Turia Tariana: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — First Readings 
Turia Tariana: Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill — First Readings 
[Volume:678;Page:1022] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Minister for Whanau Ora) 
 on behalf of the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations: I move  
That the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Claims Settlement Bill and the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill be now read a first time 
. I intend to move at the appropriate time that the bills be considered by the Maori Affairs Committee and I want to advise the Speaker that I will using my notes.  
I would like to welcome the representatives of Maraeroa A and B Blocks who are here today for this very special occasion. The endeavours of people such as Glen Katu Edward Moana Emery Brian Stanley and Piripi Crown continue to bear fruit and this private bill today the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill is a testimony to their dedication and their commitment to working together. Nga mihi nui ki a koutou.  
Today is a significant moment for the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks as we acknowledge their historical Treaty grievances and seek to move forward. Although we look forward to realising the potential that exists in this settlement for the generations to come we acknowledge and honour the legacy provided by the leadership of Charlie Wehi the original claimant and Murdoch Paki a much-respected member of Te Maru o Rereahu Trust.  
It is almost a year to the day that I joined with Ngati Maniapoto Ngati Raukawa Ngati Rereahu and Ngati Tuwharetoa at Pa Harakeke to sign the deed on behalf of the Crown. It is a great privilege to be able now to act on the intent of that deed and to be able to sponsor one of the two bills being introduced today under the cognate procedure namely the Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill.  
The two bills being introduced today are the final steps towards the completion of a journey that has taken many years. The bills are significant in that they seek to re-establish broken relationships and the promise of a better future for all. The Maraeroa A and B Blocks lie on the volcanic plateau east of Te Kuiti. The interests of several iwi and hapu groups intersect here being predominantly Ngati Rereahu Ngati Maniapoto Ngati Tuwharetoa and Ngati Raukawa. 
 In September 2008 terms of negotiations were signed with Te Mahu o Rereahu Trust and the Crown and the Crown commenced exploratory work with Ngati Rereahu interests in the Maraeroa Blocks. In July 2009 the Crown agreed to negotiate a block settlement with the trust in relation to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks with the beneficiaries being all descendants of the original owners of those blocks regardless of iwi or hapu affiliation.  
The trust sought a fresh mandate in August 2010 to negotiate on behalf of the descendants of the Maraeroa Blocks. This mandate was recognised on 18 November 2010 and a deed was initialled on 16 December 2010. Five ratification information hui were held in January 2011. The hui were held at Mangere Te Kuiti Waihi marae Pa Harakeke and Kokiri marae in Wellington. I am told that the hui were well attended and supported by owners residing in those places. I think this is worthy of acknowledgment—the commitment the resourcing and the manaakitanga of our marae and entities who gave so generously to enable the settlement’s process to flow.  
The block settlement recognised that the claims settlement bill is outside the settlement framework and does not comprehensively settle all the claims of the claimant groups. All claims however relating to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks will be extinguished by this settlement. I acknowledge that this feature in itself—that the settlement relates exclusively to the Maraeroa A and B Blocks—adds another layer to the legislation in that we must also be aware that there are other negotiations occurring between the parties in respective areas outside of this settlement.  
The land on which the people of Maraeroa A and B Blocks settled and exercised kaitiakitanga was rich in resources. It was an area regarded as a kono kai which provided a wide range of foods and resources for all of the iwi of the surrounding district. The Crown acknowledges that in 1862 native land legislation was imposed on Maori landowners without consulting them and that the native land laws facilitated Crown and private purchasing of Maori land.  
I am reminded of the wisdom of one of my tipuna Tinirau who left us the vision of these words: toitu te kupu toitu te mana toitu te w’enua. In that message he urged us all to hold fast to our language to our land as the essence of who we are as mana w’enua—the people of the land. It is an intimate and all-enduring relationship—the tangata the people always connected to the w’enua their land. It is a relationship that forms the very foundation of our being and yet a relationship that has been sorely tested by the actions of the Crown over the past 170 years and more.  
In this legislation we saw this manifest from 1884 to 1908 a period of time in which the Crown had a monopoly over purchasing from Maraeroa A and B Blocks. Between 1895 and 1908 the Crown purchased the individual interests of most of the owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks totalling a massive 90 percent of two blocks. The Maraeroa A and B Blocks contained significant areas of indigenous forest. The prices paid by the Crown for these blocks did not appear to include the value of the indigenous timber on the land and the milling of indigenous forest removed the habitat of indigenous species.  
The alienation of these blocks separated the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks from their wahi tapu undermined their cultural connection to the land and deprived them of the ability to access nga wahi kohinga kai cultural resources and materials for construction. The loss of these lands undermined the social and traditional tribal structures of the people their autonomy and their ability to exercise customary rights and responsibilities. Today this legislation is an attempt to rectify and remedy the wrong.  
The Maraeroa A and B Blocks Incorporation Bill is a private bill in my name required to establish the Maori incorporation that is to form part of the post-Government settlement entity. This bill has also resulted from the deed that was negotiated and agreed between the Crown and the descendants of this w’enua. I am proud to sponsor this bill on behalf of the descendants of the Maraeroa Blocks.  
I want to also thank my parliamentary colleagues for supporting the procedural changes necessary to allow both Government and private bills to be considered together as cognate bills through the legislative process. Both bills need to come into force at the same time so that the transfer of the settlement assets to the incorporation can take place.  
I hope that this settlement will atone for these wrongs and continue the process of healing. It will mark the beginning of a new relationship with the descendants of the original owners of Maraeroa A and B Blocks that is based on mutual trust and cooperation. I consider the bills should therefore proceed without delay to the Maori Affairs Committee. I commend these bills to the House.