Mooney JosephJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland): Thank you Mr Speaker. Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. Huri noa i te Whare nei e mihi atu ki a koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi nau mai haere mai e te iwi o Whakatōhea.Nō reira mauria mai ō whakaakoranga e whakahuihui ai tātou. E mihi atu ki koutou katoa.[Thank you to the Speaker. All around this House greetings to all of you. Greetings welcome welcome to the iwi of Whakatōhea.Thus bring with you your teachings that bring us together. Greetings to you all.]Thank you Mr Speaker and salutations to all throughout this House. I greet you and I bid you welcome whether here in person or watching remotely. Welcome to the people of Whakatōhea and we welcome you bringing forth the teachings on the matter that brings people together and we acknowledge you all here today.To the elders leaders and members of Whakatōhea who are witnessing this auspicious moment I extend a very warm welcome and echo the words of the Minister in recognising the very very long process that it has taken to get here to this reading here today. This settlement this bill and this process is ultimately about you your tūpuna and your uri. This settlement is testament to the hard work and negotiations between you and between Crown negotiators the work that has been done—and I acknowledge the Hon Chris Finlayson who was the Minister before and the Hon Andrew Little who has brought the process through to today and to everyone who has been involved. This signifies the beginning of a new relationship between both parties based on trust cooperation and respect for Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi.The Crown failed to uphold its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi and caused physical and spiritual hardship that is deeply felt by Whakatōhea today. No settlement can ever compensate for the mamae that has endured for many generations and no redress can fully compensate for the past injustices against Whakatōhea. The redress in this settlement does provide a foundation for the economic future of Whakatōhea to build upon and ensures the cultural relationship between Whakatōhea and sites of cultural significance we recognise for generations to come.I'll just touch a little on the history of Whakatōhea comprising Ngāi Tamahaua Ngāti Ira Ngāti Ngāhere Ngāti Patumoana Ngāti Ruatākena and Ūpokorehe and an area of interest covering around 200000 hectares in the eastern Bay of Plenty: In May 1840 seven Whakatōhea rangatira signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Whakatōhea had by 1864 developed a thriving agricultural economy; constructing a shipping fleet and trading extensively with the growing Auckland settlement. Whakatōhea embraced technology built infrastructure and developed political organisations to deal with economic and social change. After Crown forces landed at Tauranga in early 1864 Whakatōhea joined other iwi in an expedition to support the Kīngitanga. The iwi expedition was defeated and Whakatōhea rangatira Te Āporotanga Apanui Tūtakahiao and Mikaere Pihipihi were killed creating a considerable leadership vacuum for Whakatōhea [at that time]. Carl Völkner of the Church Missionary Society was hanged at Ōpōtiki in March 1865 after a meeting called by visiting Pai Mārire emissaries had demanded his death. Whakatōhea rangatira unsuccessfully argued [that he] should be spared [but] The Crown held Whakatōhea responsible for [his] death. Crown forces invaded the Whakatōhea rohe in September 1865 following a declaration of martial law. The military killed many Whakatōhea including non-combatants such as Tio Te Kāhika. After the battle at Te Tarata Crown troops buried the Whakatōhea dead in an unmarked mass grave. Whakatōhea casualties amounted to approximately ten percent of the iwi population." As the Minister the Hon Andrew Little said before me it was one of the worst actions in our history. "Crown troops adopted a scorched earth approach; looting plundering and destroying crops animals houses equipment and taonga. The Whakatōhea economy and its infrastructure were destroyed. … The Crown confiscated most of the Whakatōhea productive lands in 1866. [and] established the Ōpape Native Reserve on land confiscated from Ngāti Rua forcing members of other Whakatōhea hapū to relocate there. Most Whakatōhea were forcibly removed from their whenua awa maunga and wāhi tapu resulting in the loss of traditional knowledge.""In 1866 Mokomoko a Whakatōhea rangatira was convicted and executed for Völkner's murder. Mokomoko maintained his innocence to the end and questions were raised over the prosecution evidence. [His] body was buried within prison grounds and only returned to his family in 1989. In 1992 the Governor-General granted Mokomoko a free pardon but the Crown's failure to consult the Mokomoko descendants on the wording of the pardon caused the whānau further pain. … The Compensation Court sitting in Ōpōtiki in 1867 granted successful claimants individual titles to Whakatōhea land. A Special Commissioner made out-of-court settlements with some Whakatōhea individuals and groups. These processes eroded Whakatōhea traditional land ownership social structures mana and rangatiratanga. … The Native Land Court individualised the titles to the remaining Whakatōhea lands while imposing survey and court costs. The Crown purchased most of this land while Whakatōhea owners sold land to cover expenses and provide for their families. The Crown then acquired more of the remaining land through public works takings. Whakatōhea were left virtually landless with most of their economic base removed along with traditional sites that were sources of mātauranga and wellbeing. … With insufficient arable land and limited work opportunities Whakatōhea struggled to survive economically. [and] endured the impacts of poverty including sub-standard housing and poor health … [suffering] disease outbreaks [and] having little access to adequate healthcare. … The lack of employment in Ōpōtiki forced Whakatōhea into urban migration in the mid-twentieth century. Ninety percent of Whakatōhea lived outside their traditional rohe by 2020 with many disconnected from their whanaunga reo tikanga and whenua."It's clear that the people of Whakatōhea have suffered enormous losses and what we're seeking to do here today is to restore as best we can with this process. I acknowledge everyone who has helped make that happen. This bill has redress addressing the losses suffered by Whakatōhea including financial redress of $85 million plus interest in recognition of historical claims. Whakatōhea will also receive $5 million for the purpose of a reserve land development fund $2 million for the purpose of marine and harbour development $5 million for a cultural revitalisation fund $1 million for a te reo revitalisation fund and $2 million for an education endowment fund. The settlement will also provide for natural resource arrangements over rivers and catchments in the Whakatōhea area of interest with the establishment of a non-regulatory Whakatōhea Kaitiaki Forum which will operate as a permanent joint committee of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the ability to enter into one or more joint management agreements with the Ōpōtiki District Council or Bay of Plenty District Regional Council. There's also conservation redress in there and there's an aquaculture and fisheries redress with the legislation reserving 5000 hectares of space in the coastal marine area in which only Whakatōhea may apply for permits for aquaculture activities. Whakatōhea will receive a right of first refusal over fisheries quota under the Fisheries Act 1996. The settlement provides for the Whakatōhea post-settlement governance entity's appointment as an advisory committee to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries. The committee will provide input on fisheries management matters in relation to areas of special significance to Whakatōhea.The National Party is supporting this bill through the first reading to select committee. We do want to hear just a little bit more about this new aquaculture arrangement as this is a new process and a new redress in a Treaty settlement bill. So we do want to hear a little bit more about how that's going to operate and how it will be managed etc. We consider it important to fully explore just how that arrangement will work in practice. But I'd like to close just by once again acknowledging the people who are present here today acknowledging the significant mamae and the pain and suffering that has been experienced for many years and has reverberated down through generations. This is ultimately about seeking to reset that recognising that this is ultimately about those who come after us and the children of tomorrow and the opportunities that will be available to them. So I'll thank everyone who's worked hard to get to this point to provide opportunities for those who come after us."