Sepuloni CarmelCARMEL SEPULONI (Labour—Kelston): Kia ora. It is a privilege for me to stand and speak to this bill. Just a couple of months ago I was in Waitara with my colleague the MP for Te Tai Hauāuru Adrian Rurawhe and our Labour leader Andrew Little. We were walking up the road and actually ran into a former teacher at one of the schools I went to. Her name was Mrs Kearns. During that visit Mrs Kearns said to me: We want to see you stand up and speak to bills about Waitara Carmel." Andrew Little and I think Adrian heard that so here I am tonight speaking to a bill on Waitara. I do so in relation to this bill with some trepidation as I am fully aware of the tensions and competing interests in relation to this bill.I did have the privilege of being born and raised in Waitara. I am not Māori—I am Samoan Tongan and New Zealand European—but with teachers like Tiri Bailey Hone Niwa Whero Bailey and also Te Kauhoe Wano who unfortunately has passed away I did grow up with many insights into the history of Waitara the atrocities that have been inflicted on the mana whenua of Waitara the illegal and mass confiscation of land and the impact that those atrocities have had on the generations that followed. Much of that history those atrocities and the impact of them have been understated in our history books. I think that is the starting point for me speaking on this bill tonight.It is of no surprise to me that tensions have arisen in regard to this bill and in respect of what it proposes. I think it is important to reflect on what the bill is attempting to do before I go into some of the reservations that I do have. In brief land was confiscated by the Crown from Waitara hapū in 1865. Those confiscations were illegal. In 1876 the Crown vested land in the Waitara Harbour Board and the Raleigh Town Board for harbour improvement and municipal development. During the next 70 years further land was vested in the New Plymouth District Council's predecessors for those purposes. As a consequence of a series of local government amalgamations the land is now vested in New Plymouth District Council.For some time issues surrounding the council-owned land at Waitara have been divisive for the Waitara community. Some leaseholders have sought to freehold the land and Te Atiawa have argued for the return of the land. The council has argued that existing statutory restrictions that affect the Waitara endowment land are outdated and restrict the ability of the council to use the land and any income derived from it. This bill would remove those statutory restrictions and enable rental and sales proceeds to be used for the wider benefit of the Waitara community. The bill would provide lessees with the option to buy their leasehold property from the council.That history was an overly simplistic version of events but in the 5 minutes I have to speak about this bill I am unfortunately unable to do justice to the history. Just last week the New Plymouth District Council and Taranaki Regional Council met with us with members of our caucus to provide a very thorough briefing on this issue and I acknowledge them for that. I acknowledge those who have worked on this issue—some for decades. I also acknowledge tonight that we do have councillors here—Craig McFarlane and Colin Johnston—and we also have the Mayor of New Plymouth Andrew Judd who is absolutely passionate about this issue as well.As my colleague has said we are supporting this bill to the select committee but there is no guarantee at this stage that we will support it the whole way through. We are absolutely aware of the competing interests here. We are absolutely aware of some of the individuals who have stepped up from the hapū in Waitara and we need to take all of those voices into consideration. Some who are big critics of this particular bill and what it is attempting to do might question why we in the House are even supporting it to the select committee but I think it is important—and my colleagues on this side of the House believe it is important—that we hear from all of the stakeholders we hear from the leaseholders we hear from the community of Waitara and we hear from the very people who come from the hapū of Manukōrihi and Ōtaraua. And we can hear from them on this issue only if we allow this to go to a select committee. I do believe that this is not one of those issues that will be used as a political football in this House and that we all have the best intentions here to work towards a good result for Waitara for the hapū in Waitara and for all those who are affected by this in Waitara. So we work together in good faith.I do acknowledge my colleague and the MP for Te Tai Hauāuru Adrian Rurawhe who was our lead on the side of the House for this. I absolutely acknowledge the fact that he has his head around the detail on this and will continue to lead us in respect of this issue. So we will support this bill to the select committee and then we look forward to receiving the submissions from the many different groups that have a vested interest in what is happening here. Kia ora."