Sharples Pita: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
Sharples Pita: Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:650;Page:19140] 
Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Deputy Speaker. Ki te iwi o Te Roroa tena koutou kua tae manuhiri mai ki tenei Whare o tatau a tena koutou nau mai whakapiri mai. Tautoko ana i nga mihi ki nga mate nga mea kua whakahuahuatia me nga mate o te wa nei otira o tatau katoa nei. Na reira tena koutou nau mai whakapiri mai. 
[ 
Greetings to you Mr Deputy Speaker and to the people of Te Roroa who have arrived here as guests to this House of ours greetings to you welcome draw close. I endorse the tributes to the dead those mentioned of yesteryear and of the present indeed all of ours. So greetings to you welcome draw close 
.] 
The marae at Waimamaku is called Te Whakamaharatanga and it was built as a fitting tribute to the soldiers from south Hokianga who fought in the First and Second World Wars. Today that name may well take on a new meaning. 
The story of the relationship between the proud descendants of Ngai Tuputupuwhenua and the Crown has been charged with conflict almost before the ink was dry on our constitutional document. We think today of the rangatira of Te Roroa—Te Pana Ruka Wiremu Whangaroa Timoti Takare Hamiora Paekoraha and Matiu Tauhara—all of whom signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. These tipuna were prepared to stake their honour on an aspiration for the future; a commitment to live together in this land. Two years after that signing an area of between 6000 and 8000 acres of land at Te Kopuru was ceded to the Crown. Just 2 years after the Treaty had been enacted conflict had erupted. 
The record of that first incident is as complex as any to follow over that century. Tangata whenua were concerned at the desecration of koiwi of human remains; an incident broke out in a local store; the land was ceded while Ngati Whiu and Ngati Kawa the hapu who had customary rights in the land were away in Hokianga; and Ngati Kawa later protested that those who made the cession had no right to do so. This one incident contains many of the elements that would be repeated over the centuries. 
Grievous harm and cultural offence is associated with the desecration of sacred burial sites. What does it do to the soul of a people when they have to endure the looting of their grave sites and the theft of their koiwi the human remains of their people? This is the repeated history for Te Roroa. Many of their tapu sites passed out of Te Roroa care in the land alienation process that started in 1875. Particular examples of desecration took place at Aratapu and Kohekohe. Taonga were also likely to have been taken from the Piwakawaka caves. This has been one of the most painful aspects of a very painful settlement. Those taonga are sacred to the people. The reburial of koiwi and the handing back of taonga are events of our living memory that connect us to a shameful history a tragic past. 
And so we come today to Te Roroa to acknowledge the recognition at last from the Crown of a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. We come today to acknowledge the impact that land alienation and fragmentation has had on Te Roroa leaving the people virtually landless. We come today to grieve with them in putting to rest the severe heart-wrenching spiritual and emotional sense of loss in understanding the heavy toll on a people in being separated from their wahi tapu and taonga. We come today to meld our tears with them nga aureretanga o Te Roroa—the continuous crying of Te Roroa. 
In my time short as it has been as the deputy chair of the Maori Affairs Committee there have been many moments of sadness as we have considered the settlement of historical claims. I acknowledge the chairmanship of Dave Hereora and I acknowledge the team as they also felt very strongly for the people of Te Roroa in considering this claim. 
There have been other issues in this settlement that have really affected us all. The length of time that has transpired over the course of settling the grievance extends back to 1861 when Rapana first spoke out over the cession of lands at Te Kopuru. Te Roroa began petitioning the Crown from the late 1870s. In 1887 Te Roroa wrote letters and petitioned Parliament. In 1907 there was another petition and further petitions in 1925 1930 and 1933. Maori members of Parliament—Hone Heke Te Rangi Hiroa and Tau Henare—were approached between 1903 and 1912. And finally 21 years ago Te Roroa lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal. This is the history of Te Roroa seeking redress to their land. 
This Te Roroa Claims Settlement Bill today finally brings closure to a long and difficult process but there is still the enduring pain particularly in regard to the exclusion of Kaharau and Te Taraire. We remember back to the Tribunal report on this matter of 1992 in which Te Roroa urged the Crown to take all steps to acquire these lands and return them to tangata whenua as hapu estates. That is the Tribunal report. 
In the submission received from Will Ngakuru we were told that although the Crown claims to be interested in having a “full and final settlement” for members of Te Roroa and descendants of Ngakuru Pana peace will never prevail until their burial places of Kaharau and Te Taraire are returned as was the wish of their tipuna. These sites of such sacred significance were never sold. It was always our contention that they needed to be included in the cultural redress provisions of the bill—either the Crown should purchase the lands or it should fund their purchase by Te Roroa. 
Although we acknowledge the sizable increase in the quantum we are disappointed that it is still inadequate to purchase either Kaharau or Te Taraire or to ensure future financial security for Te Roroa. But I must acknowledge Dr Cullen and the team for extending the $9.5 million with an ex-gratia payment of $6.5 million added to that. 
If we as a Parliament are to invest in the durability of any settlement then we must invest in the wishes and aspirations of the people. I understand there are ongoing discussions with Te Roroa about the possibilities of Kaharau and Te Taraire being included and I understand that Parekura Horomia the Minister of Maori Affairs has had something to do with this. 
There are many longstanding issues of injustice in this settlement. The treatment of waka tupapaku and koiwi has been found wanting. Dr Cullen explained many of those injustices earlier on. As with other settlements the internal conflicts and division that have occurred through the passage of this settlement have been damaging to the spirit of the people who are so proud to be Te Roroa. Throughout it all these people—the tall ones Te Roroa—have stood proud in their whakapapa passionate to defend the legacy of their tipuna. 
We in the Maori Party acknowledge the sacrifice and the dedication of all the people who have fought and who have kept on fighting to protect the honour of Te Roroa. I say to Te Roroa that we acknowledge them. Ka mihi atu ki a koutou mo o koutou kaha mo o koutou maia kia taea tonu tenei kereme. Tena koutou. 
[ 
I acknowledge you and your efforts and capability to get this claim through. Well done 
.] 
Te Roroa can be proud of their longstanding determination and of the efforts and struggles of their tipuna and their young ones alike to restore peace and enduring justice for their people. This is a day to remember he ra whakamaharatanga. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker. Kia ora.