Whaitiri Meka: Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingsText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWhaitiri Meka: Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — First Readings[Sitting date: 22 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:14164. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker ā tēnā tātou katoa. E ngā uri o Ngāti Hauā me Ngāti Koroki Kahukura nau mai nau mai haere mai. Haere mai ki tēnei Whare i runga i te kaupapa tino whakahirahira. Nō reira tēnā tātou katoa.[Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and greetings to us all. To the descendants of Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Koroki Kahukura welcome welcome welcome. Welcome to this House in respect of this very important matter. So acknowledgments to us all.]It gives me great privilege to take a call on these two very important bills. I join with not only members on this side of the House but also clearly all members in the House today to support the first reading of the Ngāti Hauā Claims Settlement Bill and the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I want to acknowledge all those who have worked tirelessly to get us to this stage the people of the two iwi in the galleries today and those at home listening or watching. I also want to acknowledge Minister Finlayson for his speedy work in claims and ensuring that our iwi katoa around the motu can hopefully recover what we have lost over many years. I thank you all for your efforts in bringing this bill to the House today.As we all know there are two bills. I am going to try to do justice in talking touching briefly on both of them in the short time I have on my feet. Can I first turn to Ngāti Hauā and can I talk about Ngāti Hauā descended from the eponymous ancestor Hauā a direct descendent of Hoturoa the captain of the Tainui waka from the uri of the waka tipua ō Tākitimu tēnei te mihi ki a koe te waka ō Tainui [from the descendant of the demonic vessel Tākitimu I salute you Tainui vessel]. The hapū of Ngāti Hauā are Ngāti Te Oro Ngāti Werewere Ngāti Waenganui Ngāti Te Rangitaupi and Ngāti Rangi Tawhaki. The Ngāti Hauā rohe spans from Te Aroha south along the Kaimai Range to Te Weraiti from Te Weraiti west to Maungatautari then north-west to Te Rapa from Te Rapa eastward to Mangateparu and then to Te Aroha. Part of the Ngāti Hauā rohe is located within the Waikato Raupatu claims area established in 1995.In December 2012 the Crown recognised the mandate of the Ngāti Hauā Trust Board to represent Ngāti Hauā in negotiating a comprehensive historical treaty settlement and signed terms of negotiation with Ngāti Hauā. Ngāti Hauā and the Crown signed an agreement in principle on 19 February 2013 which formed the basis for this settlement. On 24 May 2013 Ngāti Hauā and the Crown initialled a deed of settlement. The deed was then ratified by the people of Ngāti Hauā and signed on 18 July 2013. The settlement will be implemented following the passage of settlement legislation.The Office of Treaty Settlements with the support of the Department of Conservation and other Government agencies represented the Crown in day-to-day negotiations. The Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Christopher Finlayson represented the Crown in high-level negotiations with Ngāti Hauā. Again I acknowledge and thank all parties for bringing this bill to the House.Just by way of a comment around resourcing—and I am glad Government departments were part and parcel—I understand the struggle there can be in negotiating claims as iwi. Often a lot of us are called on to do this in our spare time or on weekends. So I do acknowledge the sacrifice your negotiating team have made on behalf of the people of Ngāti Hauā.During the 1840s and 1850s Ngāti Hauā established a strong economy which my colleague the honourable Rino Tirikatene spoke about. He spoke of the Christian community of Pēria and the rangatira Wīremu Tamihana and his attempt to protect his lands from alienation not only constructively but proactively seeking a relationship with the Crown on issues of Māori governance. However his attempts to engage the Crown left him dissatisfied and he supported the establishment of the Māori King toprovide order and law within Māori communities. That was of course Pōtatau Te Wherowhero.We have heard and we will continue to hear how the relationships between the Crown and the Kīngitanga deteriorated over the early 1860s. In July 1863 Waikato was invaded. Part of the Kīngitanga Ngāti Hauā opposed the invasion of 1863 and 1864 and many were killed or wounded. The February 1864 attack by Crown forces on the unfortified agricultural settlement of Rangiaowhia aggrieved Wīremu Tamihana who understood it should be a place of refuge for women children and the elderly.So without going into too much detail there is enough to say that in this particular iwi huge atrocities were applied to them in the confiscation of their land when clearly their rangatira sought a more peaceful and constructive relationship with the Crown. In this small way through this bill the Crown is acknowledging its wrongdoing and like I said trying to make small amends for those past dealings.I would like to turn my attention now to the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I am afraid I might run out of time so I just want to acknowledge them in the House again today and say in support of this bill that Ngāti Koroki descend from Korokī a descendant of Hoturoa captain of the Tainui waka. Ngāti Kahukura descend from the tupuna Kahukura. Joined together through common ancestry and lineage their descendants are Ngāti Koroki Kahukura.The rohe of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura which they refer to as their homeland stretches from Karapiro along the Pukekura Range and through Rotorangi and Puahue in the west from Maungatautari 4 and 5 blocks to the top of Lake Arapuni in the south then follows the Waikato River back to Piarere in the east and from Piarere to the south of the Maungakawa reserve and on to Karapiro in the north.Part of the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura rohe is located within the Waikato raupatu claims area established in 1995 including Arikirua Tamahere Hautapu Te Koutu Pukekura Te Papara Nukuhau and Horotiu Pā. Ngāti Koroki Kahukura also hold historical customary interests in the Hinuera Waipā and Huihuitahā blocks on the eastern side of the Waikato River.I know the bell has rung. I do want to sincerely acknowledge Ngāti Koroki Kahukura again for their work in getting this bill here. I along with members of the Māori Affairs Committee will have a lot more time than 10 minutes to hear your stories to hear the mamae that you have gone through to ensure that we have got this right for you when we come and address this bill. I look forward to that day. Nō reira tēnā tātou katoa.