Tirikatene RinoRINO TIRIKATENE (Labour—Te Tai Tonga): Madam Deputy Speaker e tū tautoko ahau ki tēnei pire whakatau i ngā kerēme o Heretaunga Tamatea i tēnei pānuitanga tuarua.[Madam Deputy Speaker I stand supporting this Heretaunga Tamatea Claims Settlement Bill in this the second reading.]I'm delighted to be able to speak in support of this bill at its second reading. As the chair of the Māori Affairs Committee I want to acknowledge Minister Little and his work in referring the bill to our committee but in particular I acknowledge the members of the committee and our advisers and all who were involved when we gave close consideration to this bill. I really love the Hawke's Bay. I love visiting the Hawke's Bay and I want to acknowledge the haukāinga of Heretaunga Tamatea and all the many hapū that gave us such a very warm welcome up into their takiwā just over a month and a half ago. As has been traversed by other speakers there were a number of issues that were raised but the overwhelming message that I received as the chair of the committee from the hearings that we conducted up in Havelock North was the overwhelming support by the many hapū of Heretaunga Tamatea on the many marae that make up that wonderful grouping of Ngāti Kahungunu—all of the support. As was evidenced by the Minister there were 33 submitters that we heard on the day. Yes it's actually a very moving time to be able to hear the kōrero that is shared when we consider the evidence that's presented before the committee and we heard a range of kaumātua and whānau and had the sharing and the laying before us of whakapapa and photos of their tūpuna and their descendants. To me that's the most enduring and memorable part of conducting these hearings as a committee because we're able to get the full feeling and the full context from the marae the hapū the kaumātua and all the constituent groups that make up Heretaunga Tamatea. This is a very large natural grouping and I want to commend them because it's a massive ordeal to get to this point in time and to actually go through a Treaty settlement and all of the various steps that are involved to actually lead to its completion which we are conducting through the passage of this bill through the House. There's a significant amount—a huge amount—of work that goes on. It takes many many years. There are so many huis that must take place. I was very very pleased that as a committee we were able to see the strong support that came through very strongly from all of the various hapū and groups within Heretaunga Tamatea. I wanted to touch on some of the key points I think that came through for the committee and that we asked for further advice on. I will touch on the issues around the Glasgow leases and other matters but firstly I want to focus on the issue of—I'll get to the tough one. There was a tough issue around the whānau of ngā uri o Te Heipora. These are the descendants of the tūpuna who are largely centred around what is now the township of Havelock North. I wanted to acknowledge that whānau because they gave an impassioned presentation to our committee in the hope that they could be treated separately and that their Waitangi Tribunal claim could progress. I do want to acknowledge the lady who presented that and who was the named claimant for that claim because Mereana Wickliffe who is now deceased—I wanted to give consideration to that whānau in recognition of their mum who spent many years advocating on behalf of their tūpuna and their connections there through whakapapa. We sought advice on that matter and it's not for us as a committee to try and second-guess or reinterpret things but we were advised that Ms Wickliffe was involved through the various stages of He Toa Takitini as that claim progressed through very many stages. Receiving that advice it appeared clear to us that they were in support of the settlement to the extent of where we've ended up today. But I wanted to pay reference to that whānau for their impassioned and forceful kōrero. I just wanted to also touch on the issue of the Glasgow leases. It is an issue that tends to rile especially Māori who like myself are descendants of reserve lands in the West Coast of the South Island the top of the South and around the country. There is such a colourful history around land in this country and Māori tenure and Māori title and the diversity and the history that's involved. This is one such instance where a magnanimous gesture from the hapū to gift over 7000 acres to Te Aute College and subsequent to that the college subdivided the lands and then entered into these Glasgow leases which ultimately have been to the detriment I guess of the college because they haven't achieved their intended purpose which was to provide some revenue to flow back to support the ongoing operations of the college. This is more a matter for legal scholars but clearly as Treaty settlements we cannot interfere with private rights matters. However I think as a legal doctrine—we all know about contracts that may be unfair. Everyone's saying they're unfair and we all know that there were rules against perpetuity so things cannot carry on for ever. So I would hope that there is work conducted—hopefully by the Government—to look into these matters because they are very complex but clearly it just locks in a perpetual mamae for the landowners. Now I am pleased though that under this settlement—and it was separate actually. It was the Attorney-General—the Minister wearing his hat as the Attorney-General. He came to an arrangement whereby there is a $5 million payment to support the ongoing long-term sustainability of the college and I'm sure that that will be used for such purposes once this legislation in the settlement takes effect. Lastly just in the remaining time that I have I also wanted to acknowledge the submissions that we received around the strong connection that the whānau from Heretaunga Tamatea have to their environment to their ancestral landscape and to their water bodies: the aquifers the lakes and the rivers. As we know it's such a hugely productive region of Aotearoa and what became clear was the inadequacy of bodies such as the Hawke's Bay Regional Planning Committee. I acknowledge the passion that they displayed—and it's all around kaitiakitanga—and I certainly hope that further work is conducted into that area so that we can come to more suitable arrangements whereby the hapū can exercise their kaitiakitanga. I commend this bill at its second reading. Kia ora tātou.