Ririnui Mita: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:664;Page:11852] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Labour) 
: 
 Otira kia ora tatou e te Whare. Kia ora tatou e te Minita ahakoa kua wehe atu nau tonu nei te pire i whakapanuihia ki te Whare otira ki te motu katoa. E tika ana ra te tikanga mau tonu ra te pire e panuihia i te mea ra ko koe ra te uri o ratou i arahi mai tenei kaupapa kia tae mai ki roto i te Whare nei. 
[ 
So greetings to us all the House. Greetings to us and the Minister; even though you are no longer present you personally presented the bill to the House and to the whole nation. That you should present the bill is appropriate because you are their relative and the one who guided this matter here into this House 
.]  
In the time I have been a member of this House I have had the good fortune to have been involved in many settlement bills. Some have been quite massive and I could run off a list just to highlight those particular settlements. But this one the Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill is of particular significance to myself not so much for the way that the Ngati Apa people were treated during the 1800s and in the early 1900s but for the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout this whole process. 
The Minister the Hon Tariana Turia who is also the member for Te Tai Hauauru reminded us of the sad history of this claim particularly as it relates to her people of Ngati Apa. If one reads the history of this settlement the historical account one would understand why over the years many people carry grievance to the point where it dominates their lives. 
When we consider the commitment of the negotiating team young as they were and still are given that this settlement has progressed quite well—they did not start young and finish old; they started young and they are still young—and their attitude throughout the negotiations it is obvious that they were the right people to lead us. Those who stood behind the negotiations and supported them were the ones who felt the harshness of Government policy and its effects over a period of time. Those young people had a clear vision that in order to overcome the grievance they needed to show leadership lead the way finalise the settlement and provide for their people the opportunity to move forward. They have done an excellent job as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations reminded the House this evening. Apart from his unkind opening statements the rest of his speech was very positive. 
This bill gives effect to the deed of settlement in which the Crown and Ngati Apa agree to a final settlement of Ngati Apa’s historical claims. I am proud to say that Labour supports this bill and does so for obvious reasons. The negotiations on behalf of the previous Labour-led Government were led by the Hon Dr Michael Cullen. The deed of settlement was signed on behalf of the Crown by the Hon Parekura Horomia Minister of Maori Affairs in October 2008. Soon after the deed was signed Dr Cullen reminded us that this settlement was a historic moment in the relationship between the Crown and Ngati Apa. It allows both parties the Crown and Ngati Apa to move forward into the future. I am very pleased that Minister Finlayson continues to support the positive initiatives initiated by the previous Government particularly when it comes to Treaty settlements. If the Minister is to meet his 2014 deadline he will need the cooperation of every party in this House. I thank the Minister for his positive moves in this portfolio. 
I will spend some time talking about the select committee process because that was very very interesting. As with most settlements issues developed along the way between competing interests competing tribal groups and also between competing tribal groups and their local mainstream communities. Ngati Apa had it all. So it was really a test for them to see how they managed those different dynamics those competing interests so that they would be able to finalise this settlement legislation. 
I am reminded of the differences in terms of status between Ngati Apa and iwi belonging to Nga Wairiki and the manner in which they resolved those issues. The select committee was reminded that many of those who belong to Nga Wairiki also claimed that they had whakapapa to Ngati Apa. In fact they overwhelmingly supported the mandate of Ngati Apa. To that point Ngati Apa was able to proceed even though some dissenters came to the select committee. Also those in support of the Ngati Apa mandate belonging to Nga Wairiki were happy with the way that the legislation was to be written and the way that the post-governance settlement arrangements were to be constructed. They will continue to enjoy by right the benefits from the settlement and the assets. The select committee recommended in its report back to the House that there be no changes in terms of the inclusion of Nga Wairiki groups in this settlement legislation. 
The area of cultural redress properties was interesting also. Many of the properties that are included in the cultural redress are situated in areas of tremendous significance to the Ngati Apa people. Although these properties may not have a significant commercial value—in fact many of them have none in so far as Ngati Apa is concerned—the areas of land on which these buildings are erected are of tremendous significance to Ngati Apa. For that reason and that reason alone it was important that these properties not be overlooked in the negotiations and that they be included in the settlement package as part of the cultural redress. I am glad that the staff of the Office of Treaty Settlements did not recommend to the Minister that these properties be classified as commercial redress because that would have been a grievance upon a grievance; that would have been wrong. 
I remind the Minister that his officials advised the select committee that in so far as schedule 2 the list of 17 cultural redress properties is concerned AgResearch lands are not yet included in the land bank properties. We were given the assurance that by the time this bill completes its passage through the House that land would be included in the land bank and form part of the redress. I am hopeful that the Minister will be able to conclude this small technical matter by the time the Committee stage is finished. It is important that we all have a discussion on that. This is something new in Treaty settlements. We have included a parcel of land as part of the redress and it is important that it is in the right place—for want of words—and that is the land bank. That indeed is a minor challenge but nevertheless it is a challenge for the Minister. 
The fisheries protocol is very interesting. Anyone who knows the area of Whanganui or Ngati Apa’s rohe well knows that in the rivers and lakes—small as they are—there are massive populations of tuna of eels. One person who submitted on the bill—and I know that the committee members were surprised to hear it—referred to small eels. We said to ourselves that anyone who has been there—to Whangaehu and those particular areas—would never have seen a small eel. They are massive; we call them taniwha. But that was a good example of a competing interest. Somebody believed that their commercial interests would be severely compromised because Ngati Apa were going to catch small eels. Ngati Apa do not catch small eels and that is one thing we had to tell that person. But that is a good example of self-interest rather than of competing interests of having little consideration for the customary rights of others and of having consideration for doing the right thing which is what this bill is about. 
In the short time I have left I will take the time as everybody else before me has done to congratulate the select committee—and rightly so because the chairman conducted a very open and flexible process when we heard the submissions. He allowed members to be quite broad in their questioning of submitters and officials. As a result we have before us a well-considered bill. I hope that he keeps up those standards. Thank you.