Turia Tariana: Whanganui Iwi (Wanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Wanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Turia Tariana: Whanganui Iwi (Wanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Wanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:659;Page:7843] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations 
: I move  
That the Whanganui Iwi (Wanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Wanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Whanganui Iwi (Whanganui (Kaitoke) Prison and Northern Part of Wanganui Forest) On-account Settlement Bill be considered by the Maori Affairs Committee that the committee report finally to the House on or before 19 March 2010 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 187 and 191(b) and (c). 
’e mihi aroha tenei ki to tatou kuia e takoto ana i Matahiwi. E rere kau mai te awa nui mai i te ka’ui maunga ki Tangaroa ko au te awa ko te awa ko au. E nga ripo e nga ngaru mai i te tihi o Tongariro ki te kaihau o Kupe W’anganui nui tonu tena tatou katoa. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
This is a loving tribute to our elder lady lying in state at Matahiwi. The great river flows from the mountain region to the God of Oceans. I am the river and the river is me. Greetings to you all eddies and waves from the tip of Tongariro to Kupe’s domain to you Whanganui at large 
.] 
I greet the House as a uri of Ngati Apa/Wairiki Nga Rauru Ngati Tuwharetoa and Whanganui. I claim all of my w’akapapa; our w’akapapa should never be up for debate. This statement is fundamental to an understanding of this bill. 
This bill gives effect to aspects of the deed of on-account settlement signed by the Southern Whanganui Cluster/Tupoho working party on behalf of Whanganui iwi and the Crown on 31 July 2009. In doing so this bill protects Whanganui iwi interests in the northern part of the Wanganui Forest and the half-share in the land under the Wanganui Prison. Although the bill is focused firmly on identifying interests within tribal boundaries the relationships with neighbouring iwi and ourselves are never far from our thoughts. Regardless of the line in the sand drawn in this process it is my firm belief that we should not allow the passing of statutes to divide our w’akapapa relationships because we are all of ourselves. We can be both Whanganui and Ngati Apa/Wairiki and we can claim all of who we are. 
The agreement by the Crown to enter into an on-account settlement was an outcome of discussions between North Island Ngati Apa and the working party to address the concerns that Whanganui iwi had with aspects of the North Island Ngati Apa settlement. It has been good to have this bill and the Ngati Apa bill both come up in the same week to highlight our common interests the areas that unite and bind us together as whanau hapu and iwi. One of the more contentious features of the Treaty settlement process is the implications of decisions made in one iwi context for our families who have mixed tribal orientation. In situations where we face overlapping tribal boundaries we have to make the choice to focus on one part of ourselves over and above another. Addressing overlapping interests is one of the key challenges in Treaty settlements. It is a difficult and a complex area and there are no easy answers. Where groups claim an interest in sites offered to iwi in settlement negotiations the Crown has the obligation to engage with them and consider their interests in good faith. But if I could say one thing to our people it would be that we must not allow the process to divide us and take precedence over w’akapapa relationships with and between ourselves. 
The on-account settlement with Whanganui iwi demonstrates the challenge that the Crown confronts in trying to find flexible and creative solutions to these very difficult issues of overlapping interests. But it represents also the challenge that we face as uri to ensure that our relationships with each other are far more enduring and far more substantial. When the Crown steps out of the process iwi will always be there so we have to be ready to relate to each other to respect each other to work out our differences and to unite on our common ground. So I stand today to acknowledge those historical relationships and strategic marriages that took place to maintain our w’akapapa. Those relationships must be at the forefront of every decision. 
This deed of on-account settlement provides the working party with the opportunity to acquire a half-share in the land under the Wanganui Prison and a half-share of the Wanganui Forest not offered to Ngati Apa. This opportunity arises only if Ngati Apa decide to select their share of these two assets. But the right of deferred selection offered to Whanganui iwi over these properties is first subject to Ngati Apa exercising their right of deferred selection over the land under the prison and the southern half of the Wanganui Forest. If Ngati Apa do not purchase the half-share of the land under the Wanganui Prison or the southern half of the Wanganui Forest the Crown will retain these properties. 
The value of the assets transferred in this on-account settlement will be taken into account when the Crown makes an offer of redress for the final settlement of the Whanganui historical claims. This is the second on-account settlement offered to Whanganui iwi. The first was the transfer of the Wanganui courthouse with a lease-back to the Crown agreed in 2004. If such rapid progress can be achieved in these two on-account settlements it does create confidence that perhaps the longest-running legal case in New Zealand’s history the claims for Te Awa Tupua may soon be close to settlement. 
I will return to the point I raised earlier about the timing of this bill in the same week as the Ngati Apa legislation. The transfer of these properties to Whanganui iwi is closely linked to provisions in the Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill to transfer the land under the Wanganui Prison and the southern part of the forest. I propose the Whanganui on-account bill be progressed through its stages in Parliament as a companion measure to the Ngati Apa (North Island) Claims Settlement Bill in order for the bills to receive the Royal assent on or as close as possible to the same date. 
Finally I thank the members of the working party and Whanganui iwi for their commitment to achieve this on-account settlement in a short time frame. I consider that the bill should therefore proceed without delay to the Maori Affairs Committee. I commend the bill to the House.