Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): Thank you Madam Speaker. I stand today in the role of a member of the National Party who had the privilege at the time of being a member of the Māori Affairs Committee when this bill was put before us and we had the distinct privilege again to travel through to Rotorua to listen to the submissions and the pleas from the people there. I no longer sit on the Māori Affairs Committee regrettably; however I do follow these matters with a passion and with an interest. So I also address the House this afternoon Madam Speaker and everybody else as the spokesperson for the National Party on New Zealand Māori tourism. So the relevance of course about this bill is that it's at the second reading before it is passed into law to traverse some of the stories associated with how it has come to be.So this bill will be given to effect the vesting agreement with the transfer of the ownership of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Craft Institute from Crown to iwi. This is not a Treaty settlement; it is a recognition that rightfully and properly so the land goes back to where the land comes from and belongs: to the people.So just a brief cursory overview: in August 2017 the Hon Te Ururoa Flavell who was then the Minister for Māori Development along with the Whakarewarewa Joint Trust board signed the vesting agreement. The legislation before the House today is a significant step—and will be sealed by law at the third reading and then with the assent of that—in strengthening the relationship between the Crown and Wāhiao Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakauē. It's also important for Rotorua. Te Puia is a vibrant business and an icon in the tourism scene.My call this afternoon will be brief because at the third reading I would like to share some stories that I will touch briefly on now. The history will be traversed further at that third reading but part of that history is that I always make a connection as uri of Whanganui and also the member of Parliament for Whanganui of the connection and the relevance of relationships that we have throughout the motu.One of the first carvers who came out of the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute was Pine Taiapa he and his brother John Taiapa were well known as the first graduates"—is the word—they were the tauira the students who benefited from the learning and they traversed Aotearoa taking their craft throughout the motu. Pine Taiapa he came to Pūtiki and was the master carver who imbued the essence of who he is but also where came from through his whakairo through his carvings. As a child I always attended the St Paul's Anglican church in Pūtiki and have listened to the stories of my koroua my koroheke and my kuia my father my aunties my nannies my uncles my koros about who the carvers were. Pine Taiapa was the man who imbued the essence of who he is but also the essence of his learnings which came from the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Rotorua. So I was ever mindful of that as I sat and I listened to the people talking about their stories and also sharing with us some of their woes about the journey of where they've arrived at. That's a common thread that we've heard in this House the mamae that's associated with the passage of that journey but arriving at a time and place of looking forward to the future with joy. I move on to the role that I have and the privilege that I've had in engaging with many as I've travelled around Aotearoa and I have spent time also travelling incognito per se after being a member on the select committee. I travelled to Te Puia and I also travelled around the two areas which—there is a gate. There is a divide. I went and I stood beside that chain and I hearkened back to listening to the mamae that was expressed through the stories. It is only a matter of time because as we well know when we have raruraru when we have problems when we have hurt that goes with that we also have a solution. It is only a matter of time before that solution is arrived at amongst ourselves rather than a Crown-imposed one.The purpose of this bill and the kōrero this afternoon is to say that this is about vesting the final acknowledgment and return of the lands rightfully to who and where they belong. So at the third reading I will talk a little bit more in detail about the journey but this second reading is really a matter of progressing this through the House. I'm looking across to my colleagues who are nodding members in the Government and we had the privilege we shared part of that journey sitting on the select committee—and Tamati Coffey you being there with your own people amongst your own. We know the significance and the relevance and the role and this duty of care and responsibility that we have. So as members of the Māori Affairs Committee we are there alongside you e hoa but importantly we do have that role and responsibility to carry this through into law and then it is a matter for the people to take that up—as we have always carried that despite the resistance that is there. This is simply about the passage through this process to consolidate and seal and then it will be up to the people of Wāhiao Tūhourangi Ngāti Whakauē—you will resolve those other issues in time. I gladly commend this bill to the House."