SpeechHARETE HIPANGO (National): Tō reo iho rā te tohinga o Rongo ki runga o Rēkohu—Mūwheke ka eke ko RongomaiwhenuaToitū te whenua toitū moana toitū te tangata mano tau—rongomau. Rēkohu haumako e me rongo. The ancient covenant of peace rises againand casts itself over the island of Rēkohu—originating from Mūwheke and Rongomaiwhenua. Hold fast the land hold fast the sea the people in peace and tranquillity for a thousand years.Rēkohu flourishes in peace. E te imi Moriori te waina pono o Rēkohu te tchakat henu tēnei te mihi tēnei te tangi ki ō koutou karāpuna ō koutou mokopu ki a koutou katoa. Ka huri ki te ao ki a koutou ngā manuhiri tūārangi nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E karanga au ki te pānuitanga tuatoru o Te Pire Whakatau Taunga Kerēme a te Imi Moriori. Ināianei i tēnei rā te moemoeā o ō koutou karāpuna te moemoeā o te imi Moriori i konei. [To the Moriori people to the original inhabitants and people of the Chatham Islands I greet you and weep for your ancestors and your grandchildren for all of you. To return to the living I welcome you visitors from afar to the House of Parliament. I welcome the third reading of the Moriori Claims Settlement Bill. Now today the dream of your ancestors and the dream of the Moriori people is here.]Today this is a moment in Moriori history a moment in New Zealand history that has traversed centuries: the third reading of the Moriori Claims Settlement Bill. A moment in making since mai ra ano a time long long awaited a time long long hoped for. Since 1835 the invasion of the Chatham Islands the whenua of Moriori. Since 1842 the annexure of Moriori whenua wai moana culture and heritage to New Zealand. Since 1862 when the karāpuna petitioned Governor George Grey—131 pages. Since 1870 with the Crown turning a blind eye to the people of Moriori when it sat on your lands as a Native Land Court confirming the pre-1840 conquest legitimate awarding 97 percent of the land to the newly arrived conquestor the Taranaki tribes and delegitimising tikane Moriori of Nunuku's covenant.I stand not only as a member of the National Party but as uri of W'anganui and I relate to the people of Moriori Rēkohu who have travelled this journey and borne the anguish and the mamae of descendants of people for time past. But those people are living on in the descendants of Moriori Rēkohu. I have no depth of the anguish that Moriori feel. I have an understanding based on my people's journey of W'anganui with Te Awa Tupua. However this story of Moriori has been denied its legitimate place in New Zealand history. I turn to a book where a segment has been penned in here by rangatira Māui Solomon. In this book labelled Māori Peoples of New Zealand Ngā Iwi o Aotearoa there's a segment in chapter 13 Moriori": "Hundreds of years ago the Moriori of the Chatham Islands took a solemn vow of peace known as Nunuku's law. Their decision to uphold this sacred law in the face of aggression in 1835 had tragic consequences. The people were slaughtered enslaved and dispossessed of their lands. Nevertheless Moriori people survived." I marked the placement in this pukapuka—this book—with a feather when I was walking this morning and I stopped and looked down and there it was. It was a tohu—it was a sign. It is not the albatross feather. But those of us who know the history of Parihaka which is well enshrined and written into New Zealand history—many do not know the history of Moriori and the covenant of peace of the karāpuna Nunuku and the significance of the albatross feather and how that was carried by the people of Taranaki who invaded Rēkohu and took that symbol back with them. We well know and associate the white feather of Taranaki with Parihaka. The rightful place in New Zealand history is that the albatross feather has its origins with the people of Rēkohu te imi Moriori. Turning to the bill the third reading is significant. I've traversed part of the history never the depth of the mamae but I'm saddened that the people of Rēkohu are not able to be present in the Chamber. However technology is facilitating the connection by some means of reaching out to pass and convey this message. The bill will be covered by members in this House and the significant portion that I turn to as is appropriate with this third reading is the apology: clause 10(a). In that apology offered by the Crown as is set out in the deed of settlement it expresses "To … tchakat hanu (tangata whenua) and waina pono (original inhabitants) of Rēkohu … karāpuna"—the descendants the tūpuna—"and mokopu"—the grandchildren the mokopuna—"the Crown is profoundly sorry that … it failed"—it failed—"to uphold the partnership and provide the protection [which has been] sought by Moriori karāpuna since the 1840s." In clause 10 it goes through and it outlines an apology which covers the main grievances: the Crown's failure to intervene to end enslavement the Crown's failure to protect Moriori from becoming virtually landless following the 1870 Native Land Court and the failure to protect ta rē Moriori—the Moriori language. The Crown atones for its role in the collection and trade of kōimi karāpuna or ancestral bones and remains and it had a role in promoting myths that stigmatised Moriori as the racially inferior who became extinct—the furthest from the truth. I now turn to acknowledge significantly those who were part of the journey in negotiating on behalf of Moriori and I turn importantly to a person who as a young man in his 20s stood upon the shoulders of his karāpuna to carry the burden to carry this journey through to this legislative passage into law the recognition and protection and the legitimising of Moriori. He is a man who back in 1984 whilst reading and learning much of the history of his people for the first time said—I quote him—"I made a promise to my karāpuna … that I'd do all I could to have the truth told about Moriori and to have justice done by them so as to honour my Moriori ancestors and ourselves their living descendants." Māui Solomon I pay respect and immense regard to you as an honourable man as a man of respect a Moriori man a rangatira. As you said back in that interview on 15 December 2019 "From that day to this I've dedicated my life to seeking justice for Moriori and to ensuring that our stories are told." In closing I mention and bring to the attention of New Zealanders the importance of this a significant chapter in history. It can be accessed on the parliamentary website. It was depicted in the TV documentary series on Māori Television. I commend the bill to the House."