Tabuteau FletcherFLETCHER TABUTEAU (Deputy Leader—NZ First): Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. To my whānau in the gallery ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. It is a pleasure to rise on behalf of New Zealand First this afternoon to speak to what is a significant and important piece of legislation a piece of paper that means so much not only to the hapū in the gallery but to the people of Rotorua and to the people of New Zealand.I want to start my contribution by first acknowledging one of this country's greatest leaders for his vision a man whose vision for Māori culture means he will always be linked to Te Puia and Te Arawa and I do this by quoting him: Pēnā ka haere tonu ā te wā ka taea ka mau."["If you keep trying in time the task will be achievable and within your grasp."]That message for our people our hapū in the gallery: "You will get there if you just keep going if you persevere." I say that because the kōrero about the land about our whenua has been one that has been ongoing for a long long time for our whānau—the same whānau having the same conversations generation after generation about our land. But this is not what we're talking about this afternoon; we are celebrating the handing over to our people of the ownership of one of New Zealand's most iconic businesses.Here we are today at the first reading of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Vesting Bill and I say to the House it is a momentous occasion for our hapū our iwi. It is a momentous occasion for Rotorua but I say it is also a momentous occasion for all New Zealand. I say this with a great deal of pride because as has been acknowledged by those who have spoken before me this is an institution that has represented this country for centuries actually. It is inextricably linked to the original first visitors to the Pink and White Terraces and the relationship that that formed between our hapū and it is a relationship that we acknowledge today.I do want to be a little bit sentimental if you'll forgive me because everyone upstairs knows that I grew up in Rotorua. I grew up in the tourism industry and Mum and Dad would take us down to the Māori arts and crafts village not every weekend but on a semi-regular basis. I just want to acknowledge Jenny Marcroft New Zealand First MP because her dad Leroy Marcroft was a carving student at Māori arts and crafts in his time back in the day. So Jenny and I were able to reminisce about our time walking around the carvers upstairs as it were looking down and watching them work and those chips flying as they worked incredibly studiously. I acknowledge the words of Rino Tirikatene who spoke eloquently about other graduates of the programme.In my time I have also had the privilege of taking international dignitaries to our Māori Arts and Crafts Institute to our Te Puia because it is an icon and because it is a showcase not only of Rotorua's geothermal largesse can I say but also of our Māori culture and our hospitality renowned throughout the world—our guides are so renowned not only throughout New Zealand but throughout the world. So Rotorua itself I put it to the House is proud of the history of Te Puia the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and we were well served by it.It was a visionary politician of the time who saw that our Māori arts and culture traditions were in severe danger of being lost for ever and so it was that Sir Apirana Ngata acted. In 1926 the first Māori arts and crafts institute was established—Te Ao Marama—on the shores of Lake Rotorua. This laid the foundation for the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia today and so assisted the revival of Māori arts and crafts in New Zealand. Then in 1963 the carving school and Whakarewarewa Valley's tourism interests came together under the 1963 Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Act and then with the amendment of 1967 we formally recognised it as a national institute.So it was on 4 August this year that we—I say "we"—took a giant leap forward as our hapū came together and signed Te Puia vesting agreement. This was a historic day that came after many years of long and hard negotiations. So it is a privilege for me to be able to say congratulations to those involved and to those who came before them and made the same endeavour who have enabled our whānau to come together on this historic day. We do share in your joy and we here in Parliament as you can well see—and I acknowledge the Minister Nanaia Mahuta in her efforts—undertake to do our part and look forward to the third reading of this bill sometime next year.So in conclusion it is with joy and celebration that I say to all those here today kia tau te rangimārie ki runga i ngā iwi o te ao. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā rā koutou katoa.[May peace be with all the peoples of the world. Greetings greetings greetings to you all.]"