Beaumont Carol: Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBeaumont Carol: Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 19 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:16178. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour): It is a pleasure to stand and speak on the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū Claims Settlement Bill. E ngā mana e ngā reo e ngā tangata o te wā tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa. It is the first time I have had the pleasure of speaking on a Treaty settlement bill and I take great pleasure in doing so. Can I acknowledge the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū and all of those who have worked on this settlement in getting it to this point. I think that for me having the opportunity to say a few words on this is important. It is important obviously to the hapū concerned but it is also important for all of us in this country. As a Pākehā New Zealander I want to acknowledge the importance of Treaty settlements for our nation. One of the inspiring times in this House really is when we debate Treaty settlements and we have strong cross-party support for this process in moving forward as a country.One of the things I am also clear on is that when I was a young person the history that I got taught in school did not include the history that we are now all learning and seeing as a result of the Treaty settlement process. I think that that history is a taonga for us all. It is important for us to all know and understand the real history of this country—the good the bad and the ugly really. In the case of the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū I have looked at a summary of the historical background and there are so many things that are truly unfortunate tragic and just downright wrong that happened to the hapū. This is a hapū that tried to negotiate a peaceful end to their involvement in the New Zealand Wars but were attacked and then exiled to the Chatham Islands and detained without trial.This is not something to be proud of as a country—prisoners summarily executed confiscation and then deforestation and the development of pastoral farming in their area which has significantly increased erosion and pollution there. These are not things to be proud of as a country; nor are the infectious diseases and diseases of poverty that cost the lives of so many of that hapū. Obviously living conditions and health services have improved but as we all know in this House there is still a significant gap between what is experienced by many Māori and many Pākehā in this country. So we have a long way to go.I do not record these things to be negative at all but just to say that this is part of the history that we need to understand as a country so that we can move forward. I want to pick up on the point that my colleague Louisa Wall made about generosity. Each and every one of us wherever we live in this country benefits from the generosity of the local iwi in our area. Many of the public places and many of the open areas that we all use are there because of the generosity of the local iwi. So again that is something that I believe we as New Zealanders should all know and acknowledge.This settlement bill—again I was not part of the Māori Affairs Committee—has three components. It has the apology and the cultural redress and I understand from talking to my colleague Nanaia Mahuta that one of the really interesting parts of this settlement is around the active guardianship of the natural environment that theMaungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū will gain as part of this settlement. That active guardianship role that they will play in our natural environment will benefit us all.I just conclude by saying that settlements like this one and the other two that we have had in the House today are an important way for us in the whole of New Zealand Aotearoa to move forward. Again can I acknowledge the Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū for their work and I congratulate them on this settlement.Bill read a second time.