Finlayson ChristopherIWI AND HAPŪ OF TE ROHE O TE WAIROA CLAIMS SETTLEMENT BILLFirst ReadingHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations): I move That the Iwi and Hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa Claims Settlement Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Māori Affairs Committee to consider the bill. In November last year I had the very real privilege of being welcomed on to Tākitimu Marae in the Hawke's Bay for a very special day. I attended the launch of Te Arawhiti Truth and Reconciliation Report by Sir Anand Satyanand and signed the deed of settlement with the iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa. The hospitality showed to the Crown party by the iwi and the hapū was outstanding and some 3 months on I am honoured to extend a warm welcome to the members of the iwi and the hapū who have travelled here today for the first reading of their bill.To those of you who have worked so very hard to make today possible I offer you my sincere thanks for the enactment of this bill is going to mark the end of a long-running Treaty settlement process between the Crown and the iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa—a journey that started in the early 1980s. Negotiations themselves have taken the best part of the last 10 years. While I acknowledge those who are here in the House today I want first to mention members of the iwi and the hapū who have passed on while they were continuing their negotiations. This includes Te Ariki May and Valetta Wairau who sadly passed during this process.Can I also acknowledge the mandated representatives of Te Tira Whakaemi o Te Wairoa with the lead negotiator John Whaanga and the chair of Te Tira Tāmati Olsen the trustees of the post-settlement governance entity and indeed all iwi and hapū members. I acknowledge the dedication of the original claimants who pursued recognition and justice and set up the Wairoa inquiry district working group. They had foresight and they paved the way for the establishment of Te Tira all those years ago. Can I particularly mention Paora Whaanga for his work. I actually visited him in his home in Gisborne on the morning of the signing ceremony and presented him with the deed of settlement for his signature because he was not well enough actually to attend the signing.Finally I want to acknowledge the chief Crown negotiator John Harbord and the former chief Crown negotiator Pat Snedden for their dedication to the settlement and all the Government officials for the work that they have done.The journey to settlement stretches back many decades when the claims across the Wairoa inquiry district were originally lodged in the 1980s. This was actually more than a generation ago. Some here were not even born. A few years later the district working group agreed to work together to resolve historical Treaty of Waitangi claims with the Crown and they established Te Tira. Te Tira strived to bring together the whānau the iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa and look for the best way to address their grievances. It was not an easy decision to make but Te Tira decided to forego the Waitangi Tribunal process and enter into direct negotiations with the Crown. Despite choosing this path Te Tira never forgot their main settlement goal of telling the story of the iwi and the hapū and of recording it for future generations. This eventually led to the cathartic process of Te Arawhiti when the grievances of iwi and hapū members were aired at Tākitimu Marae and culminated with the release of the Te Arawhiti Truth and Reconciliation Report by former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand—and I mentioned that a little earlier. In the meantime Te Tira received a mandate from the iwi and the hapū in February 2011 and signed an agreement in principle in June 2014. On 25 May 2016 Te Tira and the Crown initialled the deed of settlement and that was signed in November last year. This bill provides for the final settlement of the historic claims of the iwi and the hapū. It gives effect to the deed of settlement signed last year. The history of the Crown's interactions with the iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa is marked by land alienation warfare and socio-economic deprivation. From the very beginning the relationship was flawed. The Crown did not take Te Tiriti o Waitangi into the Wairoa rohe so the iwi and the hapū actually had no opportunity to consider whether or not to sign it. In the mid-1860s the Crown then started to purchase large areas of land. It failed to adequately survey some of the blocks it purchased. It failed to fully investigate who had customary rights. And it did not set aside adequate reserves.Another tragic element of the relationship between the Crown and the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa was the outbreak of war which began when the Crown attacked the Omaruhakeke kāinga on Christmas Day 1865. Some members of the iwi and the hapū were captured by the Crown and summarily executed; others were detained without trial for 2 years on the Chathams. Other members fought alongside the Crown and this led to ongoing divisions between hapū who fought on different sides of the conflict. The war also resulted in the loss of property for Te Rohe o Te Wairoa. Under duress members agreed to cede more than 42000 acres of land to the Crown while those who did not sign effectively had their customary interests confiscated.A year later Te Kooti led an escape from the Chatham Islands to the mainland with other prisoners. Again the Crown asked some Wairoa Māori for military assistance and members of the iwi and hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa fought on both sides of the ensuing war. The Crown conducted further summary executions during conflicts during the late 1860s.In the 20th century the Crown purchased substantial areas of land in the rohe for the Urewera consolidation scheme and to establish Te Urewera National Park. The iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa were not consulted. More than 500 acres of customary land has also been compulsorily taken for public works since the 1870s. Many of the Crown's policies have contributed to the migration of large numbers of individuals from the iwi and the hapū and they have left their rohe. Those who have remained have endured socio-economic deprivation and have not enjoyed the same opportunities that many other New Zealanders have enjoyed.As I said at the signing of the deed of settlement the Crown does not have the means to fully compensate people for the loss and prejudice they have suffered but it is hoped that the deed of settlement will provide a good basis for the future. The settlement contains the agreed historical account which is a very important part of any deed of settlement. The total financial and commercial value of the settlement is $100 million making it one of the largest settlements to date. Financial and commercial redress is mostly made up of a quantum but it also includes the right to purchase deferred selection properties and surplus Crown properties and also the transfer of interests in the Wharerata and Patunamu forests.There is so much more that I could say that is contained in the deed of settlement but you can see from the shuffling of my papers that I recognise that time is starting to run out so I will leave it to other members to talk about other aspects of it. There will be an opportunity in the select committee to have a good look at the contents of the deed of settlement as it has been incorporated in the legislation. I hope that this first reading and that the ensuing process is going to mark a new beginning in the relations between the iwi and the hapū of Te Rohe o Te Wairoa and the Crown and I hope that the settlement is going to support the iwi and the hapū in realising their future endeavours and aspirations. Once again I thank all those who have played their part in getting to this stage and I commend the bill to the House.