Ririnui Mita: Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Ririnui Mita: Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:4498] 
Hon MITA RIRINUI (Associate Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations)  
on behalf of the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: 
I move  
That the Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill be referred to the Maori Affairs Committee for consideration that the committee report finally to the House on or before 27 October 2006 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 192 and 195(1)(b) and (c). 
Kei te mohio tatou koinei te Wiki o te Reo Maori a koinei te wiki hei panui ake i te kereme a Ngati Mutunga. No reira kei roto i te Whare nei nga mangai korero o Ngati Mutunga i haere tawhiti mai ra i te nuku o te whenua mai i te marumaru o to ratou maunga tihi o Taranaki hei tautokohia i tenei pire. E tika ana maku e tu ki te whakamihi atu ki a ratou kua tatu mai. E mihi ake ki nga tuahuatanga e pa ana ki a ratou nga tini aitua kei runga i tena i tena o o tatou rohe o Taranaki. No reira me ki ra te hunga wairua ki a ratou a tatou nei nga morehu o ratou e mihi nei e tangi nei e poroporoaki nei ki a ratou. 
E te Kaihautu e tika ana kia whakahonore to tatou reo rangatira kia marama whanui ai nga mema Paremata kei roto i te Whare nei ki te hohonutanga me te kaha o te wairua o tenei reo o tatou. Na reira tena tatou kia ora tatou. 
[ 
We know that this is Maori Language Week and it should be the week for the Ngati Mutunga claim to be announced. So present in this House are representatives of Ngati Mutunga who have come from their vast region beneath the shadow of the tip of Mount Taranaki to support this bill. It is fitting that I should rise and extend greetings to those who have arrived. I acknowledge the circumstances that are upon each and every one of them in those Taranaki regions of ours in respect of their many losses. We the remnants of the ones who have passed on into the spiritual world acknowledge mourn farewell and say to them: rest there 
. 
Madam Speaker it is right that we honour our chiefly language so that members of Parliament in this House are greatly enlightened by the depth and mighty spirit of this language of ours. So greetings and good health to us 
.] 
This bill recognises and addresses longstanding and significant grievances of Ngati Mutunga. One of eight iwi in Taranaki Ngati Mutunga’s traditional area is centred on the township of Urenui and extends to Titoki Ridge in the north Te Rau o Te Huia in the south and inland to the Waitara River in the east. The iwi of Ngati Mutunga numbers approximately 2000. This bill settles all of Ngati Mutunga’s historical Taranaki-based Treaty of Waitangi claims. This bill will give effect to the fourth Treaty settlement in the Taranaki region. The historical claims of Ngati Mutunga relate mainly to the confiscation by the Crown of all Ngati Mutunga’s tribal area—muru raupatu—following the Taranaki War of the 1860s. The claims also include the waging of war the unfair treatment of Ngati Mutunga as if Ngati Mutunga were in rebellion the confiscation of all Ngati Mutunga’s lands the Crown’s invasion of Parihaka and the imprisonment of Ngati Mutunga people who were involved in the passive resistance campaigns. 
In November 1996 the Crown recognised the mandate of the Ngati Mutunga Iwi Authority to represent Ngati Mutunga in negotiations with the Crown. In September 1999 the iwi authority and the Crown signed a non-binding heads of agreement that recorded that in principle they were willing to settle the historical Taranaki-based Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngati Mutunga. In July 2005 Ngati Mutunga and the Crown signed a deed of settlement after an overwhelming majority of Ngati Mutunga people had showed their support by postal vote. At the same time a representative transparent and accountable governance entity—Te Runanga o Ngati Mutunga—was also ratified. Te Runanga o Ngati Mutunga will receive and manage the settlement assets. 
The bill gives effect to the undertakings by the Crown in the deed of settlement and includes a Crown apology for the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles financial and commercial redress totalling $14.9 million and the transfer of 10 sites of cultural significance to Ngati Mutunga including Onaero and Urenui Domain Recreation Reserves. These reserves will continue to be managed by the New Plymouth District Council and all existing third-party interests are preserved. Statutory acknowledgments of the special association of Ngati Mutunga with 17 statutory areas include as well as entry by the Crown of Te Runanga o Ngati Mutunga into the deed of recognition relating to 12 statutory areas a granting of a renewable camping entitlement over one site the right of first refusal over certain Crown properties and various items of fisheries redress. 
 I acknowledge the Ngati Mutunga people—including those who are no longer with us—who suffered the breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and who carried the grievances. I thank the other Ministers and the departments involved in this process. I acknowledge the Ngati Mutunga Iwi Authority and its successor Te Runanga o Ngati Mutunga including the members of the negotiating team. They have been a constructive and positive group to work with throughout the negotiations process and their dedication and commitment on behalf of Ngati Mutunga have been vital in the timely introduction of this bill. 
As New Zealanders we can all be proud that real and significant grievances suffered by Maori are recognised and settled peacefully and within the law. The public can be reassured that the Crown is certain of the validity of the claims that will be settled by this bill and that the settlement has been negotiated with the interests of all citizens in mind. It is not possible to compensate Ngati Mutunga fully for all the prejudices and the losses that its people have suffered over time. It is a particular grief for the people of Ngati Mutunga that all their land was confiscated by the Crown and that as a consequence Ngati Mutunga lost access to the sea and to much of their cultural resources. Although this bill enables the transfer of several sites to Ngati Mutunga the Crown is fully aware that all of Ngati Mutunga’s traditional lands are of importance to Ngati Mutunga. 
The people of Taranaki and of New Zealand generally have benefited from the land and other resources confiscated and otherwise alienated from Ngati Mutunga. I again congratulate Ngati Mutunga on accepting that it is not possible to receive full compensation. The goal of this Government is to reach settlements that resolve grievances of the past. The settlement with Ngati Mutunga lays the foundation for a strong and positive relationship between Ngati Mutunga and the Crown into the future. The resolution of historical grievances through fair and durable settlements will help build a strong and inclusive sense of national identity. 
The bill makes it clear that this is a full and final settlement of all the historical Taranaki-based Treaty of Waitangi claims. This settlement has had a very high level of support from the Ngati Mutunga claimant community with 94 percent of those who validly participated voting in support of the Crown’s settlement offer. The people of Ngati Mutunga have waited a long time to have their grievances against the Crown addressed. They have worked hard and sacrificed much to realise this settlement. It is for these reasons I consider that the bill should proceed without delay to the Maori Affairs Committee and be reported back by 27 October 2006. This will allow the timely transfer of settlement redress to Ngati Mutunga. I commend this bill to the House.