Mapp Wayne: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Mapp Wayne: Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:669;Page:15879] 
Hon Dr WAYNE MAPP (Minister of Defence) 
: 
 I think it is appropriate that on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations who is not able to be here tonight I take a call during the Committee stage of the Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill. We have heard a lot of rhetoric across the Chamber and as we get close to Christmas that is probably appropriate because it is a sharing in a good-humoured and good-natured way of credit and claims and there is a sense of dare I say it ownership of this particular settlement. 
It is worth putting some of these things in context. As we all know in this Chamber we have been dealing with settlements effectively since 1995—specifically the Tainui settlement and the fisheries settlement. Mr Tremain said that the total payout for South Canterbury Finance of $1.75 billion is greater than the settlements over that 15-year period. It would be very close indeed. I think that it is worth our giving pause for thought. If we look at it in terms of annual amounts in 15 years the total amount we have paid in settlements is approximately $100 million a year. That is out of annual expenditure by the Crown of $60 billion on behalf of its citizens. So we are talking about a small amount of money relatively. 
What we are really doing here tonight is restoring mana and dignity. It is important for iwi—North Island Ngati Apa along with all other iwi who have claims—that we recognise their role as iwi rather than as individuals. Young people in particular who might in many instances be alienated or feel a sense of dispossession will themselves gain something if they know that their people have a sense of empowerment. I have been listening to the debate. In particular both Mr Tremain and Mr Jones emphasised the importance of settlements being a springboard to development. It is not so much the settlement itself that does that but the sense of empowerment; it is the ability to move beyond the past that matters. 
I refer to one part of the preamble—in fact the very last sentence of the preamble. It states: “Today Ngati Apa (North Island) own less than 1% of their traditional lands:”. Reading that one might think this must have been a massive raupatu but it was not like that in fact. It was a series of incremental measures taken over 100 years that led to dispossession. That has led to a deep sense of grievance which we are settling today. In fact the amount of money is perhaps not that important—$16 million is not a large sum of money. There is some cultural redress there is some transfer of land but it is largely symbolic. What really matters here is the sense of empowerment for iwi and the ability to move into the future. 
It is easy I guess for different parties to claim credit and it is right that we do but I think that 2 weeks from Christmas we should think of those things that actually unite the major parties in the House in particular. I think it is also appropriate to recognise the specific role here of the Hon Tariana Turia—in part it is her people who are being recognised—and the role of Ratana. 
This is only one of many settlements. There will be more to come. But at some point in the future of New Zealand—it maybe a few years away yet and it might not be achieved as quickly as one might like—we are going to be able to say that we were able as a nation to move past the past; we will remember the past but it will not weigh on us and it will not be a burden of grievance. There will be a sense of memory and the ability of people to progress. That is really the context of the settlement. 
The bill’s preamble is very important. Having history written in statute matters because it is enduring and it is there as a testament. It is the Crown recognising the past and then settling with the people to enable them to have a sense of purpose for the future. We all wish that the future of the rangatahi of Ngati Apa will not be blighted by the sense of grievance that their tupuna have suffered.