Korako NukNUK KORAKO (National): E Te Mana Whakawā tēnā anō koe. E mihi atu ki Te Mana Whenua o Te Waha o Te Ika a Te Ātiawa; tēnā koutou ā huri noa i Te Whare nei e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Haere mai e ka waka katoa e tau mai nei ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. Nō reira ki a koe e te rohe o Te Wairoa e mihi atu ki a koe e te whanauka e Te Waka o Tākitimu a Ngati Kahungunu ki a koe Rongomaiwahine; e mihi atu ki a koutou. Ko Te Komiti Whiriwhiri Take Māori o Te Whare Pāremata e mihi nei e tangi nei ki a koutou ngā taoka whakahirahira koutou e tūmanakohia ake nei huri noa i Te Whare Mīere nei e mihi ki ngā mema katoa nō reira e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.[My appreciation once again to you Mr Assistant Speaker. I acknowledge the territorial rights to the Mouth of the Fish Wellington Harbour of Te Ātiawa; greetings to you collectively and to us all throughout this House. Welcome to the canoes that have arrived here at the Great Bay of Tara Wellington Harbour. Therefore to you the Wairoa region I acknowledge you the relative Ngāti Kahungunu of the Tākitimu canoe and you too Rongomaiwahine; greetings to you both. This is the Māori Affairs Committee of Parliament acknowledging and lamenting you collectively and extolling the goods that you collectively throughout the Beehive desire for so compliments to all members and consequently to us all.]It is indeed a privilege to be here with the iwi and hapū of Te Wairoa at the beginning of the end of their journey toward a full and final settlement of the wrongs committed against them by the Crown. Before I start though I do want to acknowledge our Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Hon Christopher Finlayson and also his beginning today by acknowledging those who have actually passed away and who did not see the beginning really here today of the first reading. I want also to acknowledge my aunt who came from Nuhaka and that was Auntie Hinemanuhiri Nēpia Sinclair who obviously married my uncle Ngāi Tahu Uncle Douglas Sinclair. I want to acknowledge her today because she was very much a strength within our whānau as well even though she lived most of her time actually in the North.The iwi and hapū of Te Wairoa are defined by their geographic location within the rohe of Te Wairoa covering the northern Hawke's Bay and southern Gisborne. In the settlement process they are represented by Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa and if we look at the history of Māori in the Wairoa they actually never signed the Treaty of Waitangi. They did not choose not to sign; the Crown simply never took the Treaty to Wairoa so they did not have the opportunity to do that. When the Crown brought war to the North Island the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa tried to remain peaceful. They became involved only when the Crown attacked the Omaruhakeke kāinga on Christmas Day in 1865. Some of those who fought against the Crown were captured and either summarily executed or held without trial on the Chatham Islands. Others chose to fight with the Crown and as a result the wars led to deep divisions between the hapū who fought on the opposing sides. Members of the iwi and the hapū of Te Wairoa also fought on both sides of the war after the escape of Te Kooti from the Chatham Islands and there was more loss of life as a result.The Crown acquired hundreds of thousands of acres of land from Māori in Te Rohe o Te Wairoa through what could only be described as fraudulent means. When the collective owners of the land declined to sell it to the Crown the Crown instead purchased the land from individual owners who did not have the right to sell. The Crown paid various parties for so-called purchases of land including iwi who did not have interests in the land and individual owners who did not have agreement from the collective owners. The Native Land Court also had a part to play in this confiscation of land awarding title in collectively held land to individual owners who could then dispose of it how they wished and for their own benefit. In another instance collective owners of the block of land agreed on a sale price and the Crown unilaterally reduced the price. The iwi and hapū of Te Wairoa have also had more than 500 acres confiscated under the Public Works Act. In one case Māori land was confiscated while the Crown leased nearby land from its Pākehā owners.The Crown cannot and never will fully compensate the iwi and hapū of Te Wairoa for the pain of the deaths caused by Crown wars for the loss of land over many years or for the devastating effects that those losses have had on the well-being of Māori in Te Wairoa. The essence of this as well—and particularly to show good faith—is that there is here an act of generosity by the iwi and hapū of Te Wairoa in accepting the redress offered in this deed of settlement as a full and final settlement of their claims. The deed of settlement includes significant cultural redress. This cultural redress is not about providing land for economic development but recognising the traditional the historical the cultural and the spiritual associations of the iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa with these certain places and sites. The five sites of significance to the iwi and hapū will be vested in their post-settlement governance entity which will then gift them back to the Crown for the continued enjoyment of the people of New Zealand. That is the essence of true partnership and that is the essence of these people and the way that they actually believe in partnership—to move their settlement to its final destination at the third reading and to acknowledge the wonderful gifts that they have given back to this country and its people.As the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee it is indeed our honour to actually receive this bill and we will ensure that the passage of this bill from the first reading and the second reading through to the third reading will be able to be done hopefully before the rising of the House in August. On that note we are as my colleague Meka Whaitiri actually said dedicated to trying to conclude this settlement as soon as possible. Nō reira e ngā mana e ngā reo e rau rakatira mā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora.