Fox Marama: Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFox Marama: Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1305. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Tēnā koe e te Mana Whakawā. Ā mai ara rā mai ara rā! Mai ara rā te rangi i runga nei mai ara rā te papa i raro nei. Mai ara rā Te Kāhui Ariki Te Kahui Tipua Te Kāhui Tauira. Tuku ana tuku ana. Tuku ana te reo kia rere. Tuku ana te take kia mau. Ū e hā ū e hā. Ū e hā nuku ū e hā rangi. Ū e hā Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi. Tāne whakapiripiri nāna te rangi i runga nei i tuku kia tū hāhā kia tū kē āna rangi. Ka tangi te hau ka mātao ka ao ka awatea tīhei mauri ora. Nei taku mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa. Ki a koutou e whakarongo mai ki ngā kōrero e whakawhiti haere ana i roto i te Whare. Ā ko koutou tēnā kua tutuki tēnei kia tae ki tēnei wā kia whakarite i te huarahi kei mua i a koutou.[Where has it come? Where has it come from? It has come from the Sky Father above and Mother Earth below here. It has come from the cluster of aristocracy supernatural and the pre-ordained. Release it let it go.Allow the language unfettered licence to flow. Allow the purpose to be captured. Be resolute and unyielding on earth and in the stratosphere. The wind shrieks it becomes intensely cold. Light comes then the dawn.Behold!The breath of life! This is my affectionate salutation to all of you listening to the cross contributions flowing around the House; and that is you as a collective who have completed this and ensured that it arrives here at this point in time to consider the path that is before you.]Each time I listen to the claims in these settlement readings they make me a little emotional. I admit that I shed a few tears. I struggle to hold in the pain of loss the empathy of frustration and also the bubbling and the tenacity of the mangōpare that drives us—the drive that makes us more determined to work a little harder to search a little longer to push on to rectify the injustices and the atrocities that have been meted out to our people.It is right and fitting that these bills the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill and the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill receive their third readings on the same day. Ngāti Koroki and Ngāti Hauā are linked through geography adjacent relationship of their rohe and also through whakapapa. In standing to tautoko this bill I acknowledge the uri of Ngāti Hauā kua tae tinana mai i tēnei wā—those who have come to this House.We pay tribute to all of those who descend from the eponymous ancestor Hauā—Ngāti Te Oro Ngāti Werewere Ngāti Waenganui Ngāti Te Rangitaupi Ngāti Rangi Tawhaki. We draw on their vision their optimism and their faith in a future for all their mokopuna to benefit from.I say “faith” deliberately because on Monday night I was a in a debate with my fellow colleagues from New Zealand First and the Greens discussing the opportunities for Māori representation that will emerge from the creation of a Māori ward in Taranaki. I say “faith” because despite our celebration here today of this final reading of the settlement bill from the comments on Monday night we need to have some faith because it is obvious to me that there is still much to do. On Monday night one of the locals came to me and talked on stage and said that if Māori just tried a little harder and if they just did their homework they would find success in gaining positions in local government. It was an interesting argument based on the view that everyone is born equal. There is nothing more challenging to that point of view than the tragic histories associated with our settlements.In this settlement we retrace the impact of Treaty breaches from the 1860s onwards. The context for this bill is set out in the 1840s and 1850s when the people of Ngāti Hauā were benefiting from a thriving economy—an economy that was systematically destroyed. The bill tells of the direct and devious means employed to strip Ngāti Hauā of their fertile lands rivers and maunga. I feel like I have said this already today. During the invasion of the Waikato in 1863 and 1864 countless members of Ngāti Hauā were killed or wounded.In 1865 the Crown confiscated a large area of Waikato land. The raupatu caused destitution within the Ngāti Hauā rohe and left them virtually landless. Until his death in 1866 Wīremu Tamihana sought the return of Ngāti Hauā lands a cause pursued by his son Tupu Taingakawa. By the 1880s private parties had acquired a large quantity of Ngāti Hauā land.The alienation was exacerbated in the 19th and 20th centuries though public works takings for roading railways and schools and for hydroelectric purposes. In the 1940s the land was taken for the aerodrome for the war after which there was a complete failure to return that land. Slowly surely and comprehensively the landscapes and waterways within the Ngāti Hauā rohe were forced out of their hands. The loss of land of these taonga undermined their social and traditional structures removing their ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities. The story of Ngāti Hauā has been told in various forms for other iwi across this nation.This is not a matter of Ngāti Hauā just needing to try a little harder and do a little more homework. In actual fact the clear and pragmatic approach that Ngāti Hauā have brought to their claim is inspirational. Ngāti Hauā co-lead negotiator Lance Rāpana revealed the secret to their success was the ability of the iwi to pull together 100 percent and move on as one. The concept of kotahitanga is one I am committed to and Ngāti Hauā’s example is one that again gives me faith. Their hard work and unity their ongoing pursuit of peace and justice as an iwi whakapono is inspiring not just to iwi in Waikato and around the country but to all New Zealanders. The hurdles they have had to jump have been ongoing and massive. Surely we have given and they have given more than they were required to give.Although the negotiations for this bill were one of the fastest on record as has been explained for Ngāti Hauā its passage began 150 years ago instigated by their rangatira Wīremu Tamihana. At this point I want to acknowledge all of those who have passed in the time it has taken to finally get to this point here. I acknowledge their lives and their commitment.Despite a long history of seeking a meaningful relationship with the Crown and despite Ngāti Hauā’s insistence on peace and justice the iwi has endured great prejudice at the hands of the Crown. This settlement acknowledges the wrongdoings of the Crown in this regard. In doing so this settlement heralds a new chapter in the relationship between Ngāti Hauā and the Crown based on respect mana and the rangatiratanga of Ngāti Hauā and its leaders.The settlement will recognise in law the importance of their relationship to their whenua. Ngāti Hauā will be involved in the co-management of the Waikato River within their area of interest as with Ngāti Koroki through Waikato-Tainui. This and other redress included in the settlement package in no way fully compensates for the full extent of loss experienced by Ngāti Hauā at the hands of the Crown. However I am profoundly moved and encouraged by the attitudes of Ngāti Hauā and indeed the spirit of settlement approached by the Crown.At this point I want to acknowledge Minister Finlayson who is held in high regard around the country. His pragmatic approach to honouring a pathway of partnership is one that we can take faith in for a future for our people. No one can say that the two partners entered into the relationship on an equal basis. The hardship the suffering and the loss incurred by Ngāti Hauā has been extreme. Their courage in moving forward is now on public record.Joy tears and applause greeted this settlement when it was signed in July last year. Today I stand to support the third reading of this bill with the same acclamation and praise. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.