Eagle PaulPAUL EAGLE (Labour—Rongotai): Tēna koe te Māngai o te Whare. Thank you Mr Speaker and I just want to before I start mirror the words of a colleague there from ACT—Nicole McKee—in terms of the local state of emergency there in on Breaker Bay Road. All of the road has been closed officially as of now and those residents have been evacuated. So we are looking at big storms on the South Coast from about 9 o'clock tonight. Apologies for the cold northern weather that's descended upon the sunny shores of Pōneke Wellington.But we have some brighter news here. I just want to acknowledge and mihi the people of Tākitimu Ngāti Kahungunu and Ahuriri Hapū iwi. If we weren't in the alert level that we are now I know that at least some of their people would be here and listening in to what is an important part of the process for their settlement bill to go through at its second readingLooking back at this bill I had the pleasure of speaking on the first reading and I remember clearly then that being my first bill that I spoke on in terms of a Treaty settlement claim. And I had been in this House and experienced I guess the third reading on a Thursday and being part of I guess the relief the exasperation the outpouring and the wairua that goes with this in quite an open expression of—I guess yeah those words sum up what many people must feel. But it was the first time I'd spoken on a Treaty claim settlement bill. And not being from the Hawke's Bay rohe can I just acknowledge the previous Treaty negotiations Minister Christopher Finlayson; the current Andrew Little; our members up there past and present; Meka Whaitiri Anna Lorck and Stuart Nash for helping guide some of this work through. I do as always want to extend my greetings to the Ahuriri Hapū and as I said I know that if they could be here they would be.In reading the bill it is always a humbling experience. I get quite angry when I have a look through at the history and the way that the Crown negotiated the taking of land—and words like a heavy-handed approach" come to my mind even in the way that tensions were sparked armed conflict broke out in the mid-1800s around the Crown attempting to purchase the Ahuriri block; 14 Māori were killed and 39 wounded in three engagements. In fact when I looked closely the Crown also captured some 86 prisoners from these attacks and sent them to dare I say it the Chatham Islands. I'm always dismayed at how often the Chatham Islands Rēkohu / Wharekauri comes through many of these settlement bills because I think "Wow it's certainly no prison; it's quite the reverse." I had the experience recently with the Māori Affairs Committee—and can I acknowledge those who were part of it previously; those on it at the moment—of going back there for the Moriori claims settlement. It's an interesting history when you hear it from their perspective about receiving some interesting figures on to Rēkohu during some of these times. So once again Māori were detained without trial they were treated harshly harsh conditions for some two years. And I guess the memories of those who are related to many of those who were treated in that way plays out in the mamae that is expressed in this bill.I want to acknowledge the negotiation team. One of the frustrations that comes through is the desire to get a settlement completed but it must be done in a way of dignity and decency. Debbie Ngarewa-Packer quite rightly says that for most these settlements will never be full and final because as history unfolds and as we know ourselves new information and a different understanding or interpretation of the history will come through. I know and I got the feeling there that as the renaissance kicks in and people become more aware of the detail around some of the issues that they will feel that justice that was part of this settlement doesn't really reflect the harshness of the information or the new information that they may find out. So I have every sympathy with the notion that these may never really be settled. But in the context of this those who work on it the team from Ahuriri and Te Arawhiti it's tough stuff. And I know even working through the one through the Māori Affairs Committee at the moment even interpreting what I guess authority and powers a select committee has and the influence we have versus what has been already agreed to in a settlement can cause some frustration. We are dealing with one now where I guess there's an acknowledgment of some additional items that this particular claim would like included but we just cannot afford them. So I mihi to Debbie and some of her concerns. These are humbling experiences. I think I can now understand why the Māori Affairs Committee is one of the more collaborative and desired select committees to be part of because you do become I guess really deeply involved in what are quite personal and humbling experiences. And you find many who come through these and find themselves actually being really proud of an identity that they simply didn't know. So I wanted to acknowledge that process.It is hard for me not to say—and I've used this language in other speeches when I've talked about this but it is hard to not express—that Māori were tricked or conned or manipulated into things at the time where—in here I've got the word "hoodwinked"; I found a new word another adjective that better describes some of the reflections as you're reading these deeds of settlement and thinking "Wow is this really the same Aotearoa New Zealand that we live in today and how could that be?" which is here what some 150-plus years ago.There is always something in a settlement—and for the hapū of Ahuriri there is one thing I found where the Crown took o Te Whanganuiā-Orotu a place of high spiritual and cultural significance a mahinga kai and despite not being part of the land sale the Crown at the time deemed that that too was going to be taken. So there is always a nugget in there—dare I use that term—just to say that despite clearing out everything else gaining so much of the taonga and whenua they also find something that has so much more meaning. And that I guess goes to my point of I believe once more research and history is done something like that in terms of its significance could well come back as people feel the grievance doesn't quite cover the significance of that site.I look forward to the third reading. It is the end of the process. I'm sure the select committee will finish its mahi. We will come back in here and acknowledge the hard mahi that's been done by many and ensure that the people of Kahungunu Tākitimu and Ahuriri Hapū will be acknowledged for their loss and their mamae. I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora. SPEAKER: The time has come for me to leave the Chair for kai. I'll resume the Chair at 7 o'clock. I thought I might get away with putting the question but I better not!Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m."