Paraone PitaPITA PARAONE (NZ First): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker Tisch. Before I contribute to the debate on the Heretaunga Tamatea Claims Settlement Bill I want to acknowledge you given that this will probably be the last time I have the opportunity of addressing you. I just want to thank you for certainly the personal assistance you have given me in this House during your occupation of that august seat. I wish you all the best for the future.Tēnā koe ā tēnā hoki tātou koutou ngā whanaunga nā te mea mōhio ana i a tātau nō hea a Kahungunu! Nā reira ka mihi ka mihi atu ki a koutou mihi hoki ki a koutou ngā kaikawe o tēnei kaupapa i kawea atu mai i te whakatakotoranga o ngā kerēme tae noa ki tēnei wā. Nā reira ka nui ngā mihi ki a koutou. Ka nui hoki ngā pūhaehae i roto i a au nā te mea i a mātau i roto o Ngāpuhi kei te tatari tonu i a mātau ki te mahingia wā mātau kerēme engari ēhara nā Te Karauna te hē nā mātau tēnā. Nā reira tēnā pea te kaha anō ō tā koutou āwhina mai i te motu tēnā pea ka haere mai koutou ki te wā kāinga ki te awhi mai i a mātau e noho tonu i roto i ngā pōharatanga o Te Tai Tokerau. Kia ahatia? Mōhio ana au kei te hōhā pai ētahi o waku whanaunga o te hau kāinga engari ki tōku whakaaro kei te tohutohu i a rātau kia maranga mai kia mahingia ngā mahi kia tae kē ki te wāhi pēnei i a koutou i te rā nei. Kia ahatia? Kei te huri haere waku kōrero engari ka hoki mai ki te pire nei.[Thank you and us as well and you the relations because we know where Kahungunu is from! And so I acknowledge and commend you collectively and as well the bearers of this matter who did so when the claims were made right to this moment. Therefore there are many tributes to you collectively. There are many jealousies too within me because we in Ngāpuhi are still waiting for our claims to be done but that is not the Crown's fault it is ours. Perhaps therefore through the strength of your assistance from the nation you will come back home to help us living in the Northland poverty. So what can be done about it? I know for sure that some of my relations from back home are well and truly irked but in my view it is telling us to rise up to do the work and to arrive instead at the place you are at today. So what? My comments are merely going around in circles but must come back to this bill.]I just wonder whether or not if we had the opportunity in Te Tai Tokerau to invite the claimants to have signed their deed of settlement back home—because I noticed that Heretaunga Tamatea signed their deed of settlement at Te Aute College. And what did Te Aute College get? It got $5 million for it. I think that that is a testament of the sense of obligation of this iwi to their community—knowing full well that Te Aute College is a college for all Māori students from around the country. They could have been selfish and said: No no we'll just give a scholarship of $5 million to our own children." But no it has obviously been given with no strings attached. I think that that is just an example of the manaakitanga that this iwi has displayed to people around Aotearoa. It is also an extension of the manaakitanga they offered during Te Matatini as the honourable member from Ikaroa-Rāwhiti alluded to and I think that should be acknowledged during this debate.This is a claim that is representative of 43 different hapū and they are actually listed in the bill. While I know that there will be some people who will be delighted about having their claims settled in this manner experience tells me that there will also be others who will not be so happy because they have been caught up in the process of settlement in terms of large natural groupings. Not every claimant is happy about having their particular claims included in large natural groupings. I can see the argument from the Crown's point of view as to why they do this but I also have some sympathy for those claimants who want to deal with their claims separately. I note that this claim is also a result of direct negotiation between the claimants and the Crown and I think that this is an example of what can happen if people decide to enter into direct negotiations. I only say that as a possible reminder for my own iwi that perhaps they ought to consider that at this stage.The bill is the culmination of quite a lengthy process and I understand that there are one or two people who descend directly from those who were responsible for the original claims. That is alluded to in the synopsis that has been circulated with the debate pack. I notice that financial and commercial redress of $105 million includes just over $50 million in on-account payments and $5 million will be set aside to support the long-term sustainability of Te Aute College. I also notice that in the local paper reporting on this process comment was made that for one of the claimants it was in some respects a sense of relief—I think a sense of relief that this whole process has got to this stage and they can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. In other respects there is a sense of great sadness and I can appreciate that because you remember those who started this journey on behalf of the claimants themselves. So I can understand those sentiments.This process of referring it to the Māori Affairs Committee will allow for those people of the tribe who have a contrary view on this settlement an opportunity to express that view and consideration as to whether or not amendments should be made to the bill. But at the end of the day it is something that—if they want to participate or are desirous of seeing changes then they have to participate in the process. It is not acceptable to just sit on the sideline watch the process take place and then after that due process has been taken to then criticise the end product.I just want to—like the rest of those who have spoken before me—commend to the House this bill and I look forward to dealing with it in the Māori Affairs Committee in the select committee process. Engari i te kōrero whakamutunga ngā mihi nunui ki a koutou o Heretaunga Tamatea kia ora mai.[But in the closing statement huge tributes to you collectively of Heretaunga Tamatea and well done.]"