Paraone Pita: Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
Paraone Pita: Ngati Mutunga Claims Settlement Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:632;Page:4503] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 A tena koe. E te Kaiwhakawa o te Whare nei tena ano koe. Tena hoki tatou nga mema o tenei Whare. E tika hoki maku kia tautoko nga mihi ki a koutou nga uri o Mutunga ara Ngati Mutunga. Nga mihi hoki ki a koutou nga kaumatua nga kuia nga rangatira katoa e tau mai i roto te Whare i te ra nei koutou hoki i kawe nei te kaupapa e whakatakoto mai i mua i a tatou inaianei. He mihi hoki ki a koutou o te hau kainga e noho ana i raro te maunga tapu ara Taranaki. He mihi hoki ki a koe e kara e Jamie me to ropu mo nga mahi pakeke i mahia koutou ki te whakaotingia nga mahi i tuku to iwi i runga ou pokohiwi. I te ra nei ka kite ana koe ara koutou tetahi o nga hua i puta mai i a koutou mahi whakahirahira mo te iwi o Ngati Mutunga. 
[An interpretation in English was given to the House.] 
[ 
And greetings to you. Greetings to you as well Madam Speaker of this House and to us members. How fitting it is for me to be endorsing the acknowledgments to you Ngati Mutunga the descendants of Mutunga. Greetings also to the elderly both men and women and all the leading figures who are in the House today and responsible for bringing the current bill before us. To those of you back home as well living beneath the sacred mountain of Taranaki greetings. Acknowledgments to you as well Jamie for the significant work carried out by you and your group in completing the tasks that your people placed upon you. You and your group today bear witness to one of the things that have come out of your wonderful work for the Ngati Mutunga people. 
] 
 First of all Madam Speaker I acknowledge you particularly in terms of your early involvement in this process while Minister in charge of Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. I also note that you are still in the Chamber when I have noticed on previous occasions that because of your many duties you have had to leave as soon as the oral questions section of our agenda is concluded each day. So I just acknowledge that. 
On behalf of New Zealand First it is my pleasure to participate in the introduction of this bill which is a continuation of the whole settlement process involving Treaty of Waitangi claims. What is more pleasurable about this bill is that it helps to bring some closure to events of the 19th century that saw the people of Ngati Mutunga and other of their Taranaki kin suffer what I believe was one of the darkest hours in the history of our country all in the name of meeting settler demands for more land. The Waitangi Tribunal commented in relation to this claim and other Taranaki claims that there may be no other claims that have as many Treaty breaches that had equivalent force and effect over a comparable time. 
We in New Zealand First certainly recognise the fact that any settlement cannot change events of the past. However it is hoped that this bill will help compensate Ngati Mutunga with some form of redress. I say this in the context of the view expressed by the Waitangi Tribunal: “Generous reparation policies are needed to remove the prejudice to Maori to restore the honour of the Government to ensure cultural survival and to re-establish effective interaction between the Treaty partners.” 
The introduction today of this bill addresses the claims made by Ngati Mutunga—the descendents of Mutunga. Ngati Mutunga is one of eight recognised iwi of Taranaki and is geographically located in the northern reaches of that area. The history of this Taranaki iwi is steeped in blood and injustice and it is only right that a formal apology and compensation be given by the Crown for its breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. It should be noted that although based in the shadow of Mount Taranaki the deed of settlement that has given rise to this bill did not include any specific redress relating to the confiscation of the mountain. The reason for this was clarified earlier today in a response to a question I put to the Minister. I believe—and the Minister has confirmed this—that it is intended that this matter will be addressed at a later date in the settlement process in Taranaki when all iwi are in a position to negotiate on this issue. 
The basis of the claim that this bill addresses relates to breaches by the Crown of its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. I want in particular to articulate what those breaches were. They included the waging of war that resulted in loss of life—although Ngati Mutunga as an iwi were not in rebellion but unfairly treated as being so; the use by the Crown of a scorched earth policy involving the destruction of villages and cultivation; loss of life including the killing of unarmed children by militia; the imprisonment of Ngati Mutunga people following the passive resistance campaign at Parihaka; and the confiscation of all Ngati Mutunga land. 
Of course we would not be introducing this bill to the House today were it not for the support given by the people of Ngati Mutunga to the ratification of this settlement agreement. To this end I congratulate them and in particular the Ngati Mutunga Iwi Authority board chaired by Jamie Tuuta and its negotiation team managed by Dion Tuuta. Both of those men give substance to the oft cited whakatauki: “Ka pu te ruha ka hao te rangatahi.” This bodes well for the iwi of Ngati Mutunga. I should also say that their decision to answer the call of their iwi has in all probability been at some personal expense to them and their whanau. The leadership commitment and courage of kaumatua negotiators to reach this stage of accepting an apology and redress from the Crown for past Treaty breaches will allow for the iwi of Ngati Mutunga to move on acknowledging that their history of loss and some may say betrayal can never be fully compensated for. Also in order to move forward and progress the shackles of past injustices must be recognised and compensated for. I believe that this bill does that. 
It is important to note in terms of the ratification process and governance arrangements involved in this particular settlement that of the 1313 adult members eligible to vote just under half of that number voted on the deed and of those 597 voted in favour of its acceptance. Of course this begs the question of what the views were of those who did not participate in this process. I say to them—some of whom may be present or listening to this debate—that by this House referring this bill to a select committee they will have the added opportunity to advise of their reasons for their non-participation. If that non-participation is related to any disagreement with the deed of settlement the settlement itself or the new governance body that will receive the proceeds of this settlement on behalf of the iwi then we would like to hear from them. I say these things because the issue of mandating and the reluctance to participate in the process—whatever the reason might be—has become a common concern when hearing submissions on Treaty settlement bills. 
This settlement as described in the bill is one of redress. It covers financial and commercial redress; relationship and cultural redress which involves the importance to Ngati Mutunga of all land in their rohe being acknowledged by the Crown; protocols for how the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage the Minister of Conservation the Minister for Economic Development the Minister of Energy the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister for Land Information will interact with Ngati Mutunga; and the appointment of the iwi governance entity as an advisory committee to the Ministry of Fisheries. 
 It would be remiss of me not to respond to the comments made by the previous speaker Georgina Te Heuheu particularly with regard to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. I do not believe it is political posturing to seek clarity and definition of any part of the laws of our land. I say to this House that I believe this settlement and all future settlements could still proceed without references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. However if in the thinking of New Zealand First reference to the articles of the Treaty was included in the settlement then I believe it would address the very issue of those words. 
But in conclusion I want to again congratulate Ngati Mutunga. I hope this House will certainly support referring this bill to a select committee and New Zealand First is quite delighted to do so. Kia ora.