Fox Marama: Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFox Marama: Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1287. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MARAMA FOX (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Ā e Te Mana Whakawā anei mātau e tāpirihia nei ngā mihi ki a koutou kua tae ā-tinana mai ki te whakarongo ki ngā mihi ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero ā ki te tautoko i ngā mahi o te rangi nei. Ā tēnei mātau e hika ka tū whakaiti kei mua i a koutou. I ahau e noho nei e whakaaro ana au hika ka noho i te whakamā. He aha taua whakamā? Ka tiro whānui ki Te Whare kai hea kai hea ō tātau hoa ki te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero hōhonu te whakarongo ki ngā kōrero kua takoto nei kei roto i te Whare nei kia mōhio pai rātau ki te kiko o tēnei mea Te Tiriti o Waitangi me ngā hara kua tau ki runga i a tātau Te Iwi Māori ki runga i a koutou. Nā reira i ahau e noho whakamā nei e tiro ki ngā tūru e wātea nei ka hiki anō te manawa i runga i te kōrero ō tō tātau parata nei a Peeni te kōrero a Nanaia me Te Minita the Hon Chris Finlayson. Ngā kōrero nei e whakanui e whakamana i a koutou ahakoa he iti he pounamu te kōrero. Kia kōrerohia tēnei kōrero i roto i Te Whare kua noho ki runga i ngā pukapuka mō āke tonu rā. Nā reira ka tū whakaiti ki mua i a koutou me te tautoko i ngā kōrero. E Te Mana Whakawā kai te pīrangi au ki te mihi atu ki a koutou o Tainui ki a koutou ā ngā uri whakaheke o Ngāti Korokī Kahukura koutou o Te Kīngitanga me kī. E tika me mihi ki a koutou ōku pou ōku rahi tēnā koutou katoa.[Mr Speaker here we are adding to the tributes extended to you collectively that have arrived here physically to listen to the tributes contributions and to support today’s proceedings. Here we are goodness me standing before you all in humility. While I was sitting here thinking heavens above I am embarrassed. What was that embarrassment? I looked extensively around the House wondering where indeed are our colleagues to listen to the words of depth the contributions put before this House so that they have a good understanding about the substance in regard to this Treaty of Waitangi thing and the transgressions that have alighted upon Māoridom and you collectively. So while I was sitting here embarrassed and looking at the empty seats before me my spirit soared at the contribution by our brother colleague Peeni Hēnare here sister colleague Nanaia and the Minister the HonChristopher Finlayson. These contributions magnified and empowered you collectively. Even though the talk was diminutive it was precious. When these statements are delivered in the Chamber they are captured in the records forever. So I stand humbly before you collectively to endorse the contributions. I would like to commend you of Tainui descendants of Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and the King Movement shall we say Mr Speaker. It is apt that I acknowledge you my pillars and the many. Thank you all.]I rise to support the third reading of the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill. I welcome you here today. Almost exactly 2 years ago on 20 December 2012 the Crown and Ngāti Koroki Kahukura signed a deed of settlement agreeing to the final settlement of the non-raupatu Treaty of Waitangi claims of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura. In that action the trustees of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura were acting in the best interests of an estimated 4000 members who whakapapa to that sacred maunga Maungatautari in the Waikato.The bill respects and protects the unique tribal structures of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura in providing for the special relationship that the iwi have with that maunga and the Waikato River. Every one of their uri whakaheke deserves to be proud of the tribal history dating back to the 1840s 1850s and before when they were a thriving healthy people when they successfully traded with one another and with the European settlers and when they enjoyed not just survived the life that they lived.However by the late 1850s there was rising tension over the land alienations. Ngāti Koroki Kahukura actively supported the establishment of the Kīngitanga and in an effort to safeguard their lands from alienation placed their lands under the protection of the Māori King. At the same time their rangatira Tīoriori worked to maintain cordial relationships with the Crown. This fact of history is pivotal—pivotal to know. It is a context that helps us to understand where we have come from as a nation and as a whānau hapū and iwi into the rising tensions of the 1860s when war broke out resulting in the deaths of some of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and the capture of others including their esteemed rangatira Tīoriori. Despite their preference for peace Ngāti Koroki Kahukura were labelled rebels and for that under the Suppression of Rebellion Act they had much of their land confiscated and yet it is viewed as non-raupatu.This iwi have maintained their interests in their homeland. They preserved—they retained—the essence of who they were even though their whenua was ripped out from under their feet. Maungatautari was and remains their tipuna their ancestral mountain central to their identity yet in the 19th century the land in and around the maunga fell victim to Crown-imposed tenure reform. As a result Ngāti Koroki Kahukura were involved in more than 50—50—Native Land Court hearings before 1901. As a result swamps and wetlands were drained and the Waikato River polluted. Hydroelectric power schemes depleted their traditional fisheries and flooded their cultural significant sites as we have heard. By the end of the 20th century Ngāti Koroki Kahukura had become virtually landless.Today the bill rectifies this in some small way—this and other wrongs imposed by the Crown on Ngāti Koroki Kahukura. The bill records a history of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and the Crown apology to them—the apology for the forced operation of the native land and public works legislation the apology for the failure of the Crown to protect the traditional tribal structures of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura the apology for the Crown’s failure to recognise and provide for their relationship to Maungatautari and the Waikato River and the Crown’s apology for policies and legislation that instigated the economic social environmental and cultural degradation of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and their physical and spiritual resources. That last point is particularly important.In the 1860s and onwards the Crown commenced its campaign to assimilate Māori into European culture. Ngāti Koroki Kahukura elders recall corporal punishment—lashings—being used to discourage them from speaking their reo leaving behind a legacy in which fewer than 5 percent of their people still retain the ability to speak Te Reo Māori today. Eighty years on and by 1950 many Ngāti Koroki Kahukura migrated from their traditional rohe in search of better economic prospects. Many disconnected from their communities and local culture. In both of these critical areas—education and employment—Ngāti Koroki Kahukura consider that landlessness and social deprivation have contributed to the Crown not recognising them as an iwi in their own right.I stand to support this bill because of its role in addressing the wrongs imposed by the Crown on Ngāti Koroki Kahukura. The bill enables us to look forward to a new era in the Crown’s relationship with Ngāti Koroki Kahukura.Maungatautari is the maunga Waikato is the awa. Through this settlement the maunga will be a scenic reserve and will be guarded by Te Hapori o Maungatautari. The transfer of ownership recognises the iconic and spiritual importance. The river will be managed together. There will be recognition of the river and its tributaries and Ngāti Koroki Kahukura will have this as an area of interest as well as Lake Arapuni and Lake Karapiro. This settlement means that you can co-manage it together. Ko Ngāti Koroki Kahukura te iwi.The Crown confirms that it is deeply sorry and profoundly apologises to the ancestors and descendants of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura for the hardships they have endured. The way that they have treated and engaged with other iwi and the wider community during negotiations is a good example for the Crown which in its long history of delay with Ngāti Koroki Kahukura was guilty of shutting them out. The graciousness of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura during these negotiations has been a defining characteristic of this settlement. Had the Crown possessed the same virtues in its dealings with Ngāti Koroki Kahukura then the anguish and injustices that have brought us here today may well have been avoided.E Te Mana Whakawā ka tū ake au ki te tautoko i tēnei pire. Hoi anō rā ki a koutou kua tae ā-tinana mai ki te whakarongo ā-taringa ki te kite ā-karu ki te whakarongo ā-wairua hoki nei rā te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Nei rā te mihi whakaiti kai mua i a koutou te mihi whakanui i a koutou katoa te whakamana ā te whakahōnore i a koutou katoa i roto i tēnei whakapau werawera whakapau kaha kia tūtuki tēnei pire kei mua i a tātau. Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou katoa tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Mr Speaker I rise to support this bill and therefore to you collectively indeed who came here in person to hear and see first-hand and to listen spiritually as well. l salute you all. I stand before you in humility to congratulate empower and honour you for the sweat and energy spent to complete this bill that is before us. So well done congratulations and thank you all.]