Sharples Pita: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 19 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5462. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. Tu atu au ki te mihi ki te iwi o Waitaha kua tae pai mai i tenei rangi na reira tena koutou katoa. Tena koutou katoa kua tae ki tenei Whare Paremata ki te whakatau i tenei kaupapa ara ta koutou kereme. Tino roa rawa te hikoi ki tenei ra. Kua matemate mai etahi o koutou mai i te timatatanga tae noa ki tenei ra. Na reira e tika ana kia mihi atu ki a ratou kua ngaro atu tae noa ki nga mate o tenei wiki mutunga tenei wiki ko Jacqui Te Kani ma ko Ben Tawhiti ko Lesley Nathan ko Bill Maxwell ratou kua tukuna atu i tenei wiki ki te kopu o te whaea. Na reira nga mate kei a koutou a kei a tatou haere okioki pai noa. 
Erangi ko te mea nui kua tae mai. Ehara maku e korero mo te whakaparahakonga i a koutou tikanga o koutou iwi me te takahanga o o koutou tipuna o taua wa engari tu atu au ki te mihi ki a koutou kua tae ki tenei ra. Kua oti ke tena korero e oku hoa nei i te Whare Paremata engari ko taku korero ki a koutou kei te mohio matou ki te mamae kei roto i a koutou i tenei wa. Ko te mea nui ki a au kua puta mai i a koutou korero e pa ana ki a Hakaraia me ratou kua hinga mai i nga pakanga. Tena te mea nui ki ahau kia kite ai a koutou tamariki mokopuna ko wai ratou. Ko wai ratou. Ka kite ratou i ta koutou hitori. 
I tenei wa he tika tau e Tau kare he kairipoata i konei ahakoa he ra nui tenei mo tatou. Kahore ratou i hara mai ki te whakarongo. Ka haere ki te kura ka akongia tatou i nga hitori o Ingarangi Amerika me era atu engari kare ratou e mohio ana ko wai a Te Whatuiapiti me o tatou tipuna ko Hakaraia. Kuare tonu ratou i to tatou hikoi mai i te wa i tae mai tatou ki Aotearoa e tipu ngatahi me te whenua nei. Na reira koina taku i tenei wa kia tu atu ki te mihi ki a koutou kua hara mai nei i tenei rangi kia whakatau pai tenei kaupapa a na reira tena koutou tena koutou hara mai ra. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to greet the people of Waitaha who have arrived here safely today and so greetings to you all. Welcome to you all who have arrived here in this House of Parliament to settle this matter relating to your claim. It has been an extremely long journey to this day. Since the beginning of it to now some of you have passed away. Therefore it is only right that we acknowledge those ones who have died including the deaths this weekend and this week like Jacqui Te Kani Ben Tawhiti Lesley Nathan Bill Maxwell and them. They were the ones buried this week and departed to the designated void. So depart the deaths yours and ours rest well.  
The main thing is that you Waitaha have arrived here. It is not for me to rubbish your customs and people and to walk all over your ancestors of that time but rather to stand and welcome you who have arrived here on this day. My colleagues here in Parliament House have covered those disparaging remarks but I can assure you that we are aware of the hurt inside you right now. What is most important for me is that that hurt has come out in your stories about Hakaraia and the ones who died in the battles and for your children and grandchildren to see who they are. They will see it in your history.  
At this stage Tau is right. There are no reporters here even though this is a significant day for us. They will not come and listen. We go to school and learn about the history of England America and places like that but will not really know who Te Whatuiapiti and Hakaraia our ancestors are. They will remain ignorant about your journey from the time we arrived here in New Zealand and flourished together with this land. So my contribution then right now is to stand and welcome you who have arrived here on this day to settle this matter well. And so salutations and greetings welcome aboard. 
] 
Bill read a first time.  
Bill referred to the Maori Affairs Committee.