Paraone Pita: Treaty of Waitangi (Final Settlement of Claims) Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Paraone Pita: Treaty of Waitangi (Final Settlement of Claims) Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
[Volume:618;Page:13902] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
:  
A tena koe e te Kaiwhakawa koutou hoki e whakarongo mai ki tenei o ngakorero.Kei te tautoko nga mihi i mihi atu tena o tatou mema mai i Te Tai Tokerau. 
[ 
Greetings to you Madam Speaker and indeed to those of you who are listening in to this address as well as the others. I endorse the salutations that the member for Te Tai Tokerau extended to you 
.] 
On behalf of New Zealand First I take this opportunity to speak in this debate. May I say from the start that it should not come as any surprise to any member in this House that New Zealand First supports the notion of this bill being referred to a select committee. 
I can recall that in 2002 I alluded to the fact that the treaty had sadly become an instrument for divisiveness. That is particularly so within the political arena all of which has been irrespective of first adherence to the due process by the Maoriclaimants and secondly the justness and legal obligations as a consequence of that due process. 
Many of the outcomes from the settlement process have influenced the current thinking. It is timely that due regard be given to putting in place a time frame for the conclusion in that regard. However I offer a word of caution. The possible justness and endurance of any settlement must not be compromised for the sake of expediency. I believe that the time frame suggested in the bill in which claims should be completed suggests that we may compromise justness and fairness all for the sake of expediency. The bill suggests a time frame that I believe is not practical. Why? Because a high number of claims are yet to be considered; there are inadequate bureaucratic structures; insufficient resources; and there is a lack of or limited resources for claimant groups to progress their claims; plus there are political differences. It seems to me that I can add another issue which is the lack of political will—that is regarding the limitations on the value of the settlements. 
The sponsor of the bill has said that as a consequence of this bill New Zealanders can look to the future instead of always looking back. I remind that member that it is important to look back from time to time to ensure that particularly as a nation we do not condemn ourselves to repeating the mistakes of the past. I cannot overemphasise that point. Settlement is not only about justification and agreement to a claim. It also includes the process of negotiation as to how a claim can be settled. I suggest that therein lies the crux of the difficulty that the sponsor of this bill has quite rightly described. 
The bill also talks of a council of race relations. I am not sure about that proposal. There seems to be no reason why the proposed functions cannot be picked up by existing organisations and ministries if there were a case. A concluding thought is that for a large number of New Zealanders the Treaty of Waitangi is not merely a document to be condemned to the annals of history. This legislation will not prevent the treaty continuing to have life and meaning to many New Zealanders. The bill refers to: “equality between all races in New Zealand.” Clearly that confirms for me what a large number of our population not leastMaori are criticised for saying—that there is not equality. 
On behalf of New Zealand First I support this bill going to a select committee. I suggest that that select committee be the Maori Affairs Committee given the light workload that it currently has. It will also provide an opportunity for the people of New Zealand to have their say on this very important issue.