Fox MaramaMARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party): Ā tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā tēnā koutou ōku pou ōku rahi. Tēnā koe e te tungāne tīmata i te hekenga o ngā roimata i a au e kōrero ana nei ko te taura whiri o Hinengākau ki ōna tungāne a Tamaūpoko rāua ko Tūpoho.[So thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and salutations to you collectively my pillars and my numerous! Thank you brother. Tears began to descend as I was speaking here about Hinengākau's rope plait to her brothers Tamaūpoko and Tūpoho.]Today this day of all days I greet the kuia Hinengakau and her brothers Tamaūpoko and Tupoho.He muka nā te taura whiri o Hinengākau.[It is a fibre from Hinengākau's rope plait.]We welcome all those who descend from the sacred threads of the interwoven rope of Hinengakau—the rope that binds them together as one. In a legislative sense the sacred rope connects all those who have descended from Ruatipua Paerangi and Haunui-ā-Pāpārangi to take up their customary rights and responsibilities in respect of the Whanganui River. But in a spiritual sense te taura whiri o Hinengakau connects further beyond to a period when there were close to 200 kāinga whenua on the banks and cliffs of the Whanganui River with many more other kāinga along the tributaries. We can know of the life-force of that time through the words left by the late Rangitihi Tahupārae.Ngā manga iti e honohono kau ana ka hono ka tupu hei awa hei Awa Tupua.[The small creeks that link up accordingly join up and develop as a river to become the Ancestral River.] The small streams that run into one another and continue to link and swell until the river is formed—indeed a great river. Today then it is our day to acknowledge the great river Te Awa Tupua.On 18 March 1994 the late Atawhai Taiaroa stood at Pūtiki Marae in his role as chairman of the Whanganui River Māori Trust Board and told the tribunal that the Whanganui iwi are embarrassed after 118 years of making applications to different levels of Government. This is our tupuna awa. This is our ancestor. To come again today to make that same presentation and as such they are saying this: This is it."He referred to the petition of Te Keepa Rangihiwinui on the Timber Floating Bill of 1873 and it is the first named claimant Hikaia Amohia who died over a century later in 1991 and all those before during and after the passage of legislation that this bill becomes a memorial to. During that first hearing at Pūtiki the people lost one of their kuia Nanny Lucy the whāngai daughter of Hekenui Whakarake and sister to Hōhepa Hekenui two of the original Whanganui River claimants.Te hunga wairua moves in many ways to remind us of what is important and with the passing of someone so intimately associated with its origins this bill wears their tears. It carries their memories. It reflects their dreams. So many have passed with their lives having borne testimony to the stories that brought us here today. So in this third reading I want to dedicate my time to that kuia and all the kuia who have given so much of themselves to keep strengthening the interwoven rope of Hinengakau for this day to arrive.Ko te wai anake e rere ana ko te whakaaro tahi ki te whakapono.[Only the water flows on the single intention is to the belief.]The historical claims of Whanganui iwi as they relate to the Whanganui River bear the imprint of all those who have cried over the course of this journey. In 1895 Mereaina Rauangina and 151 other Whanganui women petitioned Parliament "to prevent the operation of the law of Government to remove stones from out of the Whanganui River". The petitioners objected "so that the Government will not destroy our eel-weirs our lamprey-weirs our whitebait dams and the flood currents of the river".Seven years ago the beloved kuia Te Manawanui Pauro passed away at an incredible 102 years of age. Her kōrero to the tribunal about the impact of the gravel extraction taken from the river must not be forgotten—gravel extraction that destroyed beds that provided habitat for fish and ultimately contributed to the depletion of traditional fisheries.Ko te tangi a te kuia nei ka pēwhea aku mokopuna ka ngaro ngā kai ka ngaro te mana me te whakaae koe kia riro i a Tauiwa ngā mana o ō tūpuna i roto i te wai.[The lament of this elderly woman is what will become of my grandchildren if food and authority disappear should you agree for the European to acquire the powers that our ancestors have in the water.]"What will become of my grandchildren? The River stocks will suffer and its mana will suffer if you allow tauiwi to take the mana of our tupuna." In 1996 that same kuia stood at the wānanga at Rānana and told the people: "Ko te ngaro o tō mita ka ngaro ō maunga ō awa ō tūpuna ki te ako i tō mita ka hokihoki mai ō maunga ō awa ō tūpuna."["With the loss of your dialect your mountains and rivers are lost. With your ancestors to teach your dialect bring back your mountains rivers and ancestors that are lost."]"If you lose your language you lose your mountains your rivers and your ancestors. If you learn your language you regain your mountains river and ancestors." All of these messages from our kuia our wāhine rangatira are important. They strengthen the substance of the framework: he pā auroa nā Te Awa Tupua [a protracted fortified village that belong to the Ancestral River].This bill reflects the voices of women: Auntie Joan Nanny Sophie Nanny Grace Nanny Nui the kuia Julie Ranginui Auntie Dardanella Dame Tariana Nancy—the grandmothers wives mothers and daughters who stood alongside their men who gave instructions in subtle and bold ways who supported the kōrero with karanga and waiata and who sang of the spirit of Te Awa Tupua mai i Te Kāhui Maunga ki Tangaroa [from the National Park to the sea] who sacrificed and compromised and wept and waited. Their waiata and whakataukī and their karanga and karakia provide other means to understand te mana o te awa. They help describe the heart and soul from which to interpret te mana o te iwi. Te Ruruku Whakatupua as it is expressed in this bill represents immense forbearance compromise and generosity on the part of Whanganui iwi. It represents a loving legacy of more than 150 years to both protect the Whanganui River and provide for the special relationship of the Whanganui iwi with the river—and I say "loving" deliberately. One of the anthems of the river people "Auē Te Aroha" embodies the challenge issued by the kuia Moe Ānaera Ruka: utaina ki runga i Te Waka o Te Ora [load it upon the Canoe of Life]—in other words embark upon the canoe of life. Pāpā Anatipa in his book Taku Whare E shared whakataukī of the marae of Pūtiki Te Rōpū Kapa Haka or Pūtiki Māori Club: "Pūtikitia te Aroha"—bind together in love. It is an incredibly consistent compassionate courageous call for unity singing praying speaking together in love ever mindful of the messages left from beyond to draw upon the māramatanga and the mobilisation of the people in defiance of Crown actions in relation to the river. Pākaitore—79 days of action crystallising the anger but also consolidating the resolve of the people to stand strong through it all. The kuia Te Paea Arapata lamented to the tribunal on the loss of customary knowledge: E ngaro ana te mātauranga ō mātou nei mātua ka whakaoti katoa te hā i a au Te Māori i te mea ko au Te Māori he aroha tōku hoa.[The knowledge of our parents is missing. Indeed that will totally complete the tenor within me of being Māori because I am Māori and empathy is my friend.]Our mātauranga was in decline and our essence as Māori was being extinguished on account of our inherently trusting nature. Māori culture is a complementary culture where the voices of women and men shape our story to provide the depth of our kōrero today. I have chosen today to focus on the stories of women but I could just as easily have spoken of their brothers and their fathers and both have found physical and spiritual sustenance from the river from time immemorial. Our part in the journey as a select committee has been only a moment of that 150 years that the people have been calling for justice but although our time immersed in the story is brief what was undeniable was the profound connection to the Awa Tupua of each and every one who appeared or presented to the Māori Affairs Committee on the river's behalf. They told us: "Kauaka e kōrero mō Te Awa ēngari kōrero ki Te Awa!"["Do not talk about the River but speak to it!"]Do not merely talk about the river; speak to and commune with the river. So we too went to the river a journey where you felt the impact of decades of gravel extraction pollution diversion and losses and suffering and delays and denials and yet the river still flows on. Like the many twists and turns of Te Awa Tupua the journey to reach the final conclusion of this settlement process for the iwi of Whanganui has been one of wonder and splendour but it has also been tinged with sadness and loss for those who have championed the Wai 167 claim: the late Hikaia Amohia the late Sir Archie John Te Atawhai Taiaroa the late Joan Akapita and many many others—in fact too many to mention. As we the Māori Party stand in solidarity with them we treasure and pay tribute to all those who have carried their Te taura whiri o Hinengākau [Hinengākau's rope plait] into this House and in doing so we remember the call: E Te Iwi Māori puritia kia mau utaina ki runga i Te Waka o Te ora ka hoe ai ki te tauranga tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia ora mai tātau katoa.[To you the Māori people hold it securely place it upon the Canoe of Life and then row it to the terminal. Acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively and my appreciation to us all.]"