Clendon David: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Clendon David: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3980. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DAVID CLENDON (Green) 
: 
Tena koe Mr Speaker. Ko te mihi nui o te ata ki a koutou. On behalf of the Greens we add our greetings to and our acknowledgment of the representatives who are in the House today of Ngati Rereahu Maniapoto Tuwharetoa Raukawa me nga hapu katoa o Te Rohe Potae. We acknowledge the very long and difficult journey that has hit a milestone today. We acknowledge those who have done a great deal of work in the past but sadly are not here to see the fruits of that effort and we acknowledge the current leadership of those people who today are seeing some recompense some return of their mana and some acknowledgment of the very difficult time that has gone on. 
As well as offering some recompense to the individual cases to nga hapu and to nga whanau settlement bills also create a very important and powerful historical record of this country’s history. Within the text of each of these bills are the stories the histories the explanations the knowledge. They make a huge contribution potentially to the general knowledge and understanding of all New Zealanders of the need to resolve the inevitable issues that have emerged from our history—our very rich and interesting history but one that has nevertheless left grievances in its wake. By combining that collective knowledge and experience and making it accessible to people in this way the legislation does provide a very powerful mechanism for increasing understanding and acceptance of the need to go through these sometimes difficult processes. 
I recently found myself in one of those conversations that unfortunately I am sure we have all experienced with a person who insisted that “this whole Treaty business” as he liked to call it should simply be put aside because: “It’s all just something that happened in the past. Let’s just get over it and get on with the business of the day.” The encouraging thing is that one finds oneself having that conversation less often. I think there is much more general acceptance that only by going through these sometimes painful processes will we get genuine resolution of past grievances and create the opportunity create the platform for both Maori and non-Maori to advance and to aspire to a future that we can all share and thrive within. 
I am always reminded of the wisdom I think—albeit he acknowledged wisdom in hindsight—of David Williams who some years after his own term on the Waitangi Tribunal proposed that perhaps we had jumped too quickly into the settlement process and that perhaps we ought first to have gone through something like a truth and reconciliation process to get buy-in to use that phrase to the necessity of working through these settlement processes on the individual bases on the individual claims. We did not do that of course but I do think there is some sense in that when as well as dealing with individual claims and processes I think we all need to advocate very strongly for the contemporary importance in the 21st century of resolving historical grievances and creating those opportunities that are so richly deserved by people who have suffered over many generations from the unfortunate actions of the past generations. 
These cognate bills these two bills being taken together—the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill and the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill—are of particular interest. This is my first experience of a bill that creates this legal entity this incorporation which will effectively be the manager or the overseer of the outcome of this legislation. I think that principle of an incorporation captures quite nicely the approach of Maori historically because we know that the resources—the very rich resources—in the area under discussion in this legislation were shared amongst the hapu who have been named and described. It captures the notion that resources could be shared could be collectively enjoyed and benefited from. I think the notion of an incorporation does something to turn back the practice of the Crown particularly in the mid-19th century that sought to divide and rule to divide to assign individual title to these blocks rather than allow the collective mechanism the negotiated mechanism to advance as it had done for a very long time. It is a nice step back to a principle and to a practice that did work for Maori for a very long time—the notion of sharing resources and collective benefit from that sharing. 
The point has been made that these settlements as well as healing the past and as well as restoring mana to those whose mana has been trampled create an economic platform for development. The point was quite rightly made by Mr Horomia that it is unfortunate there seems to be a distinct lack of media interest in some of this. The very positive exception to that of course is Maori Television and I look forward with real interest to a forthcoming series about economic development within Maoridom—some good-news stories about Maori converting settlement money and other resources into building an economic future for themselves and for their people. I know that one of the episodes in that series will specifically refer to the ginseng project—the Maraeroa C Incorporation initiated process. It is an innovative project. It is one that will give an income a high-end income to the people in a particular area. I think we need to celebrate those successes and look forward to these settlements the material return—the money and the land that is involved in these settlements—being converted into a much better and richer future for Maori. If Maori do well we know very well that the rest of Aotearoa will do as well also. 
So with those few words I simply would reiterate our regard for the work that has been done and the long toil of the hapu concerned. Also I have to acknowledge Mrs Turia for her specific work in this and her commitment to this kaupapa this particular legislation. We look forward to a much brighter future as an outcome of this and other settlements. Kia ora koutou.