Kirkpatrick Dana; Pugh MaureenDANA KIRKPATRICK (National—East Coast): Thank you Madam Speaker. Willie that's a hard act to follow. Ngā mihi ki a koutou e te iwi o Whakatōhea mō tō koutou kaha me tō koutou manawa nui i tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira. Tēnā koutou katoa.[Greetings to you the people of Whakatōhea for your strength and your resilience in this important initiative. Greetings to you all.]It is indeed an honour to be the last and final speaker in this House in this long protracted and difficult claims process for the people of the mighty Whakatōhea rohe. I welcome them to the House of Representatives to hear the third reading of their Treaty settlement bill. I'm privileged to walk alongside these people as part of the incredible East Coast electorate and I acknowledge the presence of some of their esteemed leaders today. Uncle Robert Edwards happy 91st birthday to you for next month in a couple of weeks' time. Te Kahautu Maxwell Arihia Tuoro Dickie Farrar—welcome back to the House. Graeme Riesterer acknowledged not only as a longstanding Whakatōhea board member but also for your journey through both the previous abandoned settlement and this most recent 20-year journey alongside the aforementioned as well as your contribution as the chair of Tū Ake and then the pre-settlement trust.Can I acknowledge Danny Poihipi a kaumātua of Ngāti Ngahere te hapū and Bruce Pukepuke from Te Upokorehe for his contribution to the history of Whakatōhea and all kaumātua who have been a part of both journeys as well—and Tahu Taia a longstanding trust board member who has waited patiently for this point in time. As always we recognise the tūpuna who have not seen this day come to fruition for the work and commitment to their iwi over centuries. There's a small list of others who've played a big part—well actually there's a long list of others for me today who've played an enormous part in this task including: Kate Hudson Vaughan Payne Josie Mortensen Julia Williams Johnny Hata Bella Williams the komiti whiriwhiri team and Danny Paruru who assisted with the research and kōrero. Of course we recognise the work done by the Hon Chris Finlayson the Hon Andrew Little negotiators for the Crown Jake Pollock and Glenn Webber and for Whakatōhea Maui Hudson and Jason Pou. The collective determination wisdom and vision of all of these people has seen this iwi dig deep over the years and achieve well beyond expectation despite the atrocity of the past.I want to touch briefly on the settlement terms today and then focus on tomorrow and what lies ahead for this iwi in Ōpōtiki the little town where there is so much good happening and so very much of it at the hands of all of these people. This settlement will now transfer the asset liabilities and care of the people to the post-settlement governance entity Te Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea a new entity with representatives from all hapū to administer the future for the Whakatōhea people. In that settlement lies the secret to the next 10 years for the future of employment economic return and commercialisation in Ōpōtiki because as I mentioned last week the vision and strategic nous of these people in buying a wee dairy farm in 1946 was a catalyst for change. They didn't know at the time what it would do but it crystallised the thinking of self-sufficiency of commercial enterprise and investment. And when Te Kahautu Maxwell's father told him that the iwi would have to farm the sea it set them on a path that should be celebrated and now with the settlement of their claims catapulted into the next phase.Whakatōhea is a founding partner in the establishment of the Whakatōhea mussel factory as part of the entity that is now the country's largest open-ocean mussel farm with access to an expansive open-water space global markets and a purpose-built processing facility that can take product from around New Zealand. At inception Whakatōhea owned just under 10 percent of shares in the aquaculture entity and now as part of this settlement the Crown Regional Holdings Limited shares will transfer to the iwi increasing its shareholding to just under 48 percent and as a result increasing the return on investment for you as the people of Whakatōhea. The story of the mussel factory and aquaculture is now part of the modern history of this iwi and it was Te Kahautu Maxwell who told us in his submission to the hearings that his father told him the iwi had no land and so they must farm the sea. You learnt to do that. And so through significant lobbying capital raising dogged commitment that's what they did.The iwi partnered where it needed to sold shareholdings in the company and built what was then a fledgling company in the heart of regional New Zealand. It is now the biggest full-time employer of people in the rohe with nearly 200 people and kaumātua Uncle Robert Edwards said at its inception in 2014 We are all Whakatōhea. No matter who we are we are all one." And the local people supported the entity with more than 197 local families buying shares in that entity. In fact the story goes that when the capital raise was started a local grandmother and grandfather—and you will know who this is—bought $10000 worth of shares for their whānau with their life savings. The whole family was part of that decision and the mokopuna paid off the shares with their pocket money. This is what brings a stringent sense of pride and belonging to the whānau and community for their ownership and dedication to the factory and all that it stands for. The connection of Whakatōhea to the ocean now traverses a new opportunity and a new era. The share transfer in the settlement arrangement with them having sole access to 5000 hectares of seabed for aquaculture is a game changer. This will see the next 10 years strategically focused around growth and further commercialisation to provide for their people in many different ways. By 2034 the next 10 years it expects to be employing in the order of 320 people be operating out of the new harbour entrance have many more vessels in the ocean and will fair be pumping along.We should never forget that the raupatu the horrific treatment of the Whakatōhea tūpuna and the considerable damage done to the iwi the hapū their reo and mātauranga were real and atrocious. But as they have told us so many times they were determined not to live in the past but to focus on the future for the betterment of all of their people no matter who. In the very wise words of kaumātua Uncle Robert which were almost written for today "The future opportunity" he said "belongs to us all. What we do today will define the future and we must stand united with one voice one mind one people for the future before us. We live in dignity with humility and courage and we are proud of who we are." And you'll get no argument from us on that one. When we went to the submissions hearings in Ōpōtiki in February it was evident the hospitality of these people was next level. They were generous with their time and their hearts and I now have a hydrangea cutting growing at home from the wonderful women I now call my "hydrangea aunties" and I shall cherish that; it will remind me always of my first Treaty settlement hearings of the deeply humbling experience it has been and how much as a country we have to learn of our history sometimes literally in our own backyard. It has been an honour and a privilege to join the very last chapter of the settlement and to walk alongside these fine people in the last part of this journey that has taken since 1914.Today is about the people of Whakatōhea the end of a long and protracted journey that will have left many many weary but that now can bring a sense of clarity and a sustained focus on the opportunities to fulfil the next stage of their success. To the kaumātua who are here today who have steered this waka to this landing point this is a significant achievement that now marks a point in time. As you chart the next part of your centuries-long voyage we wish you well. I know this iwi and its post-settlement entity will do everything and everyone at Whakatōhea proud and that this next step in the long and detailed history of the iwi has been a long time coming. Today in this House we see the leaders of yesterday honoured those leaders of today here as part of this historic point in time and the leaders of tomorrow included as rangatahi tamariki and the mokopuna brought and in this House today. What an incredible way to mark the final step in this settlement process for you as a people.This part of the journey is nearly complete. There's just that long long bus ride back home to Ōpōtiki to get through! But there as Whakatōhea as one you will design your future aspirations holding the inspiration from your tūpuna in your hearts and with you all the way. Stand tall; go well. You have brought dignity and grace in the face of extreme adversity. We wish you all the very best. Kia kaha. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.Motion agreed to.Bill read a third time.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Maureen Pugh): Excuse me can I call for order in the gallery please. Order in the gallery—order in the gallery. There is permission for a waiata. The gallery is not the place for speeches thank you.Waiata"