Samuels Dover: Ngati Tama Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Samuels Dover: Ngati Tama Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:608;Page:5658] 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS (Minister of State) 
: 
A te mea tuatahi maku kei te mihi atu ki te whanau o Ngati Tama e whakaruruhau nei i raro o te maunga tapu o Taranaki me nga uri katoa kei te mihi atu ki a koutou. Kei te maumahara ki nga tupuna ki nga matua kua wehe atu ki te po. Na ratau nei tenei kaupapa mai ra ano i tautoko i poipoi tae noa ki tenei ra. No reira kia maumahara atu ki a ratau kore ratau e warewaretia i roto i a ratau moemoea a wawata. I am acknowledging the whanau of Ngati Tama and also the aspirations of those people who have passed on in terms of their vision and their hopes that justice would come to their people. 
I congratulate Bill Gudgeon on his presentation here tonight with regard to certain aspects of the bill that is before the House. It is up to this House to determine how fast this bill progresses into law. If it is indeed the desire of the members of this House to have this matter expedited in a way such that we do not seem to drag the chain in terms of what the Ngati Tama people feel we certainly can short-circuit the deliberations in the select committee process. I pose this as a challenge to those who have said they will not delay the bill especially those from the National Party who have said they support the bill. I understand and I hear clearly Georgina te Heuheu. She supports the bill. So can we get some sort of guarantee that there will be no shenanigans and no humbug when this bill goes before the select committee? I will be looking very carefully to see whether those matters are resolved and whether the aspirations of the members of this House are real and not some sort of charade. 
I come back to the matters that were raised by our colleague from ACT. I was very interested to hear his interpretation and his views on the process. When he says that there should be due diligence over and above what has been done he should recognise that this is a settlement between an iwi and the Crown and that the settlement in terms of the specific details and negotiations has been going on for years. It would be incumbent on this Parliament and its processes to acknowledge the efforts that have gone into bringing this settlement here in the form of a deed of settlement that can go to the select committee. It would be counterproductive for us to think we can revisit all those negotiations and in some bizarre way come to some of the conclusions that have been mentioned here by Stephen Franks. 
Stephen Franks 
: I don’t trust Margaret Wilson. 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: Perhaps we do not trust him either and Ngati Tama does not trust him. But I do not want to get into that deliberation. This has been done in good faith. 
Let us think about the events that happened at Parihaka and the cruel way that some of the leaders and some of the people of Ngati Tama were taken and put into caves to degenerate in Te Waipounamu. That type of treatment in terms of human degradation had never been heard of in this country and a group of politicians here say we have to do some sort of extra tirotiro to have a look at whether this bill is being accorded the same processes of this Parliament as any other legislation. My advice to the member is to grow up. If he understood the pain that these people and their ancestors went through he would be ashamed at the things he is saying here tonight. I asked to take a 2-minute call but I have just extended my time by 2½ minutes simply to tell that member to try to understand the pain our people have gone through. 
This settlement does not cover equitable compensation for these people. It nowhere near covers it. Some of our colleagues here need to look very carefully at the injustices that have been imposed upon Ngati Tama. They have come here tonight seeking justice and I am saying that this House is not able to give them full justice. The ACT party talks of law and order; I ask that party to apply those principles here. This country would not be able to pay true compensation to the people of Ngati Tama if we did it according to Pakeha law. 
Stephen Franks 
: Why give them weasel words? 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: The member should keep his mouth shut and he might learn something. The people here have extended rangimarie not just to our nation but also to the people of this Parliament. Members have heard that tonight. We are committed to progressing this matter in a way that shows justice and delivers justice to our people. 
No reira kei te huri ana ki te mihi ki a koutou nga whanaunga o Ngati Tama te maunga o Taranaki. Tera ka whakarongo mai i nga korero tera o tatou whanaunga i tera taha o Hikurangi kei te tautoko atu. Huri ana i to tatou Whare ma te Runga Rawa tatou katoa e manaaki. Tena koutou tena koutou a kia ora mai ano tatou katoa. Kia ora tatou. 
[ 
And so I turn to extend a greeting to you the descendants of Ngati Tama and to the mountain of Taranaki. There you listened to what that relative of ours on that side of mount Hikurangi said and I support it. And so to us all throughout our House may the Almighty above look after us. Greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to us all. Good health to all 
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