Wall Louisa: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wall Louisa: Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3997. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
LOUISA WALL (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 Kia ora. E nga mana e nga reo e nga whanau o Ngati Makino tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa. It is my privilege as a member of the Maori Affairs Committee to stand and to korero in this the third reading of the Ngati Makino Claims Settlement Bill. I actually want to start with the Ngati Makino website which I have just pulled up. I wanted just to say that preserving Makinotanga is one of the primary objectives of your Ngati Makino Heritage Trust. It is great to see that you are already in the process of moving on with your settlements. I wanted to just read some of the objectives for you in terms of the settlement which are about restoring Ngati Makino ownership and control over your ancestral lands resources and taonga tuku iho; to establish an economic base for the iwi of Ngati Makino; to promote the education health employment and commercial opportunities for the people of Ngati Makino; and to promote and protect the tikanga kawa culture and Te Reo of Ngati Makino. 
All of those things we acknowledge today have been compromised because of the Crown’s historical acts. Through the process of colonisation your identity has been stripped away from you like a lot of hapu and iwi in Aotearoa. Really this process for us is our truth and reconciliation process. So today is a very special day and I am incredibly privileged to be part of the process. We have a role here in Parliament. This third reading once this bill is passed will enable you to move on. I want to acknowledge all of the tupuna—and I see some of our tupuna here in our photos—who have fought for many years to get to where we are today and I acknowledge the journey that you have all taken to be here today. 
I think it is really important when we have these Treaty settlement bills in the House that we actually outline what the grievance is because this is a record in the  
Hansard 
 a record in our history about what happened to Ngati Makino. Ngati Makino had lands taken from them in 1865 because they were deemed to be rebels. What was their rebellion? It was probably living their lives as Ngati Makino. That was your rebellion. So the Crown confiscated lands. They gave them back to you and then they took them off you because the people that they gave them back to were deemed to be rebels. I think it is appalling when we consider the fact you are getting only 0.6 percent of the original lands that Ngati Makino had. I think the acknowledgment of that fact has to be one of generosity; that we as a people of Aotearoa have to say to Ngati Makino: “Thank you.” It is through your generosity that we can move on as a country. Where I think this Treaty settlement process fits in New Zealand’s history is actually about us being able to move on and to enable you to have some resources where you can do all the things that you want to do. 
 So the process today and our standing up here today is all about trying to get the resources in your hand. What I do want to note is that the New Zealand Conservation Authority will have to give regard to Ngati Makino’s values and protection principles in relation to the 256 hectares of Lake Rotoma Scenic Reserve. I hope in that process it will be about Ngati Makino naming the places that are of significance to Ngati Makino. Some of the challenges and ongoing challenges in the future will be to make sure that this clause that is in the bill actually enables you to own the lands and all the areas that you have mana whenua over. So they are going to be some of the challenges in the future and we will be keeping an eye on them. Obviously we are here because if you do have problems in the future you come back to my boss Parekura Horomia and we will make sure that your rights and interests are safeguarded. This Treaty settlement process is about empowering you— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
LOUISA WALL 
: —“you” as in Ngati Makino; I apologise Mr Speaker. It is about making sure that Ngati Makino whanau have the tools that they need to make the relationship actually real and that is the challenge when we look at these Treaty settlement bills. 
What I do want to highlight and talk about is the whole process of redress. I know that the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations said this is not about deals; this is a settlement. But what it is also about is an ethic of generosity again by our hapu and iwi who are prepared to settle and move on in spite of the fact that you are getting only a fraction of your lands back. I think that as a country we need to recognise and celebrate that generosity because it is only through your acts as Ngati Makino that we can move on as a nation. We can look forward to a place in our history where the relationship between Maori and the Crown is not about grievance it is not about what has happened historically; it is actually about focusing on the future and the positive contribution that Ngati Makino and other whanau hapu and iwi in Aotearoa can make to building the country that we want. 
I also want to highlight that this is actually about the status of hapu and iwi—that hapu and iwi are the first sovereigns of Aotearoa. You have a very special place in New Zealand’s history but you have a very special place in terms of opportunities to be part of decision making. So processes like resource management processes led either by the Environment Court or by our councils should have hapu and iwi sitting round that decision-making table because of the significance of our whenua our awa—the moana. It is through those types of relationships in the future that we will be interested in making sure that our iwi like Ngati Makino continue to have a role. 
I want to thank the Hon Tau Henare and also my fellow members of the Maori Affairs Committee. It is the one area where we have consensus. It is the one area where I think we are always willing to go out to our whanau to listen to the stories. Some of the stories make you weep but they are what is Aotearoa. The histories of Ngati Makino and other hapu and iwi need to be taught. Some of the discussions we have been having are how we can translate some of these Waitangi Tribunal reports these bills the deeds of settlement into tangible knowledge that our kids should learn about. When I say “our kids” I am talking about all of our children through the curriculum of some of our high schools for example. How can we embed this history this New Zealand history into the framework of our education system? Some of those challenges in the future I am looking forward to the Maori Affairs Committee being a champion of. 
I just want to again acknowledge the whanau who are here today. I am celebrating with you. We celebrate the fact that we have come to a point in your history where we can say sorry. We can give you back some of what was yours but we can also say that we will be here in the future to make sure that what is contained in the settlement process actually enables you to have that Ngati Makinotanga. Kia ora.