Upston Louise: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeUpston Louise: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 12 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16662. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō):Tēnā koe e Te Kaiwhakawā. Tēnā koe e Te Whare. Rau rangatira mā tēnei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Tēnā koutou ngā iwi ngā rangatira o Ngāti Raukawa. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. Greetings to you the House. I salute you collectively leaders of a hundredfold in regards to the matter of the day. Acknowledgments to you the people and leaders of the Raukawa tribe. So greetings salutations and congratulations to you all.]It is with the most generous of hearts that I welcome you here to our place—to this place. I am enormously proud to be your member of Parliament and I use that word very carefully and consciously. I acknowledge the previous speeches and that of Minister Turia in particular. She is also your member of Parliament. But I want to reflect in this House today on the journey because I think probably more uniquely for me in this House is that I have got to walk most of this journey with you. So September 2008 was when you signed your mandate and I was elected only a couple of months after that. I do not think I had any idea quite what was in store.When I look up at the gallery and I look at who else is here—and I acknowledge both the mayor and deputy mayor—I see Raukawa the heart of the community. For me definitely you are the heart of the Taupō electorate and again I use that word very deliberately because every step of the way I have seen you reach out to all the stakeholders to all of those in the community who have an interest—real imagined and everything in between. I think that has taken enormous courage and generosity. I think back to the Prime Minister’s visit at the end of 2010. My understanding is that that was the very first time a Prime Minister had been on one of your marae. I know what an enormously proud day it was—the range and breadth and depth of the community who were there to welcome him. And for you to share that occasion very much speaks to the way you have approached this whole process.I think probably most significant was the day that I would say was the reconciliation day 25 May 2011. I must confess that I said to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: “What is this day? What happens? What do I have to do?”. I was not quite sure. I remember sitting there and hearing your stories. The Minister spoke about one of those stories in particular—of one of your family members sitting there waiting while the water rose around her. I remember the very very powerful story that Mal McKenzie delivered on behalf of her family—your mother your grandmother. I sat there and I was very very clear that I was a representative of the Crown hearing the stories of the carnage and the damage that had been inflicted on the people of Raukawa.But the thing that stood out for me that day was how this process heals. I saw it within a matter of hours—the tears the anguish the hurt the anger being turned very quickly into generosity acceptance and forgiveness. I saw it I witnessed it and I felt it. I really wish that every single New Zealander as the Prime Minister enters a conversation this week about nationhood and about what our flag might look like could witness that kind of occasion because to me that is what will make this nation even greater than it is today. So I want to thank you for allowing me to be part of that process. You have allowed me to be part of every single part of the process and that is the Raukawa way.The next big occasion that again was a first for me was the signing of your deed at Aotearoa Marae. That was the day that the Crown through Minister Finlayson delivered the formal apology. Again I will be honest. I thought that that was probably just a speech just the stuff that the Minister has to stay and he has to do that lots of times but man that was so wrong because what was very clear when he spoke—and it was clear from looking out at the faces of Raukawa—was that apology being delivered but more important being accepted. That is where the generosity of Raukawa comes in.When we talk about riches and we talk about wealth we talk about people and we talk about resources. Raukawa lost both of those things—significantly. People say to me: “Why in these Treaty settlements is there so much money involved? Why do you do that?”. I use some very simple examples and I say to someone: “You imagine if you were a farmer. You have some land you look after your family and you create wealth from that farm. What happens when you wake up one day and that farm has gone? Then what? Oh and half your family’s gone too. Then what?”. So the third reading and the passing of this legislation are for us to complete that part of the journey.There are so many highlights in this process but I loved the day in December 2012 when it was time to sign the ministerial accords. Raukawa invited me to attend but more important you invited me to attend with you. I think there were some very nervous-looking officials and some very puzzled Ministers when they saw Louise Upston the National MP for Taupō arriving on the side of Raukawa. But that to me said it all because your belief your actions and your partnership go far beyond anything I have ever witnessed. And knowing the stories and knowing what you have been so generously willing to accept in order to move on really make that even more powerful.My one regret as I am sure it is for those of you in the gallery is that George is not here today. The fact that we took the deed for him to sign in his chief’s jersey is another memory that will never leave me. So to George and to those of Raukawa who cannot be here congratulations. This is a proud day for you all for us all and I look forward to every next step of the journey with you. Thank you.