Whaitiri MekaHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti): E Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnā koe. E ngā member o Te Whare nei tēnā tātou katoa. Tūwharetoa mana Tūwharetoa reo Tūwharetoa tangata anei ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa. Anei ngā mihi i runga i tō karanga o te piere nei whakahirahira.Nō reira he uri ahau o Te Tai Rāwhiti Ngāti Kahungunu tēnei te mihi maioha ki a koutou katoa. E Te Ariki Tumu tēnā koe me tō hoa rangatira Susan tēnā kōrua. Dame Georgina tēnā koe otirā ōku rau rangatira mā tēnā koutou katoa. [To the Assistant Speaker greetings to you. To the members of this House greetings to all of us. Tūwharetoa authorities Tūwharetoa voices Tūwharetoa people here are greetings to you all. Here are greetings because of the call of this significant bill.Therefore I am a descendant of the East Coast Ngāti Kahungunu this is an affectionate greeting to you all. To the paramount chief Tumu greetings and your wife Susan greetings to you both. Dame Georgina greetings to you and to all of you my chiefly ones greetings to you all.] It is indeed an honour to stand and support this settlement bill of Ngāti Tūwharetoa so important that so many people wanted to get up and stand to celebrate and acknowledge this special occasion. So can I just please humbly thank the Opposition for allowing me to take a slot so I can stand. Ngā mihi ki a koutou. Thank you very much.I thought about sharing some stories of significant people from Tūwharetoa who I've had the privilege to work alongside as a way of celebrating this significant day. Of course my colleague here Louisa Wall whom I'm very proud to share Government benches with represents Tūwharetoa very well. So I want to mihi to you Louisa for all that you stand for and all that you bring to this House and the way in which you do it. I'm proud to call you a colleague.My predecessor my mentor my friend the Hon Parekura Horomia had a way of creating relationships with people all around the motu. On this special occasion he said We need to go and see Tumu." And of course it was with honour that Parekura and I travelled to Taupō and of course our favourite saying was "We must get on the boat with Tumu and go fishing." and that was a code I believe for two great men to kōrero—to kōrero. So we went off to Taupō we got on a boat and we went out fishing. Unbeknown to us Tumu hadn't told the rest of the tribe and we were on the lake for about four hours. There was a flurry of "Where's Tumu? Where's Tumu?" and when we arrived back after catching trout being fed on the boat there was a delegation at the port when we got back in Taupō. I'm pretty sure there were some words of "Where have you been? Where have you been? What have you been up to?" and Tumu's gracious way was "That was for me to have and not to share with you."Many of our leaders—and I do want to acknowledge not just Parekura but it's times like this I remember Timi and I remember his contribution to his brother and to his people. And like Lou said it is times like these that you think of these great rangatira who are no longer here with us but who have forged a passage for this very day where we stand in this House to celebrate Ngāti Tūwharetoa and their contribution to the nation. I want to stand and acknowledge Parekura. I want to acknowledge Timi and of course I've acknowledged my colleague Louisa. I also acknowledge a colleague by the name of John Bishara who I worked with under Parekura at the Community Employment Group. So wherever John is I know he's made a significant contribution to the people of Aotearoa and I know he comes from these great people. So I want to acknowledge John.I also want Tūwharetoa to claim the current coach of the Silver Ferns. I do. I know she's from up north but she was schooled in Taupō. So I want to acknowledge Noeline Taurua and her beginnings in Taupō. Let's not forget that. So there may be a few tickets coming Tūwharetoa's way when you remind her about where she grew up and who nurtured her—I know it was Taupō.It's people like these that I've named. Of course I want to also acknowledge Tuarōpaki. I want to acknowledge Tūmanako Weretā and the hapū and whānau and what they've been forging as Tūmanako always does under the radar. But I know and I want to acknowledge his contribution to this nation and what they are doing in Mōkai particularly around the hothouses miraka and their native nursery and of course the contribution that he's given this Government through his daughter Puāwai Weretā who currently now sits on Damien O'Connor's agricultural council—bringing Māori expertise the way we do it to bear on this side of the House. So we are contributing to awe like the Prime Minister has said many many times.So I wanted to stand and acknowledge these fine people as only a small glimpse of Tūwharetoa's generosity to this nation—their generosity their patience. I'm looking down at the deed of settlement. I see it was signed on 8 July 2017 and a year and a half later we're having the final reading of their bill. So they have been very patient and they've also been like I said very generous with what they have given. I am proud to stand in support of this bill with all members of this House. I too want to acknowledge Sir Michael Cullen. I also want to acknowledge John Isles. I want to acknowledge the negotiators that have brought to this House a bill that we are proud to support. I want to thank you for doing all that work for that outcome.In the time I've got left I want to acknowledge our rangatira āpōpō our rangatahi that are in the House today. If that haka that we saw at the pō'hiri is anything to show where Tūwharetoa's going watch this space. I want to acknowledge those rangatahi—rangatahi that not only did the haka but are here to support this important kaupapa and who I know are already planning their next five 10 15 50 years out in terms of Tūwharetoa. I want to acknowledge them. I want to say respectfully to the Kotahitanga o Ngāti Tūwharetoa that amongst all the planning—because this is just the beginning; it's not the end and I'm excited about what's going to come out of Tūwharetoa—that we always remember to be bold and to invest in our own. To be bold and to invest in our own. For too long we have always thought the expertise lies outside of our people. It is now our time to invest in our rangatahi to invest in their futures because we have so much to do and we have so many people to do it with. We could be the catalyst for that change the pipeline of leadership that should be coming through with a range of skills to unlock the potential that is in the Tūwharetoa rohe.These are just a few words of advice again like my sister Nanaia as a former negotiator is always having something to share. But to stand in all humility in celebration with the people of Tūwharetoa for this significant achievement—this is your day. This is your hour. This is your future.Nō reira e Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnei te mihi ki a koe otirā te iwi o Ngāti Tūwharetoa harikoa te ngākau ki a koutou katoa he mihi aroha he mihi maioha tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tihei Tūwharetoa.[Therefore Mr Assistant Speaker this is a greeting to you and indeed to the tribe of Ngāti Tūwharetoa my heart is joyful for you all loving greetings affectionate greetings greetings greetings thrice greetings tihei Tūwharetoa.]"