Sharples Pita: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Sharples Pita: Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:648;Page:16924] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Madam Assistant Speaker. Overnight the cloak of the mountain clan he kahui maunga has fallen. The snowfall that has blessed the mountains of the central North Island is indeed a tohu rangatira [ 
chiefly sign 
] of this auspicious day. Four months ago the Central North Island Iwi Collective issued a release that set the stage for today. I quote from that release: “Central North Island iwi with interests in the forest lands are enthusiastic about uniting in a common cause that has long term benefit for us all. We are now paddling our own waka and for the first time on this issue are not passengers in someone else’s waka.” 
It is a sentiment that we in the Maori Party fully endorse. We stand here today to give full credit to those who have forged ahead creating a new destiny for the generations to come. 
Na reira kei nga waka Te Arawa Tainui Mataatua tena koutou katoa. Kai nga mana kai nga reo kai nga karangarangatanga maha kai nga rangatira o era atu waka koutou i hara mai ki te tautoko i te kaupapa whakahirahira o te ra nei he ra nui tenei he ra whakahirahira he kaupapa whakahirahira kai te whai nei. He ra nui tenei hoki kia mihi atu kia tangi atu ki a ratou kua mene atu ki te po. Ki a ratau nga kuia nga koroua kua ngaro atu i a ratau nga moemoea nga wawata kia puawai a tatau iwi kai roto i tenei wa uaua i raro i nga ture Pakeha. Na reira haere nga mate okioki pai mai. 
Kia hoki ki te kaupapa ataahua o te rangi tena tatau katoa. Tatau he honore ma Te Torangapu nei ki te tautoko i te pire. Ahakoa he pire kia riro ai nga hua nga rawa nga putea ki nga iwi ki ahau nei ehara tenei i te tino putake o tenei pire. Ki ahau nei he pire tenei mo te rangatiratanga. Te rangatiratanga o tena iwi o tena iwi o tena hapu o tena hapu. Kia tu rangatira ai koutou i roto i tenei wa. He mana motuhake to tena iwi he mana motuhake ano to tenei iwi. Kei roto i tenei mahi whakatakoto kereme i puta mai tenei rangatiratanga. Ki ahau nei he pire tenei mo te kotahitanga. Ahakoa te taukumekume i nga kaupapa he tautohetohe i nga korero i te mutunga ake i mahi tahi te hunga Central North Island Iwi Collective i te kotahitanga. Na reira koutou katoa kua hara mai nei koutou o te Central North Island Iwi Collective tena koutou kai nga rangatira. 
[ 
Therefore greetings to you all the canoes of Te Arawa Tainui and Mataatua. To the authorities languages the many callings and leaders of the canoes who came here to support this important bill today this is a great day an important day an important proposal. This is a huge day as well to acknowledge and grieve for those who have passed away. The aspirations and hopes of the elderly men and women who have died was that our people would gain maturity in this difficult period under non-Maori law. Therefore depart the dead and rest well there.  
To come back to the elegant bill of the day well done to all of us. I say to us that it is an honour indeed for this party to support the bill. Although it is a bill whereby tribes receive assets resources and funding to me this is not what this bill is really about. For me it is a bill about self-determination. It is about the sovereignty of each tribe and subtribe for you to stand tall in this era. That tribe is independent and so is this one. This sovereignty is an outcome of making claims. To me this bill is about coalition. Despite the fact that the proposal pulled one against the other or created debate at the end the Central North Island Iwi Collective worked as a coalition. So greetings to all of you of the Central North Island Iwi Collective who came and the leaders. 
]  
I acknowledge the spirit of rangatiratanga that allowed the settlement of negotiations to be effected. I acknowledge the presence of kotahitanga and a new unity that has emerged from the settlement process. I was greatly enthused by the remarks made at this morning’s ceremony which acknowledged a spirit of cooperation and a desire to move forward. Dr Cullen mentioned the inability of past Governments to honour the partnership between Maori and Pakeha and spoke of reconciliation as embodied in the settlement process and the settlement itself. Tribal leaders acknowledged that their efforts continued upon the work and dedication of many of those who had passed on and proclaimed that this settlement would be used to promote a future for new generations. 
So today we acknowledge Ngai Tuhoe Ngati Manawa Ngati Tuwharetoa Ngati Whakaue Ngati Whare Ngati Raukawa the affiliates of Te Arawa iwi and hapu and Ngati Rangitihi for their great progress in charting their future direction. Every waka is inspired by the kaihautu who know full well the path ahead. So we pay our tribute to te ariki te whare o te Heuheu: e Tumu tena koe. We congratulate him on this initiative that he has led. 
In some ways it could have been only he and no one else who could pull all the parties together in the first instance and then engage with the major players of the Crown. His absolute desire to pull the people together knowing that if they were to move forward it must be together paddling their own waka was inspirational. Ka nui nga mihi ki a koe. 
Te ariki was greatly assisted in his role by the involvement of the Crown facilitators Wira Gardiner and Matt Te Pou. Their involvement free of any agendas and motivated by their knowledge of the important job ahead of them has been significant and should not be underestimated. Tena korua. We are pleased that this issue has progressed out of the courts and beyond the legal fraternity and is back within the realm of iwi and hapu. The style of negotiation of kaikorero ki te kaikorero iwi ki te iwi [ 
speaker to speaker tribe to tribe 
] is a model that is not new but that has found a renewed significance in today’s settlement environment. This is how it should have always been and we congratulate iwi on this substantial feat. 
Today is an extremely significant day because of this journey because of this waka. There was always much more at stake than the allocation of accumulated rentals based on mana whenua for this has been a journey of give and take of kotahitanga. We acknowledge Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa who were willing to engage to review their position and to reassess the stance they took for the betterment of the collective. That position with their having prepared the initial settlement cannot have been an easy decision but one that is nevertheless significant in the context of this settlement. Tena koutou. 
We pay tribute also to Dr Cullen for the new approach he has brought to bear and the commitment he has demonstrated towards settling the historical claims to the majority of the central North Island forests lands. I was particularly pleased with his comments of inclusion to Ngati Rangitihi and that the door remains open for their return to the negotiating table. These sentiments were also made strongly by Te Ariki Tumu te Heuheu and clearly reflects the mood of the whole process. 
The history of the settlement process through successive Governments has revealed that there are often disaffected parties in some settlements. The Maori Party has been very critical of various aspects of the settlement process and will continue to be so where warranted. But we look forward to working with all parties in this House to ensure there is always transparency accountability inclusiveness and of course durability. 
Finally I am proud to be here today to witness this settlement immensely significant in many respects. The words of the Waitangi Tribunal in its report  
He Maunga Rongo: Report on Central North Island Claims 
 have today come home to roost. These words were: “For hapu and iwi of the central North Island the Crown’s refusal to recognise Maori autonomy has had a cost of which they are acutely conscious though to many New Zealanders this might come as a surprise: loss of authority and control over their lands and their natural resources including their waterways and geothermal resources. Such a loss of control has had lasting effects on the development of central North Island Maori in tourism forestry power generation and farming.” 
Today this first reading is able to put right the wrongs in returning the central North Island forest lands of the central North Island iwi who have direct customary interests in those lands. But most important this first reading has come about from the collective commitment of iwi in the central North Island to debate between themselves to discuss with the Crown and to remain constantly focused on the common cause. Torangapu Maori we join with the House in placing on the record our support for the first reading of this ground-breaking initiative of the Central North Island iwi collective. Tena koe; tena tatou katoa.