Whaitiri MekaMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Greetings to you fellow members of the House. E te iwi o Rangitāne ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua tēnā tātou katoa. I want to apologise that I had to abruptly end my last speech—that is what you get when you sit in the House for what 6 hours before you get a call on these Treaty bills. So I do apologise and I do want to acknowledge Danielle and all the negotiators of Rangitāne o Manawatu for a fabulous job. It is the first reading of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā (Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua) Claims Settlement Bill and we no doubt support it entirely so that we can help facilitate it going off to the Māori Affairs Committee. Then we can have the bill back and get into the second reading and then the third reading so we can ensure that the people the iwi here can get on with their affairs. Can I just please acknowledge all those who have come down here and who are in the gallery. You have made mention Hon Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations of Mānahi Paewai. I see Jim Rīmene and of course Mavis and Koro Mullins. Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa te whānau kua tae mai. [Greetings to you all the family that have arrived.]Rangitāne trace their descent from the explorers of Kupe and Whātonga rangatira of the mighty waka of Kurahaupō and the grandfather of the eponymous ancestor Rangitāne. The traditions record that for centuries the Rangitāne people settled in Wairarapa and Tāmaki nui-ā-Rua before 1840 and they have a special association with many places including the Wairarapa lakes the eastern coast and Tapere-nui-a-Whātonga known by others as Seventy Mile Bush. This bill acknowledges the grievances of the Rangitāne people including the Crown's acquisition of vast areas of land; its failure to properly survey or protect from alienation a number of reserves; its failure to protect Rangitāne from virtual landlessness and from the disintegration of their tribal structures and the social deprivation that resulted; and of course the loss of Te Reo Māori.I want to take the time—hopefully staying within my 10 minutes—to acknowledge that this bill has three parts and the Minister has outlined of course that the important critical part is the historical account and the apology that form Part 1. Of course we go into the cultural redress in Part 2 and the Minister touched on the protocols the statutory acknowledgments and the deed of recognition the Manuwatū River catchment advisory board some classification changes of geographical names some vesting of cultural redress properties and of course vesting and gifting back of properties. In Part 3 we talk about commercial redress and I want to acknowledge Subpart 1 Transfer of commercial redress properties and deferred selection properties" Subpart 2 "Licensed land" Subpart 3 "Access to protected sites" and of course a topic of debate that has been swirling round this House this week—and for weeks to come—is Subpart 4 "Right of first refusal over RFR land". I just want to say to members of this House regarding the right of first refusal of land taken under the Public Works Act that for many iwi who have not settled or in the case of this particular iwi who are in the process of getting legislation through those mechanisms of reclaiming land are so critical. They are so critical because we have lost so much. We have lost so much and the ability to ensure that land that was taken under the Public Works Act and is no longer needed for the reason for which it was taken must be offered uninhibited back to the original owners. Yet in recent times in this House we have passed legislation that nullifies land taken for housing purposes. We have made that call in this House and I just want it to go on the record that this side of the House put up an amendment to protect iwi interests for future settlements. I must acknowledge the legislation that we passed under urgency—so it did not even go to a select committee. It acknowledges existing Treaty settlements but for the rest of us who have not got to the starting block you have missed out through this Act in Parliament. So it is very dear to me that every inch of land that is geared towards Treaty settlement—we as parliamentarians must think twice before we move legislation that removes that ability for iwi to get that land that is so critical to them. I wanted to just acknowledge that. In reference to Subpart 4 of Part 3 on the right of first refusal we do hope that when we scrutinise it in the Māori Affairs Committee—I understand they have been briefed by officials on what right of first refusal actually means so maybe that will come up in their deliberations. [Interruption] Yes I will be on time. I want to acknowledge the hard work of all the negotiators. As a former Treaty settlement negotiator myself—for my father's iwi of Rongowhakaata—the sacrifice that you put into Treaty claims is immeasurable. The sacrifice you have to make in terms of where you are yourself—and on your family. You never ever please everybody in the iwi. You never ever please everybody in the iwi but you are driven to get the absolute best deal. I have no doubt that your negotiators have achieved that. They achieved that on behalf of your iwi members—the best possible deal with the resources and the timing that you have available. So I want to acknowledge you all for the hard work the perseverance the compromises the ear-ringing and the back-stabbing; that has happened to us all. I just want to acknowledge that and I want to thank you on behalf of Rangitāne. I also want to acknowledge the officials who support the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations the Hon Chris Finlayson. I know his heart is in the right place when he moves to settle Treaty settlements and so I want to acknowledge and thank the Minister and all those officials who support him. Sometimes we disagree but I definitely know that the honourable Minister is committed to ensuring that we have settlements that are not just expedient and quick but are fair. But having said that we also have a responsibility in this House that when we are passing legislation that cuts across not just existing Treaty settlements but potentially future Treaty settlements we need to pause. We need to pause and that is where I believe that when it comes to our honouring the Treaty—actually the rubber hits the road. When we are considering legislation that is going to alienate Māori from whenua then we need to be very very careful because our people have lost too much already. I do not want to be part of a Parliament that says: "We've done that Treaty settlement; let's carry on." Everything we do in this House interrelates. As I reflect in Rangitāne's own historical account they gave land and they sold land in the hope that they would get the benefits in return. The benefits around health education and the Reo maintenance were never ever met by the Crown. So that is why I make this point: it is incumbent on everybody in this House that when passing legislation that is going to impact on iwi rights going forward then all I say is be very considered—kick it back to the select committee process and allow iwi to have their say. Kia ora tātou."