Sharples Pita: Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 26 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:4036. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe. Tena koe. E nga maunga Puketapu Manawaru Horouta waka Takitimu waka nga uri o Ruapani Rongowhakaata Tamanuhiri nau mai hara mai ra. Hara mai ra ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara hara mai ra ki tenei Whare Paremata. E tika ana kia mihi atu ki a tatau mate nga mea kua mauria e koutou ki ro Whare nei kia tu honohono a tatau mate. Hoki aku mahara ki a Timi tera Ariki kua tukuna atu me o koutou mate a tatau mate na reira haere koutou okioki pai mai i te Kaihanga hei whariki ma matau. Na reira koutou ki a koutou nga mate. Kia hoki ki te kaupapa o te ra nei tena koutou tena koutou nau mai ra. He ra whakahirahira tenei he ra nui. Kua oti ke te hikoi. Rua tekau tau koutou e kawe ana i tenei kaupapa mai i te wa i timata ai i whakatakoto ai tenei kereme ki mua i te aroaro o te kawana. Na reira kia tangi atu ki a Heni ki a Peter Gordon ki a Darcy. Na ra kai te ora tonu koe Stan ka whakaaro au noho tonu. Na reira tangi atu ki a ratau na ratau i kawe te kaupapa nei. 
Ki te korero tatau e pa ana ki tenei kereme hoki nga mahara ki ta koutou hitori te wa o te pakanga te mamae te taumaha te whakatorotorotanga o nga pa me era ahuatanga muru whenua. 
Na reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou kua tae i tenei rangi. Ko te wa tuatoru ka panuihia tenei pepa pire kei roto i te Whare Paremata nei i te wa whakamutunga. Mai i tenei ka whakaturetia mai i tera ka riro ki a koutou te whakapaha o te kawana nga taonga me era atu ki a koutou. Mohio ano ahakoa kua oti tena kei roto tonu i a koutou nga maumaharatanga ki a ratau kua ngaro atu i enei wa i te pakanga nei. Na reira tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
Kai te mihi au ki a koutou Minister Finlayson. He tika tana korero he kaha nei te haere ki roto i nga iwi ki te whakatikatika i nga kereme. 
[ 
Thank you. I welcome you the mountains Puketapu and Manawaru Horouta canoe Takitimu canoe and the descendants of Ruapani Rongowhakaata and Tamanuhiri welcome welcome. Welcome indeed to this Parliament House. It is appropriate that I acknowledge our dead the ones you brought into this House here to intermingle with our dead. So my thoughts go back to that high chief Timi just interred as well as your dead and our dead. Rest well there with the Creator to become a mat for us. Therefore remain there the dead amongst your own. Allow me to return to the theme of the day greetings acknowledgments and welcome indeed. This is an important day and a great one. The journey is done. For 20 years you took responsibility for this matter from the time this claim began until it was put before the Government. So I mourn the loss of Heni Peter Gordon and Darcy. However I note that you are still alive Stan and think to myself stay alive. So mourn for them the ones who took responsibility for this matter.  
When we talk about this claim memories about your history the period relating to the battle the seriousness setting down redress and those aspects around land confiscation will be recalled.  
To you who have arrived here today salutations greetings and acknowledgments to you collectively. This is the third reading of this bill and the final stage in this House of Parliament. From here it will be passed into law and from that point the Government’s apology with assets and so on will become yours. Be mindful of the fact that even though it has been settled memories of them who are lost from us today as a consequence of this battle will remain within you. So I acknowledge and commend you all.  
Acknowledgments as well to you and your team the honourable Minister Chris Finlayson. What was stated is correct—he moves tirelessly among the tribes to tidy up claims. 
] 
I was one who missed out on my holiday as well because Minister Finlayson was so keen to get out amongst the iwi. That is how quick off the mark he was. In 2005 he was elected the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and at the end of the year during the Christmas holiday he spent the whole time going around—up to you and everywhere else. Kei te mihi au ki a koe e Chris Finlayson me to tima me nga kaiwhiriwhiri kua tono atu e koe ki roto i nga iwi o Te Tai Rawhiti nei. 
Na huri aku korero i naianei ki nga mahi a te Karauna na ratau koutou i tukino i te wa o te pakanga. 
[ 
I commend you Chris Finlayson your team and negotiators whom you sent in to the tribes of this East Coast.  
My comments turn now to address the actions of the Crown which was responsible for these atrocities upon you at the time of the battle 
.] 
 In the years 1840 to 1860 Rongowhakaata enjoyed a period of peace and economic development. With the local rivers fertile soil and kai moana Rongowhakaata lived in abundance enjoying a measure of prosperity and of trade and operating several trading ships. When approached to sell land they refused these things and hung on to all of their rawa and their lands and their mana. They refused to sell. What a change was about to take place in the next decade. 
In November 1865 large Crown military forces came to Turanga after fighting Paimarire converts on the East Coast. The Crown laid siege to the defensive pa of Waerenga a hika and captured it in November 1865. At least 71 occupants of the pa were killed during that assault. The Crown acknowledges that it used military force when there was no need to do so that it did not pursue all reasonable options for preserving peace in Turanga and that the Crown’s attack was unwarranted and unjust and caused severe and long-term prejudice to Rongowhakaata. 
In 1866 the Crown exiled approximately 116 Turanga men including Te Kooti Rikirangi to the Chatham Islands and we have heard korero about that. They were detained without trial or conviction for 2 years in harsh conditions until they escaped in 1868. The Crown acknowledges that the indefinite detention of many Rongowhakaata including Te Kooti Rikirangi on the Chatham Islands was an injustice that deprived them of basic human rights. It was wrongful contrary to natural justice and impacted not only on the prisoners but on their whanau and hapu who remained in Turanga. The Crown also acknowledges that the unjust treatment of Te Kooti Rikirangi gave him reason to distrust the Crown when he was offered the chance to return to Turanga after his arrival back on the Mainland. 
But in 1868 Rongowhakaata were pressured by the Crown to cede all their lands to the Crown. This cessation was made under duress as the Crown had threatened to remove all its protection unless the entire district was ceded. All Rongowhakaata’s customary interests in their lands were extinguished. By December 1868 Te Kooti Rikirangi and his followers had retreated to Ngatapa Pa where they were surrounded by Crown forces in conjunction with Maori allies. Te Kooti Rikirangi and some of his followers escaped in early January 1869 and were pursued for several days. The Crown again acknowledges that the Ngatapa siege and its aftermath caused the death of many Rongowhakaata and had a devastating impact on the iwi and the whole of Turanga. In subsequent years the Poverty Bay Commission and the Native Land Court awarded individual titles which only helped the alienation of those titles. 
These and other breaches have left Rongowhakaata virtually landless and without enough resources to meet their present and future needs. The breaches of the Treaty in the Turanga area were extremely significant and have had many lasting effects for Rongowhakaata so I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the Crown apology contained in the deed of settlement and subsequently this Rongowhakaata Claims Settlement Bill. The apology is significant as it takes a step towards healing the hurt that is felt as a result of the Treaty breaches. I would like to refer to tera whare rongonui ataahua kua hangaia i raro i a Raharuhi Rukupo na e whakaae ana kia whakahokia tenei taonga ki te iwi [ 
that famous and beautiful house built under the guidance of Raharuhi Rukupo and I concur that this treasure be returned to the tribe 
]. 
But as with many Treaty settlement redress items there are costs associated with the return of wahi tapu or taonga. I am heartened to know that Rongowhakaata do not wish the return of Te Hau ki Turanga to create a financial burden for future generations. As such Te Papa Tongarewa will work with Rongowhakaata and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to ensure a sustainable future for the whare particularly in relation to its relocation. This is a significant step towards righting the wrongs of the past and mending the relationship between Rongowhakaata and the Crown. 
This bill today also outlines the redress provided to Nga Uri o Te Kooti Rikirangi the other claim that we are hearing as well and I acknowledge Peter and Maever Moeau. It acknowledges and is in recognition of the stigmatisation of the descendants of Te Kooti Rikirangi. This redress includes the vesting of Matawhero Reserve the payment of $250000 for purposes of Te Whare Rakei o Te Kooti Rikirangi the payment of $200000 to Nga Uri o Te Kooti Rikirangi and a relationship with the Department of Conservation with regard to interpretation material that refers to Te Kooti Rikirangi. This redress is a significant step towards rehabilitating the reputation of Te Kooti Rikirangi and acknowledging the discrimination experienced by his descendants. 
The settlement also provides for the establishment of a central leadership group and a local leadership body. The central leadership group has been established to provide a forum for Rongowhakaata along with other Turanga iwi—and I think this is pretty important—to engage with central government departments and ensure that the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are being implemented in a coordinated manner within the Turanga region. The local leadership body will work with the local council to contribute to the sustainable management of resources within the Turanga region. These redress items provide Rongowhakaata with a valuable opportunity to engage with central and local government on a range of issues that affect their rohe in the wider region. 
So tena koutou Noel. Tena koutou Ngai Tamanuhiri Rongowhakaata kua tae katoa mai koutou i tenei wa mo tenei rangi whakahirahira e tika ana kia mihi atu ki a koutou tena koutou tena koutou. 
[ 
Noel thank you and your people. Thank you Ngai Tamanuhiri and Rongowhakaata all of you are here at this point in time in regard to this momentous day. Therefore it is fitting that I acknowledge you collectively greetings and congratulations 
.] 
The settlement redress provided for in this bill seeks to recognise the seriousness of Rongowhakaata grievances and to build a positive foundation for future generations of their iwi. I therefore commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.