te Heuheu Georgina: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee Procedure 
te Heuheu Georgina: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:623;Page:18811] 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU (National) 
: 
 Two matters arise from the previous debate on this bill which colleagues of mine have already raised. But I want to raise a couple of things in addition to their points particularly because members on the other side of the Chamber were very scathing about the Opposition and they tried to imply we were deliberately holding up the discussion. 
I went to see Hirini Mead of Ngati Awa a day later because he had had little idea of what had been going on in the Chamber the night before. The first thing is that he had not seen or understood the impact of the issue I had raised in my point of order which related to the absence of the words “Te Runanga” in the Maori version of the Supplementary Order Paper the Minister had introduced about 10 days ago when we last debated this legislation. Hirini Mead of course was in complete agreement with me in the sense that there is a vast difference between the use of “Ngati Awa” as an iwi and “Te Runanga o Ngati Awa” as a body created by statute. The worry about that from the point of view of the Opposition is that although settlements should be distinctive to the particular tribe settling its claim the reality is—as we know and as my colleague Wayne Mapp said—that there will be some things that possibly will flow into subsequent settlements and that legal rights flow from those things in legislation. 
So the issue of being very very careful about what we are doing in these pieces of legislation becomes even more paramount. This was highlighted by the fact that the Speaker chose to allow John Tamihere to provide a translation of the piece that was in dispute that night—the piece that my colleague Gerry Brownlee had asked be corrected. Of course John Tamihere did what all members were capable of doing which was to read the English translation from the preamble in the bill. Well as I said that was not the point because as he found out—if he did not already know—one was not a correct version of the other or it was not a literal translation of the other. So he merrily translated something that in my view was patently wrong which was that the Maori text referred to “Ngati Awa” only and the English text referred to“Te Runanga o Ngati Awa”. 
Pita Paraone 
: Why did he do that? 
Hon GEORGINA TE HEUHEU 
: Who knows? Perhaps he wanted to show us his command of the Maori language. Well that is fine but members could have read that for themselves quite happily. Indeed they had read it which is why the Opposition raised the issue. We wanted a proper translation of what the preamble was attempting to say. The Minister of course comes from my area at home. He may or may not be an honorary Ngati Tuwharetoa—we will see whether he earns his stripes! But he knows very very well that there is a vast difference between talking about Ngati Tuwharetoa—the iwi—and the Ngati Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board. One is traditional and customary; the other is created by statute. 
I explained that to Professor Mead the next day. He said it was something they had failed to pick up on and that is fine. I feel for the Ngati Awa people. They have been negotiating their settlement and waiting for this to come into legislation for 14 years or more now so after such a long time it is understandable that something could be missed. But it is important because we do not want things that are new concepts—particularly incorrect translations—legislated for in this settlement to be somehow used in subsequent settlements or to in some way pre-empt the rangatiratanga of tribes still to follow and to negotiate their settlements. 
There is also something that arises from the Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau bill that I think illustrates this point well and I will be raising it with the Minister at some other stage. 
The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 329 in the name of the Hon Mark Burton to the preamble be agreed to.