Roche Denise: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Roche Denise: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 18 July 2012. Volume:681;Page:3718. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DENISE ROCHE (Green) 
:  
Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tena koe ki te Whare. Rau rangatira ma tenei te mihi ki a koutou i runga i te kaupapa o te ra. Tena koutou nga rangatira o Ngati Makino tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. 
[ 
Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and greetings to you the House. To the many leaders I acknowledge you collectively in regard to the matter of the day 
.]  
It is my privilege to rise to take this call for the Greens. We will be supporting this bill the Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill. I must first state that although this bill is a settlement for Ngati Makino we maintain that it is a deal—the best deal that can be had at this time no doubt—but in no way does it compensate for the total loss and the total injustices that Ngati Makino have endured since the 1840s. 
In the 1860s Ngati Makino were drawn into war and suffered losses of their people in the battle of Te Ranga. In 1866 they suffered land confiscation which affected all Ngati Makino not just those few who had taken part in the conflict. Ngati Makino lost 82000 hectares of land and by 1900 had only 3.6 percent of their original land holdings at Waitahanui Tahunaroa and Whakarewa left. In the first few decades of the 1900s Ngati Makino faced further land losses with the Crown deliberately alienating Ngati Makino from the land through various pieces of legislation and compulsorily acquiring additional land for scenic reserves and the like. By 1992 Ngati Makino retained only 0.6 percent of the Waitahanui Tahunaroa and Whakarewa blocks. 
In clause 6 of the settlement bill the Crown acknowledges its culpability and in subclause (11)(d) also acknowledges that “the lands formerly in Ngati Makino’s possession have contributed to the wealth and development of New Zealand while Ngati Makino have been deprived of the benefits of those lands;”. It is fantastic that these claims are finally being addressed. We acknowledge the long process that the people of Ngati Makino have undertaken to finally get redress. The first Treaty claim was lodged 20 years ago. The deed of settlement was initialled in 2008 and finally signed in April 2011. 
We acknowledge that in common with other Treaty settlements there have been concerns about cross-claims. Iwi and hapu do not live inside a jam jar. Ancestors are shared and land and awa are sacred to many and that can be fraught with difficulties when it comes to negotiating a settlement. So we acknowledge those other iwi and hapu who have those ties. 
In clause 6 of the settlement bill the Government also acknowledges the many times that the Crown and its Government agencies breached the Treaty of Waitangi. Make no mistake this bill as a settlement is an indication of the generosity of Ngati Makino. The redress that is contained in this bill does not in any way compensate for the losses that they suffered. Those losses included the loss of land the loss of their economic opportunity of mana of their right to rangatiratanga of their guardianship of their land and waters and there is no way to compensate for the personal losses and the loss of well-being that generations have endured. This settlement bill is a sign of goodwill. This settlement signals an undertaking by Ngati Makino that they are willing to continue to build a relationship with the Crown—and I acknowledge the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations for his work in this area—and that they are prepared to maintain their side of the agreement that is the Treaty of Waitangi. 
The restoration of some land and some compensation is often misunderstood by the wider public. As an MP it has been a huge privilege to stand here in this House and learn about and speak about this settlement. But there are others who do not have a clear idea of the history of our country let alone the injustices that have occurred to so many iwi and hapu across Aotearoa New Zealand. Some of those people simply do not understand that all New Zealanders gain from these Treaty settlements. Yesterday at the Maori Affairs Committee we heard from the Minister Mr Finlayson about the enormous economic benefits Treaty settlements have contributed to whole regions. He noted in particular the settlements of the late 1990s and the economic powerhouses that both Waikato-Tainui and Ngai Tahu have become as a result of the settlements that they received and how that has benefited both Maori and Pakeha. They have used those settlements to develop their assets and to create jobs in their area. Ngati Makino can now look forward to building their own economic benefits within their rohe too. 
There are those in New Zealand who do not recognise or understand what the Treaty of Waitangi is all about who do not understand that the Treaty is the foundation that gives us all the right to stand here in this place in this country that it gives rights to tauiwi as well as rights—which have frequently been trampled on—to iwi. It is for this reason that I fear that while we settle some claims there may well be more to come. 
At the first reading of this bill which was joined with that of Ngai Tamanuhiri the Minister Mr Finlayson said iwi “can be very proud of what they have achieved. Through this legislation a platform has been set for a new relationship between Ngai Tamanuhiri Ngati Makino and the Crown—a relationship that I certainly hope will be based for the future on mutual trust cooperation and a respect for the Treaty.” That was said in February. But since then there has been reason to suspect that there are still some members of this House and the Government even who do not really have the same sense of respect for the Treaty that Mr Finlayson espouses. I think here particularly of water which has been debated all this week in Lower Hutt in front of the Waitangi Tribunal. I think too of the comments made by the Prime Minister Mr Key about ignoring recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal which to me was another trampling on the rights of Maori. It worries me that the perception in the minds of many is about the ownership of water or whenua. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch) 
: Order! 
DENISE ROCHE 
: For Maori the relationship with water and land is much more than simply ownership. We whakapapa to our land. We whakapapa to our whenua. As they say in Whanganui: “Ko au te awa ko te awa ko au.”—I am the river; the river is me. Our identity is in our land it is in our maunga it is in our water. For me as Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Huri our river is the mighty Waikato. Ownership for Maori confers responsibility and guardianship. Yes this is being recognised to some extent with co-governance arrangements for the care and restoration of some rivers and I think particularly of Ngati Maniapoto and the Waipa River and the Waikato-Tainui iwi with the Waikato River. But it is worth noting that Maori cannot be separated from our lands and our moana and our rivers regardless of what the Crown says. The relationships and rights that iwi have with our land and with our waters that whakapapa is inside us and it cannot ever be taken apart from us. As evidence I point to the decision made by this Government to remove section 9 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act as part of the legislation for the mixed-ownership model—the law to enable the sale of our State-owned assets—thus taking out the Treaty of Waitangi provisions. We may well see more claims coming from iwi as a result. 
But I come back to this bill this settlement for Ngati Makino. It is worth noting the words that are outlined in clause 6(12) of the bill which says: “Through these acts the Crown its Ministers and government departments have dishonoured the Treaty of Waitangi its principles and its spirit denigrating te mana motuhake o Ngati Makino. In so doing the Crown acknowledges that it has brought dishonour upon itself. It now falls time for these grievances to be lifted. It is the desire of the Crown to build a foundation of trust and commitment so that Ngati Makino and the Crown can work together to revitalise te rangatiratanga o Ngati Makino.” 
We acknowledge the many who have spent their lives working on this settlement and those who have passed away during the journey to this moment. Finally we commend this bill to the House. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa.