Paraone Pita: Ngati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Paraone Pita: Ngati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:621;Page:16452] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 A tena koe Madam Speaker. A tena hoki nga mema o tena taha koutou nga mema Maorii roto i te Kawanatanga. Engari he tuwahipototenei ki te mihi atu ki a koutou o NgatiTuwharetoa e kara ma e Bob koutou ngatuahine ngawhaea hoki a tena koutou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Thank you Madam Speaker. Greetings indeed to members on that side and in particular the Maori members in Government. I take this short call to extend greetings to you NgatiTuwharetoa especially to you sirs Bob and sisters and aunties as well. Greetings to you all 
.] 
On behalf of New Zealand First—the only non-aligned political party in this House—I rise to speak to the NgatiTuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill. It is the intention of this bill to give effect to the deed of settlement entered into between the Crown and NgatiTuwharetoa Bay of Plenty. I acknowledge the presence of a number of members of NgatiTuwharetoa together with members of the claims negotiating team. They have arrived at this point after a journey that has taken them almost 16 years. In New Zealand First’s view that is clearly unacceptable. 
I want to note that when speaking of NgatiTuwharetoa in terms of this bill we are referring to those also known as NgatiTuwharetoa ki Kawerau who are from the Kawerau-Matata area in the Bay of Plenty. 
Like many other claims already made to the Waitangi Tribunal this claim relates to breaches by the Crown of its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and in particular to the following: first the confiscation of most of the land within this iwi’s rohe; second inadequacies of the compensation court process; and third subsequent alienation of the remaining lands which were subject to native land laws and Crown purchasing. In 1988 NgatiTuwharetoa registered their claim with the Waitangi Tribunal which held hearings during 1994 and 1995 and released its findings in 1999. Negotiations commenced in 1998. All of that culminated in the signing of the deed of settlement last year. 
It is unfair to claimants and it is detrimental to our moving on as a nation when such claims take such a long time to reach this stage. We in New Zealand First have already signalled our proposals for addressing the issue of the time taken to complete claims. By those proposals we would hasten the settlement process from the pre-negotiating stage through to the passage of settlement legislation. The saving of time could be made at several stages of the process by more adequate funding for the Office of Treaty Settlements to assist claimant groups with mandating issues and dispute resolution and by adequate resourcing to aid claimant groups to establish appropriate governance entities to manage settlement redress and provide investment plans. However given the lack of support from the other parties in this House for advancing those proposals other claimants under this process will unfortunately have to endure similar waiting times. 
New Zealand First supports the settlement of genuine historical grievances. However the lack of progress in addressing such historical grievances has diverted attention from key areas where real social and economic progress for Maori could be made through sound education well-paid employment adequate health and improved housing. 
The settlement under this bill provides financial and commercial redress of $10.5 million aimed at assisting Ngati Tuwharetoa Bay of Plenty with their economic and social development. Regardless of whether that amount could ever be considered fair compensation the key elements of the bill include acknowledgments that firstly it is difficult to assess redress for the loss and prejudice suffered by Ngati Tuwharetoa and secondly it is not possible to fully compensate Ngati Tuwharetoa for all the loss and prejudice suffered by them. However we do note that in keeping with the true NgatiTuwharetoa tradition of giving to the nation what is their birthright the true meaning of the word “koha” is being repeated with NgatiTuwharetoa Bay of Plenty foregoing full compensation and such koha being recognised by the Crown as a contribution to the development of our country New Zealand. 
Na reira ka nui rawa atu nga mihi ki a koutou NgatiTuwharetoamotenawhakaaro.Ehara he whakaaroma koutou nahe engarimo te iwi whanuii roto i a tatou o Aotearoa. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
Therefore I fully admire that thought of yours NgatiTuwharetoa. It is one not just for you alone to consider but one indeed that all of New Zealand should think about 
.] 
In conclusion we in New Zealand First note with a great deal of interest that within the explanatory note of the bill comment is made that the historical claims of NgatiTuwharetoa “include all claims that are or are founded on a right arising—from the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) or the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi);”. It is a well-known fact that of all the political parties in this House New Zealand First has constantly sought an explanation of what the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi which are referred to in almost 30 different pieces of legislation are. In supporting this bill being referred to a select committee New Zealand First will want to know which claims or which parts of claims are actually being met as a consequence of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. I give notice that we will seek vigorously as part of the select committee process that clarification in order that we and the people of New Zealand know exactly what is meant by the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Kia ora mai. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: New Zealand First will split its speech. There are 3 minutes 30 seconds remaining. In future New Zealand First members need to advise me of that.