Mahuta Nanaia; Dean JacquiHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Associate Minister for Māori Development): Whakataka te hau ki te uru whakataka te hau ki te tonga; kia mākinakina ki uta kia mātaratara ki tai; kia hī ake ana te atakura he tio he huka he hauhū tihei mauri ora.Tēnei ka ruirui i te kawakawa hei tohu maumahara ki ngā tini mate o te rā o te marama o te tau o nanahi rā. Nā rātou i kawea i ngā kōrero me ngā wawata e pā ana ki ngā hapū maha o Ngāti Maniapoto. E moe e au te moe ka tau.Kāti ake e mihi ana ki a koutou kei te hau kāinga ngā huānga. Koutou kei ngā rangatira kei ngā whaea e kawea nei i ngā wawata mō ngā uri whakatipu nei te mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa.[The wind swirls in the West and the South; the piercing cold is felt inland and on the coast too; the dawn rises indeed it is icy frosty and the wind is cold 'tis the breath of life.I sprinkle kawakawa as a sign of remembrance to the many dead of today of the month the year and yesterday. It was them who carried the issues and dreams of the many hapū of Ngāti Maniapoto. Rest in peace.Allow me to greet you all the home people my relatives. To the many chiefs the many women who bear the dreams of the next generation this is my sincere greeting to you all.]Can I thank all the members that have spoken to contribute to today's first reading for the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill. To some extent this will be the first time that Maniapoto will have the opportunity to tell their story because much of their story has been eclipsed in the past by the story of the Kīngitanga by the story of the Waikato Wars and the raupatu that took place because of Maniapoto's role at that time. It's not often as a member of this House that you get the opportunity to share a story that is intrinsic to who you are and I get to do that today so I'm very grateful. It's an honour and a pride to be able to speak to this particular bill.Can I make some acknowledgments of my own to Chris Finlayson who started off this particular process. The member for the King Country Barbara Kuriger was right. She did a lot to support the aspirations of Maniapoto by ensuring that her colleagues at the time who were the then Government were very aware of the aspirations within Maniapoto. In fact Chris Finlayson other than Koro Wētere when he was a Minister was the second Minister to travel to Kāwhia. He travelled to Kāwhia with the understanding that that would be a place where the special factors the unique factors of the Maniapoto settlement could be shared with him and to some extent clause 124 will emerge out of some of the history that was told to him at that particular time albeit save it for the select committee.Can I also acknowledge the current Minister of Treaty settlements because back in 2016 he held a different role in Opposition. When I went to go and see him to say Is it possible for me to support my iwi to be able to help to negotiate forward?" he didn't hesitate and now here we are in very different roles and able to steward through such a significant settlement. It will be the fourth-largest settlement by some measures but actually by intent it has the same intent as every other settlement: to try and find a way to resolve historical grievances to set the record straight to be able to ensure that there is a future for the next generation and it is bright it is vibrant and it will be of the making of every individual of Ngāti Maniapoto who want to serve the next generation.There are some acknowledgments that I should make. It's always a difficult time but certainly for the period that I was involved in this I want to acknowledge mātua Tiwha Bell John Kaati Bob Koroheke—the late Bob Koroheke—Pat Stafford Rovina Maniapoto-Anderson Miria Tauariki and Muiora Barry who were our travelling team of experts. Through that whole period of brief negotiation there was a lot of work that went into it—years and years of work. But those kaumātua and kuia symbolise the hopes and aspirations of what the settlement needed to be. It was a challenging time because the mandating process had been contested through the Waitangi Tribunal internal to the tribe and many tribes have been through this process. The Treaty settlement process can be very divisive but irrespective of that there was a small cohort of kaumātua who were absolutely steadfast in their ambition to ensure that we were continuing to move forward and I thank them for their leadership.I also want to acknowledge Paul Meredith because the quality of the historical record and the apology that has been set in place in the deed and also in the legislation is by no small measure by his hand. He put off a PhD so that he could contribute back to his iwi and set the record straight—so that needs to be said—also to the negotiating supporting team at the time: Tēpene Wilson Titahi Tarawa members of the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board and at the time the then serving CEO Janise Eketone. Much has been said about the different profiles and make-ups of each chapter of the settlement but a lot of work had been undertaken prior to the negotiating team being appointed so all they had to do was really pull together the visions and aspirations from the hard work and effort that had already been achieved within the iwi.The other elements of the settlement that I really wanted to pick up on—and it was commented on previously by other members—are some of the unique features. In so far as the raumairoa—natural resource redress—elements of the settlement many will be aware that Ngā Wai o Waipā preceded this particular settlement and it was bespoke to the Waipā River which is the largest tributary into the Waikato River. So by extension when it came to the point to negotiate the substantial settlement the terms of the agreements reached in Ngā Wai o Waipā extended to the whole of the Maniapoto rohe. The reason for that is Maniapoto is water rich on private Māori land and it was important to Maniapoto to ensure that there was source protection of these puna that lay inherent within the region. So Chris Finlayson understood how important that was he understood the intimacy and relationship of Maniapoto to their water and that was why the natural resource redress section reads as it does.Then it's also important to mention—I note the connections that have been said in the House—the headwaters of the Waipā River sit in Maniapoto and the headwaters of the Whanganui River sit in Maniapoto. So it was important to ensure that at its core water was going to be a uniting feature between the interrelationships across the border for Maniapoto.Can I come back to the key pou and pillar that guided these kaumātua and the negotiating principle. The first pou was always kotahitanga. As I say Treaty settlement processes can be very divisive but each step of the way that pou of kotahitanga always advocated for the collective interests of all tribal members of Maniapoto. Even though the tribunal process was taking place contesting the mandate of the trust board kaumātua would continue to reinforce kotahitanga. Kotahitanga has to be about everybody. Ninety percent of our tribe live outside of the rohe. We have to find ways to make this settlement work for everybody. The second pou is te mana o Maniapoto and that harks back to Te Ōhākī Tapu which members have referred to the kawenata te Mana Whatu Ahuru raumairoa—all of these deep and intrinsic knowledge systems that lie within the essence of who Maniapoto is and will be going forward into the future.Te Whare o Te Nehenehenui. Now if there's something unique about Maniapoto in relation to Waikato it's the fact that for Maniapoto leadership is distributed. That means that every house within Maniapoto every marae within Maniapoto every hapū within Maniapoto stands on its own mana but when it's important to come together as one they unite unshakeable unbreakable. So Te Whare o Te Nehenehenui is about reinforcing the distributive leadership the power base that exists within the iwi and it will be a guide for the future and it will also be the name for the post-settlement governance entity going forward.The last pou: Te Rohe Pōtae. As I said part of the double duty obligation of Maniapoto after the 1863 land wars was to hold the aukati for 20 years—to hold a defensive boundary so that kin from Waikato kin from Taranaki could be looked after within the Maniapoto region. For 20 years no one could break it but it was by the temerity of spirit and leadership of those rangitira at the time that they advocated not only for the redress of the wrong that had occurred in their time and the Treaty of Waitangi the return of lands and the like they advocated to ensure that there would be a future for their people.So another important part of this settlement is the Main Trunk line and the agreements around that Te Ōhākī Tapu. That is why Te Ara-o-Tūrongo is such an important naming element of the settlement. You will get all of that at the select committee and I hope you do get the opportunity to go and visit go to Te Tokanganui a Noho listen to the people listen to the stories that underpin the essence of this settlement but most importantly listen to the heart of the people because the heart of Maniapoto at its core really want to see a better future. They know by their own hands by their own merit by their own convictions that they can make something very different and better for their next generation and to them lastly I applaud them. Can I just thank David Tapsell who was the Crown negotiator. He's got many stories to tell about uncle Tiwha kicking him along. Thank you very much for your efforts in this work too.Nō reira kāti rā tērā pea māku hei whakakapi i roto i tētahi karakia. Kia hora te marino kia whakapapa pounamu te moana kia tere te kārohirohi. Ko tō hoa haere ko te rangimārie ko tō hoa haere ko te rangimārie. Nō reira kei te Whare kei ngā kokonga o tēnei Whare tēnei a Ngāti Maniapoto e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa tēnā koutou.E pā tō hau he wini raro he hōmai arohaKia tangi atu au i kōnei he aroha ki te iwiKa momotu ki tawhiti ki Paerau ko wai e kite atuKei whea aku hoa i mua ra i te tōnuitangaKa haramai tēnei ka tauwehe ka raungaiti au.Nō reira Ngāti Maniapoto kei a koutou tēnei wā.[Let me conclude with a prayer. May calm be widespread may the sea glisten like greenstone and may it shimmer. Let peace be your travelling companion. Therefore to all corners of the House I am too of Ngāti Maniapoto and I greet you all.Your breath touches me like the north wind bringing sad memoriesI mourn again in sorrow for my kinWho have disappeared beyond Paerau who can now see themWhere are my former friends from the era of prosperityThe time of separation has come leaving me desolate.Therefore Ngāti Maniapoto the time is yours.]Motion agreed to.Bill read a first time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): The question is That the Maniapoto Claims Settlement Bill be considered by the Māori Affairs Committee.Motion agreed to.Bill referred to the Māori Affairs Committee."