Little AndrewNGĀTI RANGITIHI CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill.SPEAKER: That statement is published on the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. E ngā mana e ngā reo e rau rangatira mā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa. [To the powers to the voices to the esteemed leaders greetings greetings greetings to us all.]I am grateful to be able to speak to the Ngāti Rangitihi Claims Settlement Bill. In December last year the Crown was invited to Rangitihi Marae in Matatā to sign a deed of settlement with Ngāti Rangitihi—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Sorry to interrupt the Minister. Would all those members who are leaving do so quietly and quickly. Thank you. Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Ngā mihi Mr Deputy Speaker. The Crown was in December last year invited to Rangitihi Marae in Matatā to sign a deed of settlement with Ngāti Rangitihi and I was humbled to have the privilege to be able to stand on the marae that day and not only sign the deed of settlement but to apologise on behalf of the Crown for its acts and admissions that prejudiced Ngāti Rangitihi. I want to begin with a few acknowledgments. Firstly to the members of Ngāti Rangitihi in the gallery this afternoon and in particular their lead negotiator Leith Comer. Tēnā koe Leith. Leith and his team have put in a lot of hard work to get us to this point. Kei te mihi ki a koutou. I want to acknowledge the people both past and present who made the claims that this bill pertains to and kept the fires burning. It's been a long time coming. I especially want to acknowledge those Ngāti Rangitihi tīpuna who are no longer with us to see their claims settled. I'd also like to acknowledge the effort of chief Crown negotiator Katherine Gordon and those people from the Crown who worked alongside her and of course Te Arawhiti. Finally I want to acknowledge two rangatiratanga who have left us since the deed's signing. I want to acknowledge Stephen Ihaka who acted as a cultural adviser to the Crown for many years. Stephen was involved in facilitation and cultural support throughout the settlement often during some of the more difficult times. Most recently Stephen led the Crown party on to Rangitihi Marae at the deed signing in December last year. We were very grateful to have him with us on that day and watch him delight in the festivities of the day. I do believe that was the last official engagement on behalf of the Crown that Stephen took and I have to say he is deeply missed by myself and I know many others. I want to acknowledge also Allan Skipwith the chair of Tūhourangi Tribal Authority. Tūhourangi are close neighbours to Ngāti Rangitihi. Throughout Ngāti Rangitihi settlement negotiations their relationship was tested and strained but ultimately improved and no small part due to Allan's measured yet firm leadership. And I enjoyed meeting him I enjoyed his company. He was a very wise man and we are here in part because of the contribution that he has made to getting this agreement and this settlement.Moe mai rā e ngā rangatira moe mai moe mai.[Rest in peace oh leaders rest in peace rest in peace.]For generations the people of Ngāti Rangitihi have sought redress for breaches of the Treaty by the Crown that have hurt them and harmed them. From the 1960s they've made petitions submissions and claims to seek redress for Treaty breaches. This settlement contains Crown acknowledgements of an apology for well-founded breaches of the Treaty and its principles. The Crown acknowledges it breached its Treaty obligations when it failed to protect the tribal structures of Ngāti Rangitihi failed to always act in good faith when leasing and purchasing Ngāti Rangitihi land blocks failed to protect Ngāti Rangitihi from becoming virtually landless failed to protect the Tarawera Awa failed to actively protect te reo Māori and to encourage its use failed to protect Ngāti Rangitihi from the impact of high survey costs and failed to act in good faith by taking excessive land at Te Ariki for public works purposes. The settlement provides for 19 sites of deep significance to be transferred to Ngāti Rangitihi as cultural redress on settlement date. These include two properties to Te Tapahoro Bay—the beating heart of the Ngāti Rangitihi rohe—two properties in and around the Waimangu Volcanic Valley and five properties at Matatā. An important element of the settlement for Ngāti Rangitihi is the natural resources arrangement over the Tarawera Awa. The settlement establishes the Tarawera Awa Restoration Strategy Group that will operate as a permanent joint committee of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The Tarawera Awa Restoration Strategy Group will support coordinate and promote the integrated restoration of the mauri and the wellbeing of the Tarawera River catchment. A settlement also provides $500000 to help enhance the mauri of and Ngāti Rangitihi's relationship with the Tarawera Awa. The settlement provides statutory acknowledgements and deeds of recognition over four areas including the Tarawera Awa and statutory acknowledgements over seven areas. A whenua rāhui is provided over the Lake Tarawera Historic Reserve and part of the Lake Tarawera Scenic Reserve. A total and commercial redress for Ngāti Rangitihi is about $11.3 million plus interest. This consists of a share of Crown forest land in the central North Island valued at $7.3 million paid on account in 2011 and $4 million in financial redress. It's the Crown's wish that through this settlement it can restore its honour and atone for its past injustices that it has inflicted on Ngāti Rangitihi. No settlement can ever truly atone for this wrongdoing or compensate for the hurt Ngāti Rangitihi have endured but I hope that this settlement will be a starting point signalling a new strengthened relationship between Ngāti Rangitihi and the Crown based on cooperation mutual trust and true respect for the Treaty and its principles. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.