Kirkpatrick Dana; O'Connor GregDANA KIRKPATRICK (National—East Coast): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise to speak as the last speaker in the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill today in the second reading. It is a privilege to do so. As a new member of this Parliament and sitting on the Māori Affairs Committee with my colleagues who are in the House this evening it means a lot to be able to do so. It's always a little difficult when you are faced with the prospect of speaking on a Treaty settlement bill when clearly you are possibly a little ill-equipped to do so having not sat through the select committee and the hearings to understand the full picture. But I think throughout listening to my colleagues the members from across the House it's very clear how this feels for the Ngāti Hei people.The Coromandel which is where Ngāti Hei comes from is a beautiful remote part of the world. In some parts of it productive and historically extremely significant. So we understand full well why they are seeking redress. We understand from the papers that we've seen what that looks like. National has always supported this bill and we're delighted to continue supporting it and hopefully to bring some clarity and some closure to this.In the submissions there is a bit of a historical account of Ngāti Hei and there's a piece of it that I'd just like to address. It says Considering all that has happened since 1769 the resilient Ngāti Hei has been a reasonable Iwi in terms of developing relationships with its Treaty partner and its subsidiaries. Ngāti Hei has been both active and reactive … both with the Crown and the private sector. Whether establishing a Marine Reserve to monitoring developers or working alongside scientists on Islands – this is all part of our fundamental duty as responsible Kaitiaki. The burdens of these responsibilities [come] at great cost. The lack of resources and professional approach has resulted in our roles being reduced diminutively to only a figurehead status. Our true potential as contributors to our own prosperity and societal growth still seems too far away and improbable as we watch our young seek better opportunities abroad. The Treaty Claims process is critically important to Ngāti Hei as we move into the future. This will be our only chance to participate in social and economic opportunities that has eluded us since 1840. However we look ahead with in trepidation and brace ourselves to new challenges coming." It goes on to say "The apology"—that comes as part of the settlement process—"cannot change the past but with the support of the Crown its an opportunity to reset our future. The apology stands front and center for Nga Hei." I read that because I think that's significant for them and obviously meant a lot in the submissions process.I sat on my first Treaty settlement submissions hearing this year when we addressed the Whakatōhea settlement claims. We did that in Ōpōtiki which was great. It was also part of my electorate so it's something that was quite close to my part.Hon Tama Potaka: Great electorate.DANA KIRKPATRICK: A wonderful electorate where I spent a few days with Hon Tama Potaka last week.Look I think for the first time there I had my firsthand understanding of the sorrow and the pain endured by iwi through raupatu and through the confiscation of land and the way they were treated. It takes time to understand the journey the history and the evolution of a Treaty settlement. The pain the negotiation and bringing it to a point that sets the iwi or hapū on a new journey. There is nothing no money no prosperity no property no apology will ever be enough for those who have gone before. The people who started this process and many of whom will have moved on and will not be able to see this come to a conclusion—for the tūpuna the mamae will always be a part of their lives. Many have died with no redress as outlined.Now the opportunity exists for Ngāti Hei to move forward and address its future in a new way for the sake of their tamariki and mokopuna. There is a part in one of the former speeches from the first reading from the Minister for Māori Development the Hon Tama Potaka who said "The kaupapa of Ngāti Hei is set out on [their] website: [and it says] 'From our tūpuna we have inherited our moana whenua and cultural taonga. We will protect and enhance them to build a bright future for Ngāti Hei.'". If this settlement as it stands—which we understand is not enormous in terms of its monetary value—can bring some kind of closure some clarity and a way forward for Ngāti Hei then that will just go some way to addressing that for them.On the East Coast where I come from I have seen what happens and the opportunities that come from Treaty settlement closure and how iwi and hapū on the East Coast have developed a wonderful way of facing their challenges of owning the problems that they face and of using their settlement claims and their redress to find new ways of supporting whānau and communities in the way that matters to them most. It brings empowerment. It brings the ability for them to embrace their challenges as I said and some of them developed great plans in terms of social housing in terms of training for their whānau and providing jobs and doing a great deal of other things in terms of commercial and social arms working alongside each other. So look I hope that we will be able to reach some of that.It's important to remember that "By the end of the 20th century Ngāti Hei [was left] virtually landless. The resulting marginalisation … including loss of te reo … educational underachievement sickness and socioeconomic deprivation caused … [great] suffering. … [and] the fragmentation of Ngāti Hei tribal structures and the migration from ancestral lands severely affected [their] ability to pass [on] mātauranga … to their [children or their tamariki]" and therefore to their mokopuna going forward.This settlement started on the—well you know in the time line here "On 29 June 2011 the Crown recognised the mandate of the Ngāti Hei negotiators to negotiate a comprehensive settlement of the historical Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāti Hei with the Crown. The mandated negotiators and the Crown entered into an agreement in principle equivalent on 22 July 2011. On 31 May 2017 Ngāti Hei and the Crown initialled a Deed of Settlement … [and] The Deed was ratified and then signed on 13 August 2017. The settlement will be implemented following the [finalisation] of [this] legislation. On settlement the trustees of the Ngāti Hei Post Settlement Governance Entity will manage the settlement assets." as is common practice with these things.It's also important to remember that "Ngāti Hei is a member of the Pare Hauraki Collective and will receive collective redress through that [as well]. The collective approach recognises that the iwi of Hauraki have various overlapping customary interests which cannot be considered separately from each other." So that will come as well.It takes a lot to get a settlement through. It takes huge commitment courage and drive and when we look through the submissions that were presented to the Māori Affairs Committee I think it's worth just noting a couple of them. The Hauraki Collective submission strongly supported the Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill acknowledging the persistent efforts of the negotiators and the historical wrongs faced by the iwi. They criticised the Crown's insufficient Treaty redress and asserted their opposition to any changes to the bill not endorsed by Ngāti Hei. The Ngāti Paoa Iwi Trust aligned with Ngāti Hei in supporting the claims settlement bill acknowledging the history and struggles of the iwi and they stressed the importance of their settlement whilst the Thames-Coromandel District Council's submission backed the bill recognising its significance for both Ngāti Hei and the wider Hauraki community. The council highlighted its ongoing relationship with Ngāti Hei and emphasised the settlement's role in fostering joint development and addressing historical grievances.It takes a lot to get the settlement through as I've said but we pay tribute to the dedication of Ngāti Hei the leadership and the patience; to the negotiators and the whānau support that will have been required to assist and support the negotiators and the people involved in this.The first kōrero over the claims was handled by Tā Doug Graham and they have traversed many Governments since but it was Andrew Little who separated the omnibus bills and decided to get this finalised by splitting this out and setting Ngāti Hei on a path for a quicker resolution. Thanks to Minister Andrew Little for the work that he did to progress this claim for the iwi.As previous speakers have said the redress will never be enough and I sincerely hope a new future can be envisaged and that Ngāti Hei can be set on a journey of improvement and opportunity for their people. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.Motion agreed to.Bill read a second time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow. Good evening.The House adjourned at 9.56 p.m."