the case of Te Roroa we think back to the submissions of Patrick Paraone Welsh of Sheena Ross for the Moetara whanau of the Rev Daniel Ambler who is a former tribal negotiator and of Gary Hooker Te Roroa’s tribal historian and mandated negotiator. We think of the overwhelming sadness that they expressed in their submissions. It was their considered opinion that given the strength of claimant objections to being forced into a full and final settlement the Crown should abandon the use of that phrase. 
Will Ngakuru told the select committee that for the members of Te Roroa and the descendants of Ngakuru Pana the settlement would never be full and final until the burial places at Kaharau and Te Taraire were returned as was the wish of their tupuna. Seven words in that submission said it all: “We agree to this Bill under duress.” “Duress” means to be coerced to be forced into something beyond one’s will—is that really what we want our Treaty relationships to be? Another way forward was recommended by Professor David Williams who suggested that rather than go down the path of unseemly haste with the obsession of time frames and deadlines all parties should engage in a longer conversation. 
These settlements are truly what one could understand to be heartbreaking. I have been listening to National members and the speeches that they have made not only on this matter but on other settlements and they may yet get their day. But the parameters for Treaty settlements were in fact set by National. So should the opportunity present itself let us see whether National can do any better than this Government has done. We in the Maori Party are always torn between our love for the people and our respect that their wishes be heard and our absolute contempt for the way in which the policies and procedures used to negotiate settlements with hapu and iwi have been so flawed. Na reira tena koe Madam Chairperson. Tena tatou.