Finlayson ChristopherRANGITĀNE TŪ MAI RĀ (WAIRARAPA TĀMAKI NUI-Ā-RUA) CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILL Second ReadingHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time. In so doing can I welcome all our friends from Rangitāne to the gallery this morning.This bill gives effect to a deed of settlement between the Crown and Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tāmaki-nui-ā-Rua and the deed was signed on 6 August 2016—almost a year ago. The deed of settlement settles all the historical Treaty of Waitangi claims relating to Rangitāne in the Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua regions. The settlement comprises historical redress which records the breaches and the past injustices caused by failures of the Crown; cultural redress reconnecting the people of Rangitāne with a number of their most culturally significant sites; and financial and commercial redress providing Rangitāne with a strong economic base for them to grow.Can I acknowledge the work of the negotiators my ministerial colleagues local government and other agencies that have contributed to the development of this legislation. I also thank the chair and members of the Māori Affairs Committee which has once again done an excellent job of progressing this bill as quickly as possible.The bill was referred to the committee on 22 September 2016. Twelve written submissions were received from interested groups and individuals and the committee heard six of these at a hearing in Masterton on 14 December 2016. The committee reported the bill back to the House on 20 March this year and recommended that it be passed without amendment. This is a testament to the hard work and the careful consideration that went into the negotiation of the settlement package and the drafting of the bill. Some of the submissions related to longstanding concerns that have been raised many times before including in the Waitangi Tribunal and I want to take a moment to address them.Mandate and representation are recurring issues in Treaty settlements. Committee members and Crown officials before them took the submissions of Te Hika o Pāpāuma the Wai 420 claimants and the hapū of Ehetere Kawemata Rautahi the Wai 1950 claimants very seriously indeed. Both claimant groups asserted a distinct identity from Rangitāne and sought either to be represented as a separate entity or to be excluded altogether from the settlement. Although the Crown's policy is to negotiate comprehensive settlements covering all the historical claims of a large natural group of tribal interests this does not mean that the distinct identity of iwi hapū and any other groups that form part of the larger groups disappears or is subsumed within the wider group.All members of Te Hika o Pāpāuma in so far as their claims relate to Rangitāne will benefit from the settlement. The settlement of Rangitāne historical Treaty claims will not preclude this group from asserting mana and its identity within its rohe. I think this is a key point that needs to be stressed—the Crown does not and cannot involve itself in matters of mana whenua or tribal identity. These matters are for iwi and hapū to decide. What we are trying to achieve here is to address the wrongs of the past and provide the means for members of Rangitāne to move forward. Our approach to settling the claim of Te Hika o Pāpāuma within the large natural groups of Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua has been endorsed by the Tribunal.As part of the committee's consideration it looked at whether Te Hika o Pāpāuma could be specifically referred to in the historical account. A suggestion was to attach an index to the deed of settlement that would refer to instances where they are mentioned in the deed of settlement. The Te Hika o Pāpāuma - mandated iwi authority said that would not satisfy it. Therefore the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust and the Crown agreed not to have an index to the deed as it was not requested either by the Crown or by Rangitāne. The committee concluded that it did not think it appropriate to remove the Wai 1950 claimants from the bill because they are a hapū of Rangitāne and their claim should be contained within Rangitāne's final settlement.This second reading brings us closer to the concluding stages of settling the historical claims of Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua and what I would like to do is talk in more detail at the third reading when we will be able to celebrate the settlement fully. Until then I commend the bill to the House.