Finlayson ChristopherNGĀTI PŪKENGA CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Ngāti Pūkenga Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. In April last year I stood in the House in support of the first reading of the bill and I can remember saying at the time that like other Tauranga bills this bill had been many years in the making. I certainly hope it will not be too much longer before we see the bill complete all its stages in the House. To those in the gallery who have come here to witness this long-awaited day tēnā koutou. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou katoa. It is great to see you at Parliament. First and foremost I want to thank Ngāti Pūkenga for their patience and their willingness to keep engaging with the Crown over the past few years. We signed a deed for the comprehensive settlement of the historical Treaty claims in April 2013 more than 4 years ago. Ngāti Pūkenga are also part of the Tauranga Moana Iwi Collective and as we know the Tauranga Moana Iwi Collective deed had to be finalised before the Ngāti Pūkenga bill could be introduced. I am not going to go into the details of all the proceedings that took place over the past 2 years. Suffice it to say that Ngāti Pūkenga have shown great mana throughout and I am very glad we can finally progress their iwi-specific settlement. I want to thank the chair and the members of the Māori Affairs Committee for their excellent job and for the rigour they have exercised in considering this bill and navigating the issues raised during the submissions stage. In fact the select committee received only one submission—from the post-settlement governance entity—and I think that is a testament to the way Ngāti Pūkenga approached negotiations and engaged both with the other Tauranga Moana iwi and their own claimant community. That submission supported the majority of the bill but it raised an interesting point in relation to a standard condition for rights of first refusal (RFR) that it viewed as a possible impediment for obtaining properties in the future. Select committee members took this concern very seriously. For reasons of consistency and fairness for all those groups that have already settled the select committee agreed to retain this provision in the bill. RFR provisions do not allow for RFR land to be disposed of to another party on more favourable terms and this means that the land could not be gifted to a charitable trust if it had not been gifted first to iwi. I hope this alleviates the concerns expressed in the submission. I want to reiterate that the intent of the Crown through the settlement is to provide in good faith Ngāti Pūkenga with the opportunity to purchase the two RFR properties concerned by this clause should they become surplus to Crown requirements. I want to keep my remarks fairly short in this the second reading. However before I end I want to take a little time to acknowledge the passing of a beloved leader of Ngāti Pūkenga—and indeed of Tauranga—Te Awanuiārangi Black who left us late last year. Saying that Awanui was a man of many talents does not come anywhere close to describing the true extent of his talents and achievements. From a young age tribal leaders saw his potential and groomed him to become a key leader for Ngāti Pūkenga and for the region. He was a staunch advocate for Te Reo Māori a talented kapa haka composer and performer and a great teacher and educationalist. He was also very comfortable walking between Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākehā and believed in standing up for his people and progressing all things Māori. This led him to hold a number of positions in local government including as a member of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Mauau Māori constituency to name just a few of his roles. His death is a great loss for Tauranga Moana and for our country. Awanui was determined to make a difference for his iwi and one way for him to do this was to become part of Te Au Mārō o Ngāti Pūkenga the mandated entity of the iwi in the early stages of the negotiations. He made a major contribution to negotiations. He always advocated a collective approach to negotiations. This bill is just one of many of his legacies that will improve the lives of people in Tauranga. I look forward to the bill moving to its third reading in a timely manner. I also look forward to the final stage of the settlement of the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāti Pūkenga and to the bill being signed into law by our Governor-General. As the former chief Crown negotiator for the Ngāti Pūkenga negotiations I am sure the Governor-General will take a particular pleasure in seeing this settlement come to an end. I commend the bill to the House.