Abel SteveSTEVE ABEL (Green): Kia ora Madam Speaker. Kia ora koutou Whakatōhea.In the context of a people defending their land a man by the name of Mokomoko was wrongly accused of murdering a missionary and taken to Mt Eden Prison and he was hanged. His infamous words in his song were Take this noose from my neck that I may sing my song."These settlements are supposedly in an effort to take the noose of colonisation from the neck of tangata whenua Māori. The evils of Crown actions are not in contention. The wrong done to iwi and hapū of Whakatōhea are laid bare. The legitimacy of the demand for redress and amends is without question. You have been wronged by the Crown and we here acknowledge that today.One thing that causes me disquiet is what I have heard from a number of iwi that the processes of Treaty settlements themselves cause another variety of harm it occurs in the strictures of the red book it offers a fractional 1 to 2 percent of what has been lost in a physical sense et alone can it amend for the human social livelihood and cultural impact of colonisationnd the ecological loss because nature is invariably irreversibly destroyed and desecrated in that act of colonisation. The very process sets iwi against their neighbours into disagreement with fellow hapū into contention with their whanaunga.In a supposed effort to make amends I am left with a sickening feeling of the Crown causing another form of harm to tangata whenua Māori. If the intention is rather to make the past go away and to be done with it as the term "full and final" implies we disdain that intention. A relationship is not something that ceases to listen ceases to respect to move with the needs of all parties to that relationship in perpetuity nor ceases to uphold the founding commitments. Our Tiriti o Waitangi is a living foundation for relationship it is not a contract with an end date.Which returns us to the instance at hand. We acknowledge the contention as has been done but this in no way is to disrespect the view of all parties to this process. It is not for us to prosecute the issues of your iwi and hapū. It is for us to be honest about how the Crown's part generates tensions and causes new varieties of harm. The effect of the current process is that those hapū who do not feel represented by a settlement nevertheless have their own claims extinguished by that settlement. Where a hapū wants the right to withdraw from a settlement to pursue their own path there should be a means for that to happen.I also want to say that divergence of opinion within an iwi is a perfectly natural and common occurrence. Whakatōhea—the crimes of theft of your land and the killing of your ancestors are shameful blots on our nation's history. There can be no legitimacy in our nationhood if it is not set in a principle of justice for all iwi and hapū of Aotearoa New Zealand. We must know our history honestly and understand its impact on this very day. If we do not then we will also not recognise the perpetuation of those injustices and the policy actions of today. I wish Whakatōhea that this settlement goes some way to removing the noose of colonisation from your neck that you may sing your song. Kia ora."