Foss Craig: Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFoss Craig: Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 April 2014. Volume:697;Page:17143. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CRAIG FOSS (Minister of Commerce):Tēnā koutou to so many familiar faces of people from Hawke’s Bay who have been there for a lot longer than I have ever been there. Thank you so much for your cooperation your generosity and your patience.I just want to talk about something a little bit different—maybe it is part of my journey. We have heard from other speakers. When we signed the deed at Tāngoio Marae not too long ago there was a moment of change for me. That shook my faith a bit in our system. Up until that time I had always looked at the progress we are making with Treaty settlements around the country but I always rested upon the legal framework trying to address things that had not been right many years ago and resting upon that framework as a legislator but also as a fair play Kiwi who does believe in fair play and fair dealing as prescribed in the Treaty.But it was when the most wonderful person Bevan Taylor spoke. He told the story about—and excuse me if I do not get it quite accurate—how his grandfather had used legal process to seek redress. He had gone all the way to the Privy Council and had borrowed large amounts of money which are still being paid off or have only recently been paid off. They were huge huge sums in today’s terms. It was at that moment when I learnt how the Privy Council the place of last resort for all of us who rely on the legislative process the fair and transparent legal process had let you down. For various reasons that are beyond my limited legal brain it let you down and actually let all of us down to this day leading to the bill we have in the House today.At that moment I started to question my faith in the process the procedures and the system that we have to allow all New Zealanders redress before the law whoever they are. I was shaken when I learnt that story—absolutely shaken. I thank and acknowledge you and particularly Mr Taylor for his calm and gentle way of describing more of that to me later during the day. It was a fundamental moment for me—a learning a revelation—that the system that this place is set up to be part of to protect had let you down and let New Zealand down. That made me start to question so much else of what is discussed and talked about in and around all Treaty settlements and in and around all issues about our identity as a country and the founding people of our country. I have been doing that for quite some time.I am thankful of course that we have got to this point. It is a tragedy that we had to even get to this point but we have with all the hurt with all the things that happened long ago and with the implications for whānau for family for bloodlines for people for pride and for mana that have been so so attacked and damaged over many years. But it is an absolute credit and strength and I admire and bow to you because you have kept the faith and at the end—I can be thankful but it has taken far too long—the legal process and the parliamentary process has finally worked in your favour in at least a limited way.Again I just acknowledge your standing. I am proud to be part of Hawke’s Bay but I am just proud to have been there on the day of the signing of the deed and I am thankful for my understanding for my family and our community’s understanding of learning about what actually happened and how you have come to this place. I do thank you for my glimpsing of the system’s failure so long ago. Yes it may be working a little bit better now but at that moment—I will say again—my faith in the judicial system was shaken when I learnt that story regardless of it being in the context of 100 or so years ago.I look forward to working with you to make sure that that system we all have faith in good faith and fair dealing serves us much better as a people going from today onwards than it has obviously in the past. Kia ora.