Maharey Steve: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Maharey Steve: Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:619;Page:15166] 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister for Social Development and Employment 
 on behalf of the  
Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: I move  
That the Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. 
 I am very pleased to be doing this. I intend also to move at the appropriate time that this bill be referred to the Maori Affairs Committee for consideration. I will include an instruction that the committee has the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions and 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 191 and 194(1)(b) and (c) and that the committee report finally to the House on or before 1 December 2004. 
This bill brings to an end the longstanding and significant historical treaty grievances of Ngati Awa of Eastern Bay of Plenty who number about 18000 members. The bill gives effect to the deed of settlement signed with Ngati Awa in March 2003 for the resolution of all of its historical treaty claims. These claims relate mainly to land confiscation the compensation process and the operation and impact of the native land laws. The Waitangi Tribunal heard the—mainly 19th century—claims in 1994 and 1995 and issued the Ngati Awa Raupatu Report on 8 October 1999. Its principal findings were that the land confiscation was contrary to the treaty there was no rebellion to justify confiscation and confiscation appears to have been beyond the authority of the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863. The Crown acknowledges in the settlement that the confiscation of about 250000 acres of Ngati Awa lands—[ 
Interruption 
] I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. This is pretty serious for the people who are here today. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I am sorry. There is chatter around the House. If members cannot talk very quietly but need to talk could they please go out to the lobby. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: Thank you Madam Speaker. The Crown acknowledges in the settlement that the confiscation of about 250000 acres of Ngati Awa lands constituted an injustice and was therefore a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles. An agreed account of the historical events about the Crown’s interactions with Ngati Awa is set out in the bill’s preamble. 
The public can be reassured the Crown is certain of the validity of the claims settled by this bill and has negotiated with the interests of the taxpayer in mind. It is not possible to compensate Ngati Awa fully for all the prejudice and loss it has suffered. Settlements must take account of other developments and the commitments existing in New Zealand society today. I congratulate Ngati Awa on negotiating on this wider-interests basis. If claimant communities insisted on full recompense there would be no settlements and therefore no resolution of historical grievances. 
I shall give a summary of the settlement redress. Ngati Awa negotiators have agreed to a settlement package which includes a Crown apology for the Crown’s breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles; financial redress of $42.39 million including portions of the Rotoehu and Kaingaroa Forests; the vesting of six commercial properties; the vesting of seven cultural redress properties; a statutory acknowledgment of Ngati Awa’s special association with nine statutory areas; the granting of renewable camping entitlements over four nohoanga sites; and the right of first refusal over an amount of quota for certain shellfish species. 
The bill makes it clear this is a final settlement of all the historical claims of Ngati Awa. Ancillary claims relate to the following: in recognition of the Waitangi Tribunal’s findings with regard to the three ancillary claims the Crown agreed to settle these alongside the main Ngati Awa settlement. I intend to include the provisions affecting the three ancillary claims which have recently been finalised in the Ngati Awa Claims Settlement Bill by means of a Supplementary Order Paper. 
I turn to the governance entity to be established through legislation. Last week this House debated the first reading of Ngati Awa’s private bill—Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill. That bill has been purpose-designed by Ngati Awa to establish an appropriate entity to receive the settlement redress while retaining key features of its existing entity including its statutory status. As my colleague the Minister of Maori Affairs signalled last week it is important that these two bills are progressed through the House in a coordinated manner in order to implement the agreements reached. 
There are challenges in this settlement process. Discussions around treaty settlement redress options are sometimes controversial and challenges to particular settlements are to be expected in the course of negotiations. There are often big issues at stake and the Crown must carefully balance a range of interests. In Ngati Awa’s case challenges were raised by some overlapping claimant groups and by the licensee of the Crown forest land who were concerned about the protection of their rights. The Crown and Ngati Awa worked to ensure the issues raised were appropriately addressed. Consequently the legal challenges brought by these groups were dismissed by the courts. The sound process that the Crown has followed in negotiating these and other claims ensures that treaty settlements will stand the test of time. 
I now want to acknowledge the people who have been involved. I want first to acknowledge the people of Ngati Awa who have suffered as a result of the Crown’s breaches of the treaty and those who carried the grievances and who are no longer with us. I want to thank the Ngati Awa kaumatua kuia and negotiators—some of whom are present in the House today—for the constructive and conscientious way in which they have worked. Our goal is to ensure that settlements resolve grievances of the past. This bill lays the foundation for a strong and positive relationship between the Crown and Ngati Awa into the future. I wish to thank other Ministers and departments involved—in particular the Minister of Maori Affairs the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Conservation who have supported the process throughout. I also acknowledge the work contributed by former Ministers of the Crown. I also wish to thank the Office of Treaty Settlements for the work done in seeking a just and fair settlement. As New Zealanders we can be proud that real and significant grievances are being recognised and settled peacefully within the law. I say once again on behalf of Margaret Wilson the Minister for whom I am standing in that I commend this bill to the House. 
Waiata.