Horomia Parekura: Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14601] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Labour—Ikaroa-Rawhiti) 
: 
 Tautokotia atu nga mihimihi o te whaea a Tariana ki a koutou. Tena koutou nau mai haere mai. He rekareka atu i te kite atu i a koutou e whai atu a muri i tenei take e tu roaroa atu. No reira tena koutou. I hikoi tahi atu a Te Kani haere tata ana ki Hapuku i haere pera ratou ki Pukawa ki te wahi o Iwikau. I reira ke e mau kaha atu te rangi mo te taura te korero mo te Apitihonohonotanga o tatou Ngai Maori e wero atu ratou mo te maunga o Taupiri. I reira ke e tata ana te tu kaha o Ngati Manawa. Tihei mauriora! 
[ 
I endorse  
the  
Hon Tariana 
 Turia 
’s acknowledgments  
to you.  
Greetings welcome welcome 
. 
 I am delighted to see you follow up this matter 
 
 which has been standing for a very long time 
. S 
o 
 
 well done 
.  
Te Kani marched and went close to Hapuku with others 
 
 as they headed that way to Pukawa the domain of Iwikau  
t 
e Heuheu 
.  
It was there that a strong bond came to be 
 
 as a challenge for the mountain of Taupiri was parried and is acknowledged as the beginning of the King  
m 
ovement for us 
 
 the Maori people. It was there that the might of Ngat 
i Manawa was seen to the fore.  
Behold the breath of life 
.]  
It would be remiss of me not to remember Bill Bird and Denise a whole lot of other people and the tipuna of Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare in relation to this settlement which is well due. In 1856 the Maori chiefs got together in Pukawa and Ngati Manawa were there. They were on their own and they were not tied down very much in relation to the issues that were being put asunder by the British troops at that time. They got together with te Heuheu tipuna Iwikau in Pukawa and they talked about the relevant issues how they could deal with the great new group of people that was coming and pushing them around and they decided to do things in their way. It is significant that our leaders got together in 1856 and had that discussion. It is between then and now that a whole lot has been put asunder. 
Labour will support the Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare Claims Settlement Bill as we have done from the outset. I commend the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations before we go any further. I thank Michael Cullen Mita Ririnui and dare I mention it myself for triggering this bill and getting things going. I recognise that great leader Bill Bird and Denise. Bill was a man who was unequivocal both outside and inside and he stood the test of time. That mongrel disease that eats a lot of our people took Bill away. He is not here today and that is certainly sad. But I feel proud enough to stand here and humble enough to mention him and Denise and a whole lot of other kaumatua who are not here. They put tireless hours into getting this settlement done and we are getting very close to that. I agree with Minister Turia on why this settlement needs to be done. It is a full and final settlement and it is what it is. 
This bill gives effect to the deeds of settlement in which the Crown Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare agreed to final settlements of the historical claims of both iwi. Labour supports this bill. The agreement in principle for the Ngati Manawa claim was signed by Labour on 18 September 2008 and for Ngati Whare it was signed by the Hon Chris Finlayson on 19 June 2009. I commend him for that. The deeds of settlement for Ngati Whare and Ngati Manawa were signed by the Government on 8 December and 12 December 2009 respectively. Both iwi were part of the central North Island forest land collective settlement negotiated by Labour and finalised in 2008. 
Firstly with regard to Ngati Manawa their historical grievances relate primarily to the New Zealand Wars. It is an untold story generally but it is a story that abounds with a whole lot of nastiness and bullying for which they were unprepared. That we can get to this stage as a nation is a wonderful thing. Ngati Manawa have withstood more pressure and more shoving around than most iwi. The Crown’s actions and omissions are in respect of the operation and impact of the native land laws; the Crown’s land purchasing techniques particularly in respect of land that Ngati Manawa wished to retain; and 20th century land river and forestry developments. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to see how well the choice to negotiate a settlement was made. This is a wise choice and a decision that needs to be made on behalf of the nation as a whole to ensure that what Ngati Manawa have been deprived of and what they have been denied is put right and not left asunder. 
An account of the historical background agreed between the Crown and Ngati Manawa is included in the deed of settlement along with the acknowledgments of Crown breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and a Crown apology for those breaches. The Crown recognises the mandate of Te Runanga o Ngati Manawa to negotiate a settlement on behalf of Ngati Manawa. An agreed historical account and Crown acknowledgments form the basis for the Crown apology to Ngati Manawa. There is a lot to apologise to Ngati Manawa about. They were an interesting people. They stood alone. They certainly understood their mana and they certainly wanted to ensure that there were succession plans and that their tikanga their culture their social development and hopefully their business development were run and controlled by them. But alas a lot of dastardly deeds happened. It is certainly wonderful to be here this evening to head towards finishing this settlement. 
The deed of settlement will provide for the Crown to pay $2.6 million to Ngati Manawa to fund special projects nominated by Ngati Manawa and for the gifting of three school sites. One of the things that stands in my mind about Ngati Manawa is their kura. I had hoped that the Minister of Education would be here in the House but as the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is here and Hone Harawira is here I will tell them about it and hope that they do something about it. Certainly the kura at Ngati Manawa decided to do its thing in its way again and that is exactly what it has done. Its literature is all about Ngati Manawa. Its stories are all about Ngati Manawa. Its schooling its culture is all about Ngati Manawa. So Ngati Manawa are well prepared to take hold and grasp the fruits of these settlements. That kura and that practice of educating the people to remember that they are the tangata whenua there ensures that they have choices to go nationally and globally. It is a fantastic summary of a people trying to do their own thing for themselves. It is not new; it is something that they have inherited. It is not that Ngati Manawa deny the importance of Shakespeare or that other people might want them to talk about Rumpelstiltskin or talk about Caesar sticking somebody in the back or whatever else it may be. But they do certainly understand that they need to differentiate themselves so their people understand who they are and have the courage to protect what they have what they get back and what they intend to hold on to. 
After Te Tapiri Ngati Manawa had to abandon their path and cultivations in the Rangitaiki valley. They were cut off from their traditional economic resources for more than a year while living as refugees in Rotorua the land of the famed Te Arawa. Ngati Manawa lived in exile. That is the other issue that is relevant to Ngati Manawa. They were exiled from their whenua and it is really important that they go back. 
In relation to Ngati Whare mihi kau ana ki a koutou mo tera. [ 
I really acknowledge you for that 
.] The iwi’s area of interest is based around Te Whaiti Minginui and the Whirinaki Forest Park. It has a population of between 1500 and 3000. These people were put asunder by industrialisation. These were the people who were promised thousands of jobs; these were the people who developed the forestry. But then the companies moved on. High unemployment—what did that do? Old Tories privatised things and they threw the people out of work. It is great that this Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is putting things right—and so he should. He should be putting them right. 
Hon Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Who sold Telecom? I think it was Labour. 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA 
: To that person who is barking up there and who is in charge of our Defence Force I say he has inherited a lot of the dastardly tricks of the past soldiers. I tell him not carry on like that because it is no good—it is no good. He should make sure that Ngati Manawa get what is due to them. 
The things that were inflicted on Ngati Manawa and Ngati Whare were very very unfair. In my notions of history this is one of the worst issues that were put aside. But at the end of the day I am glad that there have been people like the great barrister Denese Henare who understands all this stuff and works really hard to protect her people. How she ended up with a barking British person I do not know—I do not know. But I am very thankful that there have been barristers like Denese Henare who have tried hard for Ngati Manawa like the Labour Party has. We totally support the Minister. Ngati Whare should not be forgotten; Ngati Manawa should not be forgotten. At the end of the day we will be very very thankful if they are overcompensated for what was taken away from them. No matter what we give back to them it will never be enough.