Finlayson Christopher: Ngai Tamanuhiri Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Finlayson Christopher: Ngai Tamanuhiri Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 26 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:4052. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker and tena koutou to our guests in the gallery. Parekura Horomia has done that to me all day. He has upstaged me right throughout the course of the debate but always as you know with Mr Horomia for the best of reasons. I really welcome all those who are in the gallery—those of you who have travelled from Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa to join us on this very important occasion. I especially recognise that great rangatira Nolan Raihania whose immense contribution to our country through his service in the 28th Maori Battalion I greatly admire. I see him grinning up there. He gets very embarrassed when I mention him but he deserves all the accolades that he receives because he is a great New Zealander. 
As is very clear this bill the Ngai Tamanuhiri Claims Settlement Bill settles the historic grievances of this iwi. The Crown acknowledges and formally apologises for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi offers an apology and there are various forms of redress which Mrs Turia has mentioned and I am not going to repeat them in my speech. But this day has indeed been a long time coming. The claims were first made to the Waitangi Tribunal 20 years ago in 1992. The claims were inquired into by the tribunal and it reported in 2004. It is well established that the grievances that it found the breaches of the Treaty were very serious indeed. Ngai Tamanuhiri entered negotiations with the Crown in 2005 as part of the collective of Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa iwi and in September 2008 signed the agreement in principle. 
 It is one of those unfortunate things that from the agreement in principle to deed of settlement the journey is sometimes very long because in the deed of settlement all the details have to be finalised whereas in the agreement in principle it can be a fairly generalised document. There has been a lot of work—an enormous amount of work—between September 2008 and March 2011. It was a wonderful day a Saturday morning when Mr Horomia and I and other officials—Mrs Turia was there as well—were at that beautiful marae south of Gisborne Muriwai Marae to sign the deed of settlement. As Mr Horomia said it was a very special day because we began it by helicoptering up to the top of the point and initialling the deed of settlement and then we came down and the actual signing was on the marae. 
As I said in my second reading speech last week it was the first time I had ever done it as Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations but I read out the full acknowledgement and the apology. One was aware that it was a very eerie sort of feeling in the grounds of the marae. I said to Mrs Turia: “What is going on?” and she said people were weeping. That is perhaps why I get very angry when I hear people diminish these settlements as mere “deals” in some kind of supercilious manner. They are anything but deals; they are very important acts that we enter into—that the Crown and iwi enter into—in order to resolve these matters that plague our past so that we can get on with life. It was a very special day and I want to thank publicly the iwi for that day and for the way in which they have negotiated with me over the last 4 years. 
In this settlement as I said the Crown acknowledges a number of breaches. Some mention in the context of Rongowhakaata was made by Mr Tirikatene about the men not being tried in accordance with the standards of justice that people were entitled to and then they were imprisoned in harsh conditions on the Chatham Islands for more than 2 years. Mr Tirikatene marvelled at how the good men of Rongowhakaata managed to escape and the same principle applies to Ngai Tamanuhuri. I have to say that I still marvel at it myself. I was over in the Chathams a few weeks ago and Mr Tremain and I jumped in a crayfish boat to go down from Owenga on the south coast of the Chatham Island over to Pitt Island. It is fair to say—and it was a reasonably pleasant day—that the journey could be described as interesting. So I have no doubt at all that the courage and the determination of those men of Ngai Tamanuhuri to get back to Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa was truly truly impressive. 
The other breach that I particularly want to refer to is the act of the Crown in returning land and then promoting legislation that basically gave ownership of the land to individuals rather than to the collective undermining the ability of the iwi to maintain its property. That is why undertakings that have been given in the Crown deed by acknowledgments and apologies are absolutely important and necessary. 
Mr Horomia being the good local MP that he is for Ikaroa-Rawhiti raised a number of points about sewage spewing out into the bay and affecting the iwi and the general population of the area. One important body that is established through this settlement is the local leadership board. I refer him to clause 43 of the bill. The purpose of this board which will be made up of all the iwi in the area and also the local authorities is to “contribute to the sustainable management of the natural and physical resources in the … area for the use and enjoyment of … future generations while recognising and providing for the traditional relationship of Ngai Tamanuhiri [and other iwi] with their ancestral lands water sites wahi tapu” areas and so on. I hope that that body which is a permanent committee and must not be discharged without the agreement of the specified appointers in the council will be able to start to address some of these matters. Mr Horomia has very eloquently spoken this afternoon as well about the absolute need following the passage of this legislation for the Crown to live up to its commitments. This is not a one-off warm feelings situation. This creates a new relationship and there are ongoing obligations that will need to be addressed. He and I have talked about ways in which that could be done and I very much appreciate his contribution. 
This is a historic milestone for Ngai Tamanuhiri. The deed was the first settlement agreed between the Crown and an iwi from Turanga where the Crown committed some very serious Treaty breaches and I agree with all those speakers who have said today and throughout the course of the four debates that it is important that people know something about what happened. It is a shame that the media which are quite happy to report the more contentious aspects of House business have not bothered to be here today to listen to some of this debate because it is very important. I acknowledge all those officials with whom I have worked over the years. The Office of Treaty Settlements officials worked very hard on these matters. They are not “nine-to-fivers” at all. In fact I was in the office the day we initialled the deed of settlement at about 12.30 in the morning because Paul James the former director had phoned me and wanted me to talk to the Ngai Tamanuhiri representatives about one or two matters. That is the level of commitment that I have received from the Office of Treaty Settlements. I acknowledge Mr Horomia I acknowledge my friends in the Maori Party who have worked so closely with me on this and I acknowledge my other ministerial colleagues. It is a great day; a great day for Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is not the end of it. It is the beginning of a new relationship—a very positive one. I salute you for all you do and look forward to working with you in the years to come.