Roche Denise: Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoche Denise: Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 31 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:12215. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENISE ROCHE (Green):Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. Tēnā koutou e te Whare. Ki ngā iwi rā tēnā koutou katoa.[Acknowledgments to you collectively the House and to you all the tribes there. ]I acknowledge the people in the gallery today the people of Ngāti Marangatūhetaua the people of Ngāti Kurumōkihi the people of Ngāi Te Ruruku and the people of Ngāi Tauira. I rise to take a call for the Greens on this the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill and I maintain that it is a privilege to do so. When a Treaty settlement bill comes to the House we are mindful that it represents decades of work spanning generations and I pay tribute to those who have bravely fought for justice and worked to bring this bill to the House. I acknowledge the struggle that it has taken to have some of these wrongs righted and to receive an apology from the Crown.I think one of the most important aspects of this bill is that together with the deed of settlement it records the historical nature of the grievances that this bill seeks to address. For the hapū of Maungaharuru-Tangitū these grievances go back to 1851 when the Crown first unfairly acquired the Ahuriri and Mōhaka blocks and it includes the 1867 compulsory confiscation of land including 9000 acres at the Tāngoio North Block that in 1870 the Crown refused to return to the hapū for more than 40 years. In 1870 the Crown also allocated 30000 acres at Kaiwaka to reward a Crown ally and refused to investigate the hapū rights. In the 19th century the Crown through the Native Land Court also awarded ownership of significant lands to individual Māori and essentially embarked on a programme of alienating hapū from their lands so that by 1930 the hapū in the area did not have enough resources to support themselves either then or into the future.The history of the hapū in this settlement bill is frequently harrowing to read. For those in the gallery today who have shepherded this settlement to the House it must be far more harrowing for your tīpuna to have lived through these times and for them to have known this history themselves for so long and to not have these injustices acknowledged. This settlement bill puts into legislation that acknowledgment—that the Crown through its military forces killed more than 20 people at Ōmarunui and Pētane in 1866. The bill acknowledges that this was a huge injustice and it also acknowledges that it was unjust that the Crown detained without trial 13 members of the hapū on the Chatham Islands for nearly 2 years and that their summary executions in 1869 were wrong. All these actions—the loss of life the confiscation of land the misuse of the Crown’s powers to acquire land and the alienation of hapū from their land through the Crown’s actions—were all breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This bill also acknowledges that this meant that the loss of the hapū resources and economic base has contributed to a reduced population to some families dying out and to hapū members living in poverty with poor health poor housing and low educational standards.I think it is worth reiterating that the bill also has the Crown—this Government—acknowledging the lack of care subsequent owners of the land showed. It acknowledges the deforestation of the land and how pastoral farming has helped cause significant erosion and environmental damage. The bill specifically refers to the pollution of LakeTūtira one of the most polluted lakes in the country and to the pollution of the coastline and the subsequent severe flooding of the marae and the community at Tāngoio. When we look at the apology that the Crown has offered and we look at the damage that has been done to ngā tāngata to te whenua to mahinga kai and to the wai I am astounded by the generosity of the Maungaharuru-Tangitū hapū. Although we acknowledge the journey it has taken to get this bill to the House the Greens also maintain that this bill does not represent a full and final settlement. The actions of the Crown cannot be settled. It makes it sound as if the issue is done with and it is not. This bill represents a deal. It represents the best deal the hapū can negotiate at this time but it is still a deal. The ramifications of the Crown’s actions are not final so this cannot be a final settlement because generations to come will still be affected.The commercial redress amounts to around about $23 million—some property including receiving rental proceeds from Crown forestry licences and some forestry land as well as the right of refusal of other Crown property. I am frequently amazed at how many New Zealanders resent the compensation negotiated by the Crown with iwi over Treaty breaches. I guess it is because a lot of New Zealanders do not know the history of Aotearoa New Zealand and tend not to see things in context. If we compare this commercial redress to other things the Government spends its money on the amount becomes less significant. The Prime Minister for example has allocated $34 million to promoting conventions and presumably convention centres in New Zealand which is more than these hapū will receive. We should not forget that there was a bailout of the South Canterbury Finance company—about $12 billion—when it went broke and those investors did not lose their land or their birthright when that happened.Once again I want to acknowledge the generosity of the hapū in negotiating the deal. The cultural redress restores the hapū’s standing with various Government departments and local authorities with deeds of recognition. It allows for the vestment of several easements and reserves and also outlines several instances where the land can be vested in the hapū and then gifted back to the Crown within days—a very generous act. This settlement lists the statutory acknowledgment of the hapū and their relationship with various lands streams and rivers and allows for geographical name changes that reflect the history and the customary practice of the hapū.These are the final paragraphs of the apology which I think are worth repeating: “The Crown acknowledges that many family lines have died out and cannot be brought back. It profoundly regrets the poverty and poor health which have long afflicted your people. It deeply regrets its acts and omissions which have affected your capacity for social and economic development and your physical cultural and spiritual wellbeing. Through this settlement the Crown is seeking to atone for its past wrongs towards the Hapū to restore its tarnished honour and to begin the process of healing. The Crown hopes that this apology will mark the beginning of a new relationship between the Crown and the Hapū based on respect for the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.” I acknowledge that this is a day for celebration and that these hapū wish to move into the future with hope and with their pride restored. I acknowledge the huge generosity of those hapū who are part of the settlement bill because it benefits us all here in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is my sincere hope that as a country we will abide by the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and this bill is a step towards that. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.