Paraone Pita: Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa Claims Settlement Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParaone Pita: Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 13 April 2016. Volume:713;Page:10582. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PITA PARAONE (NZ First):Tēnā koe Mr Deputy Speaker tēnā hoki koutou nō te hau kāinga. Ā he wāhi poto tēnei ki te tautoko i ngā mihi i mihingia e aku hoamahi i roto i Te Whare nei ki te whakatau i a koutou. Ā e tika ana hoki kia mihi atu ki a rātou i ngaro atu ki te tirohanga kanohi. Tēnā pea i karanga atu ēnei o aku hoa ko au te kaumātua ēngari tino tamariki noa iho au ēngari kia ahatia. E mahara ana au ki ēnā o ngā kaumātua o te kāinga pēnei i a Piri Mōkena Pita Tarawau ā tae atu ki a Tim Heta Hākopa Āro mā nā rātou i kawe atu ngā kaupapa i hangangia e Te Tari Māori i taua wā. Nā reira e tika ana kia tukuna atu te kaha o waku mihi ki a rātou. E kī nei te kōrero nā rātou ki a rātou ka hoki mai ki a tātou e te hunga ora nā reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou! Ā tēnā anō tātou koutou ngā kaikōrero i tū ake i mua i a au e pā ana ki te pire nei.Horekau e whakahē i ngā kōrero i puta mai ēngari ko te mea nui i whakawhiti mai i mua i a au. Ki tetahi o ngā kōrero i puta mai i te mema mō Te Tai Tokerau a Kelvin e pā ana ki aua moutere i Rangitāhuahua koinā tētahi o ngā kōrero i roto te pire nei he full and final wēnei take. Ēngari māku e pātai atu ki a tātou me pēhea te kaha o taua kōrero? Pēhea te kaha? Tika ana tēnā koinā te take i mea atu ki a tātou i tēnei wā. Tēnā pea mā te wā ka kite ana i a tātou ēngari māku e mea atu ki te hunga kāinga koinā tetahi o ngā whakaaro i roto i a au i tēnei wā. Ēngari ngā mihi hoki ki Te Karauna kia tukuna atu te whakapāha ki ngā uri o Kahukura-ariki me ērā atu o ngā hapū i rārangitia i roto te pire nei.I tēnei wā ka hoki taku mahara ki tērā tetahi o ngā tangata i te wā e ora ana ko Bully Peters. Ko ia tētahi tangata tū kaha ana ki te whawhai mō te whenua Stony Creek. Ahakoa ngā piki ngā heke ko ia te tangata i whakaū ki tōna kaupapa. Nā reira ēhara tēnā wāhanga he mea hōu i roto i ngā kerēme. Ko te pātai kē ahakoa mēnā e tika ana e hē rānei ēngari i tēnei wā koinā te kōrero. Mēnā e tika ana kua riro aua whenua ki tērā hapū tērā whānau me pēhea mēnā kei roto aua kerēme i runga i te kerēme whānui mō te iwi? Koinā te āwangawanga a Bully mā i taua wā. Nā reira koinā te take e tautokonatia ana te kaupapa a Te Minita kia tukuna atu tēnei pire ki Te Komiti Whakawhiriwhiri i ngā Take Māori kia wātea ki ngā hau kāinga mēnā e whakahē whakatautoko hoki i te pire nei kia whakatakoto mai i wā rātou kōrero kei mōhio mai i a mātou o Te Whare nei he aha ngā āhuatanga i waenganui i a koutou e pā ana ki te take nei.Ēngari e mihi kau ana ki tēnā o ngā tangata e kawe atu i tēnei kaupapa mai i te tīmatanga o tēnei kerēme tae noa ki tēnei. I whakahuangia te īngoa o Ella rāua ko Pita me ētahi atu ngā mihi hoki ki a rātou. Ēhara tēnā mahi he mahi māmā nā te mea mōhio ana i a tātou ahakoa me pēhea te kaha o tō mahi me pēhea tō aroha ana ki tō iwi whānui kei reira ētahi ki te amuamu hoki i tō mahi kia ahatia! Koinā te āhuatanga ki a tātou![Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker and acknowledgments to you from back home. This is a brief call to support the welcoming sentiments expressed by my parliamentary colleagues in this House to you. It is fitting indeed that I pay a tribute to those who are lost from view. While these of my collegues may have said that I am the elder member this is not so as I am very much younger by comparison but never mind. I think of those elders from back home like Piri Mōkena Pita Tarawau Tim Heta Hākopa Aro and those who were responsible for initiatives created by the Māori Affairs Department back then. Accordingly my tribute should be more in their direction. As the saying goes they the dead should remain there amongst themselves so I come back to us the living thereforegreetings acknowledgments and salutations to you collectively. I acknowledge us and those of you who addressed the bill before me.I do not oppose any of the statements made. The important thing is that they were made in my presence. One that caught my attention was made by the Te Tai Tokerau member Kelvin Davis about the Kermadec Islands—which is in this bill—about these matters being full and final. But what I pose to you is how powerful how strong can it be? That is right that is what I ask of us at this point in time. Perhaps time will tell us but nevertheless I will say to those back home that thought is in me right now. But I do commend the Crown for the apology to the descendants of Kahukura-ariki and other subtribes listed in this bill.At this stage I cast my mind back to one of the people who were alive back then Bully Peters. He fought hard for the land at Stony Creek. Despite the ups and downs he was committed to his cause. Therefore that aspect about claims is not a new thing. The question really regardless of whether it is right or wrong is that that is the situation right now. If it is correct that those lands have been taken by that other subtribe or family what happens if those claims are in an extensive tribal claim? That was the particular concern of Bully and others at that time. So that is the reason why I supported the Minister’s call that this bill be sent to the Māori Affairs Committee to enable those from back home to oppose or support this bill and to make their submissions to ensure that we of this House are informed of situations that you may have amongst you relating to this matter.But I really acknowledge those who took responsibility for this matter from the outset of this claim to where it is now. The names of Ella Pita and others were mentioned and so I commend them. That is not an easy task because we know that no matter howhard one works how much you love your extended tribe someone will always be there complaining about your work never mind. That is how it is with us.]I just want to say that the bill itself certainly articulates the reasons for the bill coming to the House. It also articulates those parties that are affected by the bill. And it outlines a way forward for the people of Ngatikahu ki Whangaroa to progress their claim. I should say that they have the advantage of sitting on the fence and I am talking about the iwi fence: the Ngāpuhi fence and the Ngatikahu fence. They are right in the middle and I can recall when this whole issue of the claims first came about there was a lot of debate. In fact there was dissension that Whangaroa should enjoy that privilege of having their own claim. But through hard work and perseverance the trust board—ahakoa ngā piki ngā heke e pā ana ki taua rōpū [in spite of the ups and downs relating to that organisation]—persevered and today we see the fruits of their efforts. And do not be surprised that perhaps next year we have another bill called the “Ngātikahu ki Whangaroa” as part of the Ngāpuhi claim. But that is something that the people will need to talk about. I just give signal to those who might be listening and wave the flag for Ngātikahu ki Whangaroa. Kei mōhio mai te iwi whānui ē horekau i mutungia tēnei mahi kia ahatia. [The extensive tribe might find out hey this job was never completed. So what?]But in respect of the land that they were entitled to and the return of land the last speaker from the Government benches Mr Korako talked about the fact that although land was being returned as part of this settlement it would not fully compensate the iwi. And again as I mentioned during the debate on the last bill these settlements can never be regarded as full knowing the history that has led to the bills’ coming before the House.I want to say also that the apologies that are being extended by the Crown I take those to be with sincerity. For the Minister to front the people at the time of the signing of the deed of settlement I think it is to his credit that he has done that. I think the people who are involved have really appreciated that fact given that during the negotiations—I do not know whether he was still in the House; he may have been a negotiator on behalf of the Crown—Dr Cullen attempted to attend one meeting and our relatives from Ngāti Aukiwa prevented that meeting from proceeding.I just want to notify the Minister that at the time part of the problem I think was that the bureaucrats involved were not taking advice from the local Te Puni Kōkiri office because the signs were certainly there and what needed to be done to avert that situation. That is part of the history—that becomes part of the history albeit colourful. The good thing about it was that no one was hurt. Perhaps pride may have taken a dive but never mind.Having said that I commend the bill to the House and look forward to receiving submissions from those interested in this bill when it comes before the Māori Affairs Committee. Tenā koe.