Turner Judy: Ngati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Turner Judy: Ngati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:621;Page:16457] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of United Future to speak to the Ngati Tuwharetoa (Bay of Plenty) Claims Settlement Bill and I would like to begin by greeting iwi leaders and negotiators who are with us today. I thank them for being with us and honouring us with their presence. Today we witness the opening words in what is the concluding chapter of a settlement process that has taken about 6 years to date. During those 6 years iwi representatives and a range of Government officials have worked productively to reach an agreement that has been ratified by 55 percent of eligible iwi members who voted 95 percent in favour of the proposed settlement. 
An important part of the process has been the work done to clarify the real facts around the historical events that necessitate this settlement. The facts are clear and the House needs to be mindful of the overriding truth that today we seek to right breaches not of Ngati Tuwharetoa tribal law but of British law—law that postured itself at the time as being fair and able to protect the property and rights of all New Zealand citizens. The consequences of those breaches have been paid for economically and culturally by every generation of Ngati Tuwharetoa since they first occurred. The agreed-upon historical account and the Crown acknowledgements and apology begin the process by which much mana can be restored to an iwi that has for generations been bereft of both land and essential resources necessary to build a future for itself. The agreed-upon historical account leads naturally to an apology from the Crown for clear breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Those breaches included the illegal confiscation of land and land transfers under the native land laws. The overall effect for Ngati Tuwharetoa Bay of Plenty was that access to traditional food and medicinal resources was lost. Later on with the draining of the Rangitaiki swamplands environmental pollution and the loss of control of and access to geothermal resources and to Kawerau further opportunities were stripped away. 
Some of the lands lost through that process were culturally significant sites. There is a series of cultural redress provisions in this proposal that help to restore access to traditional foods and food-gathering areas and there is a statutory acknowledgement of places of special association. Deeds of recognition are established that require the Crown to consult with Ngati Tuwharetoa and five sites are to be returned to the iwi. The financial and commercial redress is geared towards recognising the economic loss that was suffered. The deed of settlement will come into effect only after a governance body is set in place and after that governance body has been ratified by iwi. There is an agreed-upon figure that can be paid in cash or in Crown properties to the amount set. There is also a right of refusal on the geothermal assets should they be offered up for sale at any time. The overlay provisions that acknowledge the significance of a site or area without overturning existing classifications and provisions are a sensible and a clear demonstration of the good faith that has undergirded the settlement process. 
United Future is supportive of the need to advance this bill through the select committee in a timely way and wishes well to all those who are working behind the scenes to put the finishing touches on the structures and systems needed to manage the settlement in this very important journey.