Tirikatene Rino: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTirikatene Rino: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9526. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]RINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to take a call on the second reading of the Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill. I must be honest by the name Waitaha I initially thought that it related to Waitaha in the South Island because Waitaha is the original iwi of the south. Then there was Ngāti Māmoe to follow and then Ngāi Tahu but we are all connected.I was really pleased to learn the history of Waitaha nōTe Arawa when this bill came before the Māori Affairs Committee because it is about reasserting identity for their iwi. This bill definitely makes some really good steps in achieving that as the Minister has said. This is the start and we witnessed some wonderful accomplishments that the iwi are doing already in terms of their settlements. For instance there was the restoration of their marae Hei Marae. When we were up in Te Puke we saw newsletters inPāuanui of how proud they were of their new marae and of learning their waiata their whakapapa and their tikanga. There is also work going on about the historical account documenting the history the story of Waitaha and also their great chiefHakaraia. That flows through to education endowments as well which form part of the settlement. Those are very satisfying and rewarding aspects to see—to meet the people to see them on their home patch and to see that they are getting on with things and thriving in their own kāinga. So I was really thrilled to have taken part in the select committee when we went up to Te Puke.As I like to say Māori history is all about whakapapa and connections and there are a lot of connections that Waitaha have that go back many many many generations. It was also quite enlightening to hear—as we know—that every other iwi and hapū have their own histories as well so we heard a range of views. I noted with interest the submissions around the shared interests of Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Pūkenga Ngāi Te Rangi Tāpuika and Waitaha. It is great to see within the bill that there is that joint acknowledgment of their shared interests in the peaks of Ōtānewainuku and Pūwhenua.The story of Waitaha is very unfortunate. As we know their chief Hakaraia made the decision and they sided with the Crown during the wars. Kei te pai tēnā. But in spite of their loyalty and their loyal duties unfortunately they were not rewarded—well they were actually punished quite severely. That was reflected through the loss of land particularly at Te Puke. There is a long list of bad decisions that led the Waitaha people to become virtually landless. Obviously with the loss of land there came a loss of identity and they nearly became an extinct iwi. That is why I am very proud to be part of the Māori Affairs Committee and that we can reassert the mana of Waitaha through these settlement bills. I commend the officials and the Minister for all the work that they are doing and in particular the negotiating team for Waitaha for their graciousness and their perseverance in dealing with some very tricky issues around balancing the shared and interwoven interests that they have with their other whanaunga—relations—as well.I am pleased to see that some very good solutions have been found particularly around the shared acknowledgments and these are all reflected in the bill as it has come back. We do support this bill. I congratulate Waitaha and I am looking forward to the third reading when I am sure that they will be here in the House and we will be here to tautoko them. Kia ora.