Paraone Pita: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — Second Reading 
Paraone Pita: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:623;Page:18499] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 A tena koe Madam Chair a tena hoki tatou o te Whare. Nga mihi hoki ki nga mangai o Ngati Awa ahakoa horekau ratau i waenganui i a tatau a-tinana a tena koutou e kara ma. Tenei ta koutou teina mai i te waka o Mataatua e tika ana kia mihi atu ki a koutou. 
[ 
Greetings to you Madam Chair and to all of us in the House as well. Greetings also to representatives of Ngati Awa even though they are not here in our midst. Greetings indeed to you all. It is apt that I a younger descendant of yours of the Mataatua canoe should be the one extending greetings to you today 
.]  
On behalf of New Zealand First—may I say the only non-aligned political party in this House—I rise to speak to the second reading of the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill. The previous speaker said that if the National Party supports the bill then let us get on with it. I say that we cannot get on with it unless New Zealand First supports it—and New Zealand First does support this bill. 
Essentially the bill gives a new status to the corporate body known as Te Runanga o Ngati Awa firstly by giving effect to the agreements between the Crown and Ngati Awa concerning the reconstitution of the structure and operations of te runanga; secondly by removing its status as a Maori trust board under the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act and the Maori Trust Boards Act; thirdly by ensuring it continues to assume governance responsibility for assets belonging to Ngati Awa; and fourthly by ensuring it receives holds and administers the Ngati Awa settlement redress for and on behalf of Ngati Awa. 
This bill is part of a long journey that Ngati Awa has had to undertake in order to reach closure of its claims—a journey that started some 15 years ago when Ngati Awa started negotiations on this matter. Like similar claims these people have had to come a long way in order to reach this point today. Clearly that is a commentary on the process of negotiation adopted by the Crown in similar circumstances in other settlements. I give credit to the Minister of Maori Affairs who sponsored this bill for adopting a timely approach to this bill. However one can only be thankful that a general election is due later this year as I have no doubt that if that were not the case this bill would probably languish on the back-burner. Further I have no doubt that the present member for Waiariki is certainly thankful for this timely approach. 
Be that as it may it is important that this bill is passed into law. Why? Because there is another bill affecting Ngati Awa and in that regard I refer particularly to the Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill which is currently undergoing the parliamentary process. In order for that bill to progress this particular bill requires enactment to give effect to the terms of the claims settlement bill. 
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ngati Awa—its principals involved in the negotiations—on submitting a structure that has been considered by the whole of the tribe and that allows for proper governance of responsibilities on behalf of Ngati Awa in the management of their assets. That should not come as any surprise given the experience that the negotiators have had in the area of public service and in regard to the cultural requirements of their tribe. I take this opportunity to congratulate them in spite of the fact that one or two of their own have expressed concerns about the process. That is not untoward particularly in Maori circles. It allows people to exercise their democratic right. 
I suggest to members of this House that the governance structures that Ngati Awa have established may appear to some to be quite restrictive. However it needs to be acknowledged that that is what they want and in fact we should be supporting them. In that regard I have great pleasure on behalf of New Zealand First in supporting them. 
In closure I want to say that if this measure is an example of what Maoridom is able to do then in terms of the many criticisms that Maori receive from all quarters of our society within and without this process that they have undertaken will certainly minimise the criticism in the future. On behalf of New Zealand First I say we support the passing of this bill concerning Ngati Awa.