Paraone Pita: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Paraone Pita: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:16921] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
A tena hoki koutou nga waka o Tainui Te Arawa Mataatua a me nga matawaka puta noa ki a koutou hoki i tau i roto i te Whare i te ra nei i runga i te kaupapa e pa ana ki a ngai tatau ara ko te pire kia whakatau te kereme o nga iwi o te rohe i mohiotia i a tatou ko te manawa o Te Ika-a-Maui. Na reira tena koutou. Kei te tautoko ahau i nga mihi nga tangi hoki ki te hunga i takahia te ara whanui i whakahoki i a ratou ki te ao wairua. Ka ea te wahi korero mo ratou ka hoki mai ki a tatou o te ao tu roa tena tatou katoa. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
So greetings to you the canoes of Tainui Te Arawa and Mataatua including the ethnic groups throughout and to you collectively too who have landed here in the House today in respect of the proposal that relates to all of us the proposal to settle the claim of the people of the region that we are told is the heart of the North Island. I endorse the tributes and tears bestowed upon those who have trod the wide path that takes them to the world of the spirits. The part for them has been satisfied; I come back to us of the world of the living greetings to us all 
.] 
In my introductory comments in the first reading of the Affiliate Te Arawa Iwi and Hapu Claims Settlement Bill I declared a vested interest given my whakapapa links to one of the tribes mentioned in that bill. Well today I do the same but I recognise that my vested interest is much greater in this bill than in that of yesterday because I am referring to the waka  
Mataatua 
. I hope that as a consequence of those whakapapa links I may become a beneficiary of this settlement bill. However I know that that is stretching the imagination. But I will take this opportunity of congratulating the principals of the iwi groups represented in this bill on bringing it to this stage. 
An earlier speaker mentioned that today is a day of celebration for Maori. I would suggest in this House that this celebration not be limited to Maori but be one where the whole country should join in. I was privileged to be in attendance today and to witness history being made and I ought to say that this is the first such signing where I have been in attendance. I should also say that during the formalities—and in particular the signing of the agreement by the iwi representatives—I felt a sense of history as to what it must have been like all those 168 years ago when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by our iwi representatives of the time. Unlike the debate that was held before the signing of that document which is very significant to this country this signing proceeded without any comment of dissent. To my mind the significance of the way that the ceremony was carried out brought a sense of propriety and a sense of how such covenants should be signed between two distinct groups such as iwi and the Crown. The covenant signed between iwi and the Crown today is the result of the Treaty of Waitangi as I have alluded to. The iwi represented in today’s signing are Ngai Tuhoe Ngati Manawa Ngati Tuwharetoa Ngati Whakaue Ngati Whare Ruakawa and the affiliate Te Arawa iwi and hapu groups. 
This bill gives effect to the vesting of the central North Island Crown forest land and the transfer of rentals in relation to that land so that those assets can be allocated to the Central North Island Iwi Collective in settlement of its historic forests claims. We know that this is just the first step in the process—not in terms of the process of this bill through this House but in terms of the process of how the collective will need to deal with that particular asset once it is transferred to it. 
This settlement bill follows a formal presentation to the Crown by the Central North Island Iwi Collective earlier this year of a proposal for the allocation of the Crown’s central North Island forest land amongst its member iwi towards the settlement of its historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. The claim in terms of the forests covers Horohoro Forest Whakerewarewa Forest the forest known as Crater Forest Kaingaroa Forest Waimihia Forest Marotihi Forest Pureora forest Waituhi Forest and Taurewa Forest. That has made this settlement the largest single Treaty settlement package to be developed to date and I think it is a commentary particularly on the efforts of the Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations and on his ability to be able to drive this bill at this stage at a rate that hopefully will see it pass through all its stages in this House before this House rises at the end of this parliamentary term. 
The Crown has found it to be a fair and effective way of using the forest lands to provide the key commercial redress for historical settlements for each iwi within the collective. The collective has developed an allocation of the commercial settlement assets. I support the comments made by the previous speaker from National the Hon Tau Henare when he commented on the formula that the collective presented the Crown with in terms of the proposed allocation. It signals to me that iwi groups—claimant groups—are quite capable of making and presenting proposals that would suit them and that would ultimately suit the Crown as well. 
The Crown under this proposal is to retain a share of the forests for settling the claims of any iwi that has direct interests in the forests but is not a member of the collective. Although some comment has been made with regard to Ngati Rangitihi the door is still open for it to participate in this process. But also to be noted is the fact that as a consequence of this settlement 10 percent of the forests still remains available for those groups that are not part of the collective. I also make reference to the fact that although a majority of the iwi collective supports the agreement that has been entered into I know of some iwi groups that do not support it. I think it is important that this bill be referred to a select committee in order to allow those iwi groups to participate in the process and to submit their concerns and for the select committee to consider the validity of their claims. 
Before I close I will acknowledge the leadership—the leadership that has taken responsibility for bringing this bill into this House. In that regard it is with some envy that I recognise the quality of the leadership because I know that the tribe I belong to has a saying: “Ngati Hine pukepuke rau” which loosely translates as “Upon the hundred hills that make up Ngati Hine we have a chief.” Therein lies the reason why I need to commend the leadership of the iwi collective who have brought this agreement this proposal to the Crown for consideration. 
On behalf of New Zealand First I say it is our pleasure to signal to this House that we will be supporting this bill going to a select committee. Kia ora ano tatou.