Martin Tracey: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMartin Tracey: Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill — Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9529. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TRACEY MARTIN (NZ First): Kia ora. Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko tēnei taku mihi nunui ki a koutou i tēnei wā. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.[Thank you and greetings to you all. This indeed is my huge salutation at this point in time to you collectively so greetings acknowledgments and salutations to you all.]I rise on behalf of New Zealand First. As I was not and I am not a member of the Māori Affairs Committee I will rise to take a very short call on the Waitaha Claims Settlement Bill. There is a very well-known Māori saying “He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata he tangata he tangata”. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people it is people it is people. What we know to be true because history has shown us this is that words on a page are only as good as the people who either abide by them or implement them. A settlement a contract a treaty is only as good as wise as effective as the parties who place their signatures on the final page and those who are then delegated to make it work. There are many people throughout the world who know that to be true and so it is with these settlements.New Zealand First notes that this settlement has among other things a deed of recognition agreed over five areas of conservation land among the ancestral maunga—a deed of recognition that must be referenced by the Department of Conservation. There is also recognition of areas of significance for Waitaha that are significant to other iwi as well. Many of these settlements will be only as good as those who work on delivering the futures possible through them. The futures that can be created from the settling of these pasts have to be delivered by committed individuals working for the common good of all in those hapū and iwi. So in the end it will be the people who will be the most important of all.Our history could however give us cause to be concerned that this may also be our weakest link. So now I refer to another well-known saying “When we know better we do better”. It is our hope that as a nation we after 172 years do know better how to respect a contract how to respect each other how to respect our differences and recognise our similarities and how to work together for the benefit of all. Please do not misunderstand my words. When I say “we” I include both signatories to these documents. There must be mutual respect or there will be mutual failure of these agreements.Before I close education is very close to my heart and it is recognised by New Zealand First as one of the pillars of a strong and vibrant future. So we wish to make special mention of the $3 million educational endowment fund in the name of the tupuna Hakaraia. As I am also a believer in the power of knowing your ancestry no matter from what ethnic mix and a strong believer that this knowledge provides an inner strength with which to walk into one’s future New Zealand First also wishes to acknowledge the $1.3 million being provided for a full historical account of both Waitaha and Hakaraia. This will be an asset not only to Waitaha but to the nation. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.