Mahuta Nanaia: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMahuta Nanaia: Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 12 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16654. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Labour—Hauraki-Waikato):Tuatahi tēnei ka tāpiri atu aku mihi maioha ki a koutou o Raukawa i uru mai nei i roto i tēnei tō koutou nei Whare ki te whakarongo ki a mātou nei whakaaro hei tautoko i a koutou tutukitanga i raro i te kerēme kei mua i a tātou. Nō reira ki a koutou katoa ngā marae maha ngā koroheke ngā rūruhi te hunga taiohi e kawea nei te toimahatanga o ngā mahi tuhituhi anei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.[Firstly I would like to extend my affectionate greetings to you of Raukawa who have entered into this House of yours to listen to our thoughts in support of your achievements under the claim before us. Therefore to you all the many courtyards the elderly men and womenfolk the younger generation that bear the hardship involved in the written work I salute you all.]It gives me great pleasure to join with the Minister for Whānau Ora and support the third reading of the Raukawa Claims Settlement Bill. There are aspects of the settlement that hinge together like a jigsaw and I use that analogy very carefully because as Minister Turia pointed out there is such a complex web of relationships that have required being sorted through for Raukawa to get to this point.I want to reflect on a conversation I had with Vanessa Eparaima the chair of Raukawa in seeking to understand the intent of the settlement and more particularly what it had taken to get to this point and what was envisaged for the future. One thing stood out very clearly in my mind and it was this issue of relationships. She made it very clear in the discussion that it has not been a perfect path trying to pull together the total sum of interests in the bill but in working through relationships certainly within the iwi and alongside neighbouring iwi they were able to get to a point. I respect her commitment to the enduring nature of relationships to make Treaty settlements last. I respect the amount of effort that has been taken to work out some very inside the house issues if you like and some neighbour issues. I think people will understand what I mean.More important when she talked about relationships she said there was nothing more fundamental than what was happening within Raukawa—a transformation of change to take the iwi into the future. When she talked about for example the amount of effort that had gone into the thinking behind the governance entity I was encouraged by the amount of consultation that had taken place within the iwi and by the rigour with which first principles informed the nature of their governance entity and more important informed their mode of practice. So this settlement is brought together by some words in a deed of settlement that a lot of work has undoubtedly gone into. Because of the spirit that has gone into pulling together a settlement that prepares the iwi to go forward into the future while never losing sight of where they have come from I commend the settlement in this bill to the House.We heard at the Māori Affairs Committee a number of issues raised for example with regard to the map of association. We considered this with I guess quite a lot of thought about whether the map of association was an opportunity for Raukawa to extend their domain or to make clear and express the nature of their relationships throughout their domain. I think after advice from officials and after clarification from Raukawa we settled on the second one—just to make clear that they have a number of interests in their geographical area that should not be forgotten. That was an important point because we tussled with the fact that should the statement of association be put into the legislation it would not make it clear that the nature of Raukawa interests were not over and above what had been expressly provided for in the legislation. We decided against that and stayed with Raukawa’s best judgment. I draw the attention of the House to that in so far as the issues raised around Lake Ōhakuri. Again the clarification that we have in the bill makes very clear where Raukawa’s interests lie with regard to the lake and that applies to the Tatua West side of the lake.Raukawa has put a lot of effort into its relationships with stakeholders other than iwi—local government for example. I recognise that the mayor is here today. I think the amount of effort put into the Te Reo Māori strategy in the South Waikato district is for our region a very stellar example of what can be achieved when you have a good relationship with local government and more important the commitment of the leadership. So I too want to commend Mōtai-Tangata-Rau because the evolution of that tenacity and commitment towards Te Reo has manifested itself through other types of relationships that the region can certainly claim support of as well.There was some discussion again at the select committee with regard to removing Waitangi Tribunal claim 443 from the bill. Just for those who are here and listening it was our final determination that that claim when it was lodged by Wally Papa was done on behalf of Raukawa. It would not be fitting to remove the claim within the context of this particular settlement. Although there was significant interest put forward by Ngāti Koroki Kahukura in time things may subside and in time I think relationships can be mended.I come to Ngāti Koroki Kahukura. We currently have their bill the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura Claims Settlement Bill sitting before the Māori Affairs Committee. There were two things that stood out and these were the two points that were certainly impressed upon us from the Raukawa perspective and are certainly being impressed upon us from the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura perspective. Firstly Raukawa is all inclusive in their settlement. Clause 13 of the bill makes it absolutely clear that it is intended to be an inclusive settlement for all those who identify with Raukawa. Secondly in so far as Ngāti Koroki Kahukura interests emerge I think it becomes clear in relation to the Waikato River.One of the things they said for example was that from Karapiro to Arapuni when it comes to exercising their interests as kaitiaki in the river there are some other settlements that overshadow the intent of this settlement and that they want to clarify it through their own settlement. So for example their application for Waikato River Authority funding for the clean-up is overshadowed by the extent of Raukawa’s interest under the river settlement in Karapiro. I think that that is a relationship issue and it could be worked through. Maybe the select committee might be able to do something within the context of the Ngāti Koroki Kahukura settlement. But this settlement should not be changed to reflect the nature of that interest. And that is certainly where the select committee felt that things needed to remain the same.For Waikeria Prison thankfully with the relationships that underpin the discussions between Raukawa and Maniapoto the change to the bill that has been recommended I think just clarifies how the issues around Waikeria Prison can be worked through over time. With the goodwill and commitment of the two parties I am sure it will be done.We cannot go further without recognising that a lot of effort has been put into expressing how Raukawa want to go forward and recognising the commercial entity and the work that has gone into that. The people whom they have secured to build capacity throughout their iwi I think is something that other iwi are watching very carefully. They have sought technicians and experts to build the capacity of iwi and work alongside their own people so that they can carry out their fiduciary obligations as iwi—in so far as the river is concerned their environmental interests and their commercial interests—very well. I would hope that in time there will be an opportunity for iwi like Raukawa to share what best practice can look like so that everybody does not have to reinvent the wheel. That is the last thing I would say.I wish Raukawa well on their journey forward. I know that their commitment to young people to the histories and to the language of Raukawa has been most definitely demonstrated over the last couple of weeks. I am confident that the extent to which certainly Vanessa has led the issue of managing relationships thoroughly and in a way that will work out some of the more difficult issues means that the relationships will endure. And I am confident that over time some of the sharper edges of those relationships will subside.Nō reira i tēnei wā ka whakarāpopoto taku mihi ki a koutou o Raukawa. Nei te mihi maioha mō tēnei wāhanga kia tutuki pai a koutou wawata i roto i tēnei o ngā take Tiriti. Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou kia ora mai tātou katoa.[At this stage I would therefore curtail my acknowledgment to you collectively of Raukawa. My affectionate regards for this part in the hope that all your aspirations in regards to this of the Treaty matters will be met well. So greetings and well done to you collectively and my thanks to us all.]