Burton Mark: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Burton Mark: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:423;Page:18543] 
Hon MARK BURTON (Associate Minister in Charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
 on behalf of the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move  
That the Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time 
. This bill is an important milestone for Ngati Awa and for the Crown. It addresses the longstanding grievances suffered by Ngati Awa. The bill will enable both parties to move forward and strengthen their relationship as treaty partners. I encourage every member of the House to read carefully the preamble to this bill. It sets out the Crown acknowledgements and formal apology to Ngati Awa for past dealings that breached the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. It acknowledges that the Crown breached the treaty and its principles by failing to ensure that the Ngati Awa people were left with sufficient land for their present and future needs. It also acknowledges that the confiscation of Ngati Awa tribal land had a devastating effect on the welfare economy and development of Ngati Awa. Confiscation deprived the iwi of many wahi tapu of access to natural resources and of opportunities for economic social and cultural development. 
As well as a formal Crown apology to Ngati Awa this settlement provides for financial redress of $42.39 million including the transfer of Crown-owned forest land in the Kaingaroa and Rotoehu forests and a variety of cultural redress to recognise and protect the interests of the people of Ngati Awa in sites of significance to them. That cultural redress will strengthen ties between Ngati Awa and the Crown. 
The Maori Affairs Committee has considered this bill and submitted its commentary on it to the House. The committee has recommended that the bill be passed with minor amendments of an editorial and technical nature. I thank the committee for its thorough consideration of the bill in general and for its observations on the process of ratification by members of Ngati Awa. Ratification of both the settlement offer and governance entity by members of the claimant community are crucial to the settlement process. The Crown has clear guidelines for reviewing ratification processes and their outcomes. Primarily the Crown needs assurance that all eligible members of the claimant group have had a chance to participate and that a sufficient majority of the claimant group supports the proposals. A postal ballot is inevitably the preferred method to gauge that support. However low voter turn-out can be a concern especially when decisions of this magnitude are being made. In the case of Ngati Awa the committee stated that it was satisfied that a robust ratification process was run for both the settlement offer and the governance entity and that they were supported by a high percentage of all those who voted. 
Participation rates are a key consideration for the Crown. However it would be unfair to deny claimants a settlement on the basis of voter turn-out alone. Short of compelling people to fill out their voting forms the Crown and claimant groups do everything they can to ensure that all eligible members of the claimant community have a credible opportunity to participate. The Crown has worked and will continue to work closely with claimant groups to advise them on ways to maximise ratification participation. The Crown is confident that the majority of Ngati Awa supports this settlement. 
In recognition of the Waitangi Tribunal’s findings with regard to three ancillary claims the Crown agreed to settle those claims alongside the main Ngati Awa settlement. The provisions affecting the three ancillary claims were finalised as the bill was introduced. The committee agreed to the inclusion of those provisions in the bill to enable them to form part of the main Ngati Awa settlement. 
I note that the committee considered Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill at the same time as this bill. Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill was reported back on 1 December 2004 and passed its second reading in the House just yesterday. It enables Ngati Awa to establish an appropriate entity to receive the settlement redress while retaining key features of their existing entity including its statutory status. That bill now awaits the passing of this bill so that the runanga can take on its new responsibilities to the people of Ngati Awa. 
It has taken many years of challenging negotiations between Ngati Awa and the Crown to reach this point. The Crown considers that the settlement is fair and just. The people of Ngati Awa have ratified it and both parties now look forward to a more positive future relationship. 
In closing I acknowledge the many people—officials Ministers and of course members of Ngati Awa—who have worked hard to reach this settlement. I strongly urge members to progress this bill through the House without further delay.