Whaitiri MekaMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Kei ōku tuākana kei ōku tungāne ngā waewaetanga o te pārekarekatanga o ngā rangatira o Ngāti Kahungunu o tō tātou kuia tapairu a Rongomaiwahine nau piki mai nau kake mai! He mihi whakatau tēnei nāku ki a koutou ngā whanaunga o tōku kuia a Mirihutukatowahine kua tau mai i runga i te kaupapa o te rā nei nau mai. Me tapatahi ai ō tātou whakaaro ki ngā mahi kai mua i te aroaro. Me tūtira mai ai hoki tātau ki roto i tēnei mahi kia aha ai? Kia whai hua ai ō tātau na hapū ā kia whai hua ai ā tātou mokopuna heke iho. Nō reira e Te Iwi e ngā whanaunga e kui mā e koro mā nau mai hara mai nau mai hara mai nau mai hara mai! E Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnā koe e ngā mema o Te Whare nei tēnā tātau katoa.[To you my elder siblings and brothers the agile legs of leisure of the esteemed ones of Ngāti Kahungunu and of our elder and first-born womenfolk Rongomaiwahine come forth come hither! This is my welcome homage to you collectively the relatives of my grandmother Mirihutukatowahine who have arrived upon the matter of this day welcome. Allow our thoughts to be united in regard to the tasks before us. Let us also line up as one in this work and why? So those subtribes of ours and eventually our grandchildren will benefit from the outcomes. Hence to you the tribe the kinfolk the elder women and menfolk come forth come hither come aboard welcome welcome welcome! Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and my acknowledgments to us all the members of this House.]It is indeed my privilege and honour to lead Labour's unwavering support for the first reading of this very important very significant piece of legislation the Iwi and Hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa Claims Settlement Bill. I too want to add my dearest acknowledgment and thanks to the many whānau who have travelled from Te Wairoa Māhia Waikaremoana and those who live here in Whanga-nui-a-Tara. Kei te mihi ki a koutou katoa.The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations has aptly laid out in a nutshell the parts of this bill. All that I want to add is that the bill does like the Minister said give effect to the deed of settlement which was signed at Tākitimu Marae in Wairoa on 26 November 2016. We are aware that this is a settlement bill for many iwi and hapū that are covered under it. It is recognised as the fifth-largest Treaty of Waitangi settlement to date.Just to paint where this beautiful rohe is it is south of Gisborne around the Wharerata Ranges and down into northern Hawke's Bay. It includes the Māhia peninsula the town of Wairoa and Lake Waikaremoana. The iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa is one of six large natural groups negotiating the settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāti Kahungunu. Ngāti Kahungunu is the third-largest tribal group in New Zealand. Again while my whanaunga are in the gallery I want to acknowledge the stellar job that many of our whānau from Te Wairoa and Māhia did in hosting the many iwi from the motu in our recently successfully held Te Matatini. Kei te mihi.There are approximately 25500 people in the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa. As the Minister said the bill was first lodged in the 1980s. I want to as in the Minister's contribution when he talked about the early 1980s also acknowledge those who are no longer here—te ariki me people like John Scott Lena Manuel Ozzie Huata and many of those kaumātua who led the people of Wairoa in a very important way. I also want to add thanks to the negotiators John Whaanga and Tāmati Olsen. I would say that we kind of are of the same era in that both John Whaanga and I went to Victoria University together and in that Tāmati Olsen and I were both chairpersons of our boys' school Te Kura Māori o Porirua. It is not an easy job to be a negotiator on behalf of your people particularly in this claim where the Crown wants to settle expediently and where people want more. But I want to acknowledge all the Treaty negotiators both on the part of the iwi and also the Crown in ensuring that we get this bill into this House.Hopefully touch wood having had a quick talk with the chairman of one of the hardest select committees Nuk Korako as to whether there will be any problem with the quick passage of this bill so that we can get it back into the House for the third and final reading—he assures me that there will be no issue with that. So hopefully we will all be working really hard as members of the Māori Affairs Committee to ensure that we are back here in a very timely manner.In reading the legislation itself there are some highlights that I want to draw to the House's attention. The Minister did acknowledge the acts and omissions of the Crown but for me in the acknowledgment part of the bill clause 9 of Part 1 it talks of the native land laws and makes acknowledgments. Clause 9(9)(b)—and I do want to read it for the benefit of the House—says that in 1867 and 1868 the Native Land Court awarded ownership of numerous blocks in which the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa had interests to a maximum of 10 individual owners and by allowing these owners to dispose of this land as their absolute property".This raises the issue around the importance of land remaining in the hands of Māori. It raises the issue that when we are making decisions on land it is not individuals' but the collective decision that is at risk here. In this acknowledgment in this particular clause clause 9(10) we are talking about the "Tahora 2 secret survey" where that land was surveyed without the knowledge of the iwi. We talk about the "Tahora 2F2 survey" in clause 9(11) which says that over 803 acres more than should have been taken was taken and never returned. We go down to clause 9(12) "Administration of the East Coast Native Trust" and clause 9(13) "Compulsory vesting of Waipaoa 5". We have clause 9(14) "Early twentieth century Crown purchases" and the sham of a provision in the native land laws for Māori.This presses upon a point that I have been championing since I have been in Parliament and that is around Te Ture Whenua Maori Act reforms. We run the risk of doing exactly what the Crown is acknowledging in this significant piece of legislation—that through the acts and omissions of the Crown we could potentially allow individuals to make decisions on collectively owned land. That is what this clause clause 9 is raising when I read it. It is a timely message to us all—that in honouring this important piece of legislation for the people of Te Wairoa we do not bring into this House legislation that could potentially lead to further alienation of land.I also want to acknowledge that clause 9(21) "The environment" does acknowledge that the Crown will have a relationship with Te Rohe o Te Wairoa. Clearly we have legislation in this House around water quality and changes to the Resource Management Act—and I am only saying this whānau because while we are talking about this particular legislation we have also got to keep an eye on what legislation is coming through this House that may impact on the protocols and the partnerships and the relationships you are having with these particular agencies in relation to the environment. So I leave that there for you to ponder and to consider.I understand that this has been a well-thought-out negotiation with the Crown to get the best possible deal for our people of Te Wairoa and Māhia and Waikaremoana and Tūai. I do want to acknowledge the hard work of all those involved. I do want to acknowledge the work of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in bringing this bill back in a timely fashion. There are many challenges ahead but for now this is a time to acknowledge in the House you who have travelled down to hear the first reading to acknowledge the hard and difficult work that you have all put in to getting to this point and to assure you that when this bill leaves this House to go to the Māori Affairs Committee to give it its due test to ensure that we have got the right settings in this piece of legislation it is not only a time for the public to comment on this legislation but for those most affected by it to do so. I encourage not only members of this particular iwi organisation to submit to it but anybody in Te Wairoa and Māhia and Waikaremoana to come in front of the select committee to put their views upon it.We look forward to the bill coming back into this House. Like I said I have got a commitment from the chairperson that we will do this in an expeditious way. I assure you we want to get this bill passed before the House lifts in early August and I wish all the whānau who have travelled far all the very best in your return home. Nō reira e te iwi tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātau katoa."