Horomia Parekura: Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Bill Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Bill Ngati Pahauwera Treaty Claims Settlement Bill 
Horomia Parekura: Nga Wai o Maniapoto (Waipa River) Bill Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Bill Ngati Pahauwera Treaty Claims Settlement Bill 
[Volume:672;Page:18706] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 E tika atu ki te mihi atu i a koutou e tae kaha ki te Whare Miere nei ki te tautokotia atu i te timata o te otinga o nga kereme. E mihi kau ana. Ki a koutou o te hau kainga te whanau whanui mihi kau ana ki te maunga o Hikurangi te awa o Waiapu me nga hapu katoa o te rohe o tatou mai i Tikirau e tae kaha atu ki Te Toka-a-Taiau. No reira tena tatou. Na te mea i roto i a aku e mai whatu ki te kore tae ake nga mea pakeke pera i a Tame Te Maro Takutu Te Kapunga Matemoana Dewes a ratou ma. E whakaaro atu i roto i a aku mo to ratou kaha te tae ake o te ture nei i te wa nei. No reira tena tatou. 
[ 
It is appropriate that I acknowledge you collectively who worked tirelessly to get here to the Beehive to support the start of a claims settlement process. I congratulate you. To those of you from home the extended family greetings are accorded to Hikurangi mountain Waiapu River and all the subtribes of our region from Tikirau stretching staunch-like to Te Toka-a-Taiau. So greetings to us. I am saddened by the absence of some of the elders of the ilk of Tame Te Maro Takuta Te Kapunga Matemoana Dewes and others who did not make it here. I spare a thought for their efforts that made it possible for this legislation to get here today. So acknowledgments to us. 
] 
The Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Bill records the Crown’s acknowledgments of Treaty breaches and the apology offered by the Crown to Ngati Porou and it provides that the settlement of the Ngati Porou historical claims is final. It removes the jurisdiction of judicial bodies in respect of the historical claims of Ngati Porou or the redress provided under the deed of settlement or the Act but not their interpretation. It deals with related issues including consequential amendments to the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 the removal of certain resumptive memorials and the modification of the rule against perpetuities. 
It is important to understand that the Ngati Porou settlement has been undertaken through a whole lot of effort. As with other settlements there are tensions at times but Ngati Porou have certainly done well to arrive here today. I will recognise my whanaunga Hekia Parata who is sitting over there next to the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. I recognise the Minister for the effort that he has put in. I want to thank myself and Michael Cullen for starting the process and I thank the Minister for finishing it. Thank you very much; I recognise the Minister for that. 
The bill sets out the cultural redress provided to Ngati Porou including the Crown’s acknowledgment of the cultural significance of certain conservation lands for Ngati Porou and provision for a relationship between Ngati Porou and the Department of Conservation. I will wax lyrical a bit on that because it needs to be recognised that this is not a new thing for Ngati Porou. In the sense of the return of the maunga Hikurangi they have done a great job of managing it. I think that sets a significant example for a whole lot of Treaty settlements and for people who tend to have doubts about the ability of iwi to make sure that the right thing is done. How they define “right” is in the sense of what has been proven and what they will do into the future. 
The commercial redress is certainly something that has to be considered and considered seriously because there have been a whole lot of machinations in relation to those boards and organisations—generally Pakeha; generally the Crown—that have really controlled or debased Ngati Porou in relation to those issues that could have created an economic baseline. Certainly through all of that they have still continued to do that. It is with relish that one can look back and reconsider things started a long time before Fonterra opened the dairy factories that were in Ngati Porou: things like those in the barge freight and transportation area. 
It is good that the Government is considering this and that we are running this bill the Nga Wai o Maniopoto (Waipa River) Bill and the Ngati Pahauwera Treaty Claims Settlement Bill together. The Labour Party will support these bills—the whole three of them—and certainly we have put a whole lot of effort into getting these three settlements finished. 
An important point is that the dissolution of Te Runanga o Ngati Porou dissolves a Maori trust board established by Te Runanga o Ngati Porou Act in 1987. That seems to have been a long time ago though maybe in this time it is just like yesterday. But Ngati Porou need to be commended. Certainly I look forward to the deliverables that are in here possibly being expanded even at this late time I say to the Minister. But I recognise the iwi’s strength and efforts in getting here through a whole lot of different pathways. That is certainly what today is about. 
E mihi kau ana i a koutou o Maniapoto e noho tata ki te awa o Waipa. E mihi kau ana ki te Kingi Tuheitia ki a koutou i mau kaha atu ki te tae i konei mo to koutou kereme.  
[ 
I acknowledge you of Ngati Maniapoto who live in close proximity to the Waipa River King Tuheitia you as a collective who were tireless in your efforts to get here over your Treaty claim. 
] 
The Waipa River bill again is an embellishment that certainly comes off the effort made by Tainui in relation to ensuring or developing co-management and co-governance which is something that this speaker himself knows was frowned upon at the beginning. I commend Mita Ririnui and all those people who organised it—and Michael Cullen again—and who tried to forge it within the mindsets of the people who generally have power that is distanced from Maori like the local authorities and the waterway authorities. I commend Waipa for that. The Tainui river settlement has been quite fundamental. Tainui’s wish is that the waters are cleaned up so that the elderly can bathe in them and the kids can eat the fish. At the end of the day there is already an example and the Maniapoto people need to be commended and recognised for the effort that they are putting in. It is not an easy thing to go into especially when one is trying to determine and ensure that one’s rangatiratanga is there and it is not an isolated issue. 
I think the great thing done by all of these iwi here today is that they have certainly shown a way forward for this country. We preach and teach about nationhood but if we intend to be serious about it then we certainly have to learn about how Maori can take things forward in a very positive manner. Those of Maniapoto again need to be commended. 
E mihi kau ana i a koutou mo Hera i a ratou e kore e tae ake engari tautokotia atu to koutou kaha mo to awa. No reira tena koutou. 
[ 
I congratulate you collectively and those like Hera who are no longer here and did not arrive. In respect of your river I endorse your endurance. Well done. 
] 
The co-management arrangement includes the establishment of joint management agreements with relevant local authorities the development of an upper Waipa River integrated management plan and recognition of the Maniapoto iwi environmental management plans. All of those things have been tested in other areas. Maniapoto have certainly spent a lot of time ensuring that it would be as such and that they would take it forward. 
I a koutou o Ngati Pahauwera e mihi kau ana tena koutou. E whakaaro mo te ahua o te whaea a Sophie mo tana pekepeke i a tau i a tau mo te kereme nei. E whakaaro atu mo Sophie me to koutou tangata a Tame e kare e hoki mai e hinga atu ra. Engari ahakoa kua rere atu ratou i konei ke koutou. No reira tena koutou i te awa o Mohaka nga whanau o Tureia te wahi o Raupunga me Mohaka e mihi kau ana.  
[ 
To you of Ngati Pahauwera I commend and salute you collectively. The state that Auntie Sophie used to get into a flap about year in and year out over this claim comes to mind. I think of her and your man Tame now both gone for ever. Their likes will never be seen here. Nevertheless while they are no longer here you as a collective are here indeed. Therefore I congratulate you the families of Tureia of Raupunga and Mohaka who live by the Mohaka River. 
]  
The Pahauwera is an interesting settlement. Ngati Pahauwera is a confederation of hapu with historical interests along the Mohaka River. They have stood the test of time. In the wars they were really banished from their lands. They were stripped of their economic base and they were stripped of their own authority. That was certainly in my mind one of the most forlorn parts of the old wars. That Ngati Pahauwera have responded and been able to defend their right in relation to the Mohaka River is something that has been worthwhile to watch over a period of time. The cultural redress is an important thing for Ngati Pahauwera. Te Heru o Tureia is a gift area. The cultural redress properties were important areas to Ngati Pahauwera which were put aside and taken away from them. The right of first refusal will be important for Ngati Pahauwera and certainly for the people from Raupunga and Mohaka. I hope that it is finalised and they finish building their marae because it has been a long time in coming. 
I say to all of the three claimants here today that Labour will support these bills. We look forward to a better expedient and quick journey towards the end. Kia ora.