Twyford Phil: Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 23 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19501. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū):E ngā mana whenua o Tāmaki nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata e takatū nei. E ngā rangatira huri noa i te Whare tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Welcome to you the ones who have territorial rights over the land of Tāmaki welcome to the House of Representatives waiting here in readiness. To you esteemed ones throughout the House greetings and accolades to you collectively and to us all.]I want to greet the 13 iwi and hapū who are here today to congratulate you and the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the negotiators and the officials and the Māori Affairs Committee and even the Hon Tau Henare on all the work that has got the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau Collective Redress Bill to this final stage. As an Aucklander and as Labour’s Auckland issues spokesperson I am very happy to be able to take a call in this debate. Labour welcomes and celebrates this important milestone in our city’s postcolonial history. Notwithstanding the progress of individual iwi claims this bill—which is dealing with 15 of the volcanic cones four islands in the gulf and the lands in between—recognises the collective and shared interests of the iwi.Tāmaki-makau-rau as our country’s biggest city faces some big challenges as we debate almost every day in this House. We have to catch up on an infrastructure deficit that has left us with a public transport system in desperate need of upgrading. We have not been building enough houses and the shortage has driven house prices beyond the reach of ordinary people. The city’s economy is producing neither enough jobs nor enough good well-paid jobs for our young population. But I suggest that laying the foundations of an inclusive democratic society based on a shared sense of fairness and a collective stake in our future prospects is just as important if not more important than the more bricks-and-mortar tasks of improving our built environment fixing infrastructure and growing the economy. Settling the Treaty claims of Tāmaki-makau-rau is the starting point for building that inclusive democratic society.For me personally the story of Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei from colonisation through to the post-settlement era has been one of the defining stories of Auckland. As a young man who watched amazed as the Government of the day sent the troops in to remove Ngāti Whātua and their allies from Bastion Point in 1978 I can say that it was an honour to be in the Chamber 35 years later for the passage of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Claims Settlement Act. Knowing that history and understanding the experience of tangata whenua over a couple of centuries is essential to knowing and understanding the city we live in the places that we move through each day the people we live alongside. A commitment to settling these historic claims is for me a must-do if we are to move forward together with Māori fully engaged in the life and the economy of our city.So it is about justice and addressing past wrongs but equally important this process is about ensuring that Māori are at the table exercising leadership whether it is in the governance institutions the board rooms the media or as advocates environmentalists—in any and every walk of life.The transition from grievance to Treaty claim to settlement and post-settlement might seem like a long process to some people but the journey of the Tāmaki Collective actually shows I think how rapidly the shift has occurred from claim to settlement to post-settlement. The collective’s role as an investor and developer in the Weymouth housing project is a symbol of that and great to see.Thinking about the future of Auckland I believe that one of the biggest challenges we face is how to unleash the talents and the energy of our young people and our increasingly youthful and brown population. It is they who are too often not getting the best out of the education system too often trapped in the lowest-paid jobs unable to own their own homes struggling to break through and feeling on the outer. Successful leadership of our city over the next generation will tap into our young brown mega-diverse Polynesian city and build an economy and an identity that sees this and the extraordinary creativity and energy that it brings as an asset and not as a liability. For me settling the historic claims is an important building block for that vision. I see in the gallery Mayor Len Brown with Councillor Penny Webster and I want to acknowledge the mayor’s commitment to that agenda.Secondly this bill vests 14 of the region’s maunga in the iwi collective to be managed under a co-governance regime. Four of the motu—Rangitoto Motutapu Motuihe and Tiritiri Mātangi—will also be part of a vesting arrangement that recognises the iwi and hapū’s special association with them. The maunga and the motu—they are taonga for all our people. They are an inseparable part of what Auckland means and of who and what we are as a city. This morning on Radio New Zealand Ngārimu Blair put it beautifully when he said: “They represent the places where our people lived where they loved where they were buried where they cried and where they fought.” This amazing field of volcanoes is a daily part of life in Auckland and at any given moment when you look up your gaze will just as likely fall on one of the maunga. They are how we navigate our way around the city streets and they are where we go to show off our city to visitors or to walk and reflect on the day ahead or the day past.Recognising the human settlement of the maunga over centuries before European colonisation is a wonderful way to acknowledge their importance to us. It is completely appropriate that their history should be reflected in co-governance and shared responsibility for the well-being of the maunga. As many have pointed out during the passage of this bill the maunga have not been as well looked after as they should have been. It is my hope that this new co-responsibility will lead to a greater overall commitment to protecting and enhancing the maunga making it easier for the public and visitors to enjoy and understand them and engaging the local community in that work. I also hope that the work will continue in seeking Unesco World Heritage status for the maunga.To conclude the passage of this bill is something to celebrate and as a fellow Aucklander I salute the hapū and iwi of the Tāmaki Collective and congratulate you on this achievement. It is always a great pleasure to be a participant in the legislative process of Treaty settlements. I know that they are no picnic for those who do the work on them but at this final stage of the process the settlements are something we as New Zealanders can be truly proud of. Thank you.