Sharples Pita: Ngati Whatua Orakei Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Sharples Pita: Ngati Whatua Orakei Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading 
[Sitting date: 19 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5486. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
 on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move  
That the Ngati Whatua Orakei Claims Settlement Bill be now read a second time 
. Ka mihi ano ki a tatou tena koutou kua heke iho mai ki Te Upoko o te Ika i tenei ra mo tenei kereme. Ka timu te tai ka pari te tai ki Takaparawhau e tu whakahi ana. Orakei! Tukuna ra to karanga kia areare mai nga taringa kia hiki i te wairua. Orakei! He tohu maumahara ki nga whawhai o o koutou na kuia koroua i tu pakari ai mo te iwi. Ka kore e warewaretia.  
[ 
I acknowledge us once again. Greetings to you collectively who have come down here to Wellington for this claim. The tide recedes and comes in at Takaparawhau. Orakei let your call go out to command attention and to lift up the spirit. Orakei! It is a token of remembrance to the battles of your elder women and menfolk who stood staunch for the tribe. It will never be forgotten. 
] 
As the waters ebb and flow against Takaparawhau I recall the kuia and koroua of Orakei. I recall their long and heartbreaking battles for their people. Today their determination conviction and mana bring their children to New Zealand’s House of Representatives. Haruru mai ana a Tumutumuwhenua i nga moemoea o ana uri. Tu tonu mai ra koe hei whakaruruhau mo nga tamariki mokopuna a Tuperiri ara ko Te Taou ko Ngaoho ko Te Uringutu. 
[ 
Tumutumuwhenua rumbles from the dreams of its progeny. You remain standing there before us as a shield for the children and grandchildren of Tuperiri and of Te Taou Nga Oho and Te Uringutu. 
] 
I am pleased to see that the Ngati Whatua Orakei Claims Settlement Bill is back before the House for consideration and is ready to progress through another key parliamentary stage. Ngati Whatua o Orakei have demonstrated great patience and leadership since the agreement in principle was signed with the Crown in June 2006. Negotiations were suspended after a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry found other mana whenua interests in the Tamaki-makau-rau rohe. Subsequently the Crown sought to settle these claims collectively simultaneously offering redress to all mana whenua iwi and ensuring transparency of commercial redress value. I was honoured to participate in a ceremony for the collective settlement deed for nga mana whenua o Tamaki-makau-rau a few weeks back alongside Ngati Whatua o Orakei rangatira. Their spirit of whanaungatanga and rangatiratanga has guided us all. Their perseverance and patience enabled the resolution of claims across Tamaki-makau-rau. 
It is worthwhile addressing the case of 3.2 hectares of land at Narrow Neck on the North Shore included as commercial redress in this bill. This land will be leased back to the New Zealand Defence Force for 15 years with a right of renewal for up to 150 years. The thing is that in spite of the Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board guaranteeing permanent public access to these 3.2 hectares some residents remained uncompromising and in my view totally unreasonable. I am very disappointed Mr Darby in you and your crew. Here is my response. My response is one of simple mathematics: 3.2 hectares of land returned; 31565 hectares of land lost. I would like to repeat those numbers. I will repeat those numbers: 31565 hectares of land lost from Ngati Whatua— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: I’m good at maths. I’m good at maths. I know one’s bigger than the other. 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: —3.2 hectares of land returned to Ngati Whatua. 
Hone Harawira 
: And we want it back Maurice. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Which one’s the biggest? 
Hon Dr PITA SHARPLES 
: There is a little deal going on on the side here. Pay attention. This unimaginable loss of land and economic well-being has been etched upon generations of Ngati Whatua o Orakei and defined the lives of their families. All those things lost due to the actions of the Crown can never be totally replaced and yet the people of Ngati Whatua o Orakei wish to settle their grievances with the Crown. 
Today’s bill includes commercial redress comprising a quantum of $18 million plus interest less on-account payment for $2 million received through the railways settlement in 1993. It includes the return of Poroua Creek the last remaining piece of undeveloped Crown-owned land which was once part of the 700-acre Orakei block. 
When the great rangatira Te Kawau likened the coming of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a great wind from the north his prophecy of massive change was as we know fulfilled. As with the rest of Aotearoa the world changed for Ngati Whatua o Orakei after 1840. However the aspirations of Ngati Whatua o Orakei have never changed. Those aspirations were the same in 1840 when Te Kawau signed the Treaty. Those aspirations were the same in 1977 when whanau bravely confirmed their mana whenua by reoccupying Takaparawhau in what would become a defining moment in the history of Aotearoa. These aspirations were the same in 1987 when they lodged one of the first historical claims to be heard by the Waitangi Tribunal. Those aspirations are the same as those held today. Ngati Whatua o Orakei seek the right to take ownership of their own destiny to determine their own economic and social well-being. Ngati Whatua o Orakei seek the right to uphold their mana motuhake and to exercise their own rangatiratanga. 
 Yesterday marked 6 years to the day since the passing of Orakei rangatira academic and iconic New Zealander Sir Hugh Kawharu. Part of Sir Hugh’s incredible legacy to us all lies in the bill that is before us today. In an interview before his passing away he said and I quote now from the late Sir Hugh Kawharu: “We have a beautiful city a dynamic history and a shared future. Once we have moved from the Agreement in Principle and hopefully to the Deed of Settlement we can put the grievances of the past behind us and all look positively forward.” He continued: “I do urge people to read the Agreed Historical Account as knowledge of the past adds richness to our lives.” He ended by saying: “I also want our people to understand more about our history our customs and our language as we are tangata whenua and will be for all generations to come.” That is the end of the quote from the late Sir Hugh Kawharu. 
With those wise words I fully support the second reading of this bill as amended by the Maori Affairs Committee and its quick progression to enactment. I look forward to this bill proceeding to the Committee stage without delay. Thank you.