Mahuta Nanaia: Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill Te Urewera Bill — Third ReadingsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Tūhoe Claims Settlement Bill Te Urewera Bill — Third Readings[Sitting date: 23 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19465. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato):E ngā mana o ngā marae ngā hapu o te rohe pōtae o Tūhoe tēnā koutou. Tēnā koutou i raro i te tuanui o te Whare nei me ngā pou kanohi i whakatau i ngā kaupapa e pa ana ki a tātou te iwi Māori. Ahakoa te roanga o ngā toimahatanga e pā ana ki a koutou i ngā kaupapa Kāwanatanga e ū tonu ana ki tērā ki te mana motuhake o te iwi Māori ō koutou o Tūhoe. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[To the authorities of the marae and subtribal territories of Tūhoe salutations to you collectively. Greetings to you beneath the roof of this House and to fellow members who are the pillars within it andwho determine matters relating to us the Māori people. Despite protracted difficulties relating to you in terms of Government proposals it is firmly fixed on that Māori autonomy of yours Tūhoe. Well done and congratulations to you all.]I proudly stand to support the third and final reading of bills divided from the Te Urewera-Tūhoe Bill. To the many Tūhoe gathered here today to witness a historic moment I acknowledge you. I cannot help but be reminded that history has an uncanny way of repeating itself and at times correcting itself and past mistakes. I sense that this is one of those times. We debate this bill during the time of Matariki a time that heralds the new season and the end and the beginning of the new cycle. The passing of legislation for Tūhoe and Te Urewera settlements today cements an ambition to forge ahead and determine new prospects. We have come a long way from the scorched earth policies etched in the minds of those here today yet as a nation much of that story still remains hidden and only resurfaces on occasions and reminds us that there is still so much more to do.Te Paki o Matariki is the coat of arms for the Kīngitanga and asserts the ambition to strive for mana motuhake an aspiration that Tūhoe has always maintained as germane to their expression of self—past present and future. This year marks the commemoration of 150 years since the New Zealand Wars a cogent point in our country’s history that led to some of the bloodiest engagements between iwi and colonial forces. Māori nationalism was at the forefront of these engagements and the aspiration to hold on to our lands and continue to assert Māori authority was at its core. In remembering that history and asserting a new future it serves as a timely reminder that Treaty settlements have a significant part to play in the reconciliation and redress for past wrongs and the way in which the Crown on behalf of all New Zealanders seeks a durable outcome. I want to acknowledge the Rt Hon Jim Bolger in the House today who is listening to this and who commenced some of that process—tēnā koe. This intent will be held to account over many generations not simply by the words we say today but by the actions we undertake tomorrow and into the future as parliamentarians as members of the Government and as representatives of the Crown.In the first reading debate I considered that many iwi would be looking to the provisions of the Urewera management over the national park as a precedent for their own conservation and natural heritage areas. But there is more to the reason why this arrangement was able to be achieved in such a significant way for the people of Tūhoe. Some of that has been commented on by the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Chris Finlayson. Just before you get to the steps of Parliament the imposing statue of Richard Seddon welcomes visitors on to the grounds of our Parliament the same man who promised to Tūhoe a pact following the incessant conflict between military forces and Tūhoe.The late Judith Binney’s account states: “Seddon invited a Tūhoe delegation to Wellington in September 1895 when a new compact between the Crown and Tūhoe was forged. Tūhoe affirmed their acknowledgment of the Crown’s authority while the Crown acknowledged and agreed to respect the mana motuhake or independent authority of Tūhoe. This time the tribal protectorate was confirmed by legislation the Urewera District Native Reserve Act 1896 or Te Ture Motuhake o Tūhoe.” I make comment about that because the significance of this occasion was marked back then by the gift of a taiaha from a renowned Tūhoe rangatira Kererū to Seddon. Binney notes that this gift was a symbolic affirmation of peace in return for the recognition of Tūhoe mana motuhake over their lands. It appears to me that in part today makes good on something that occurred some many years prior and I want to acknowledge that this is an important day for New Zealand as much as it is for Tūhoe.I also want to recognise that the country is celebrating Te Reo Māori this week. Many Tūhoe educators have been instrumental over a long period of time to reaffirm Te Reo Māori in schools and in communities throughout the country and in our academic learning institutions. That remains the case today. It was not uncommon in my home town of Huntly during the 1980s that a whole lot of Waikato kids would be running around Rākaumanga school with a distinct Tūhoe dialect thanks to Barna Heremia. Even when I got to university I remember fondly my lecturer Whaea Ani Black and her determination to encourage us above all else: “me kōrero tō reo Māori”. People might appreciate how refreshing that was against the linguistic backdrop of Professor Bruce Biggs who deconstructed the language to a sequential pattern that could be traced across the Pacific. Auē! Tēnā koe Whaea Ani. So it is no surprise to me anyway that the aspirations of the Tūhoe Education Authority are the culmination of an extensive contribution of Tūhoe to Te Reo Māori and mātauranga Māori over a long period of time.My previous contributions to the debates on this particular settlement have been extensive and I do not intend to repeat previous contributions. In summary as a member of the Māori Affairs Committee it was my privilege to consider the bill alongside other select committee members well chaired by the Hon Tau Henare. It was painfully evident similar to our experience back home that the settlement has had its challenges both internally and externally but only time understanding intent and a commitment to the future generations may soften some of that mamae that may still pervade. By and large I sense a great deal of optimism. There has been a need to forge and reaffirm key relationships with bordering iwi; I consider the representations of Ngāti Ruapani and Te Ūpokorehe and I just comment again that this matter requires ongoing vigilance—also Ngāti Manawa actually looking at the member.Representation and governance for and by the people of Tūhoe—the Tūhoe way—can be assessed only by Tūhoe nobody else. We all learn better from our own experiences and create our threshold of what best practice looks like. Once the settlement is reached and the new governance structure is in place and Tūhoe get on with their business a great deal of many people would want to comment on how that is done. But actually it is up to Tūhoe to determine for them what is best for them. We should stay out of it. Attracting tribal members home to help might well be the consequence of such a significant settlement. It does come with a huge level of expectation of all your tribal members sitting outside your boundary thinking “Gee how can I help out? Auē! What if I get called back home?”. Our experience if I can be so bold to share is that no matter where our people reside and how they contribute throughout society in their different areas putting their skills to the best possible use all helps to build the mana of the iwi. When they are called home let us not put a greater expectation on our own tribal members than we do on anybody else. Sometimes we can be the worst critics of ourselves.This settlement is the most significant since that of Ngāi Tahu and Waikato-Tainui. It is an opportunity for Tūhoe to look forward holding on to what is uniquely Tūhoe and will never be lost for the benefit of future generations of Tūhoe. I am so proud to be a small part in the cog of a wheel that can help this waka move further. I want to thank the negotiators who lucidly presented the full context of this settlement to the select committee—Tāmati Kruger and your team. I also want to thank the Crown negotiators for the way in which you addressed with what appears to be a great deal of sincerity the way in which this particular settlement hangs together. I thank the select committee staff for your perseverance with us as select committee members answering our questions and finding the information before we got to the outcome. To our chair Tau Henare awesome brother. Ka kite anō. I think what you allowed the select committee to do was pursue any line of questioning that could give us full satisfaction that we were attempting to make sure that this was a robust and well-thought-through marrying of the deed of settlement with the legislation. It is with some regret I have to say that we have not got unanimity in the House.Finally I want to recognise the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Minister Finlayson you in your own speech have more than adequately outlined how important and unique this settlement is and to have arrived at this point in time I certainly commend you and the Government. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou. Labour happily supports the third reading of this legislation.