Upston Louise: Ngati Manuhiri Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Upston Louise: Ngati Manuhiri Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 14 November 2012. Volume:685;Page:6669. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 Tena koe e te Mana Whakawa. Tena koe e te Whare. Tena koutou nga iwi rangatira Ngati Manuhiri tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. No Kotarangi aku tupuna engari i tipu ake ahau i Tamaki-makau-rau. Kei te noho au ki Karapiro. Ko Maungatautari te maunga. Ko Waikato te awa. Ko Louise Upston ahau te mema Paremata mo Taupo. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker. Greetings to you the House. Acknowledgments to you the esteemed tribe of Ngati Manuhiri. Salutations greetings and congratulations to you all. My ancestors are from Scotland but I grew up in Auckland. I live in Karapiro. The mountain is Maungatautari the river is Waikato and I am Louise Upston member of Parliament for Taupo. 
] 
Welcome welcome welcome and congratulations on this momentous occasion. I echo the words of my colleagues bar one in the celebration that we have here for you today so welcome to Parliament. This is a day that I know your people will remember for ever. 
 This is another day in this Parliament where under the very wise and strong leadership of Minister Finlayson we are able to conclude Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. For some I know when the purchase of the land was done in 1841 without any consideration or reference to you that is where the hurt started back in 1841. So we stand in this Parliament in the year 2012 to conclude to correct and to make amends for that. 
I do want to just echo some of the comments that my colleagues have made around the people who have made this possible. I do want to acknowledge Sir Douglas Graham because I think to have started a conversation in 2009 and to be here what some 3½ years later for the third reading of a bill is definitely the shortest time frame I have witnessed. I think more important it also provides some confidence. It provides some guidance for those who are following in your footsteps who have yet to settle. I think that you as the people of Ngati Manuhiri have really set a magnificent example when two parties are willing and able of how well how efficiently and how in a short time frame you can conclude an agreement and it is that. 
I do want to take just a very brief moment to say that I am sorry that this day is marred and it will not be a unanimous vote in the House for support for this Ngati Manuhiri Claims Settlement Bill. I am deeply saddened by that. It is the first time I have seen it since my time in Parliament. I believe the two parties in this agreement have reached an agreement. We would not be here today otherwise if you had not. I want to just put on record my frustration with the Green Party in marring this day for this House and for you. 
One of the things that is really important in the conclusion of Treaty settlements—of which we have now done 22—is the ability to put the past behind us. But equally I know that that past will never be forgotten. One of the things that has been very evident to me in my time as a member of Parliament is how some people have a poor understanding of the history that leads to these settlements. To use a phrase from one of my select committee colleagues on a bill a couple of weeks ago he spoke about “ignorant Pakeha”. At the time I was a bit offended but actually I think on reflection it is quite accurate. There are a lot of Pakeha New Zealanders who do not understand your past do not understand why we have these settlements and do not understand the hurt that has been caused. I think equally it is every one of us in this House who has a responsibility to make sure that more New Zealanders understand how important the Treaty settlements are for all of us and for you particularly today but actually to all of us as New Zealanders. 
I want to just also reflect on the select committee process because there were a large number of submissions on this as a Treaty bill. I acknowledge the chair of the Maori Affairs Committee the Hon Tau Henare for navigating that process as well as he did. It is also fair to say that there were opposing views which is what happens when you have a submission process. The fact that there clearly was some tension is I think also to be acknowledged because that has an impact on the community. In my own electorate of Taupo we have a settlement that is under way at the moment where there is or there has been a lot of friction in the community and it is good to be able to say: “This is settled. There is agreement and we can move forward together.” 
I do not want to go through the details of the settlement because they have been covered in some detail but I want to come back to the comment I made about the fact that there is often a lack of understanding about what the settlement means. Some people fix on the financial redress alone. Although we have seen with the settlements in the 1990s just how beneficial that is actually it is often the cultural redress that is far more important to the people of the land. 
I particularly want to acknowledge that I believe in your care. You have some of the most beautiful and spectacular coastlands in New Zealand. The role that you have played for many years in the Hauraki Gulf and in the protection of some very very important parts of New Zealand also needs to be acknowledged. Often when we have these conversations some people in the community think that when an island is part of a settlement all of a sudden they will not get access. So of course with Little Barrier Island it is acknowledged that the access arrangements that are already in place will continue. 
I do just want to say that this is a day we should be celebrating. This is a day that we all have a responsibility to share with our communities. This is another successful Treaty settlement and we should be celebrating why it is important and why it is important for each and every one of us. Congratulations. I am delighted that so many of you are here to share this day. I shall definitely share it with my family when I get home because I think it is an important part of all of our history. No reira.