Smith Murray: Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Smith Murray: Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4741] 
MURRAY SMITH (United Future) 
: 
 United Future supports the second reading of the Ngati Ruanui Claims Settlement Bill. Indeed it is United Future’s view that the claims settlement process needs to occur with a great deal more speed than is apparent. I would like Ngati Ruanui to be aware that the reason this bill is being passed in urgency is that United Future requested it to be included in the list of bills to be debated under urgency this week. Without that the bill would not be here tonight. 
We believe it is important that the process of settling grievances be resolved as a matter of urgency. We believe that until we can get the grievances between Maori and the Crown resolved and the settlements out of the way we will be inhibited as a nation from moving on together. We are concerned that there are delays in the whole settlement process and at the length of time that the Government is taking to get the settlements through. 
However turning to the bill I am particularly glad to see it progressing with speed. As I said in my first reading speech I trace my own great-grandparents back to the town of Maxwell. They were farming at the time that a lot of these events would have happened. In the first reading I expressed my concern that my ancestors who were around at that time might have been involved in them or might have had land given to them or sold to them by the Crown that in fact was Maori land. I apologised at that time on behalf of my ancestors for any grievances that they might have been party to. I noted from the deed of settlement with Ngati Ruanui that the Crown adopted a policy of attrition or a scorched earth policy in regard to the southern Taranaki operations. That resulted in many villages being destroyed in bush-scouring campaigns and in much loss of life and property on the part of Ngati Ruanui. It is over time that we as a nation recognised that provided an apology to Ngati Ruanui and recompensed them albeit modestly for the losses that they suffered. 
I was also aware that Ngati Ruanui was part of and contributed to the Parihaka community. That community was an example to New Zealand in terms of its peaceful existence and the way that it operated as a community. It was a community that was based on the scriptural principles of the Beatitudes and it tried to live in a peaceful way with the English. Unfortunately the British did not respond in the same way. We know the story of Parihaka and the way that the armed forces dominated that community and endeavoured by force and intimidation to make those people leave their land. Eventually a lot of them were exiled to the South Island and there were many deaths as a result of that. 
I am also particularly pleased to support this bill because a lot of the Ngati Ruanui people settled in my own area of the Hutt Valley. Te Whiti led a number of people down from Taranaki to settle in the Hutt Valley. Te Whiti Park which is a key park in the Hutt Valley is named after Te Whiti because that is where the people settled. Therefore in terms of my current area of residence I feel an affinity with the Ngati Ruanui people and I am delighted to see this bill progressing further. 
I have indicated the frustration that United Future feels at the slowness in resolving the treaty grievances. I note for example that the Gisborne inquiry process—the newly developed process that came into effect last year—is still awaiting the publication of a report as to its effectiveness. The Attorney-General advised this House way back in September that the assessment was being completed yet many months on from that we still find a situation where the Gisborne inquiry report has not been published. It is expected that the report will be positive. The Attorney-General has indicated that once that report is received if there is a need for more funding then that will be looked at. Yet we are now getting close to the Budget round where the Government will be considering the provisions it will make in order to expand its policies. There is an urgent need for things like the Gisborne inquiry process which has by all accounts been effective to be extended to all the other claims throughout New Zealand so that we can speed up the Waitangi Tribunal processes resolve the grievances get the legislation into this House and pass it. 
As I indicated before it is the view of United Future that until we can get the grievances resolved and the whole job completed we are inhibited as a nation from moving forward. We have a thorn in the side of our history that prevents us from moving into the future together. So I encourage the Government even more strongly to provide more funding and to speed up the process. I encourage it to give more urgency to getting the resolutions through tabling the legislation and passing it through the House. Many iwi and hapu have been waiting for too long to see their grievances resolved. I know that there are issues such as mandating issues and things like that that fairly need to be completed by the iwi and hapu themselves but it seems to me that even greater resources could be provided to the Office of Treaty Settlements. That would enable the claims development teams to be expanded so that they take a proactive and not simply a reactive role in having disputes resolved. The Office of Treaty Settlements should be approaching iwi and hapu encouraging them to get together and facilitating in every way possible the resolution of their issues. I am not talking about taking away the authority and the decision making from Maori but simply about working alongside them and providing all the resources possible to speed up the process of the iwi fulfilling the aspects that they need to fulfil so that we can reach some resolutions and get the settlements through. 
However the second reading of this bill is important for Ngati Ruanui and therefore United Future supports it. We are keen to see the bill go through the House with a degree of speed. We commend the bill to the House.