Mahuta Nanaia: Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1279. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato):He hōnore he korōria he maungarongo ki te mata o te whenua he whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa. Arohaina ngā tēina me ngā tuakana i whakatōpū mai i raro i te tuanui o tēnei Whare hei mātakitaki ki tēnei tūtukitanga ki waenganui i a tātou i tēnei rangi. No reira Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Ngāti Haua nei te mihi maioha ki a koutou. E te Tumuaki ko koe te kanohi mō ā tātou nei taonga e pupuru ana i waenganui i a tātou hei whakaoranga mō ngā whakatupuranga nō reira tēnā koe tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa. Nōku te waimarie i tēnei rangi te tū ki te tautoko ngā āhuatanga e pā ana ki tēnei tutukitanga i ēnei tutukitanga kerēme. Tuatahi ki a koutou o Ngāti Koroki Kahukura ka hoki ngā mahara ki tērā o ngā kaumātua a Wally me ngā kōrero i puta mai i waenganui i a rāua i tōku matua mō ēnei āhuatanga. Me ū ki tēnei whāinga kia tutuki pai ngā āhuatanga kei waenganui i a koutou hei painga hei oranga mō ngā tamariki ngā mokopuna. No reira kua tae ki tēnei wā. E tika ana me mihi atu ki tērā maunga e tautari ana ki tō tātou nei awa a Waikato arā ki ngā marae ki Pōhara rāua ko Maungatautari hei whakaora i ngā hiahia ngā pupū i te whatumanawa i tēnei rangi. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa.[Honour glory peace on earth goodwill to all mankind and loving thoughts to the younger and elder siblings who have assembled here under the roof of this House to witness this settlement amongst us today. Affectionate thoughts therefore to you Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā and to you the leader.You are the face of these possessions that we hold amongst us as a betterment for the generations to come so greetings to you in particular.Acknowledgments and congratulations to you collectively and my appreciation to us all.It is my good fortune today to stand and support the circumstances relating to this settlement and these claims. First of allto you of Ngāti KorokiKahukura my thoughts go back to that elder of ours Wally and what emerged from the discussions that took place between those two and my father in regard to these situations. Let us hold firm to this aim that we complete the circumstances amongst you wellthat will benefit children and grandchildren. So this point in time has arrivedwhere it is appropriate that I acknowledge that mountain standing upright there this river of ours themaraeof Pōhara and of Maungatautari to restore aspirations and hopes welling up in the mind today. And so I acknowledge greetand commend you all.]It is a great day when we can stand in this House and support the progression of Treaty settlements and when the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations is able to retell the story of so many iwi who come into this House and the long-suffering endurance that they have had to get to this point. To the Minister I say thank you so much for your determination to see the resolution of both the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and the Ngāti Hauā claims in such a short time frame. I too was at Maungatautari when the settlement was signed and I remember that day for two reasons. Firstly I had just had my daughter who was 6 days old and that was her very first outing. I was determined to get to the signing because other than at my own marae at Waahi my father’s picture hangs at Maungatautari Marae—that is the only other marae.I remember as a child growing up in some small way observing as you do the kaumātua of the time talking about these big take like raupatu and what was happening in different parts of the rohe. There was a gentlemen’s accord between Wally Tīoriori Papa and my father about how to progress in part the substantial raupatu claim but also in part the interests of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura in their particular part of the rohe. It was with that type of heartfelt commitment that I saw real opportunities to try to progress the Ngāti Koroki claim as quickly as possible. It is important really to extend our own relationships as members of this House to the various claims that come through here. But there is so much more happening in the rohe that I would like to comment on before turning to the substance of the claim.The many whānau in this particular rohe around Karapiro and Arapuni as Louise Upston would know were involved in some part back in the day in building the dams seeing the change in the natural landscape within their rohe and seeing marae settlements move from one place to the other. In fact before the river claim when kaumātua were taken up the Waikato River and stories were being retold when you got to the Karapiro and further up the top of the river actually you had to use a fish-finder to see how the lie of the land used to look prior to the dams being put in and you could have a sense of appreciation of the resilience of hapū like Koroki Kahukura who have seen their history change because of things like the dams being built. I recall that fondly because I think it is a part of the story that you Minister have told so well.The people there are very meshed within the way of life. There are a lot of farmers around that community. A former Prime Minister used to have her holidays up with the Hicks whānau around Maungatautari. She remembers Maungatautari mountain very well. But the farming community and the Māori community at times have been intermeshed with each other’s success and prosperity and often challenges and difficulties.Karapiro—what we see now is a modern representation of what is possible through Treaty settlements when relationships work. Ngāti Koroki Kahukura have shown very well their mana whenua their tangata whenua relationship with not only the river but the life of the river and what happens along the river. When you visit the rowing centre you will see there the impression of that influence in the centre in major events that take place there in terms of recognising protocol. We have had a major international rowing competition several waka ama competitions and rowing competitions and an international waka ama competition not to mention TriMāori some weeks ago. But the point of all of that is that Ngāti Koroki Kahukura are a group of people who exercise on a daily basis the strength of their influence as mana whenua as tangata whenua within their own rohe at Karapiro with the Waipā District Council and with the community at large. One can only but think that as a result of the settlement that will only be amplified in positive ways—I am absolutely sure.But it has not come without challenges. There have been several. I can recall a number of challenging discussions about Maungatautari as the member for the area Louise Upston would also recount. Those have caused some of the testiest types of interactions about who owns what but also about what is in the greatest interest of the community.Having an ecological island in our part of the rohe—actually in our country—with a pest-proof fence is a first. It does provide real opportunity for tourism and in the settlement there is an opportunity for that relationship to be further strengthened and I am hopeful that that can continue. There has been a very gracious acknowledgment made by Ngāti Koroki Kahukura to the people of the Waipā District and in fact to New Zealand for the future management of the Maungatautari maunga. I want to put on the record that that is huge and significant. It may be reviewed over time as people follow that model and then they see: “Actually we can give a little bit more acknowledge a little bit more.” but let time be the test of that particular intent.I want to particularly comment on the contribution that kaumātua of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura have made to the substantial claims of the raupatu settlement and also the river settlement—kaumātua who are no longer with us kaumātua who in their time would have been recognised for the wealth of knowledge and understanding and whakapapa connections to weave together outcomes through the Treaty settlement process. Their contribution is significant and I really want to recognise that.The select committee tried very hard to address some outstanding issues for Ngāti Koroki Kahukura in relation to land-banked lands in Arapuni in relation to the clean-up fund in relation to the ongoing management and access issues around the Maungatautari mountain. We are limited in our capacity to be able to do that but the intent was there. I want to say that everybody who made submissions on this particular settlement did so in a way that gave us great confidence as a select committee that here was a hapū a group of people who were absolutely going to exercise their full authority as kaitiaki as mana whenua as tangata whenua in the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura rohe.Last but not least I want to thank the Māori Affairs Committee and the advisers and the officials whom we had for the input that they had in trying to get the committee to a point of understanding especially on the three outstanding issues that I have mentioned. It is important to recognise that the future of the ongoing management of the Waikato River would not be successfully achieved across the whole of the catchment without Koroki Kahukura playing its integral role around the Karapiro-Arapuni area. I would hope going forward—certainly as people listen to the tenor of this debate—that when it comes to the co-management responsibilities that Ngāti Koroki Kahukura have affirmed on them by rights of this settlement there will be some recognition by both Raukawa and Waikato that there is a distinct relationship in this part of the river. For those co-management responsibilities to be undertaken to their full extent there needs to be recognition and a bit of give and take around how that can be successfully done so that everybody can breathe life into the river that we all love which has given joy and happiness to a number of generations and will continue to do so and will provide employment.Lastly can I thank the negotiating team. You have approached this with the integrity of the people at heart the determination of our kaumātua at heart but also with the koi of the hinengaro and you have gone toe to toe with Crown officials in a way that I think has held this whole process to full account.Nō reira i tēnei wā he paku kōrero he paku whakaaro hei tuitui ki tēnei kaupapa i tēnei rangi i mua i a koutou. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa ki a tātou tēnā tātou.[And so a brief statement and viewpoint at this juncture to thread together this matter before you collectively. I acknowledge you and us all thank you.]