Little AndrewNGĀTI MARU (TARANAKI) CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I present a legislative statement on the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill.SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Bill.Taranaki maunga Taranaki whenua Taranaki tangata Ngāti Maru iwi nau mai haere mai. He rā tino nui tēnei mō koutou he rā tino nui hoki mō Aotearoa. Nā koutou te kaha me te manawanui. Nō reira rau rangatira mā tēnei taku mihi atu ki a koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou huri noa.[Taranaki mountain Taranaki land Taranaki people the tribe of Ngāti Maru welcome welcome. This is a very important day for you. It is also a very important day for New Zealand. You have had the strength and dedication. Therefore my esteemed leaders this is my acknowledgment of you greetings greetings greetings to all gathered here.]I'd like to begin by acknowledging the members of Ngāti Maru in the gallery this afternoon and I say to them: thank you for travelling from your homes from Taranaki and elsewhere to be in Wellington for this significant milestone in your journey to final agreement on redress for Treaty breaches. Today you will remember your leaders and loved ones who have passed on before they have been able to bear witness to today's milestone. This settlement is a tribute to the dedication of those individuals who fought so tirelessly for the resolution of Ngāti Maru's grievances to finally see justice after all these years. I've been honoured to host Ngāti Maru here at Parliament particularly the negotiators who worked long days and many nights to complete this settlement. Anaru Marshall you and your team have been unwavering champions for your people. I also acknowledge chief Crown negotiator David Tapsell who's been unable to be here today.Ngāti Maru is the last of the eight Taranaki iwi to settle their historic grievances with the Crown and are involved in the collective negotiations of course for your tupuna Taranaki Maunga. Given that I lived for many years under the shadow of that great mountain it's my honour to begin today's reading. Ngāti Maru's history with the Crown is one characterised by loss: loss of land loss of identity loss of autonomy. Through conflict confiscation and Crown purchasing Ngāti Maru has carried a long legacy of dislocation and dispossession. I well remember when discussing Ngāti Maru issues in a Cabinet committee in the last couple of years a senior Cabinet Minister of the time talking to me about his feelings about Ngāti Maru having been left virtually landless as a result of the Crown's actions. This settlement acknowledges that hurt.For the Crown the most solemn part of this settlement is the apology to Ngāti Maru. The Crown formally and publicly recognises the hardship and heartache it has caused your whānau and hapū and to celebrate the resilience of your iwi in the face of such adversity. Under normal circumstances I would have read the Crown apology to you when we signed Te Hiringa Taketake your deed of settlement in February this year. The reading of the Crown's apology is a significant moment for Ngāti Maru and the Crown and it's a responsibility every time I get the privilege to do it as Minister that I take very seriously. But when COVID-19 restrictions meant many Ngāti Maru could not attend the signing ceremony in February this year I committed to return to deliver the Crown apology at a later date so it could be heard by all your claimant community. After your third and final reading I will uphold my commitment to Ngāti Maru and visit Te Upoko o te Whenua marae at Tarata to read the Crown's apology to your people on your whenua.The Crown apology builds on the understanding Ngāti Maru and the Crown have reached about our shared history and I will reflect on that history in my speech to support the third reading of the bill. Today I will provide an outline of this settlement for the record. The settlement provides for 16 sites of significance to be transferred to Ngāti Maru as cultural redress on settlement date. The settlement includes a joint management agreement between Ngāti Maru and the Taranaki Regional Council to improve the health of Te Awaroa the Waitara River—the lifeblood awa of Ngāti Maru. A natural resources plan Maru Taiao has been provided for in the settlement outlining the values and principles of Ngāti Maru in relation to this important area. The settlement also includes statutory acknowledgments relating to rivers reserves and conservation areas to reflect Ngāti Maru's deep connection to these places. The total financial and commercial redress for Ngāti Maru is $30 million. This includes the right to purchase the Te Wera Crown forest licensed land 31 properties currently held in the Treaty Settlements Landbank and three school sites.This settlement is a product of the determination and perseverance of Ngāti Maru and its rangatira and its many people. I just want to say for the record I have enjoyed the engagements that I have had with Ngāti Maru leaders particularly Anaru Marshall at Tarata and in my office as we've worked through some of the trickier problems that this settlement has entailed. I have to say all of those engagements have been respectful even if they have been forceful and the benefits of those engagements are now before us.It's the Crown's wish that through this settlement it can restore its own honour and atone for the injustices that it has inflicted upon Ngāti Maru. No settlement can ever compensate Ngāti Maru for the true measure of what they have lost and all that they have suffered cannot be remedied. However through this settlement the Crown wants to lift the burden of Ngāti Maru's heartache.E te iwi o Ngāti Maru today is the first reading of three one further step of many we still need to take and I look forward to hosting you back here again to support the passage of your settlement through the House. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.