Horomia Parekura: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:619;Page:15041] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 I move  
That the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill be now read a first time. 
 E tikaakeanoi roto i te tunei ki te mihi akeanoi a koutou o Ngati Awa motoratou kaha i te tae kaha akeanoiteneiwa e whakatu hoki akeano te ahuanei o te kaupapa. 
I send my best wishes to the people of Ngati Awa for the effort they have put into the bill and for the sterling effort they have made in getting here today to present this bill to the House. At the appropriate time I will move that the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill be referred to the Maori Affairs Committee for consideration that the committee present its final report by 1 December 2004 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 191 and 194(1)(b) and (c). 
The Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill establishes a new governance entity for the iwi of Ngati Awa for the purposes of receiving and administering the Ngati Awa claims settlement assets and other redress for the benefit of iwi members. The legislation will give effect to agreements between the Crown and Ngati Awa concerning the reconstitution of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa. Importantly it will also be responsible for representing Ngati Awa’s interests in the future. 
I am privileged to have been asked by Te Runanga o Ngati Awa to sponsor this bill. It is cause for celebration that they have reached this important milestone. I wish to congratulate Dr Hirini Mead chief negotiator and the negotiating team on their leadership—all those people who were involved. I would like to mention the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations who along with her team has tried very hard in working towards this point. The efforts of Te Runanga should also be acknowledged in developing the new governance entity that will take Ngati Awa into the future. Whilst Ngati Awa have asked me to sponsor this bill I must acknowledge the efforts and time that Mita Ririnui has put into settling this claim both as local MP for Waiariki and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Again along with Margaret Wilson it has been a great effort. 
On 27 March 2003 Ngati Awa signed a deed of settlement with the Crown to settle its historical treaty claims. As I have mentioned this bill is closely linked to the settlement. It is crucial that it proceed through the House in a coordinated manner with the Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill which implements the agreements that have been reached. This will ensure that the new entity will be established to receive the settlement redress upon enactment of the settlement legislation. I understand that a 3-month report-back time will be sought for the settlement bill. Thus in order for these bills to remain coordinated I am also seeking a 3-month report-back date. 
The proverb of te Runanga is: “He manu houahau he pikarere.”—“I am a new bird that has just taken its first flight.” This proverb seems very apt when we consider that this bill marks a new era both for te Runanga and for Ngati Awa. This entity has been developed in close consultation with Ngati Awa members. Te Runanga are to be commended for this. I believe that successful governance arrangements and robust processes need to take into account the cultural requirements of the people it represents. This has certainly been the case in this instance. 
Te Runanga is currently a Maori Trust Board established by the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act of 1988 and is subject to the provisions of the Maori Trust Boards Act of 1955. The Crown considers that post-settlement governance entities should be directly accountable to their beneficiaries and for that I applaud it. Therefore while the new governance entity will still be called Te Runanga o Ngati Awa it will manage assets on behalf of all descendants of Ngati Awa hapu nga uri o ngahapu o Ngati Awa. As the present Te Runanga is set up under legislation Ngati Awa representatives consider it vital that its new governance entity also be established by statute and be known as Te Runanga o Ngati Awa. This has been provided for under this bill. The new entity will be representative of its members have transparent decision-making and dispute resolution procedures and will be fully accountable to its members. As such it is consistent with the Crown’s principles of post-settlement governance entities. It will be established as a stand-alone body corporate to be administered under the provisions of this bill and the charter that is also provided for in the bill. 
In operational terms the key provisions of the new legislation are those provisions that establish the new governance entity and specify its functions rights and powers and those that relate to the charter of the new entity. The bill requires that the charter must require Te Runanga to hold its assets on trust for the benefit of the current and future members of Ngati Awa specify the duties and obligations of Te Runanga in administering the assets specify the manner in which the representatives of Te Runanga are elected and require Te Runanga to maintain a register of members. The charter has been approved by members of Ngati Awa through a postal ballot and adopted by the current runanga. 
The development of the governance entity under this private bill has been subject to lengthy and rigorous discussion both internally with iwi members and with the Crown. This ongoing consultation culminated in the Ngati Awa negotiators presenting the proposed governance entity to the iwi members for final approval in January 2004. This was accepted by them and consequently this bill is before the House to give effect to their aspirations. 
In summary this bill will establish Te Runanga o Ngati Awa—Te Runanga will remain the same body as established by the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act of 1988 but will cease to be a Maori Trust Board; specify that Te Runanga will represent Ngati Awa and hold its assets in accordance with the charter; make Te Runanga a body corporate and give it full rights and powers to carry out its functions; and provide for what the charter must and may contain and for its amendment and availability. 
I wish to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of Ngati Awa in advancing their claims and negotiations to these final stages. Since its establishment in 1988 Te Runanga has facilitated the continued negotiation by Ngati Awa in its treaty claims. They have been tireless in their efforts and this legislation now before the House signals that the final stage of that long long journey is near. I wish Te Runanga every success in providing a new opportunity in a new era for all their people. Kia ora.