Horomia Parekura: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — Third Reading 
Horomia Parekura: Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:624;Page:19255] 
Hon PAREKURA HOROMIA (Minister of Maori Affairs) 
: 
 E tikaakeano ki te mihi akeanoi a koutou ngatupakeke e tae akeanoikonei mo te ra o te whakaotinga o te pirenei. Ki a koutou e mau kaha e Hirini koutou ngatupakeke. Ahakoangapiki ngahekemo te mau kaha i te oti. Hoi akeanotenei tino tuku e tuku akeanonga tupuna ki a tatou. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
It is appropriate once again to greet you the elders who have arrived here once more on the day that brings a finality to this bill. To you the elders Hirini who have worked hard: despite the ups and downs you have worked on to complete it. This indeed is a legacy from the ancestors to us 
.] 
I move  
That the Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Bill be now read a third time 
. This is a significant milestone that represents nearly 140 years of dedicated effort by Ngati Awa to seek redress from the Crown for raupatu. Ngati Awa is one of the principal iwi within the Eastern Bay of Plenty district. According to the traditions of Ngati Awa it is from their eponymous ancestor Awanuiarangi son of the famous Toikairakau that the name Ngati Awa is derived. As happened then and is remembered now Awanuiarangi settled here a long time ago before the arrival of Pakeha and he is a primary ancestor in both Ngati Awa and Te Atiawa history and genealogy. Another principal ancestor acknowledged within Ngati Awa tradition is Awanuiarangi II the great-grandson of Toroa the captain of Mataatua waka. Awanuiarangi is acknowledged by Ngati Awa as the paramount and principal identifying ancestor of the iwi. 
Ngati Awa is a confederation of 22 hapu and all the whanau who are beneficiaries of that confederation all of whom descend from Awanuiarangi. The hapu of Ngati Awa first established Te Runanga o Ngati Awa as a charitable trust in 1981. Te runanga was established as a representative body of all the hapu of Ngati Awa and was charged with looking after the collective affairs of those hapu. Since its inception te runanga has been consistent and dedicated in its efforts to negotiate settlement of the historic treaty claims. 
In 1988 Te Runanga o Ngati Awa Act was passed and te runanga became a Maori trust board under the Maori Trust Boards Act. As a Maori trust board the runanga became accountable to me in my capacity as the Minister of Maori Affairs. 
Te runanga and the people of Ngati Awa recognise that in order to now receive and administer settlement redress for and on behalf of its members the runanga will need to reconstitute itself as a body that is accountable to the members of Ngati Awa. For that they need to be commended. They are people with tradition they are people with tangata whenua rights and they are people who are managing their way forward in contemporary times. 
 The need to reconstitute the runanga gave rise to the bill that is before us today. The enactment of this bill enables Te Runanga o Ngati Awa to receive and administer settlement redress for and on behalf of its members. The passage of the bill is a further significant step to bring to an end a long long journey that Ngati Awa has undertaken to reach settlement of its historic claims with the Crown. 
However as momentous as this bill is together with the runanga charter it is more than preparation for receiving and administering settlement redress. It is about a significant expansion in the sense of Ngati Awa’s responsibilities to its people—its mokopuna its elders—who live in the region. The significance of the bill cannot be overstated. The bill and charter support the rangatiratanga of Ngati Awa. Both provide a strong structural base for Ngati Awa to be able to determine their own future development and operations. There is more than enough capability there for them to do what they want to do where they want to do it and how they want to do it. 
Once the bill is enacted Te Runanga o Ngati Awa will operate according to its own ratified processes allowing assets to be applied for the benefit of the people it serves. Te runanga will rightly be accountable to the members of Ngati Awa. It will be structured according to the wishes of Ngati Awa and it will be governed according to the rules processes and accountability requirements developed by Ngati Awa. Ngati Awa have stated how they wish their runanga to be governed and that is reflected in the bill. The enactment of this bill will allow Ngati Awa to participate and to realise their potential on their own terms—Ngati Awa succeeding as Ngati Awa. 
I am honoured to have sponsored this bill on behalf of Ngati Awa. I am more than confident that it will provide a solid framework for the future management and administration of Ngati Awa interests by Ngati Awa for the benefit of members of Ngati Awa. In this modern time when the political testings are a whole lot of nonsense—[ 
Interruption 
] This speech is worth more than four out of 10 I say to Mr Brownlee. It is more highly ranked than the mucking around that he does. 
At its inception Te Runanga o Ngati Awa adopted a whakatauaki that is as relevant today as it was at that time. I would ask Mr Brownlee to listen carefully. He manu houahau he pi ka rere. 
[ 
I am a new bird a fledgling that flies 
.] 
This proverb describes a new bird that is taking its first flight. The flight of the bird symbolises new directions new initiatives and new horizons—Maori people in contemporary times who are not losing sight of the tika and the reo that was tuku-ed to them by their tupuna. To day an adapted version of the whakatauaki applies: kua rere te manu. Kei ngarangi o te ao e rere ana. The translation for the benefit of my learned friend Mr Brownlee is: the bird has flown its nest and it is free to fly the skies of the world. It is important that in the advent of globalisation and with a young demographic of Maori people this iwi is more than ready to manage its way forward. 
I wish Te Runanga o Ngati Awa and the members of Ngati Awa all the best for their future development and success—kia kaha there will be ups and downs in it but good luck and all the best.