Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. It is a pleasure to rise as the Opposition's spokesperson for Treaty negotiations to speak on this bill. My apologies to those in the gallery that I wasn't able to meet earlier; there was fog in the South Island which delayed me getting here until a very short time ago but I'm pleased that I'm able to be here now for this auspicious occasion.The Ngāti Paoa Claims Settlement Bill is intended to be the final settlement of all historical Treaty claims of Ngāti Paoa resulting from acts or omissions by the Crown prior to 21 September 1992 and is made up of a package that includes an agreed historical account and Crown acknowledgments which form the basis of a Crown apology to Ngāti Paoa; cultural redress including the vesting of 12 sites in the Ngāti Paoa area of interest; financial redress of a total of $23.5 million; and a commercial redress involving the purchase of some Crown properties.Ngāti Paoa are a maritime people who trace their origins to the Te Arawa and Tainui waka. Their area of interest includes Mahurangi Tāmaki-makau-rau the Hauraki Plains and Gulf Islands and parts of the Waikato. The 2018 census estimated that Ngāti Paoa had 4800 members.Back in 2009 the Crown proposed a regional approach to four Treaty settlements to iwi and hapū including Ngāti Paoa with interests in the Kaipara Tāmaki-makau-rau and Hauraki regions. I want to acknowledge the work done as did the Minister before me of the Hon Christopher Finlayson—the work that was done previously over different terms of Government to come to this moment we are at here today. I also want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the Minister Andrew Little who has also done a lot of work to get this bill to where it is today and the officials Crown agencies local authorities and of course Ngāti Paoa—all the members. It is a big moment for them today.Between 2009 and May 2010 the Ngāti Paoa claimants elected two interim negotiators to enter into Treaty settlement negotiations on their behalf. In 2011 the Crown recognised the mandate of the Ngāti Paoa Trust Board to negotiate the settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāti Paoa. The Tāmaki and Hauraki collectives were established with the purpose of negotiating collective redress for shared interests in Tāmaki-makau-rau and the Hauraki regions respectively. The third collective the Marutūāhu collective was also established to negotiate collective redress in Tāmaki-makau-rau for the shared interests of five of the 12 iwi of Hauraki.In 2012 the Crown and the Tāmaki collective signed the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Deed and in 2018 the Crown and four of the five Marutūāhu iwi initialled the Marutūāhu Iwi Collective Redress Deed. The purpose of this bill is to recognise that in 1840 a number of rangatira of Ngāti Paoa signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi the Treaty of Waitangi in Tāmaki-makau-rau and the Coromandel. After Auckland was established as the capital in 1841 Ngāti Paoa supplied that settlement with produce. In 1841 the Crown purchased 6000 acres at Kohimārama and 220000 acres at Mahurangi and Omaha from Ngāti Paoa and other iwi. No reserves were made in those lands. In the 1840s and 1850s the Crown retained approximately 90000 acres of land in which Ngāti Paoa had interests as surplus from pre-Treaty transactions and pre-emption waiver transactions. This included approximately 78000 acres in south Tāmaki which had been purchased by a missionary in 1836 and 1837.In July 1863 the Crown invaded the Waikato when its forces crossed the Mangatāwhiri. Some Ngāti Paoa rangatira expressed their loyalty to the Crown and other Ngāti Paoa resisted the occupation of their lands. In October 1863 the HMS Miranda shelled the Ngāti Paoa village Pūkorokoro and in December a Crown militia made a surprise attack on a group of 40 to 50 Māori including some Ngāti Paoa near Paparata in East Wairoa. In December 1864 the Crown proclaimed confiscation blocks in Waikato and Pokeno and in East Wairoa in January 1865. Ngāti Paoa had interests in the 51000-acre East Wairoa confiscation block and in the Central Waikato confiscation district which included Maramarua and Pūkorokoro. The confiscated lands included Kohukohunui and Rataroa Ngāti Paoa's sacred maunga. No land was returned to Ngāti Paoa in that confiscation block. Between April and June 1864 the Crown conducted military operations against Māori in Tauranga Moana. After the conflict ended the Crown proclaimed a confiscation district of 214000 acres and in 1868 a further 76000 acres were added to that district. Ngāti Paoa had interests in lands which were included in the confiscation district. In 1865 the Crown promoted legislation which introduced the native land laws under which title much Māori land was individualised. The individualisation of title made Ngāti Paoa lands more susceptible to alienation. Much of their land on Waiheke and on the Wharekawa Coast was sold to private purchasers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Crown purchasing activity from the 1870s also led to the alienation of much of Ngāti Paoa's land including 45000 acres at Piako.Over the course of the 20th century almost all of Ngāti Paoa's remaining land was alienated to private purchasers and the Crown. Some land was taken under the Public Works Act. Those public work takings sometimes resulted in the destruction of pā and wāhi tapu. In 1908 the Crown authorised a project to drain and develop the Hauraki wetlands. Over the following decades the Crown altered the waterways drowned the wetlands and changed the course of the Waihou and Piako rivers.By the end of the 20th century only 27 percent of Ngāti Paoa spoke te reo Māori. The decline of Ngāti Paoa tribal structures and the loss of te reo Māori contributed to a loss of Ngāti Paoa mātauranga Māori. In the 20th and 21st centuries Ngāti Paoa generally experienced poorer health including lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality. Ngāti Paoa also experienced higher unemployment than the general population and a lower median annual income.This bill cannot solve all of those things that have happened in the past. What it can do though is return to Ngāti Paoa the relationship between Ngāti Paoa and the Crown which is incredibly important; return to them the acknowledgment of their mana; and return a future for their children and those who come after who we all want to have a better life.I do acknowledge there have been some who have contacted me and others with some concerns about this bill. They will have an opportunity at the select committee hearing to voice those concerns and they will be given a fair hearing at that point. So with that I support this bill at this first reading and I commend the bill to the House.