Horomia Parekura: Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:678;Page:1042] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 E mihi kau ana ki a koutou o te hau kainga i tae kaha mai ki konei mo te po nei. Stanley Tutekawa koutou katoa. Nau mai hara mai. E roaroa atu te wa i tae mai ki konei Ruhia ki te whakatere haere i te otinga o tenei tino take. No reira tena koutou. Na te whakaaro i roto i aku e mau atu oku whatu kia kite o koutou kanohi e whakaaro atu mo ratau e rere atu pera i a te matua te papa a Darcy to mama Kuini te matua Paraone Hemi ratau katoa e kore i konei. Engari e mohio atu tatau e kaha atu ratau hei tu a muri i a koutou e tae pai i te oti nei. No reira tena koutou. Te Kaiwhakahaere o te Whare e Tariana tena koe.  
Na te mea i roto i aku he nui atu nga whakaaro mo te kereme nei o Rongowhakaata. He nui atu nga korero mo ratau i te mahi mau pu i Taranaki i te mahi kino o nga hoia o te Kawana. Na te rereke i roto i aku te tino wahi e mahi atu ratau i to ratau nati i te wahi nei o Rongowhakaata. I tu kaha atu te tangata a Te Kooti Rikirangi i mahi atu i tona mahi i tu kaha atu te ahua o te Hahi Pai Marire engari i whai atu ratau i te mahi o te Ringatu. I pana atu te Kawana i wetahi o ratau ki tera wahi o te moutere i korerotia ake e Tariana. Engari na te mate hoki e roaroa atu te Minita a Chris mo te mahi kino nei. Na te pai hoki kei te tae tata atu tatau ki te whakatikatika. Na te mea i roto i aku he tika atu kia mau roaroa atu te whakatikatika o tenei taumaha mo ratau o Rongowhakaata. He tino take hoki tenei. He nui atu nga whakaaro nga korero mo nga pakanga nga mahi o nga hoia engari te tino taumaha i roto tenei kereme he patu wahine he patu tamariki patu tane e mau pu ana e nati atu ana i a ratau. Kare e tika tera. Ahakoa tera ahua e whawhai atu ratau kia tae pai mai ki konei. Ahakoa nga piki nga heke te wehewehe e puta ana kei te rongo atu i nga tangata nei o te Ropu Kirini nei a Metiria ma i reira ke ratau e whawhai tonu atu ana kia tae pai mai ki konei.  
No reira ki a koe e Chris e mihi kau ana engari kaua e tuku atu i nga patapata anake i nga korero anake. Kare nga hua tika o nga tari o te kawana e puta pai. No reira tena tatau. 
[ 
I extend greetings to you from home on your efforts to get here this evening. Stanley Tutekawa all of you—welcome welcome. It has taken a long time to get here Ruhia and to speed up the settlement of this vital issue. So I salute you collectively. Now as my eyes gaze upon your faces I immediately think about those who have passed away like the uncle and father figure of Darcy your mother Kuini uncle Paraone as well as Hemi all of them. They are no longer here. Nevertheless we know they will continue to stand strong behind you to ensure that this settlement is reached. So I salute you collectively. Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker and to you as well Tariana. 
Now there are many thoughts inside me about this Rongowhakaata claim just as there are many stories about those who took up arms in Taranaki and atrocities by Government soldiers. The difference within me is the stranglehold they had on this place Rongowhakaata. This person Te Kooti Rikirangi was loyal to what he stood for. On the other hand those of Pai Marire were loyal to their cause but endorsed the Ringatu faith. As a consequence the Government banished some of them to that part of the island that Tariana referred to. But the trouble of course is that the Hon Minister Christopher Finlayson has taken a long time to address this despicable action. Nevertheless a positive is that we are close to rectifying it. Now to me it is appropriate that rectifying this burden placed upon those of Rongowhakaata must be durable. This is a vital issue. Thoughts and stories relating to wars and atrocities by the constabulary are numerous but the real burden in this claim is that about the killing of women children and men; the taking up of arms and the stranglehold over them. That is not right. Despite that they will continue to battle on until it arrives here safely. Regardless of the ups and downs and the divisions that are being put out I continue to hear these people from the Green Party like Metiria and others saying that they are going to be still there battling away so that it arrives here safely.  
So to you Chris I applaud you but do not just drip feed it and leave it in words alone otherwise the appropriate departmental and Government benefits will not emerge. Thanks to us all 
.] 
Certainly Te Kooti Rikirangi was perceived by some of his people as a great warrior and it is interesting to understand that in his first venturings out he was actually a very close friend of the Crown. Then through some dastardly deeds and exchanges he changed ships jumped the fence or whatever and there was a set to. But the interesting thing having listened to my friends the colleagues from the Greens—and there will always be dissidents in the sense of trying to reach and attain what we perceive as democracy total democracy—I have yet to see any clan or group of Pakehas come to total agreement. So I want to be very clear that distance will always happen and that if we intend to encourage and fertilise those people who want to cut asunder or hold up agreements then we need to think again.  
The recognition of Te Kooti—and by Maever and Peter Moeau and those whanau members in here—is something to be recognised in the sense of his ability to escape from the islands and come back and to lie low for 4 years and get cornered in Taranaki is an issue that is relevant. For me I know that there were also disagreements between those in Rongowhakaata over battles that they had with Te Kooti. So it takes a lot of courage for people to join together to come to this House because it is the semblance of the statute and constitution of this Parliament that has brought them here.  
I want to say quite clearly in support of Minister Turia let us get real about this deal with Rongowhakaata because it has been a low-down dirty deal by the Government in past years. We talk of Parihaka we talk about all of those things but the Rongowhakaata people were bombarded and executed. Horror movie stuff—that is what was done to them. And their lands because they were as fertile as the Waikato plains were ripped off them through a whole lot of dastardly deeds—measurements by the Crown; non-information—and taken from them without even discussion. Then the individualising of titles and spreading it around selectively has kept stretched dissonance over a period of time and people have agonised about it. So I do think that tonight is a night to celebrate as we start to head towards a positive end for this.  
Look in relation to some parts of the bill prior to 1865 Rongowhakaata had full control over all its lands. It is interesting that the British fellow who came along called it Poverty Bay. It is now one of the highest producing food bowls in this country and the interesting thing is it is Rongowhakaata land. 
Hon Nathan Guy 
: Yeah LeaderBrand. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: LeaderBrand is supplied and contracted to by a whole lot of Maori farmers and a whole lot of Maori landholders whom LeaderBrand does very well off. LeaderBrand would not be LeaderBrand if it were not for the Maori suppliers. That LeaderBrand might be great now is right but let us not forget that one grievance that was created by the Crown and a measured grievance is something that is forgotten in this settlement.  
So the Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill states: “The Crown acknowledges that looting by its military forces in the aftermath of the Waerenga a Hika attack contributed to acute food shortages which caused some loss of life among Turanga Maori.” I want to recognise that. It also states: “The Crown acknowledges that the indefinite detention in harsh conditions of many Rongowhakaata”—and I went to Ngatapa where they were on the Chatham Islands. Right at the end of the island is where some of them lived. What a long and lonely and distant land and yet they still survived and that Rongowhakaata are here today is surely support for their courage. I am glad that the Crown is accepting the unwarranted hardship that has been inflicted on them. Rongowhakaata needs to be recognised.  
Minister Finlayson I wanted to talk about this issue in here in one part in relation to—actually the cultural redress first. I think the return of Te Hau ki Turanga to Rongowhakaata is brilliant. I think that what is important Minister is that the resourcing goes with it to ensure that it happens the way they want it to happen and I am sure you have been lobbying well on that. Because Rukupo in his own right was one of the great cultural maestros of that time. There was another one up in Hauiti called Hingangaroa but I understand that Rukupo was a lot better. That their spirit and whakapapa are embodied in his artworks and it still survives is a great thing and it is wonderful that it should be sent back but let us make sure about the resources Minister.  
The other relevant issue is this relationship redress. I have been involved—and I want to think of some of the other people who have worked on Rongowhakaata from the beginning—in a whole lot of settlements. With regard to this relationship redress Minister—and I know that some of these departments are getting cuts done to them—I think it is more important that we take a measured look and ensure that this is not just some paper charter you know a case where there is a memorandum of understanding and nothing happens because I know of one iwi that did it up on the Taranaki coast and Whanganui and it ain’t happening. Nice words.  
The deed provides for protocols to be issued by the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage the Minister of Conservation the Minister of Energy and Resources and the Minister of Fisheries. It states: “The protocols set out how these Government agencies will interact and consult with Rongowhakaata when carrying out statutory duties and functions within the Rongowhakaata area of interest.” I think that sounds quite good but it is pretty light. 
You see Rongowhakaata people know how to speak English and Maori. They have actually become quite learned on the constitutional legislation and I think it is really important that the Ministry for the Environment and those ministries that can make a hell of a lot of difference get serious about the partnership—they are nice to them when you are around and they do not do the deeds after. So I wanted to point that out. With regard to the leadership bodies: “The settlement includes an undertaking to establish a central leadership group which will also include Ngai Tamanuhiri and Te Aitanga a Mahaki and Affiliates to provide a forum for Turanga iwi to engage with central government.” Those forums Minister are serious.  
I know this Tau Henare over here got married yesterday. You know there is one great thing about whakapapa. My nanny always told me when I went out on the road: “Don’t you ever takahi on any other Maori’s neck because you don’t know whose whakapapa you will be tramping on.” I remember in my younger days when I used to push the Ngarangiones around and I found out they were my first cousins so you have got to be a bit careful. Rukupo’s two sisters are Tau’s tupuna. I want to mihi to Tau who always thought that he was a Ngapuhi from Tai Tokerau but they come from Rongowhakaata. At times people forget that Tau. Mihi atu i a koe. 
But can I say in closing that this settlement for me is one of the more serious—not because we are here tonight; not because they are here tonight. If you take a snapshot of all the hard-done-by iwi these people have been kicked right where it hurts. They have been treated you know like just whatever and it is certainly humbling that we can start to do something about it. I hope Minister that there is serious continuation in the sense of doing what Rongowhakaata needs. Kia ora tatou.